Johnathan Hankins. Photo Credit: Scott Boehm/Associated Press

Not many teams can say they had a better free agency period than the Seattle Seahawks. After trading and then signing an extension for perennial All-Pro wide receiver Percy Harvin, the Seahawks then signed defensive end Cliff Avril to a two-year, $14 million deal. Avril is coming off a nine-and-a-half sack season with the Detroit Lions. Then just when it seemed like they were done, the Seahawks made a splash and signed defensive tackle Michael Bennett to a one-year deal. He, like Avril, is coming off a nine-sack season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but is dealing with a rotator cuff injury.

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Throughout the 2011 season, the Seahawks’ defensive line became the strength of the defense with Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, Alan Branch and Chris Clemons playing stout against the run and taking up multiple offensive linemen, giving the linebackers room to roam free and make tackles. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley had freedom to bring in multiple defensive backs to defend against the pass without being worried of getting burned by the run.

The story turned out to be a bit different in 2012, as the defensive line regressed in overall production and fell behind the defensive backs – or, the “Legion of Boom” as they rightfully dub themselves – as the leaders of the Seahawks’ fourth ranked defense, only giving up 306 yards per game. The defensive line struggled to put consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback for most of the season and even got gashed a few times on the ground (remember Miami?).

One of the most important issues John Schneider and Pete Carroll will have to address this off-season is what to do with left defensive end Chris Clemons. Clemons just came off his third straight year of double digit sack production, but he is also 31 years old and tore his ACL and meniscus in the playoff game against the Washington Redskins on the absolutely atrocious FedEx Field turf.

Photo Credit: Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

As we all get ready to endure a Super Bowl surely to be filled with plenty of heartwarming stories about the Harbleah Harbaugh brothers, camera shots of Colin Kaepernick kissing his biceps with a dorky smile on his face, and Ray Lewis bawling uncontrollably at the 50-yard line (conveniently surrounded by a couple dozen cameras), Seahawks fans sit at home asking themselves, “what if?”

Instead of driving ourselves insane with the thought that Russell Wilson could be preparing for the first ever Super Bowl won by a rookie quarterback, it’s a better idea to look back at what made the 2012-2013 so memorable, and, really, quite improbable.

9) The Richard Sherman saga, part one

If there’s one thing I learned this season, it’s that Richard Sherman can (and will) do whatever the heck he wants.

Last October, when Sherman picked off a Tom Brady pass with 4:52 left in the third quarter of an eventual Seahawks win, Brady apparently told Sherman and safety Earl Thomas to "see him after the game when [the Patriots] win.”

Well, Sherman did, and posted this since deleted picture on his Twitter page:

After the game, Sherman told reporters that “every TV timeout, I went up and said it right to [Brady]: 'Please keep trying me. I'm going to take it from you.'”

From that point on, Richard Sherman led the league in hatred from opposing fans for a cornerback. And I think he’s okay with that.

Somehow, the Seahawks only have six games remaining in the regular season. Is it just me, or does the NFL season go by faster and faster with each passing year? Nonetheless, Seattle is 6-4, and holds the 6th and final playoff spot in the NFC. So how did they get to this point? Let's take a position-by-position look at the team.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson has steadily improved his play and barring injury, he will be the Seahawks starter the rest of the way. In the first few games, the playcalling was way too conservative, leading some to believe if Wilson was the right choice at QB. The coaching staff eventually loosened the reins, and since then Wilson has been efficient. Wilson has 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions in the past five games. His mobility has always been there, but recently his ability to step up in the pocket and find throwing lanes down the middle has been great to watch. This added element makes him a threat in and out of the pocket. Moving forward, this seems to be another genius draft pick from the front office. Grade: B

Editor's note (from Alex Gallant): Down here in Phoenix, I co-host a radio show, the 9th Circle, and we had Seahawks writer Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune on yesterday to talk about the Seahawks/Packers game. Give it a listen, there's good stuff throughout from Mr. Williams. The link is below. Enjoy!

Seahawks Interview with Eric Williams of Tacoma News Tribune

                                                                      Photo Credit: John Rieger/US Presswire

Russell Wilson took the city by storm last Friday night in Kansas City, and in doing so also stole the competition right out of Matt Flynn’s hands. Wilson put up stellar numbers including almost 200 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air and another 58 yards on the ground against a Kansas City defense that ranked 12^th in the league last year. Ultimately, Wilson’s play the first three weeks of preseason forced Pete Carroll’s hand. Even when he was up against 2^nd and 3^rd string players, Wilson looked like he was playing to win the starting job while Flynn looked like he was simply trying not to lose it. The only way for Carroll to stay true to his “comPETE” mantra was to name Russell Wilson the starter, and that’s exactly what he did early Sunday evening.

                                                                  Photo Credit: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Tennessee Titans 27-17 Saturday night at CenturyLink Field in each team's first preseason game. Matt Flynn got the start under center in the first half for Seattle, while rookie Russell Wilson took the reins in the second half. The defense appeared as good as advertised throughout as well, which should be a welcome sign to head coach Pete Carroll. Here are a few notes and observations from the game:

-It is still too early to judge the quarterback battle. In this contest, Matt Flynn was good, not great. But he didn't really get a chance to showcase his arm. The playcalling was very scripted throughout the first half, and most of his throws were on short routes. In the second half, Russell Wilson had more of an opportunity to make throws down the field, including a nice TD pass to Braylon Edwards in the 3rd quarter. But again, this was against a 2nd and 3rd string defensive unit. In the end, the QB battle will have to continue for at least another week. It wouldn't be surprising if either Flynn or Wilson were under center week 1.

Kellen Winslow Jr.
Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

The Seahawks signed Zach Miller in free agency last year with the thought that he could team up with John Carlson and form a tight-end combo that could rival the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

Well, that didn’t work out as planned to say the least. Carlson suffered a season ending labrum injury in training camp and Zach Miller caught just 25 passes on 44 targets for 233 yards and no touchdowns primarily because the injury-weakend offensive line forced Miller to stay in and block.

Carlson has since left for Minnesota in free agency and for a while the state of the Seahawks’ tight ends looked pretty dire.

Enter Kellen Winslow Jr.

Sidney Rice
Photo Credit: FieldGulls.com

Forget the quarterback “battle.” The real battle going on in Seahawks training camp right now is the fight for the likely 6 wide receiver spots the team will carry. The team currently has 13 wide receivers in training camp.

Before we speculate on who might go where, let’s name the receivers that are a lock to make the team.

LOCKS:

Doug Baldwin: Obviously this is a no-brainer. The Stanford alum lead the team last year with 51 receptions for 788 yards and 4 touchdowns. Baldwin is only 5'10", 189 lbs, but runs very crisp routes and can find holes right behind the linebackers to let the quarterback zip the ball into his reliable hands. Expect a similar performance in 2012, with maybe a couple less catches.

Week 1: @ Arizona Cardinals

Kevin Kolb finally realizes how big of a mistake it was going to Arizona as Bruce Irvin sacks him 12 times while foaming at the mouth.

SEA 23, ARI 13 (1-0)


Week 2: Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo hides in a CenturyLink Field bathroom stall with the thought of seeing Terrell Owens again.

SEA 27, DAL 23 (2-0)

Week 3: Green Bay

Richard Sherman makes a comment about Brett Farve, which causes Aaron Rodgers to burst into a fit of rage.

SEA 13, GB 34 (2-1)

Week 4: @ St. Louis Rams

Los Angeles decides to annex the Rams during the middle of the game. Luckily, all the players escape as the roof gets caved in Kingdome style.

SEA 24, STL 10 (3-1)