The goal for every team in the NFL is to win a Lombardi. It is the ultimate prize in all of American sports. The Seattle Seahawks are one of the rare teams in the league to have claimed one in recent memory, but unfortunately, the memory is becoming increasingly distant. February 2014 is now over a decade behind us and while those memories will always be cherished, eventually the extended good-will from winning the Super Bowl turns into longing for another bite at the apple.
Seattle has been one of the more consistently good teams in the league for the better part of the last decade, but they've had a hard ceiling. They have not progressed past the Divisional Round ever since losing Super Bowl XLIX to the New England Patriots, nor have they even won a playoff game since the 2019 season. Still, despite the recent postseason shortcomings, head coach Mike Macdonald is not deterred in his optimisim.
The Seahawks are entering into a new era for the fourth time under general manager John Schneider, and one with veteran journeyman Sam Darnold at the helm. Seattle is gambling $37.5 million dollars that the Darnold we all saw in Minnesota last year was the real deal, and Macdonald seems to share in this belief.
During the league meetings this week, Macdonald made it clear winning the Super Bowl is the Seahawks' goal, and he has faith Sam Darnold can "absolutely" lead this team to the Promised Land. Macdonald said:
“We have to create an environment where we get the best version of Sam. It’s on tape what he can do. The wins, the teammate (he is), the work ethic, but we have to create something where he’s going to work every day, he’s confident, we’re doing the things he does really well, building the squad around him, playing complementary football on the other two phases, then let him do his thing.”
Surely, one of the best ways to help create an environment that will get the "best version" of Darnold will be to develop a viable ground attack. The Seahawks frustratingly abandoned the run in several games last year - including during their 27-24 loss to Darnold's Vikings, which essentially knocked them out of the playoff picture entirely. Seattle will employ an offensive staff filled with veteran coaches, including a run game coordinator in Rick Dennison who is intimately familiar with Klint Kubiak's system. Seattle did not have a run game coordinator on staff last year, which likely led to Ryan Grubb having a blind spot on a pillar of the game Macdonald wants to lean on.
Of course, there will be no effective run game - or Lombardi - in 2025 if the Seahawks cannot find a way to fix their offensive line. Darnold struggles when pressured, more so than your average quarterback. The environment to get the "best version" of Darnold won't come to fruition if he is running for his life every time he drops back to pass. Seattle's offense arguably has a higher ceiling (on paper) with Darnold compared to Geno Smith, but it won't matter if they can't find a way to protect him. ...
