LA Rams: Wednesday walkabout of the NFC West

Seattle Seahawks

Finally, we finish with the Seattle Seahawks, who seem to rely far too much upon the magical abilities of QB Russell Wilson to make things happen.  Is he losing his touch? Or were the Seahawks unwise to deplete their offensive line in hopes that Wilson could compensate?

Jay Blucher: Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said at the end of this last season that the team needs to run the ball better and run the ball more, and I totally agree with that assessment.

If this team is to have any success, it needs to have a more balanced attack and that effort begins with upgrading an all too porous offensive line to better protect their QB and run block.

The team relied far too much on Russell Wilson and it certainly looked as if he was scrambling for his life on just about every down. That reliance ultimately resulted in their offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer being ushered out the door.

I believe they should start with their offensive line. They need to find a replacement for departing left guard Mike Iupati, but the ‘Hawks have but four total draft picks. Their first pick isn’t until the second round and then their next three picks are in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds. I think they will be hard-pressed to find a stud offensive lineman in those later rounds.

Having said that, however, I sure like that big kid out of Notre Dame, Aaron Banks. That guy showcased his road-grading offensive line talent this year. At 6’5 and 320 pounds, he could be a difference-maker there for them.

Bret Stuter:  The Seattle Seahawks were all about ‘Let Russell Cook’ until he ran aground of the LA Rams in their first encounter in LA. Wilson struggled behind a porous offensive line, and that forced him to make off-balanced and off-scheduled throws. Ultimately, the Rams got to Wilson again in the Wild Card round, forcing the Seahawks to fire offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. It seems that head coach Pete Carroll wanted the Seahawks to run the ball more often. That’s tough to do behind a bad offensive line.

There’s the rub. The Seahawks are only ‘great’ when they dominate on defense, and when they rely upon Wilson to save their asses on the offense. I feel bad for him.  RB Marshawn Lynch was the ideal complement to Wilson. Wilson plays the ideal fox, the shrewd and savvy quarterback who can easily make defenses appear foolish and out of position. And then Lynch, who was a bowling ball that knocked defenders out of the way.

Wilson took a pounding this season and has been ravaged every year that Lynch has not lined up behind him. That Seattle Seahawks offensive line is a huge need, but the front office and coaching staff never seems to think so.  If the Seahawks fix the offensive line, they have a great foundation. But that has not happened for a while.