San Francisco was the popular choice by many experts for a return to the Super Bowl heading into the 2013 season, but it was in-depthSeattle that jumped to an 11-1 start, claimed the NFC West, won a couple tight playoff games and destroyed Denver in the Super Bowl.

This is a young, interesting team with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. But now the Seahawks are the hunted. Can they replace their free agency losses and make another run deep into the playoffs? Mitch Quesada, editor of 12th Man Rising, says it’s been a good offseason and the team is built for another good season.

Zoneblitz: Seattle capped a tremendous season with a Super Bowl blowout win. How would you assess the season and how this team came together?

Quesada: A Super Bowl-winning team needs a little bit of everything to win the biggest game in football. The Seahawks had that last season. They had a dominant running back, explosive receivers, a playmaking quarterback, the best defense in the game and the best home-field advantage in the NFL. The stars were aligned for the Seahawks to make franchise history last season and they did it with a nice balance of everything, including commitment and trust in each other.

The scary thought is that they could have been even more dominant, had they not seen injuries that caused numerous adjustments throughout the year. Their prized offseason acquisition, Percy Harvin, had a hip injury that limited him to one regular season game. Their other big-time receiver, Sidney Rice, suffered a season-ending knee injury in October and their already weak offensive line saw four starters miss a combined 19 games, causing a number of shuffles on a line that had trouble protecting Russell Wilson. And yet they pressed on in typical Seahawks fashion. The Super Bowl blowout was the tip of the iceberg on a tremendous overall season for the Seahawks. They honestly couldn’t have had a much better year.

Zoneblitz: Now that the Seahawks are the hunted rather than the hunter, what do the Seahawks have to do to make another Super Bowl run?

Quesada: They need to continue winning on the road. It’s been well-known that the Seahawks are a tough team to beat at CenturyLink Field so, additionally, they need to focus on winning away from Seattle. They did a good job last season, going 6-2 away from home, but this year, they have the third-toughest road schedule and will have to visit the Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs and, of course, all three NFC West opponents. The Seahawks are the team to beat, a pressure that is relatively new to the franchise. If they can focus as they did last season, and continue proving they can win away from CenturyLink Field (especially against the 49ers, Rams and Cardinals) they should be aligned for another Super Bowl run.

Zoneblitz: Russell Wilson won the Super Bowl in just his second year. He was helped by a great defense and good run game. Will his role change or increase as he heads into year three?

Quesada: Russell Wilson certainly has a good team around him, but he is his own playmaker and a huge reason for the Seahawks success. His role is to be the captain on the field and make plays that no one else on the field can, and he is ridiculously good at it. The Seahawks are still a run-first team, but Wilson’s role might increase slightly with the healthy return of both Harvin and Rice, as well as the draft additions of Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood. More receivers means Wilson might be throwing the ball more, but more importantly, he is the captain and leader of the best team in the league.

Zoneblitz: The Seahawks lost lose Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond off the defense and Golden Tate off the offense, among others. How have those players been replaced?

Quesada: Seattle has worked on replacing their corners with home-grown talent. Byron Maxwell will likely start opposite Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane will be a great backup for the two of them. They also have Phillip Adams, signed A.J. Jefferson and drafted Eric Pinkins to compete for depth chart positions. On the offense, they drafted Richardson and Norwood and re-signed Rice to replace Tate on the receiving corps. Seattle understood their weaknesses and filled the holes nicely over the offseason. They should not see a decrease in production next season as a few of their old, missing parts have been replaced by new ones.

Zoneblitz: What did you think of the team’s draft?

Quesada: The Seahawks had an excellent draft. They filled a number of needs and every player has a legitimate chance to compete for a roster spot. The “experts” were not very happy with the draft, but that’s nothing new. For the past few seasons, it seems as though the Seahawks draft grade has been around a D-. At this point, Seahawks fans have stopped listening to the “experts” because they have been wrong in every one of the past three or four drafts. They gave the Seahawks about a C+ grade this season, so maybe that’s good news – it means the Seahawks draft class is going to have a great year.

Zoneblitz: Who on the roster do you see as possible breakout candidates?

Quesada: Paul Richardson, without a doubt. He is DeSean Jackson without the attitude or the cost. Richardson has a chance to be a big-time receiver on the Seahawks when the season starts and he also has a chance to excel as a punt returner, assuming Harvin is the main kick returner. Richardson is a playmaker and if the Seahawks find ways to get the ball into his hands, it should mean good news for an already explosive offense.

Zoneblitz: The Seahawks look to be a young team with plenty of window to chase more Lombardi trophies, but San Francisco is still right there and St. Louis and Arizona also have solid clubs. What is the hierarchy in the division right now and what do the Seahawks have to do to make another Super Bowl run in 2014?

Quesada: It’s all about beating these teams in their own house. Right now, I would say the hierarchy is listed the same way the teams finished the season last season: Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona and the St. Louis, in that order. The Seahawks could not beat the 49ers on the road last year and they nearly lost to the Rams on Monday Night Football had it not been for a last-second goal line stand. They beat the Cardinals in Glendale, but then lost to them at home in December, their only loss at CenturyLink Field in the past two seasons. This is such a competitive division that any loss could seriously affect who wins the division and who doesn’t. The Seahawks need to finish division play 4-2 or better to have a chance at winning the NFC West again.

Zoneblitz: Where could this team still get better? What else would you like to see the Seahawks do in free agency before training camp kicks off?

Quesada: The offensive line is still a weakness, but if Justin Britt and/or Garrett Scott, their two O-line draftees, can prove their worth in training camp, that weakness could go away quickly. The rest of the team is stacked very well and it’s hard to find any other weaknesses on the team. I don’t think the Seahawks need to focus on any more free agency signings, they just need to start focusing on prepping their current players for defending last year’s Super Bowl championship.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you would like to add

Quesada: The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league, but the rest of the NFC West is nothing to yawn at. Every NFC West matchup should be an interesting game to watch and there is a great chance that the division winner will not be known until Week 17. Going back to the Super Bowl will not be easy for Seattle, but they have every opportunity to make it to the big game in Arizona. They just have to play the same no-nonsense football they played last season. Thank you for the questions, Andrew.

Follow Mitch Quesada on Twitter at: @mitchTquesada
Follow 12th Man Rising on Twitter at: @12thman_rising
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