By the simplest measure, wins and losses, the Seattle Seahawks did not get any better in 2023.

The Seahawks went 9-8 for a second straight year. The difference between 2022 and 2023 being that their record in 2022 was good enough for a postseason berth.

That was not the case this season, and Seattle will be watching the 14 teams still in the hunt for a Super Bowl title from home. However, after declaring that he intends to return to coach in 2024, head coach Pete Carroll insisted he felt the Seahawks had gotten closer to competing for the title again.

“Yeah, I do [feel that way]. It’s so clear,” he told Seattle Sports on Monday. 

"We’ve improved. We’ve got some guys in situations that have helped us and we should grow and we should we should come together in even a more powerful way. 

"This team’s got a future. This team has got a real future. And not everybody can say that. They don’t know. There’s nothing to keep us from thinking that. It’s an exciting outlook for the future, and we’ll see what happens."

Smith swimming against the tide

Carroll's viewpoint is somewhat understandable, the Seahawks are a young team and saw several of their rookies make an impact in 2023, with fifth overall pick Devon Witherspoon making the Pro Bowl after a stellar season. Their other first-round pick, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, perhaps didn't have the desired influence, though he did make some big plays down the stretch, while Zach Charbonnet showed sporadic promise as the number two back behind Kenneth Walker III.

Yet quarterback Geno Smith, in part due to missing two games through injury, saw a drop-off in almost all of his counting stats and efficiency metrics from his Comeback Player of the Year campaign of 2022. His completion percentage dropped dramatically from a league-leading 69.8 in 2022 to 64.7 this season.

Those dips came despite Smith ending the year seventh in Completion Percentage Over Expectation with a CPOE of 2.2, per NextGen Stats, and did not prevent him leading a league-high four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives.

The dichotomy between Smith's numbers and his accuracy and performance in the clutch is indicative of a quarterback swimming against the tide and having to overcome his supporting cast rather than being assisted by it.

Further emphasising that is the number of sacks Smith took. His sack percentage dropped from 7.4 in 2022 to 5.8 this season, but that was more a product of Smith's pocket movement than strides by an offensive line that was ranked 28th in pass blocking by Pro Football Focus.

Right tackle Abe Lucas dealt continually with injury issues, while left tackle Charles Cross' 42 pressures allowed were tied for the 13th-most among all tackles. With the interior line continuing to be an area of concern, the trenches must be addressed by the Seahawks in the offseason.

A defensive albatross

There was progress by second-year edge rusher Boye Mafe on the other side of the trenches as he registered nine sacks, but Darrell Taylor did not take an anticipated step forward and, on the inside, splash free-agent acquisition Dre'Mont Jones' impact as a pass rush was limited.

Arguably the defense's biggest problem, however, remains in the middle of the field, with veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks continuing to struggle in coverage, while safety Jamal Adams proved a liability in that area. In an NFC West division populated by Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, Seattle's problems at linebacker are an albatross.

The situation in the secondary is better, though Riq Woolen going in and out of the lineup in big games was reflective of a player failing to build on an outstanding rookie year. Seattle's depth in the defensive backfield is impressive, but it didn't prevent the Seahawks from finishing the season 25th in yards per play (5.5) allowed and 22nd in yards per pass play (6.27) given up.

Seattle is not short of young talent, has an excellent receiving corps with D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Smith-Njigba, though the Seahawks need to do a better job with the latter in 2024, and a quarterback who can put them in position to win games. 

Whether Smith would be able to put them in position to contend for the Super Bowl is another matter, but the reality is with this team as it is currently constructed he's never going to get the chance. Right now, there are simply too many holes in key areas for the Seahawks to be considered contenders. For all his natural optimism, deep down, Carroll must know that.

Seahawks’ Pete Carroll reveals his plans for 2024

He ended the speculation.