We’ve entered the second week of September, and that can only mean one thing:
It’s time for some non-predictions!
The Seattle Seahawks begin their season Sunday with a visit to Denver, so the time has arrived for sports columnists throughout the region to make their predictions about Seattle’s 2018 season.
But that doesn’t fly in this space. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m the world’s worst sports prognosticator. If my predictions were any good then the Mariners would still be ahead of the A’s, the Sounders would be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, and I would have won one of the Husky Stadium press box pools by now.
My way of trying to even the odds is by making non-predictions, predicting what won’t happen instead of what will.
So without further ado, here’s my fourth annual Seahawks non-predictions column:
— I predict there will not be a meltdown on Seattle’s sideline during a game that envelops the entire roster and coaching staff. After all, Richard Sherman is no longer around to initiate something like that.
— I predict Russell Wilson will not be surpassed by another quarterback in the NFC West. There’s a lot of hype surrounding the young quarterbacks in Los Angeles (Jared Goff) and San Francisco (Jimmy Garoppolo). But while both performed well for their teams last year, I’m not convinced either has truly proven himself. Meanwhile, I expect Wilson to play well enough to be part of the MVP conversation. Wilson has a wealth of receiving weapons to work with this year, with Tyler Lockett a year healthier and Brandon Marshall added to the stable to be the red-zone target the Seahawks hoped Jimmy Graham would be. Wilson had a relatively poor season for him last year, yet still led the league with 34 touchdown passes. He’s primed for a big year this season.
— I predict Taima the Hawk, Seattle’s living and breathing bird mascot who flies a lap around CenturyLink Field prior to home games, will not land on a player’s head during the National Anthem. Mariners pitcher James Paxton has a monopoly on those kind of antics.
— I predict the Seahawks will not have a running back surpass 800 yards. There’s great hope that Seattle’s running game will be resurrected this year under new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. But I think there’s still too many question marks with the Seahawks running game. Chris Carson is coming off a season-ending injury, Rashaad Penny is a rookie, the team seems reluctant to risk Wilson running the ball, and we don’t know if there will be any actual improvement with the offensive line. Last year Seattle didn’t have any back gain more than 240 yards. While there’s no way the Seahawks won’t have someone better that total, the 800-yard mark requires 50 yards a game, and I’m just not confident any single back will get there.
Speaking of the offensive line …
— I predict Seahawks fans will not give new offensive line coach Mike Solari any leash. There’s just been too much trauma as a result of the offensive line the past three years. And the reaction to right tackle Germain Ifedi’s struggles early in the preseason — the pitchforks and torches were already out in full force, even though the games didn’t count — indicates fans aren’t prepared to give Solari and company any measure of slack.
— I predict Earl Thomas will not dog it. Seattle’s All-Pro free safety made no secret of his displeasure with the team when he returned from his holdout earlier this week, and it’s not unheard of for disgruntled Seattle sports stars to go into the tank when dissatisfied with their financial situations. But Thomas is a different kind of cat, he seems almost psychotically driven to excel on the football field. However, while I expect Thomas to give his all, I don’t expect his relationship with the Seahawks to end well.
— I predict there will not be as many snarky tweets from the Seahawks’ sphere of influence directed toward the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Seahawks Twittersphere has taken great delight over the years at reminding the Jaguars they selected a punter (Bryan Anger) ahead of Wilson in the 2012 draft. But you can’t mock Jacksonville about Anger while simultaneously praising Seattle for trading up to pick punter Michael Dickson, can you?
— I predict the Seahawks will not make the playoffs. I don’t think Seattle will suffer the type of complete collapse predicted by some national pundits — a franchise quarterback like Wilson and a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber middle linebacker like Bobby Wagner are enough to keep any team’s head above water. But given the team’s trend line and the massive roster turnover during the offseason, it’s hard to see Seattle being much more than a .500 team. That doesn’t get a team into the playoffs, and the playoffs are what Seahawks fans have come to expect.
So this is what won’t happen with the Seahawks this year. Take it too the bank. As long as you’re prepared to discover your account has been overdrawn.
Follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.