ESPN lists the 2-0 Seattle Seahawks as 'Pretenders'
The Seattle Seahawks sit alone in first place in the NFC West as the only 2-0 team. The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals rank behind them at 1-1 each, and the 0-2 Los Angeles Rams remain in the basement. Seattle is in this position after two wins over the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots to give head coach Mike Macdonald a historic start with the Seahawks.
The 12th Man is surely happy with what they have seen, despite some early offensive struggles at time. However, not everyone is as impressed with Seattle's start as those in the Emerald City are. Ben Solak of ESPN ranked all of the 2-0 teams as either contenders or pretenders, and unfortunately, Seattle was put in the latter category. Although, it seems Solak could be convinced to change his opinion in the coming weeks.
His analysis, which came via ESPN+ can be read below:
I wish. I'm so close. Geno Smith looks great. The defense looks great. (Hello, Boye Mafe, the edge rusher the Seahawks have been waiting for!) They have the requisite stars for a run: DK Metcalf, Kenneth Walker III, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I think this coaching staff is sharp as tacks too. Mike Macdonald is the defensive mind du jour, but offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has leaped from the college ranks to the NFL with aplomb. But I don't trust the offensive line, and I'll never let a team with a bad offensive line trick me into believing in it. I won't do it. I won't do it. I won't do it. ... OK, I'm thinking about doing it.
In fairness to Solak, Seattle's offensive line has been a considerable weakness... again. It's not a football season in the Pacific Northwest if we aren't concerned about the men up front. In Week 1, the Seahawks' offensive line (cough cough, Anthony Bradford) surrendered not one but two safeties to the Denver Broncos, which directly contributed to the four-point lead they had over Seattle at halftime.
In Week 2, the offensive line simply could not create room for Zach Charbonnet to run, as the Seahawks had a whopping 46 yards on the ground. New England has a stout defense, but they're not that good.
Still, it is hard to not be a tad more optimistic about the Seahawks than Solak is. Seattle's passing offense, despite the issues along the line, has looked stellar, and their defense is suffocating.
However, it should obviously be noted the Seahawks' opponents to start the season haven't exactly been world class offenses. Denver and New England aren't going to keep many defensive coordinators up at night this year. Seattle will face a considerably more challenging opponent on Sunday when they take the field against the Miami Dolphins. Even without Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have more than enough talent everywhere else to push Macdonald's defense to the limits.
Should the Seahawks successfully defend home turf against Miami, opinions about them should start to change. Perhaps the "pretender" status will transform into being listed as contenders.
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This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: ESPN lists the 2-0 Seattle Seahawks as 'Pretenders'
