It has been nearly a decade since we had a team that won back-to-back Super Bowls (New England Patriots in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX). But when the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks kick off the 2014 NFL season tonight against the Green Bay Packers (8:30 PM EST, NBC) they will look to do what Tom Brady and the 2003-04 Patriots did: repeat as Super Bowl champs.
To describe how hard it is to repeat, consider this: no team has repeated as Super Bowl champions since the 2004 Patriots, and the last team to return to the playoffs after winning a Super Bowl were the 2007 Indianapolis Colts.
While that may seem like a stretch of an accomplishment in today’s NFL — and a question we have asked about every defending Super Bowl champion in their season opener — a Super Bowl repeat may not be as farfetched as one may think for two reasons, the “Legion of Boom” and the consistency of quarterback Russell Wilson.
“This team doesn’t want to win one championship, they want to win multiple championships,” former Seahawks fullback Michael Robinson said on NFL AM Thursday morning.
Last year, the Seahawks were led by the “Legion of Boom” secondary of corners Richard Sherman and Walter Thurmond and Brandon Browner along with safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. But with Thurmond (Giants) and Browner (Patriots) gone to due to free agency the question now is does Seattle have enough depth in the secondary, let alone the entire defense to replace those who left during the offseason.
“The question to me, is going to be the depth,” former Seahawk great Warren Moon said.
Overall, Seattle led the league in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense during the regular season.
“Last year they had a lot of depth, especially on the defensive line. They shuffled guys in and out of the lineup and the backup guys were almost as productive as the starters. Nobody had to play too much and they were really fresh at the end of the year. You saw that in the playoffs and the Super Bowl. We have to see if some young guys come through and they can have that again. Injuries always come into play. If they stay relatively healthy, they have as good a chance as anyone.”
Those linemen that Moon is talking about, Red Bryant, Chris Clemons and Clinton McDonald, totaled for 11 ½ of the team’s 43 sacks in 2013.
They did, however, keep a majority of the team’s championship defense in-tact, re-signing Sherman and Thomas to extensions during the offseason as well. Both of the team’s star defensive backs made up for 13 of the “Legion of Boom’s” 28 interceptions last year along with tally 29 of Seattle’s 111 pass defenses.
Along with Seattle’s dominating secondary, almost all eyes will be on third year quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson threw for 3,357 yards last year with 26 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, along with 539 rushing yards with a touchdown.
Seattle is looking to give Wilson more responsibility going into year three and looking for him to lead this team to a repeat title. He is the first quarterback ever to record a passer rating of at least 100 in his first two seasons.
The thing with Wilson is that he’s only going to get better.
Wilson has already proven he can throw the deep ball, and with (a healthier) Percy Harvin and Jermaine Kearse, Wilson will continue to show off his arm in a 2014 contract year. Keep in mind, despite his success overall in just two seasons, Wilson has yet to throw for more than 3,400 yards.
He has also completed over 63 percent of his passes in his first two years and has recorded an overall touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2-1 (52 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in his career so far.)
“I think you’re going to see the same offensive style but it’ll be more explosive,” Moon said about Seattle’s offense. “Kearse can make some big plays. Harvin is back and he can make some things happen. That’s an element you didn’t see as much last year.”
“I think he’ll do more with them in terms of having some more explosive plays down the field.”
The thing with Seattle is that as dominant as they were last year during their title run, the Seahawks have a lot of room to improve. With an already established and improving defense along with a quarterback that has yet to come close to the peak of his career, Seattle has the makings to begin a possible dynasty.
Take that roster and toss is the teaching-style coaching of now fifth-year head coach Pete Carroll, and Seattle seems to be an overall dominant force in the NFL for the next several years, something that will either be proven right or wrong after tonight’s game against the Packers.
At least this time there won’t be replacement refs or a “Fail Mary.”