The Seattle Seahawks’ Boom Is Busted

All the clamor in the world cannot revive the vibrancy of the 2010s era, of which Carroll, linebacker Bobby Wagner and quarterback Russell Wilson are the last three bearers of culture. And with the dissatisfaction signaled by Wilson, who expressed his displeasure with the offensive before the start of the season, and team owner Jody Allen, who is said to be increasingly intolerant of the team’s performance, a change could be in the air.

Wilson, who has long been obsessed with winning the Super Bowl, could call for a trade if he feels his window of opportunity for a title in Seattle has expired. And Carroll’s once contagious enthusiasm may not be enough to mitigate the damage of his conservative offensive, which seems better suited for the 1970s than the high-octane 2020s. Rumor has it that General Manager John Schneider, who built these Seahawks in his nine seasons in Seattle, is in the hot seat.

These Seahawks, like all Seattle squads since their last Super Bowl appearance on February 1, 2015, have lived in the impressive shadow of a long-forgotten era. No wonder: that’s the price of the size. The Legion of Boom teams played with such fiery ferocity, and were so amazingly good – the defense had the fewest points in four seasons in a row, an achievement previously only achieved by the Cleveland Browns of the 1950s – seeing the Seahawks now and somehow expecting the past to be the present.

Then reality meets.

This isn’t the bombast team led by cheeky young cornerback Richard Sherman who covers receivers, dares quarterbacks to throw his way, and never leaves a perceived trifle unchallenged.

This isn’t the security team Kam Chancellor ripping wide receivers off their moorings or Earl Thomas darting across the field collecting fumbles and intercepting passes from sideline to sideline as if they were being catapulted across the field. This isn’t Michael Bennett anchoring a suffocating line of defense.

These confident and often eloquent stars also helped usher in an era where league players could raise their voices and stand up like never before. Sherman and Bennett weren’t afraid to tell everyone how good they were, but were also more than willing to speak up on topics like race and police brutality. Lynch’s silence was a message of defiance.

“There was never a backlash for these Seahawks,” said Louis Moore, history professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.