After a tremendous 2013 regular season, the Seattle Seahawks finished by dominating the heavily favored Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. But at the start of this season, the Seahawks seem to be struggling with the Super Bowl hangover.
At the start of this season, the defending champions have looked more like a dysfunctional family rather than the cohesive unit we saw last year. The Seahawks came into this season as favorites to win the Super Bowl again but haven’t shown any signs of that happening as they have looked out of sync, struggling on and off the field.
Drama in the locker room has surfaced with the recent trade of wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets. Harvin has had issues with the team about how he was being used in the offense and wasn’t clicking with his quarterback Russell Wilson, not to mention a rumored fight between him and former teammate, now Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate.
Harvin wasn’t very productive during his time with the Seahawks. He is a solid wideout, but the Seahawks didn’t utilize his ability. The offense flowed much better running the ball with Marshawn Lynch.
Speaking of Lynch, rumors surfaced Sunday that he was unlikely to return to Seattle after this season. With his training camp holdout this summer and as a possible contributor to all the locker room distractions, the Seahawks organization is fed up with Lynch, and the feeling is mutual. The Seahawks could put him on the trading block, but with injuries in the backfield, they can’t afford to replace him.
The Seahawks lost two straight games before defeating the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday 13-9. They’ve started off the season with a 4-3 record and sit third in the NFC West behind rival San Francisco 49ers and the 6-1 Arizona Cardinals, who have looked great so far this season. The next two games for the Seahawks are at home, where they have only lost two games since 2012.
With the NFC West getting stronger and six of their last nine games against teams above .500, the Seahawks need to pick up the momentum if they want to have any chance of repeating. Or like the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants back in 2013, they’ll be watching the Super Bowl from home and not in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 1.
