Seattle looked to have it made. The defending champs were one yard away from taking the lead from New England in-depthwith less than a minute left in the Super Bowl and there was little doubt the Seahawks were about to have their repeat.

Then the interception happened, saving the Patriots and sending Seattle home disappointed.

The Seahawks have spent the offseason retooling at a few positions, particularly in the secondary, the offensive line and at tight end, where Jimmy Graham arrived in a trade for center Max Unger. So can the Seahawks put the disappointment behind them and make another run at the Lombardi Trophy? Or does the last-second letdown linger, creating an opportunity for someone else to jump in and take the NFC’s spot in the Super Bowl? Keith Myers, an editor with 12th Man Rising, shared some thoughts.

Zoneblitz: Seattle was one yard away from a second straight Lombardi Trophy, but lost in stunning fashion. Looking back now, how do you assess the season?

Myers: It was the team’s second-straight Super Bowl. They won the division and were the number one seed in the conference. No matter how things ended, that is a tremendously successful season.

Zoneblitz: I was with the masses who thought the ball should go to Marshawn Lynch three times in a row – what did you think of the season-ending call?

Myers: When the Seahawks ended up with 1st and goal at the five, they wanted four shots at the end zone. The only way that happens is if they pass on either first or second down. Lynch ran the ball to one on first down, so they threw the ball on second down.

If they had ran the ball on second down and failed to get into the end zone, they would have had to burn their time out. That would have given them just one more shot at the end zone on the ground, or two attempts passing.

The combo they used was the only way they’d get both four shots at the end zone and three attempts on the ground. Unpopular or not, it was the right call.

The real problem was the play call. They should have attacked the boundary or put Russell Wilson on the move. The pick play that was called was… unfortunate.

Zoneblitz: Speaking of Lynch, what’s going on with his future in Seattle? Will he be there beyond 2015? And what are your thoughts on Robert Turbin and Christine Michael as his backups/replacements?

Myers: This is probable Lynch’s last season in the NFL. His back issues are definitely non-trivial. The guy has to play through some serious pain every week. I’m actually a bit surprised he decided to come back for one more season.

Turbin is a good backup and third-down back, but he’s not a starter. He gets the yards that are blocked for him, but rarely gets anything else. Despite having the size of a power back, he goes down at first contact too often.

Michael is a potential star. His combination of speed, power and agility are rare. Athletically, he’s the closest thing the league has seen to Adrian Peterson since Adrian Peterson.

His problem is that he will only carry the ball in his right hand. That’s a major ball-security issue, and the reason he hasn’t seen the field more thus far in his career. If he can’t get this figured out, he’ll fumble the ball too often to ever make much of an impact in the NFL.

Zoneblitz: The WRs are an unheralded group, but the Jimmy Graham trade brought in some star power. What did you think of the trade and what will the impact be on the passing game and overall offense?

Myers: That is the million dollar question this offseason. The Seahawks say it won’t chance the identity of the offense. They said the same thing when they traded for Percy Harvin, but they became bubble-screen happy whenever he was on the field. You have to think that they’ll alter things to take advantage of their most talented weapon in the passing game.

Hopefully Graham’s presence will lead to more steady production in the passing game. Too often last season the passing game had a “go big or go home” feel too it. Not every play need to be shot deep down the field. Hopefully Graham will lead to more short to medium depth passes that sustain drives.

Zoneblitz: Who will emerge from the WR group and get the most playing time in 2015?

Myers: Doug Baldwin is the obvious answer here. He’s the team’s best wide receiver by a wide margin at the moment.

Paul Richardson would have been the answer if he hadn’t torn his ACL in playoffs in the playoff last season. He’s expected to start the year on the PUP list. Expect him to become a standout in 2016.

After that, the group is quartet of split ends. One has experience (Jermaine Kearse) but has limited talent. The other three (Kasen Williams, Kevin Norwood, and Chris Matthews) all have significantly higher ceilings, but also have lower floors. We won’t know how that will shake out until the guys get into camp.

And then there’s rookie Tyler Lockett. He was drafted to be a return specialist, but he’ll get snaps in the slot as well. His playing time will likely be very limited early in the season, but he should see the field more as the season progresses.

Zoneblitz: The price for acquiring Graham was a first round pick and C Max Unger. G James Carpenter also left via free agency. How does the offensive line look heading into 2015?

Myers: Losing two starters sounds like a major issue, but in reality it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Carpenter was a solid run blocker, but really struggled in pass protection. He was too heavy-footed to really excel in Seattle’s zone-blocking scheme.

Unger was a former All-Pro, but he played in only nine of 19 games last season. That has been a consistent issue his entire career. Having him on the roster is great on paper, but when he can’t stay on the field, it doesn’t really matter.

