One year ago, the Seattle Seahawks sat atop an impressive 6-1 record, where they utterly dominated almost every team in all three phases of the game offense, defense and special teams.
By the time the regular season was over, the Seahawks were the favorite to make it to the Super Bowl, and in regard to that game, well, just look at the ring running back Marshawn Lynch has.
Fast-forward to the current 2014-2015 season and critics are now talking about how the Seahawks will struggle to even make the wild card spot in the NFC.
Intense locker room issues led to the trading of standout wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets just last week, creating a media storm hours prior to the Seahawks 28-26 loss against St. Louis.
A verbal outburst by wide receiver Doug Baldwin, ”we have to quit BS-ing ourselves,” after losing to the Dallas Cowboys on week five shows that cracks are starting to form in the Seahawks previously impenetrable armor.
It seems that being the defending Super Bowl champions is much harder than most people thought.
Add all these problems together and we have a dismal Seahawks team on a two-game losing streak, struggling to find their true identity and in a mad scramble to figure out who will replace Harvin in the line-up.
It seems that every team that wins a Super Bowl one year, struggles at one point during the next season with these kinds of issues.
The almighty Baltimore Ravens with Hall-of-Fame linebacker Ray Lewis didn’t make the playoffs following the Ravens’ Super Bowl win during the 2012-2013 season, and it shocked a lot of people.
With all this said, is there any sort of solution? Indeed there is. And it involves Marshawn Lynch.
During the three losses that the Seahawks have endured this season, Marshawn Lynch only touched the ball 18 times or less: six times against San Diego, 10 times against Dallas and 18 times against St. Louis.
When Lynch touches the ball 20 times or more, the Seahawks have won every game by at least six or more points.
Coincidence? I think not.
Lynch is one of the most dominant running backs in the league at the moment, and to not give him the ball just seems absolutely ridiculous.
Being a defending champion seems to really have put a target on the Seahawks’ backs and based on their performances during this year, these attacks by their opponents are really starting to beat them down.
Thank goodness we haven’t even hit the halfway point of the regular season, and there is still time for the defending champions to turn things around.
Let’s just hope Lynch can get a few more carries and in turn take our beloved Seahawks back to where they belong.
Back on top.
