Are Seahawks as close to contending again as Pete Carroll says?

The Seahawks finished up a disappointing 2021 season with back-to-back wins, but the team still finished 7-10 and in last place in the NFC West.

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Despite the poor season as a whole, the ever optimistic Pete Carroll doesn’t think his team is far off from being a Super Bowl contender going forward.

“I think it’s right there. I mean, I wouldn’t want to play us right now if I was another team,” the Seahawks head coach said during Monday’s Pete Carroll Show on 710 ESPN Seattle, the morning after an impressive 38-30 win over the 11-6 Arizona Cardinals. “I think we have the elements that make you really dangerous that you can’t pinpoint where you’ve got to stop us. The defense is playing well enough, the kicking game is good enough, and when you have that foundation of the run game, then it’s a tough formula (to play against). It’s always been. We’ve been playing like that for years.

“We have a ton of stuff to look forward to with this team and the players that are making up the nucleus of it. I think it’s really an exciting time for us. I’m really pleased that we finished with a real clear illustration of who we are.”

But are the Seahawks really as close to being a championship club as Carroll appears to believe? Here’s what former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps said during Monday’s edition of Jake and Stacy on 710 ESPN Seattle:

“When you hear from coach Carroll there (about the) clear illustration of who they are, I 100% agree with that, that this is something that they can build off of,” Heaps said. “(It’s) an identity, a real true understanding of who they are, what they want to be, how it can all come together, and that is really important for the visualization of your team, of the players in that locker room ultimately knowing the standard, knowing how to get it done and being able to do it.”

As far as whether the team is close to being a Super Bowl team, however…

“I don’t believe they’re that close,” Heaps said.

Heaps believes the Seahawks’ offseason approach will dictate just how close they truly are.

“The reason why I say that is I believe that they have some serious additions that they need to make to this roster in order to make that happen,” he said. “It feels like a long way away, but it’s not. It’s just a different change in approach in terms of free agency, in terms of the help that you get in from the outside in terms of the draft, in terms of free agency that I believe will make a big difference with this group overall.

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“Can they make the tweaks and changes enough to be able to get themselves back? I believe it’s in their hands, it’s out in front for them for the taking. We’ll see if they’re able to, you know, make the proper adjustments able to really truly evaluate their roster in a way that ultimately helps them put together a team that can compete for the ultimate prize, the ultimate trophy, which is a Super Bowl.”

Listen to the full second hour of Monday’s Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.

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