The Pete Carroll era in Seattle has brought us Seattle sports fans something previously completely foreign to us, perennial championship contenders. Yes obviously they won one Lombardi trophy, and are the only Seattle team other than the Sonics in the '70's to make back-to-back championship games.
These Hawks have made Seattle a consistent part of the national sports conversation, and are visible across the country in ads and in the primetime games; not to mention about a half-dozen Seattle sports icons. They've won at least one playoff game in five straight seasons now, not to mention a few division titles. Though now after a second straight exit after the the divisional round, and arguably their worst showing in the playoffs with Russell Wilson under center, there are some pretty radical ideas being thrown out there.
There are fans out there calling for Carroll and/or John Schnieder to step aside and start from scratch. If they're not asking for that, they're scrutinizing Carroll's coaching style, using Richard Sherman's sideline outbursts as an example of Carroll losing control of the team.
While some tweaks definitely need to be made, such radical changes are definitely not necessary, every team goes through cycles. The Hawks play in division that always presents them with another rival to challenge them in the division year in and year out (save for this year), yet they continue to contend.
Therefore, have we become spoiled as fans?
Sure, since Pete and John's first draft they have failed to get much value if any from picks coming in the first two rounds. Earl Thomas and Russell Okung were no brainers, and since then their best pick is probably Paul Richardson. Though this year could likely serve as a turning point. The past two years have been marked with inconsistency against the best teams, and this year against any team.
Carroll said this offseason he was looking to bring in players to push their established guys, and maybe that's what's missing. Their edge has seemed to dull over since they lost the Super Bowl against the Patriots.
Moral of the story is to not hit the panic button just yet, the Hawks just need to stop getting cute and get their edge back. Get back to running the ball down the other team's throats and shore up both sides of the line. Russell can't throw 35 times a game, but they need a back that can last the entire season and carry it 25+ times a game. Rawls has shown flashes, but not yet even 16 games worth over two seasons.
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But I read the line about bringing in competition for the vets to be aimed squarely at the Defense. The Offense is still a work in progress, but the Defense is stacked with high-quality players and seems the only place that 'complacency' of any kind might set in on the Seattle squad.
So I anticipate them going for O-line and DB depth in this draft. Wouldn't be surprised to see them target a S or CB with the 1st or 2nd pick, depending on what's there.