By Matt Calkins / The Seattle Times
If you’re not at least a little greedy, you’re probably doing sports fandom wrong. There aren’t a lot of jersey-clad die-hards in bars who feel content after their team loses, thankful they simply got to enjoy the experience.
Like players, coaches and executives — fans want their franchises to advance as far as possible in the postseason — even when such advancement seems impossible.
So with the Seattle Seahawks seemingly filling out their roster as minicamp awaits — their supporters are right to ask: Did they do enough this offseason?
This is a question many fans had for the Mariners before spring training began, as it seemed they failed to acquire that key bat that would push them into World Series contention.
This is also a question fans had for the Kraken at this past trade deadline, as a big-name acquisition never made his way to Seattle. Yes, there seemed to be a reason for this — as general manager Ron Francis said he thought then scoring leader Andre Burakovsky would return from injury but never did. And even though the Kraken made an improbable playoff run that took them to Game 7 of the second round, there are probably a few fans wondering what might have happened with an even deeper roster.
Which brings us to the Seahawks. We know this was a team that surpassed expectations last year by sneaking into the playoffs at 9-8 sans Russell Wilson, whose departure was initially thought to have sunk Seattle’s season. We also know they got beat by the NFC West-winning 49ers in all three meetings, including a 41-23 shellacking in the wild-card round.
The defense, particularly the front seven, was a weakness for the Seahawks — who finished 26th in the NFL in total defense. So should fans be content with the moves they’ve made since?
It seemed pretty clear at the end of the season that the Seahawks were going to re-sign quarterback and NFL Comeback Player of the Year Geno Smith — whom they guaranteed $27.3 million. The bigger question was how they were going to build around him.
One thing to note is that it’s hard to compare the Seahawks’ offseason moves with those of the Mariners, because the former has a salary cap and the latter does not. I’m not saying it would have been smart for the Mariners to overpay for a free agent, but that’s always an option in baseball.
Even so, the Seahawks did spend more money on defensive end Dre’Mont Jones than they have on any other free agent in franchise history. That’s not insignificant.
Of course, one player a defense does not make. But they did bring back a player who makes the Pro Bowl in just about every season he plays. Perhaps middle linebacker Bobby Wagner isn’t the dominant force he once was, which his one-year $5.5 million contract indicates. He will, however, serve as a stabilizing presence as fellow middle linebacker Jordyn Brooks recovers from his Week 17 ACL injury.
As for the rest? It really depends on how much you trust coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider’s talent-evaluation skills.
They obviously put a premium on the defense in the draft, taking cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick and edge player Derick Hall with the 37th — also adding defensive tackle Cameron Young in the fourth round, defensive end Mike Morris in the fifth and safety Jerrick Reed II in the sixth.
Carroll and Schneider built a Super Bowl team through the draft and selected five players who spent most of the season as starters last season. They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt from fans — even if there have been notable whiffs in the past.
There is also some guesswork involved in the lower-profile free-agent pickups, such as safety Julian Love (started 16 games with the Giants last season) defensive end Mario Edwards (started seven games with the Titans) and nose tackle and former Seattle Sea Dragon Austin Faoliu.
Was it the most attention-grabbing offseason? No. But I don’t think much criticism should be directed at the Seahawks brass at this point.
Let’s say Jones lives up to his contract. Let’s say Witherspoon lives up to his draft slot, too. And let’s say Wagner earns another All-Pro nod, safety Jamal Adams comes back healthy and productive (a big if, but possible), Love plays at the same level he did in New York and even a couple of the other draft picks pan out — and suddenly you have five, six or seven significant additions on defense. There’s also justifiable excitement around receiver and 20th overall pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The season will ultimately determine whether Carroll and Schneider did enough. There don’t appear to be any glaring mistakes, though.
Fans have every right to be greedy for more Seahawk wins. Too early to say for sure, but it seems the front office laid a foundation for that to occur.
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