Seahawks Return to Power in the NFC West

The Seattle Seahawks faltered big time last year and were unable to be the dominant force in the NFC West that teams and fans had become used to. A lot of the fall back can be placed on injuries and completely inconsistent efforts from both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

However the Seahawks were unwilling to sit back and let it happen again and made some major offseason moves that should push them back towards becoming a premier NFC team. First and foremost, new head coach Jim Mora has taken over the time and drastically changed the entire team personnel which should lead directly to a team that plays harder and is more aggressive.

The team made some major subtractions as well by trading away Julian Peterson and releasing long time veterans Maurice Morris, Rocky Bernard and Floyd Womack. In the Peterson trade the team got back exciting defensive end Cory Redding who should shore up the defensive line.

The Seahawks were not done there as they continue to bring in some fresh new faces with NFL experience. They brought in free agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh to give some depth to the receiving corps that was so damaged by injuries last year. This gives former Pro Bowl QB Seattle Seahawks yet another option to throw to on top of Nate Burleson and Deion Branch.

The personnel change to bring in Greg Knapp as the offensive coordinator will bring the running game to the forefront of the offensive scheme.  That is precisely why the team made an aggressive trade to move up in the draft and acquire rookie offensive lineman Max Unger. Unger should make an impact immediately and create some nice holes for the backs.

On the defensive side of the ball the Seahawks focused more on the interior of the line than anywhere else with the additions of Redding and Colin Cole. What is exciting for the team is that opposing teams will have to put so much emphasis on those two players that all star defensive end Patrick Kerney will have a lot of space on the outside. The team also drafted possibly the best player in the draft in linebacker Aaron Curry. This gives the team possibly the very best linebacker corps in the entire league. With Lofa Tatupa and Leroy Hill joining Curry it will be almost impossible for opposing teams to move the ball. In terms of pass coverage the team brought back cornerback Ken Lucas to join Marcus Trufant, Josh Wilson and Kelly Jennings.

All in all the Seahawks made competitive moves and changes on both sides of the ball and should be extremely competitive once again this year. Opposing NFC teams will be wary of the defensive looks being thrown at them and the offense has the ability to break out at any time. While last year was a struggle, this year should be another promising one for the Seattle Seahawks.