THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Regardless of what Richard Sherman might think, nobody that really, really pays attention to the Seattle Seahawks really thinks the team’s championship window is closing after just four years.
Maybe it’s been pushed down slightly, but closed, not a chance.
OVER THE last four years, the Seahawks have advanced at least as far as the divisional round in each year, even advancing to two Super Bowls and winning one.
Who thought that was possible in the 90’s, when the team struggled through 2-14 seasons, the Rick Mirer years and playing at Husky Stadium when the Kingdome was — at that time — falling apart and needed renovations just so that the team could continue to miss the postseason. This team isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon, as they’ve shown in the last four years of playoff ups and downs.
Seattle isn’t drafting near the top of the NFL Draft anymore. Memories of home games at Husky Stadium are a distant memory, especially to those that also forget that the team actually played in the AFC before switching conferences due to realignment in the 2002 season.
Sunday’s loss was tough, but when a team takes a 31-0 lead at halftime, it’s not that often that the team that is trailing comes back.
Not even Russell Wilson, who has pulled more rabbits out of his helmet in recent years, could bring the team all the way back in a loss to the Carolina Panthers to end the season.
Consider how the season started, with the team sputtering to a 4-5 start, did you really see them making another legitimate run to the Super Bowl?
And for those fans still upset when Carolina quarterback Cam Newton took a fan’s 12th Man flag and threw it following the game, don’t be.
For Newton, beating Seattle was a huge obstacle that he got through — twice — this season. Don’t blame him for being excited about finally advancing in the playoffs. Blame the Seattle defense. It’s still within the rules to tackle him, right?
THE MAIN pieces of the roster — Wilson, Sherman, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, Doug Baldwin, Jimmy Graham and K.J. Wright — still have a few years to go on their contracts, with Kam Chancellor’s among those that are up following the 2017 season.
Sure, there’s plenty of other pieces that need to be addressed with the team. The offensive line, secondary — especially the other starting cornerback spot — and running back are among just a few of the positions that will need to be addressed before the start of next season.
The one thing that Wilson has proved, at least in his short time in Seattle, is they’re never that far out of a game.
Since Wilson took over as starting quarterback, the Seahawks have lost by 10 or more points just once — falling by 10 earlier this year at Green Bay.
Sunday’s game was a lot like their season in a way, slow, disastrous start to the first half, with a furious finish in the second half.
Unlike last season, when the team started 4-4, it was just too much to overcome in 2015.
As far as that championship window, I’d expect nothing less than them smashing through it next year.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.