A few days ago, John Morgan over on Field Gulls (the best Seahawks blog on planet Earth) posted a must-read article. The overarching point? The 2010 Seahawks are fucked. And you know what? If I was a betting man (and thank god I'm not), I would wager he'll be right. I'm not thrilled with our situation at QB or on the D-line either, frankly.
But still, as you've read here before.. I've thrown down the gauntlet and baldly arrested that the Seahawks are going to go 9-7 and win the NFC West.
What gives?
I'll openly admit that I pounce on any bit of evidence available that gives me hope for the upcoming season. Simply from a mental health perspective, I can't go into a season expecting or hoping for failure... It just doesn't work for me. I know a lot of people do the opposite: They build a fortress of low expectations and cynicism around their hearts, to cushion the inevitable blows that defeat and disappointment land upon all of us. That's their right, but I can't do likewise.
Maybe I live in a dream world of delusion and false hope, but.. shit. I probably would have taken the blue pill and stayed in The Matrix rather than face stupid reality.
Plus, Morgan is a steely-eyed, rational student of the game. I know more about pro football than some rando you'd pull off the street, but I'm not at his level by any means. I'm just an obsessive-compulsive fan with too much time on his hands... I'm more Paul Aufiero than Doug Farrar (btw, Big Fan is up on Netflix Instant Streaming, and it's well worth 90 minutes of your time).
If we are talking about XLV, yeah, I'll admit there is almost NO chance that the Seahawks will reach or win the roman numeral game this season. But winning the NFC West? Why the fuck not? I've got more faith in Hasselbeck than Alex Smith, Sam Bradford and Matt Leinart combined.. Don't y'all? I don't see ANY NFC West team hitting the 10-win plateau this season... Don't y'all?
Are the Seahawks a better team than they were last season? Almost certainly. It's not a given that being better will result in more wins, but it's reasonable to think that it will. Inching forward from 5-11 to 7-9 is completely plausible, and with just a few lucky breaks, just a play or two per game going our way, that could become 8-8 or 9-7.
Is that an inspirational speech worthy of Any Given Sunday or Friday Night Lights? Fuck no. But it's enough for me. I see lots of reasons to be excited about the future of this team, and if I simply see improvement this fall, I'll be pleased. If I see meaningful December football, with our boys still having a shot at the postseason, I'll be duly entertained.
Just give me some fuel for my delusions... that we could get a home playoff game... that anything could happen after that... and I can keep going.
Like I told one of my students yesterday, it beats being a Browns fan.
What do you think, sirs?
PS: Here's the great Wilco tune I lifted the title of this post from... enjoy!
3 comments:
I emailed dave kreig this blog. Thanks for being a true hawks fan.
APB sports
Who wants to be a realist anyway? If every football fan was a realist, the attendances would halve overnight.
We have so many failings that all of them can't be addressed this season. Won't stop me screaming my support come the first whistle. We have things to look forward to, new players and a new regime. That's a damn fine starting point.
Fuck the realists!!!
If we had listened to the realists, we'd all be singing God Save the Queen before watching Griffey play fucking cricket!!!
3 most important reasons why we will be MUCH better than the last two years (somewhere between 7-9 and 12-4):
1) New strength and conditioning staff. When Tru went down with the same injury that Hass had the YEAR before, and dozens or maybe hundreds of snaps were taken without key starters because of GROIN injuries, the emphasis of the new conditioning staff on functional, football strength will keep starters on the field against teams that still think bench presses win games on Sunday.
2) By bringing in so many people to audition in the offseason, Carroll and company have lit a fire under the asses of everyone, in uniform and otherwise. And there will be solid players contributing later in the regular season that won't have made the final roster, but we'll know who to call when we need them, as they were in camp and know the system.
3) The absolute commitment to intensity and effort will make inferior talent overachieve. For those too cool for cliches, just suck it, because cliches are cliches because they're true:
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard".
I say 12-4 is doable with some road wins and some lucky bounces creating seized opportunities, but 7-9 with at least some more winnable losses is a giant step in the right direction.
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