State of the team, Week 14: At Jacksonville

Despite flaws, Hawks still can beat anyone — time to prove it

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Logo -- At JacksonvilleComing off their watershed win against the Eagles, the Seahawks had a chance to confirm they were ready for a big run into the postseason. All they needed to do was beat the NFL’s best defense a week after beating the best offense.

They couldn’t do it, though, and now they have to beat the Rams next week — and the final two on top of that — to assure themselves of a sixth straight postseason. If they lose another game, they will need big help to get into the playoffs in a loaded NFC.

As ugly as that 30-24 loss in Jacksonville was, the Seahawks showed enough for us to think they still could make a run to the Super Bowl — assuming Russell Wilson quits throwing interceptions and Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright don’t miss any time.

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The roster, Week 14: At Jacksonville

Hawks finally found their five O-linemen

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Logo -- At JacksonvilleAs Luke Joeckel returns to Jacksonville to face the team that made him the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft, the Seahawks finally have put together a quintet of blockers that could carry them the rest of this season — and perhaps for the next few.

The crew of (from left) Duane Brown, Joeckel, Justin Britt, Ethan Pocic and Germain Ifedi looks like the best Seattle has had in two seasons. It should be, based on draft pedigree — Brown, Joeckel and Ifedi were first-round picks and Britt and Pocic second-rounders.

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Playoffs, Schedule, State of the team

Playoff scenarios as final quarter begins

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No. 2 seed scenarioAmazing what one big win can do for a flagging franchise trying to find its footing.

After the Seahawks had lost two straight home games for only the second time with Russell Wilson, they were on the outside looking in at the postseason picture. But they quickly dug out of the slump with an upset victory over the NFC’s top team, Philadelphia.

Now the Hawks (8-4) suddenly own their destiny again, and Atlanta helped their pursuit of a top-two seed by knocking off the Saints on Thursday night.

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Contracts, The roster

Key guys playing big roles in contract years; who might be back?

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Salary cap logoThree-quarters of the way through the season, the Seahawks are finally starting to look like the Super Bowl contender we all expected.

Well, not exactly like we all expected.

Having lost three star defenders and their preferred starting running back, while dealing with a variety of other injuries and issues (penalties, offensive line shuffling, etc.), they have had a lot to overcome and have changed in unexpected ways. That explains why it took them 12 games to look like one of the NFC’s top teams.

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Week 13: Philadelphia

‘It’s December — time to be great’

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logo-philadelphiaDon’t sleep on the Seahawks — at least now that they’re awake themselves.

K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner took offense that the Hawks were underdogs to the Eagles at home and people were writing them off. But the Seahawks had only themselves to blame after losing two straight home games they could have won (or tied in the case of the Falcons).

To shut people up, the Hawks had to open some eyes and prove they were still contenders. And they did that vs. the Eagles, coming up with their best win of the season, 24-10 and making it look like the Hawks are ready to make their typical December run. They’re a league-best 20-5 in the final month with Russell Wilson.

“It’s December,” Wilson said. “It’s time to play. It’s time to be great.”

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Week 13: Philadelphia

Defining game: Wilson is 5-0 in his birthday week

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logo-philadelphiaHow apropos that the 10-win Eagles come to town this week — giving the Seahawks their annual defining game at the usual moment, right after Russell Wilson’s birthday.

The Seahawks seem to have a watershed game right around Wilson’s birthday (Nov. 29) every year, and they are 5-0 in games played on or immediately following his big day. They’ll look to make it 6-0 against the juggernaut Eagles.

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Injury report, The roster

Hawks face a Lynch scenario with Avril, Kam

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Seahawks bandagesIn a cruel twist, the Seahawks could lose two of their star defenders to injury-forced retirement in the next few months.

Kam Chancellor will join Cliff Avril on the sideline for the rest of the season with a similar spinal concern, as Avril was set to have surgery to repair a disk in his neck. Pete Carroll said both will have to decide whether to try to continue their careers next year.

So now the Seahawks find themselves in a Marshawn Lynch situation again — needing to know the fate of these stars by early February so they can move forward with the rest of their roster.

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Week 13: Philadelphia

Hawks go from 10-loss team to 10-win team

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logo-philadelphiaA win against a 10-loss team showed us nothing about the Seahawks we didn’t already know, but a win against a 10-win team Sunday night would tell us a whole lot we didn’t expect.

The 24-13 win over the 49ers was just as ugly as expected and the Seahawks had most of the same troubles that have plagued them all year — scoring in the first half (just seven points), running the ball (68 yards by the running backs), throwing interceptions and missing kicks. The only weakness that seemed stronger this week was penalties — they broke their five-game streak of 100-yard days.

Beating the 10-loss 49ers was no statement. But, if the Hawks had lost, it would have said a lot — i.e., that they were not a playoff team. That is still in question, since the Hawks, even at 7-4, are outside the playoff picture right now.

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Week 12: At San Francisco

Hawks recover from horrible first half to beat 49ers

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Logo -- At San FranciscoRussell Wilson shook off a first-play interception to account for three touchdowns as the Seahawks handed the San Francisco 49ers their 10th loss of the season Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

Wilson ran for one score in the first quarter and found his tight ends for scores on the first two drives of the second half as Seattle won 24-13.

The 49ers fell to 1-10 as they lost to the Seahawks for the eighth straight time. The Seahawks (7-4) remained a game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West. The Rams (8-3) ended New Orleans’ winning streak at eight games.

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Contracts, The roster

Head-scratching moves by Carroll, Schneider

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Salary cap logoPete Carroll and John Schneider have made some head-scratching decisions this week.

First, Carroll made a string of admitted errors that helped his team lose at home to Atlanta on Monday. And now Schneider is backstepping on a key move he made a few weeks ago, dropping Dwight Freeney because the Seahawks decided they can no longer afford him.

Schneider chose to drop the productive 37-year-old pass rusher because the Hawks suddenly ran into a big injury storm — losing Richard Sherman and possibly Kam Chancellor for the season. Schneider could have gone to another vet, perhaps Bobby Wagner, for some cap relief. But, the Hawks had 11 defensive linemen and Dion Jordan has played well in his two games, so Schneider decided to lop one of his few luxury players.

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