The reason behind the Seahawks offense's sluggish start to 2016
When the Seattle Seahawks signed quarterback Russell Wilson to a four-year contract extension in January 2015, they did so knowing that down the line, sacrifices would have to be made.
The NFL has a salary cap, and every team has to split up that same-sized pie into 53 pieces, and with Wilson's new contract and the team's other defensive and offensive standouts — the core of the team — needing a larger slice in the offseasons to come, something had to give.
The Seahawks have scored only one touchdown so far this season, and it’s clear that the sacrifices that were made to the offensive line are to blame for those offensive struggles.
According to OverTheCap, no team is spending less money on offensive linemen than the Seahawks this season. It’s not even close — the 31st ranked team, the Giants, is spending 50 percent more than Seattle.
Last season, the Seahawks had arguably the worst offensive line in football — it allowed 114 quarterback hits despite having one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league.
Still, despite the obvious problems, they allowed their top offensive lineman — left tackle Russell Okung — to walk in free agency.
Without Okung, the Seahawks’ offensive line has regressed even further: Seattle has shown a limited run game in the first two contests and the line has allowed 18 total hits on Wilson.
Last week, against a Dolphins defense that looked like a sieve Sunday against New England, the Seahawks needed a late push to score their only touchdown of the game. Against the Rams in Week 2, they weren’t able to score a touchdown.
In all, Seattle is averaging 7.5 points per game in 2016.
The Seahawks won’t face defensive lines as good as the Dolphins' or Rams' all season, but there aren’t reinforcements coming along the offensive line either. The pressure is likely to be constant in 2016, and that takes away a lot of the big-play passing game the Seahawks are looking to execute — there's just not enough time to execute.
It puts more onus on the running backs to be exceptional, something that they haven't proven capable of doing in Marshawn Lynch’s absence.
It's only Week 2, and the Seahawks are 1-1, but Seattle have a problem that doesn't look like it will be going away anytime soon, and it’s one they could have seen coming two years ago.
#Seahawks drive chart in '16:
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) September 18, 2016
PUNT
FG
PUNT
INT
PUNT
PUNT
FG
PUNT
DOWNS
FUMBLE
PUNT
TD ?
PUNT
FG
PUNT
PUNT
FUMBLE
PUNT
PUNT
PUNT
PUNT
FUMBLE
