The 2019 Seattle Seahawks lost a nail biter at home against the dreaded division rival San Francisco 49ers. It cost them the NFC West division title, and I am damn proud of this team.

Call me a homer. Call me a Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson apologist. I do not care. My skin is thick, and my heart is true.  I am proud of these 2019 Seahawks.

Prior to the beginning of the regular season, I predicted that they would be a playoff team. I profiled twenty players that I thought would be main reasons why the Seahawks would return to the playoffs. Some of them were big contributors, some of them weren’t, and some players that I hadn’t considered rose up and delivered.

I even predicted that they would likely finish 11-5, and possibly win back the NFC West. Guess what? They finished 11-5 and were an exact inch away from breaking the plain of the end zone to rob the division away from the talented upstart 49ers. Not only do I look smart, I smell smart, too.

Now, if you are reading this expecting me to blame Pete Carroll for not managing times outs well enough in this match, and taking a delay of game at the one yard line, thus robbing Marshawn Lynch of another goal line opportunity to dive in for a game winning score, you’re probably going to hate the following.

That delay of game did not lose this game for the Seahawks. That delay of game didn’t stop the jet sweeps and motions that the 49er offense used early and often to continue putting points on the boards for their team. That delay of game was not in pass coverage against George Kittle and Deebo Samuel. And that delay of game didn’t pick up any of the many blitzes that went against Russell Wilson.

Heading into this game, Seattle was a severely undermanned team. They played this game without their starting left tackle, starting center, starting running back, their number two and three running backs, their starting tight end, their third best receiver, their starting free safety, and perhaps their best run stopping defensive tackle.

Seattle’s depth was thin heading into this season. It was considerably thinner when they finished it out against. Yet they took this talented rival down to the wire, and they almost won.

Looking through this season, it’s pretty remarkable that they won 11 games with this roster. Yes, having an elite franchise quarterback helps, but that didn’t help the Atlanta Falcons this year, and I think Atlanta is a more talented team than Seattle (I picked them as one of Seattle’s likely losses when I made my season prediction).

Pete Carroll is the reason why this team even got to eleven wins, and if you can not recognize this, I don’t think I can help you. You’re on your own island of envy and despair, but good luck with that and all the other things in life that you need to toss blame at because the stone cold truth hurts too much.

You see, that San Francisco 49er team is WAY more talented than your beloved Seattle Seahawk team, and it’s not even close. They got a better offensive line, they got more play-makers on offense, and their defense is light years ahead of Seattle’s in terms or speed and strength. The one equalizer that Seattle has in it’s favor is Russell Wilson, and that is it, period.

Yet, Pete Carroll did what he has done all season long, and that is getting his team to believe that they can win, and then making enough adjustments at halftime to almost pull it off.

There are more talented teams than Seattle that aren’t in the playoffs this year. The Rams, Cowboys, Steelers, Browns, Falcons, Buccaneers, Colts and probably a few other teams I could list have more talented rosters. I would actually argue that the Seahawk team from last year was more talented than this Seattle one.

Think about it. In 2018, Seattle had Doug Baldwin on the offense, and Frank Clark on the defense. Outside of Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, those were probably the two most talented players on that team. Seattle replaced the elite route running and catching ability of Baldwin with rookie DK Metcalf, who had a solid year for a rookie, but who has no where near the savvy and chemistry that Baldwin had over the years with Wilson. Seattle replaced the 14 sacks of Frank Clark with Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah who’s combined effort netted Seattle 5.5 sacks total. The sack leader for Seattle in 2019 is Rasheem Green with 4.  That’s not great. In fact, that’s bad. Yet, somehow, Pete Carroll guided this young developing roster that couldn’t put together a dependable pass rush to eleven wins.

And don’t get me wrong, I full agree that Russell Wilson was a big part of this team’s success this year, as he was in the MVP discussions throughout. I think it is more than safe to say that he was the biggest part of it, but let’s not kid ourselves, if Freddie Kitchens were coaching this Russell Wilson led Seattle squad, we would probably be talking about Seattle finishing 5-11 and wasting the prime years of Wilson rather than nitpicking Carroll for a delay of game that involved a running back who had only practiced with the team for four days, that cost them five yards, and a chance to run it in at the end.

The reason why I’m bringing this up is that I have been hearing and reading some steady enough chatter here and there from those who think perhaps Carroll is washed up, that he has plagued the team all season long with poor decisions, and the team needs to move on from him.

Here is how I see it. For those who think it is time for Carroll to go, I wouldn’t hold your breath on it. I think he is going to be around for a long while still.

The truth of the matter is that this team is in year two of a dramatic rebuild from the LOB days, and it is still very much a work in progress. With $60 Million in cap space heading into 2020 and roughly ten draft picks, I would look for Seattle to be pretty aggressive in free agency, trades, and the draft to take the next step closer to becoming a true contender again. No way is Jody Allen moving on from Pete Carroll with that important of an off-season resting ahead, and with Pete Carroll being Pete Carroll, and Russell Wilson being Russell Wilson, expect Seattle to be competing for the division title next year, as well.

This is what Pete Carroll matched with Russell Wilson does. They compete in tough games, and they win more games than they lose. In eight years together, they have never had a losing season. That is a remarkable run, and these overachieving 2019 Seattle Seahawks completely represent that.

So let’s enjoy them for what they are.

They are a winning team with a winning culture, and it even brought Beastmode back when most thought that his Seattle days would be long behind him. Let’s not diminish the fact that he wanted to come back to this team after a bit of a messy exit a few years ago. In my opinion, that’s remarkable and that is another thing Pete Carroll brings.

Players, really good players, want to play in Seattle for Pete Carroll. Pro bowlers Duane Brown, and Jadeveon Clowney wanted to leave Houston for Seattle. Marshawn Lynch wanted to return to Seattle. I wouldn’t be shocked if in a year or two, Richard Sherman wants to return to Seattle.

So, enjoy the fact Seattle gets to travel next weekend to Philadelphia to play a wildcard game against the Eagles, and if they win, enjoy that they get to travel to Santa Clara for yet another rematch against these 49ers.

Most of all, enjoy knowing that you are not the fans of the Rams, Cowboys, or Browns (three overly hyped clubs that grossly underachieved this year). While other fans get to dream about the post season, Seattle fans routinely get to enjoy the playoffs.

Now is not the time to take that for granted. Now is the time to root for your team as it somehow continues to win while rebuilding at the same time, which is a really rare thing in sports.

So enjoy it, if you can, and be proud of them for what they accomplished this year, if you can. I know I am.

I’m really proud, and frankly, I think you should be, as well.

Go Hawks.