Behold, Reader. This is not a preview to pump up Seattle Seahawk fans as the NFL season begins to kickoff. I am not writing this to express blind optimism about my favorite team, either.

I am writing this to warn those quick to discount Seattle this year. Mark my words, this is team poised to wreck Sundays for millions fans across the league.

If you are a hopeful fan of Denver, Chicago, Minnesota, Miami, New England, Atlanta, and you have seen Seattle on the schedule, and you penciled in a W for your club, I hope you’re stocked piled with antacid tablets.

Seattle is going to roll on teams this year in ways I don’t think most are expecting.

I hear Mike Florio come onto local Seattle radio airwaves, and state that Geno Smith is a third tier starting quarterback, and I don’t even get upset about it. It just sounds silly in the face of so much salient data that suggests he’s more top ten-ish. So when I hear a major NFL talking head speak this way about Geno, it affirms what I think is about to happen.

Under Ryan Grubb’s play calling, Geno Smith is going to smoke teams this year in eye popping ways, and it’s going to stun folks. He is in the driver’s seat to not just remain Seattle QB1 for now, but to hold onto it perhaps a lot longer than many are anticipating.

People are free to roll their eyes at this assertion, and that is fine. I am not here to change opinion. I just exist on the internet to share what I see, and the vibes I feel.

The Seahawk beat writers are unanimous in their belief that Geno Smith is light years ahead of Sam Howell in this offense, and is poised to potentially have a very big year. These are not people paid to cover and talk about 32 teams spread across the league, and they are also not local radio hosts paid to wax on about the Mariners, Huskies, Kraken, and Storm while talking Hawks, as well. No, these are people who have been at Seahawk practices daily since July. All these beat writers are heaping praises on Geno. That should tell us something.

For myself, I had been skeptical of all of this until I showed up for a practice. What I saw was the sharpest passing I had seen out of practicing Seahawk quarterback, and I have been going to these camps for years. Geno was flawless that afternoon. I saw numerous tight spiraled, layered, downfield throws through tight windows all day long from him. It was a sharp contrast to the other two quarterbacks.

What we all caught a glimpse of from Geno, in his brief action during that opening drive of that last preseason game against Cleveland, when he torched their defense, is exactly what I saw at camp. It was completely affirming, in my eyes. Geno is going to ball out this year.

If there is one thing that I feel very confident in about this club this year, it’s all about how well Geno will fit this Ryan Grubb offense moving forward. I think there is a strong chance he will look better in it than Michael Penix Junior did at Washington the past two years.

So, while national writers such as Florio can speculate whether Seattle will pursue Dak Prescott next offseason (should he enter free agency), or whether they plan to turn the reigns over to the younger Sam Howell, or draft Deion Sanders’ kid, I sorta think that most articles due to be written in months ahead will revolve around Seattle working out a new extension for Geno Smith. This would be where I would place my chips on the Seattle quarterback speculation game, if I were a betting man at the Lummi Casino.

There are vibes about this team. They have been steady with the beat reporters, but the national media members who have come out to visit practices, are buzzing about it, as well. Former players, like Richard Sherman, who were part of Pete Carroll’s old guard and critical of the team after they fired the coach, have been visiting, and have been getting jazzed with what they witnessed. To a person, they have been singing praises of Geno, this offense, and all the cool ass shit Mike Macdonald is about to unleash with his defense.

Therefore, I am bought in wholeheartedly.

When enough people start saying the same stuff, something is definitely cooking. Macdonald will never allow his players to get ahead of themselves, but he has no reigns for me, and my optimism that he has inspired.

I believe that the Seattle Seahawks are going to kick ass this year. I think they are poised to do it.

On top of good play from the quarterback position, I think we see better offensive line play with the rising talent of Charles Cross at left tackle, and steady enough play at other positions. I think we see Grubb utilize weapons on this team in ways that we have not seen in ages. In fact, I expect huge breakout years out of Ken Walker, DK Metcalf, and Jaxon Smith Njigba this season. I see others making big contributions, as well.

We are about to see one of the most diverse group of receivers and runners even assembled out of a Seattle Seahawk team, and I cannot wait for it. Seattle is loaded with receivers who act like running backs after the catch, and they have runners capable of doing receiver stuff. Expect Grubb and Geno to have an aggressive mindset with all of them put to use.

But with all this good vibing on offense, it is the defense that stands the biggest chance of stunning the league. Since the fateful offseason, three years ago, that saw Seattle trade Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, Seattle has been loading up on its defensive line, and they are STACKED on it now.

They have spent high second round picks in back to back years on edge rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall, and they just drafted perhaps the best defensive player coming out of college this year in defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. They traded for talented defense lineman Leonard Big Cat Williams. Through free agency, they brought back bona fide badass Jarran Reed, added Swiss army knife Dre’Mont Jones, run stuffing nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, and they signed (and extended) talented edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu.

Add to this group, drafted versatile player Mike Morris, and recently added edge defender Trevis Gipson, and we might witness, this season, one of the most talented, diverse, and deep defensive fronts that Seattle has ever possessed in their fifty year history of being an NFL franchise. With this collection of talent, Mike Macdonald has it within him to morph his fronts week to week, depending on opponent. He has multiple players who can play end, tackle, and standup edge rusher. He can go 4-3 just as easily as showing 3-4 stuff. I’m fascinated to see how defensive coordinator Aden Durde and Coach Mac unleash these guys.

In fact, it was a fascinating decision to me seeing Macdonald hand pick former Dallas Cowboy defensive line coach Durde to become his first ever defensive coordinator in Seattle. Durde is credited for developing Micah Parsons, who was mostly a middle linebacker in college, into arguably the best defensive end in football in a few short seasons.

