After watching the Pete Carroll era end with a whimper instead of a bang, missing the playoffs as things wound down in a disappointing fashion, the Seattle Seahawks find themselves in uncharted waters with a head coach, new coordinators, and, most crucially of all, new hope for fans in the Pacific North West that their winning ways could soon return.
Sure, many of the team’s stalwarts are back, as this is more of an on-the-fly retooling than a full-on rebuild, but considering the bones of a 9-8 team are still largely in place, there’s a chance the Seahawks could shock the world early on and really establish themselves as a force in the NFC West, especially considering they get a Denver Broncos team in Week 1 that looks like an ideal test run before the schedule really gets tough.
1. Geno Smith throws for over 250 yards
Is Geno Smith a franchise quarterback?
Based on his contract, the answer is no, as he’s only the 20th-ranked quarterback in terms of average annual value on his contract, which pays the West Virginia product an average of $25 million a year.
And yet, despite signing with the Seahawks as a backup, appearing in just five games over his first two seasons, and just generally being an afterthought following an ugly ending to his tenure in New York – both with the Jets and the Giants – Smith has revitalized his career in a way few could have imagined, starting every game he appeared in over the last two years on the way to two Pro Bowl seasons at the age of 32 and 33. He’s thrown for almost 8,000 yards over the last two years to go with 50 touchdowns and just generally looked like a quarterback worthy of leading a team into the future, as is currently the plan in the Emerald City.
Will Smith continue to shine in 2024 with the man who helped to engineer his comeback, Shane Waldron, swapped out for new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb? Only time will tell, but considering the Broncos had a pretty bad passing defense last year, ranking 28th overall, and lost one of their best players in Justin Simmons, it’s safe to say Smith will have a chance to light it up against Denver to open up the seasons, torching their defense for over 250 yards through the air. Pair that up with a quality rushing attack led by Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, and the Seahawks should be able to showcase a compelling, multi-layered offensive attack, the likes of which should get fans very excited about the future.
2. Mike Macdonald’s defense tortures Bo Nix
Turning attention to the other side of the ball, after fielding multiple dominant defenses for the Baltimore Ravens over the past few seasons, Mike Macdonald has officially brought his revolutionary defensive design to Seattle, where he will attempt to form his own dominant unit the likes of which fans haven’t seen since the Legion of Boom.
Discussing his unique philosophy for defense sets, which breaks things down into position grouping instead of more traditional play calls, Macdonald revealed to the Seahawks’ official website why his units are so hard for quarterbacks to diagnose pre-snap.
“The offenses out there are too good to run three things and just say, ‘Hey, we’re going to beat you. Philosophically, we’re all in this thing together, and the players need to know that we’re trying to put them in advantageous positions, so we’re constantly trying to give them little margins of advantages,” Macdonald told Seahawks.com. “The system that we run is built on concepts that are adjustable, and we can layer it together. We’re not going to get there overnight, it’s going to be a process, but we have we have, we understand what that takes. The cadence will vary based on how fast the guys can pick it up, and what they can do. So the spirit of how we play and the principles of how we play, what you’ve seen on the tape in Baltimore will be the same, but I can’t guarantee you the schematics will be the same here, because we’re not sure what we’re good at yet.”
With an ability to attack opposing offenses from all over the field with versatile looks designed to get his players where they need to be quickly and violently, Macdonald’s defenses have become one of the hottest commodities in the NFL, with his current DC, Aden Durde, surely slated to get looks at future jobs as soon as next season.
But first, the Seahawks need to prove they can go in 2024, and considering they’re facing off against Bo Nix in his first start as a pro, it’s safe to assume the Oregon product won’t be having the best time in his return to the Pacific Northwest, as he’ll likely be running for his life from a pass rush led by Leonard Williams while trying to force balls into a defensive backfield that is quietly establishing itself as one of the best in the NFL.
3. The Seahawks start the season 1-0
So, with the Broncos’ passing defense not expected to be particularly good but Macdonald’s unit already getting hype as one of the most in-vogue schemes in the NFL, what should fans in Seattle expect from their Seahawks in Week 1?
Frankly, anything other than a lopsided win should be considered a disappointment.
Yes, Sean Payton is a very good coach, and if he sticks with it, he will certainly have Denver operating like a finely-tuned machine in no time, maybe even by the end of this year, but in Week 1? With a rookie quarterback who was the fifth signal caller off the board? Against one of the hottest defensive minds in football? Goodness, if the Seahawks don’t win this one by double digits, it says more about them than it does about the Broncos.