The Seahawks will be fine at left guard with promising rookies Terry Poole and Mark Glowinski battling for the job. Center will be the bigger problem in 2015 with two former backups competing for the spot. Whoever win that spot will be keeping the seat warm for athletic freak Kristjan Sokoli who should take over in 2016.

Zoneblitz: Seattle has been the top scoring defense in the NFL for the last three seasons. But CB Byron Maxwell and several players who provided depth left in free agency. Does Cary Williams effectively replace Maxwell and how does the defense look heading into 2015?

Myers: The defense actually looks better at this point, at least on paper. All of the guys who left were replaced by younger, more athletic versions: Malcolm Smith by Eric Pinkins, Jeron Johnson by Travis Murphy, etc. Plus the team added depth for the Michael Bennett role with Frank Clark, which is something they’ve never had.

As you mentioned, the one starter who left was Maxwell. While a quality player, be wasn’t a star and was the fourth-best player out of Seattle’s four starting defensive backs. Maxwell also missed significant time last season and the Seahawks managed just fine without him.

Cary Williams goes into camp as the presumed starter, but he’ll have to fight to keep that job. Tharold Simon played well early last season in replace of Maxwell in what was essentially his rookie year. (He missed all of 2013 with a foot injury.) While Simon struggled in the playoffs, there’s enough talent there to become a very solid starter.

I should note that Seattle’s scheme fits Williams’ (and Maxwell’s) talents much more than Philadelphia’s scheme. It will be interesting to watch to see how both players adapt to their new teams in training camp.

Zoneblitz: The fifth-year option on Bruce Irvin was declined. Will he re-sign? How important is he to this defense after 2015?

Myers: Seattle not picking up his option doesn’t mean that he’s a bad player. It just isn’t good cap management to pay your third-best linebacker $8 million per year.

I think the Seahawks will let Irvin walk after 2015 and take the potential comp-pick. K.J. Wright will move back to SAM and one of the very promising youngsters (Eric Pinkins or Kevin Pierre-Lewis) will take over at will.

Irvin is an athletic freak and a very good player, but the SAM linebacker spot in Seattle’s scheme isn’t somewhere a star player is needed. The Seahawks will be better served to use their resources elsewhere.

Zoneblitz: There’s been some criticism of the selection of Frank Clark in the second round, both on whether it was a value pick and whether his off-field issues were ignored. What are your thoughts on his selection?

Myers: Honestly, I was very disappointed with the pick. The Seahawks didn’t need to take a risk on a character issue guy like Clark. Obviously, they can win without him.

If you ignore the off-field issues though, getting a player like Clark at the end of the second round is incredible. He’s unblockable at times. If he didn’t have character red flags, he’d have been top 15 pick.

The Seahawks took a risk. As disappointed as I am that they took it, it still has a chance to pay off in a big way.

Zoneblitz: Collectively, what are your thoughts on the offseason to date — draft, free agency, and any other area of relevance — and what would you like to see the team do through the rest of the offseason?

Myers: Overall it’s been a great offseason. They reloaded nicely and picked up a difference-maker in Jimmy Graham. It is difficult to complain.

I would have liked to see them draft a potential long-term answer at CB instead of signing an aging veteran like Williams.

Then there’s the Russell Wilson contract situation. While I understand the team does not want to have to cut the depth chart to afford their quarterback (see Flacco, Joe), but it still would have been nice to see this get done now instead of dragging it out into next year.

Zoneblitz: This team would appear to be at least close to as strong on paper as the past two years, if not stronger in some areas. Do you worry about a hangover from the Super Bowl loss? What is the upside for this team?

Myers: I’d be more worried about a hangover if they’d won. The loss, especially the way they lost, will be a massive motivator for the Seahawks. Had they won, complacency would be a major concern.

As for upside, the sky is the limit. The Seahawks are currently the Super Bowl favorite for a reason. There is no reason to expect them not to make another run deep into the playoffs.

Zoneblitz: What Seahawks players have a chance to break out in 2015?

Myers: We don’t often think of offensive linemen with this question, but keep an eye on JR Sweezy. The defense-to-offense convert was dominant at times last season, and appeared on the verge of turning into an All-Pro.

Wide Receiver Chris Mathews is another guy to watch. He was one of the stars of the Super Bowl after not having a catch all season. He appears to have turned the corner in his development and is ready for a much bigger role this season.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Myers: While on a focus has been on Russell Wilson’s contract, he isn’t the only contract situation we’re monitoring. All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is also entering the last year of his contract, and should be locked up long-term before training camp begins. Guard J.R. Sweezy is another guy that the team would like to lock up with a long-term deal.

Follow Keith Myers on Twitter at: @MyersNFL
Follow 12th Man Rising on Twitter at: @12thMan_Rising
Follow Zoneblitz.com on Twitter at: @ZoneblitzCom

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