While Macdonald will initially call the plays for this revamped Seahawk defense, Durde will be groomed to eventually take the reins. In the meantime, we should expect him to develop and uncork the high upsides of Hall, Mafe, and Murphy. Do not be surprised if we see the biggest impact players on this defensive line playing on rookie contracts in short order. This potential should excite every Seahawk fan, and stress out every 49er, Ram, and Cardinals one (if AZ has fans).

But for as good as this defensive front should be, the real stars of this defense could come from its backfield with cornerbacks Riq Woolen, Devin Witherspoon, and Tre Brown. In fact, of all the talent on this roster who could garnish All Pro votes this year, I would pick Woolen and Spoon to lead the pack, even with the explosive talents of JSN, K9, and DK on the offensive side.

For as much of a ring leader as Spoon is expected to be, the player taking the biggest leap forward could become Riq Woolen, and if that happens, I think defense is going to be something to truly behold. After a promising rookie season in 2022, Woolen took a step backward last year, apparently due to injuries. No player on this team (outside of the quarterback) has more to prove to critics than the highly talented Woolen, and every indication through camp suggests that he is about to take a huge step forward this year. There exists no player on this roster with freakish athletic upside higher than that of this guy, and if he matches fundamentals with his God given natural talents, watch the fuck out, America.

Additionally, we should consider Tre Brown a quality starting cornerback in this league, and entering into a contract year, the expectation for him should be seeing him play with his head on fire every time he steps onto the field in nickel situations, which we should see this team play in very frequently each and every week. Don’t be surprised if Brown becomes talked about in December as a player the team must retain.

As for the safeties and off ball linebackers, I like this collection. There exists a glaring lack of big names in the middle of this defense, and it is something that will take Seattle fans time to get used to after a decade and a half knowing the names of Kam, Bobby, Earl, KJ, Quandre, and Jamal, but I think they are destined to enjoy what they see out of these no names led by Jullian Love, and a fella named Tyrel Dodson.

In fact, of all the new additions to this defense who I think stands the biggest chance to shine in front of fans, I think it is Dodson at middle linebacker. Macdonald’s unique scheme that offers complex rushes and zone blitzes is tailor made for a hyper active middle linebacker who can quickly attack the line and drop into coverage. Pro Football Focus loves Dodson’s abilities to do these things, and having only been signed to one year deal, he will have every incentive to play like a bat out of hell for a larger deal. Place your chips on this guy having a big year.

But these players are not the sole reason why I feel so optimistic about this team. The reason why I think they are poised to surprise is that they now have the coaches in place to hold players more accountable in terms of fundamentals, and scheme them in better ways that will play to their strengths.

With Ryan Grubb calling the offense, I think we see more of the West Virginia version of Geno Smith, and not the held back Shane Waldron Seahawk era one. Grubb will adjust to suit what Geno is most comfortable doing, and he will devise ways to get the most out of JSN, Tyler Lockett, and DK Metcalf.

On the other side of the ball, prepare to have a lot of fun watching this team. Aden Durde and Mike Macdonald are forming a defense that will best fit its talent. Teams studying Baltimore Raven tape to prepare for it could be walking into a trap. I think it gets morphed into its own beast, and I am excited to see it unfold.

Perhaps the biggest thing weighing in favor of Seattle this year is that they will be playing this season largely pressure free in comparison to other teams inside their division. In this sense, not only will they have the advantage of new schemes that divisional opponents will be unfamiliar with, they also won’t have the pressure from fans placed on them like other NFC West clubs will have.

There will most certainly be an immense degree of pressure on the San Francisco 49ers to get back to the Super Bowl this year before they need to pony up to pay Brock Purdy, and breakup key parts of their talented roster. There will also be pressure on Sean McVay in Los Angeles to build off of a successful campaign last year while now without the talent of Aaron Donald on his defense. I would suggest there is also pressure on the coaching staff in Arizona to take a big step forward in year two of their regime.

In Seattle, however, Macdonald and his staff will not feel this level heat. Their job is to set the new foundation of the Seattle Seahawks, and they have a talented enough roster to work quickly doing so.

Additionally, these players will most certainly be champing at the bit to prove any low expectation narratives of this team wrong. Talented veteran players who have been around for a while like DK Metcalf, Geno, Tyler Lockett, Charles Cross, K9, Nwosu, Mafe, Jarran Reed, and Woolen are going to be highly motivated to get past the underachieving rut this team had found themselves in during the last few years of the Pete Carroll regime.

You put these things together, and it becomes easy envision a fun year of football in Seattle.

Historically, teams like this are dangerous in the league. The Rams became this in 2016, in McVay’s first year. Houston was that last year. Jacksonville was that the year before. The Eagles were that a few years back with their new coaching staff.

When a talented, under coached team gets a fresh perspective placed upon it by a new staff, often times, good things happen. I think Seattle is well positioned in year one of the Mike Macdonald regime to be this sort of club this year.

So, sorry, Mike Florio, but I think you’re going to be dead wrong about Geno Smith. That’s okay. You can shift your Dak speculation to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Steelers, or the New York Giants.

Could I be wrong on all of this? Sure, I could. Seattle could suffer a rash of injuries to numerous key starters, and that prevents them from seeing any sort of winning season in year one of Macdonald.

But let me ask you this question.

If they become injury riddled, and yet still fight hard, and are competitive in games, and they look much more formidable than their win/loss record suggests, and they end up with a top ten pick next Spring, is that going to be a bad thing?

I don’t know everything when it comes to football, but I do know house money whenever I see it, and I see nothing but blue and green roses for this team moving forward. Let the chips fly as they may. I’m excited.

Go Hawks.