The Seahawks are in the mist of a run like none other in Seattle sports history. We as sports fans have suffered through so much that we’ve almost forgot what it takes to sustain success, and in today’s NFL – a league designed for parity – it is that much more impressive for any team to achieve what the Hawks have done.

Now the Seahawks face the daunting task of going to three straight Super Bowl games, something not done since Jim Kelly’s Buffalo Bills made four straight over 20 years ago and something not even Belichick’s Patriots have been able to see through. Many again have Seattle pegged as favorites to reach the big game, but there are some issues facing the 2015 squad.

Russell Wilson got the big contract, now he has to earn it

As has been well documented, Wilson outplayed his rookie deal many times over. And as has been just as well debated, the Seahawks’ success is either due in great part to Wilson’s leadership and playmaking, or his proficiency at being a game manager and fitting into the system Seattle has in place.

Either way the Seahawks felt that he is going to be a huge factor in whether or not their future is as prosperous as their recent past and inked him to an $87.5 million contract before training camp. To paraphrase Peter Parker, with a great contract comes great responsibility. Now Wilson has to show that he is less game manager and more Aaron Rodgers, and justify the reports that Wilson was seeking to be the league’s highest paid player.

To his credit Wilson has shown the ability, and there have been a few games each year the team has won largely thanks to him, but now those few have to become many.

The O-line has to get it together, fast.

Listen to Seattle sports radio talk about the Hawk’s offensive line this preseason and you would think that they were war criminals rather than football players. One remedy going around is that few teams in the NFL are happy with their offensive line play and the Seahawks are no different. Others say that there hasn’t been a decent line in Seattle throughout their recent run.

Still many questions remain surrounding the big boys up front. Can Russell Okung stay healthy? How many hits can Russell Wilson withstand? Will Marshawn Lynch still be Beast Mode as he ages?

Will Kam Chancellor be missed?

It seems Kam Chancellor, in an attempt to enhance his contract, will take his holdout into the regular season – to his own detriment. Chancellor is the unequivocal leader of the team, and the defensive tone setter with his bone throttling hits. Now that his absence is all but set in stone the question is, how will they make up for it? Or maybe, do they even need to? Is the secondary good enough with just Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman (who are both coming off injury issues of their own)? For Kam’s sake they better not be. For the Seahawks’ sake and that of their title run, they better be.

Depth

Beast Mode is aging, Chancellor is holding out and Earl Thomas is recovering from a torn labrum. While Thomas is expected back Week 1, if his backfield mate Chancellor sticks to his couch on Sundays and Earl god forbid suffers any sort of injury, how does the defense change? 

Lynch plays running back as if he was Kam Chancellor with a ball in his hand. And even though his running style is as effective as it is fun to watch, one has to wonder if he will continue to run like the Marshawn Lynch we know and love. Behind Lynch are 34-year-old Fred Jackson and undrafted rookie free agent Thomas Rawls. Former second round pick Christine Michael has been traded, and Robert Turbin is down with a severe ankle sprain. Marshawn Lynch must not only be Beast Mode all year, but he must stay healthy all year, not something running backs his age can easily do.

 Image via  Philip Robertson / Flickr