Window closing for the birds in West?

There’s a good chance the Seattle Seahawks are playing with house money this year.

When they traded for Sheldon Richardson, they were supposed to be the darlings of the NFC, or at least among them.

“Well, we’re waiting.”

AFTER A bye week that included losing a starting guard on the offensive line for the next four to five weeks after knee surgery, Seattle is 3-2 on the season with a trip to the New York Giants.

And suddenly, that doesn’t look like the cakewalk it could have been two weeks ago when the Giants were winless and the Seahawks were coming off a road win at the Los Angeles Rams.

The door is still wide open for the team however, with injuries sidelining Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers for what could be the remainder of the regular season. With Rodgers however, I’ve learned that you really don’t count him out until there’s no time left.

With Arizona acquiring Adrian Peterson last week, the Cardinals looked like a different team in a win over Tampa Bay, a team that Seattle couldn’t solve in 2016. The Rams should have beat Seattle two weeks ago, and had Cooper Kupp been able to catch a late pass in the red zone, the season could look completely different.

Even the San Francisco 49ers, who have lost their last five games by a combined 15 points, seems like they’ll turn it around sooner than later.

THAT BEING said, Seattle has a knack for getting on runs around this time of the year.

Sometimes it takes a little longer than expected, but the Seahawks start to look outstanding at positions they didn’t just a few weeks before.

But unlike the previous seasons, it doesn’t appear that these NFC West teams are going anywhere either.

Los Angeles appears to be the team everyone thought it would be two years ago with a loaded defense and an offense that can score some points. If Arizona can keep digging into the fountain of youth with stars like Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer and Peterson, the Cardinals be right in the mix at the end.

Any other year, Seahawks fans might not be reaching for the panic button quite yet as there’s plenty of time to turn things around.

Eventually, they’ll find that running game again, either with Thomas Rawls or Russell Wilson running like crazy.

Or it will be the passing game finally opening things up a little and allowing guys like Jimmy Graham to go catch the ball instead of run block. He’s not in Seattle for what he did blocking for the running game in New Orleans; it’s time to use him as a receiver more often.

Something is going to have to change in the next few weeks in order for the Seahawks to make the playoffs for a sixth straight time.

The other guys in the NFC West aren’t going anywhere but up from here.

It’s up to Seattle just where it goes from here on out.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.