When the NFL season started, Vegas set the Seahawks' over-under for wins at 7 1⁄2. Some outlets had that number as low as four. I'll admit, I was closer to the Vegas number and still got a lot of garbage for being an unrealistic homer.
Well, there were a whole lot of us in that category after the Hawks finished the season with 10 wins.
Did they overachieve? Yes.
But they sputtered down the stretch. A big win over the Chiefs, sandwiched by a loss to the 49ers and near-loss to the Cardinals.
The Seahawks' season ended in Dallas, because they got outplayed by the Cowboys.
Rather than pick apart that loss, let's look ahead, starting with Seattle's promising roster.
Frank Clark - pay the man.
He gave the team a career-high 14 sacks. The team gave him $940,000. That is ridiculous value.
Clark will be 26-years-old next season and will likely command between $17 and $18 million a year on a new contract. He's worth every penny.
Russell Wilson - pay the man.
He has one year left on his deal. He'll be 31 when his new contract kicks in for the 2020 season. Aaron Rodgers is five years older than Russ and he's on the books that season for $32.6 million. That will be Wilson's new neighborhood.
Like Wilson, Bobby Wagner is entering the final year of his contract. Both players have said they will play out their final seasons - in other words, they won't hold out. Wagner is the best at his position. He will get paid.
Those are the easy answers for the franchise.
What about KJ Wright? He played just five regular season games because of a knee injury, but he finished strong against Dallas. When he's healthy, he is valuable - and he'll find out just how valuable in the off-season.
The Seahawks do have needs. Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers have a lot of potential as young cornerbacks, but the Hawks still need help at that position.
Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett are two of the most underrated receivers in the NFL - the Hawks still need a quality third receiver.
And lastly, it's time for the Seahawks to stop the revolving door at placekicker. They rolled the dice on 40-year-old Sebastian Janikowski. Before you rail the guy, he did win three games this season on the final play, including a 52-yard, walk-off shot in Arizona.
There's an old saying: "Kickers are a dime a dozen."
True, but not the good ones.
The Seahawks had Stephen Hauschka for six years, Olindo Mare for three and Josh Brown for five. Hauschka and Brown were so successful they priced themselves out of Seattle. Yet, the Hawks thought so much of Mare, they gave him the franchise tag in 2010.
It's time to re-invest in a placekicker.
The Seahawks almost looked like geniuses inviting Jason Myers to training camp.
But they cut him, he signed with the Jets, missed only three field goals and he made the Pro Bowl.
That close.
Yes, hindsight is 20/20.
But the Hawks need to put a stop to the kicking carousel and close that amusement park.
