JIM MOORE

Moore: With the way this Seahawks season is going, nothing’s shocking

Oct 28, 2019, 10:37 AM | Updated: 10:40 am

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll...

Despite a 6-2 record, it wouldn't surprise Jim Moore to see the Seahawks finish 8-8. (AP)

(AP)

From reaction I’ve seen after a 27-20 win in Atlanta, the Seahawks must be the worst 6-2 team in NFL history. I actually hope that perception continues. If it does, the Seahawks can use it as extra motivation to make a run at the NFC West title.

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I admit to being more of a member in that camp than the one that thinks the Seahawks are as good as their 6-2 record suggests. In the first half of the season, they faced opponents with a combined record of 25-34-1. Their six wins came over teams with a combined record of 13-31-1. Their only win over a winning team came against the 5-3 Rams, and they needed a missed 44-yard field goal by Greg Zeurlein to make that happen.

In the second half of the season, they face opponents with a combined record of 38-20-1 and just two teams with losing records – Tampa Bay (2-5) this week and Arizona (3-4-1) in the next-to-last week.

If you’re optimistic and believe in paces over the course of a season, the Seahawks will go 12-4 and contend for a Super Bowl berth. I’m neither optimistic or pessimistic, guessing they’ll go 4-4 the rest of the way to finish 10-6 and earn another wild-card playoff spot.

But if you think they’re an illegitimate 6-2, I wouldn’t blame you at all. Remember when the Mariners were 54-32 in 2018 after winning an inordinate number of one-run games? The Seahawks could be the NFL’s version of THAT team. The Mariners went 35-41 the rest of the way.

If you’re that person, you point to a stat Brock Huard brought up Monday morning on Blue 42 during 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant. He said the Seahawks are 30th in the league, ahead of only winless Cincinnati and Miami, allowing 6.2 yards per play. The Seahawks aren’t just slightly below average on defense; they’re worse than that, and their winning ways can’t possibly continue because of it. You think they’re more lucky than good.

The main reason I have them going 4-4 in their last eight games is the same reason why they’ve been playoff contenders for the past eight years: Russell Wilson usually compensates for the Seahawks’ flaws.

And when you’re in the 4-4 camp, you think the defense can’t get worse, it can only get better, and you point to Marquise Blair becoming a starter at one of the safety spots. You also hope that Quandre Diggs, the newcomer from Detroit, will be an upgrade on the back end of the defense. And you still maintain that the pass rush will improve once Jadeveon Clowney, Ziggy Ansah and Jarran Reed get more time together.

You pick the final record, and whatever it is, it wouldn’t floor me. Well, I guess 6-10, 7-9, 14-2 or 13-3 would. But 8-8 or 12-4 wouldn’t. Thing is, if Matt Schaub can throw 460 yards against the Seahawks’ defense, nothing should shock you with this team on the bad side, but with a QB like Wilson, nothing should shock you on the good side either.

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