NFL Power Rankings: Seattle Seahawks Are Bad, But Not Terrible Yet

The Seattle Seahawks opened their 2011 season with a thud on Sunday afternoon, falling to the San Francisco 49ers, 33-17. It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination, with the Seahawks tripping all over themselves to open the game before finally lurching to life in the second half, only to watch Ted Ginn put the nail in the coffin with a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown in the span of a minute. We'll just blame Ginn for the Seahawks place in the latest NFL Power Rankings.

The Seahawks check-in at No. 23 in SB Nation's latest NFL Power Rankings, but still sit ahead of the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, among others. Once again, the NFC West is wide-open, so we'll keep the book open on the 2011 season, despite its rough start. It has to get better, right?

On the plus side, the blurb to go along with the Seahawks ranking was positive.

23. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 20): They lost to the 49ers but, if it weren't for Ted Ginn's two touchdown returns, that game is much closer.

As a reminder, NFL Power Rankings serve as a snapshot, and are not necessarily a predictor of performance. As of right now, the Seahawks are seen as the 23rd-best team in the NFL, or 10th-worst if that fits your eye better.

And the ranking is probably just about right. On one hand, with the NFC West wide-open, anything can happen. On the other, Sunday was a nice reminder that Seattle is in rebuilding mode. It could be a long year for the Seahawks.

Be sure to check out the rest of the rankings here. For more on the Seahawks, head over to Field Gulls.