It's about that time of the offseason where news is slow, players are away on vacation, and teams aren't doing much in terms of making moves or changing depth charts. As we approach training camp, it's as good as a time as any to hand out 'offseason grades' prior to the frantic shuffling we'll inevitably see in the next couple of months prior to Week 1's kickoff.
SportsIllustrated released their grades on Wednesday and gave Seattle a B-minus. Find out why, after the jump.
• Seattle Seahawks: The high-profile move here was getting QB Matt Flynn in free agency. However, we're not even sure if Flynn will beat out Tarvaris Jackson and Russell Wilson for the starting gig. Seattle needs the surprising Bruce Irvin draft pick to pay off. DT Jason Jones may wind up being the most important pick-up and keeping Red Bryant was key, but the defense may not be able to replace David Hawthorne. Grade: B-minus
Now, though I might be a little more optimistic than SI is on the prospects of Matt Flynn and Bruce Irvin, it is an offseason of unknowns for the Seahawks. A lot (A LOT) depends on how well Flynn can play early on and if he struggles and fails to win the starting job, many will judge the Seahawks harshly for their decision to bring him in. Similarly, if Irvin is a slow starter (which may happen even though I do believe he'll have a good NFL career), the Seahawks will probably get a little heat for what many in the media deemed a 'reach' pick at 15.
Still, I think many of their moves have the potential to provide great things for the Seahawks. With Irvin and Jones acting as two new dynamic pass rushers for the Seahawks plus rookie Bobby Wagner taking the departed David Hawthorne's place in the middle of the defense -- a top-10 defense without their contributions in 2011 -- we could see a lot of improvement as a whole for that side of the football.
With a potentially more efficient offense under Matt Flynn's direction, longer drives, more points, even an incremental improvement on the offensive side of the ball could mean exponential improvement on the defense as well. Every year, one or two teams flip the script and go from a 5 or 6 win team to a 9 or 10 win team, and I could see the Seahawks surprise some people. Overall though, a B-minus grade is about right for their offseason, pending some actual results from the unknowns in Irvin, Jones, and Flynn, who are, in some eyes, big gambles.
For more on the Seahawks, make sure you head to Field Gulls and join in on the discussion.
