The Seahawks weren't that far from being a Super Bowl team last year. But for a last-minute, Week 17 defeat to San Francisco, they'd have been NFC West champs and the higher playoff seed. So it's a little surprising that they're virtually starting over on the offensive line.
In the last few days, they've cut starting center Justin Britt and starting guard D.J. Fluker. They let starting tackle Germain Ifedi leave in free agency, as well as backup George Fant. The line will have at least three new starters in 2020.
Perhaps third-rounder Damien Lewis will fill one guard spot, while Joey Hunt -- who replaced an injured Britt last year -- will be serviceable at center. But the noteworthy free agent addition was former Jet tackle Brandon Shell. Shell wasn't a strength on a bad line a year ago, so unlikely he'll be an improvement over Ifedi.
Seattle does bring back Duane Brown, solidifying the left tackle spot, and Mike Iupati, who will probably start at left guard. But Iupati was iffy (and dealt with a neck injury late in the year), while the other three spots look suspect. Maybe Seattle still hopes to add a veteran? As is, it's hard to see how this line will be improved, or even as good as it was a year ago.
Russell Wilson got sacked 48 times a year ago, so you can argue, "What should Seattle be clinging to?" Maybe those protection issues are behind the overhaul.
But some of those sacks are on Wilson, who tends to try and extend plays, scrambling around and hoping something develops, rather than get rid of it. Sometimes it works; no knock on Wilson. But it's not as if he was completely under siege on pass plays either.
And the run-blocking on last year's line was very good. Seattle ranked 4th in rushing offense, and 5th even if you remove quarterback scrambling from the equation.
| TEAM RUSHING, 2019 (RUNNING BACKS ONLY) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 1 | San Francisco | 427 | 2051 | 4.80 | 19 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 429 | 2002 | 4.67 | 17 |
| 3 | Baltimore | 393 | 1954 | 4.97 | 14 |
| 4 | Indianapolis | 399 | 1832 | 4.59 | 13 |
| 5 | Seattle | 396 | 1820 | 4.60 | 12 |
| 6 | Dallas | 387 | 1812 | 4.68 | 14 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 368 | 1775 | 4.82 | 16 |
| 8 | Cleveland | 358 | 1743 | 4.87 | 12 |
| 9 | Oakland | 399 | 1699 | 4.26 | 10 |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 386 | 1684 | 4.36 | 14 |
| 11 | Green Bay | 356 | 1582 | 4.44 | 17 |
| 12 | New England | 400 | 1560 | 3.90 | 14 |
| 13 | Houston | 342 | 1530 | 4.47 | 8 |
| 14 | Carolina | 315 | 1525 | 4.84 | 17 |
| 15 | Denver | 360 | 1520 | 4.22 | 11 |
| 16 | New Orleans | 333 | 1515 | 4.55 | 10 |
| 17 | Buffalo | 340 | 1447 | 4.26 | 4 |
| 18 | LA Chargers | 340 | 1399 | 4.11 | 12 |
| 19 | Detroit | 353 | 1385 | 3.92 | 6 |
| 20 | Washington | 315 | 1371 | 4.35 | 7 |
| 21 | Cincinnati | 331 | 1307 | 3.95 | 5 |
| 22t | Arizona | 280 | 1292 | 4.61 | 14 |
| 22t | Kansas City | 311 | 1292 | 4.15 | 13 |
| 24 | Jacksonville | 309 | 1287 | 4.17 | 3 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 344 | 1286 | 3.74 | 7 |
| 26 | NY Giants | 301 | 1279 | 4.25 | 9 |
| 27 | LA Rams | 334 | 1268 | 3.80 | 17 |
| 28 | Tampa Bay | 340 | 1221 | 3.59 | 14 |
| 29 | Atlanta | 315 | 1171 | 3.72 | 9 |
| 30 | Chicago | 319 | 1135 | 3.56 | 6 |
| 31 | NY Jets | 344 | 1133 | 3.29 | 3 |
| 32 | Miami | 281 | 833 | 2.96 | 5 |
With the changes, maybe Wilson will wind up enjoying better protection. But I wonder if the ground game will be as good.
--Andy Richardson