Look out league, here come the Seahawks | SEAHAWKS SPECIAL SECTION

Published 3:26 pm Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Seattle Seahawks opened their training camp Thursday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center in Renton. Be sure to check out our annual Seahawks Special Section in this week’s edition of the Renton Reporter.

Think back to one year ago: The Seahawks had just come off a relatively disappointing 7-9 season, were predicted for a similar campaign in 2012 and were mired in a training camp quarterback battle.

What a difference a year makes.

With rookie sensation Russell Wilson at the helm, the Seattle Seahawks shocked most of the football world last season, earning an 11-5 record and a wild card playoff spot.

Once in the postseason, the upstart Seahawks overcame a 14-point, first-quarter deficit to beat the favored Washington Redskins before falling the following week to the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons.

With the 2013 season ready to kick off, the football world is seeing Seattle a little bit differently: as contenders.

According to the oddsmakers, only the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl this season.

The buzz around the Seahawks this summer is palpable, but questions, of course, remain.

For example, can Wilson avoid a “sophomore slump” and repeat his 2012 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year performance?

Coach Pete Carroll is not worried. At minicamp in June, Carroll told the media his second-year quarterback was working hard, both on the field and off.

“We’ve given him everything and he’s working to refine it and get it nailed,” Carroll said. “I couldn’t ask for more in terms of his preparation and what he’s putting out there.”

And with additional reps with the first squad, Carroll said Wilson looks even better than this time last season and though he admits 2012 will be difficult to duplicate, the coach has confidence in his quarterback.

“Let’s say this though, he had a great year. It’ll be hard to come back and have a better year,” Carroll said. “That’s just something that anybody that has a good season has to deal with. I think his mindset is excellent and his preparation, habits, and his concern and focus is excellent.

“I don’t think it will be a problem.”

But what about Wilson; is he worried about the dreaded “sophomore slump”?

“I don’t even know those words,” he told reporters. “I don’t pay attention to it.”

Wilson said he was focused on the moment and on getting better as the season approached.

Joining Wilson in the backfield once again this season is last year’s leading rusher, Marshawn Lynch. In late 2011, the Seahawks re-committed to the run game behind Lynch and since that move in Week Nine of the 2011 season, no team has racked up more yards or more touchdowns on the ground.

In 2012, Lynch ranked third in the NFL in rushing with 1,590 yards, a career-high. In his first two full seasons with the Seahawks, Lynch has 16 100-yard rushing games, the most in the NFL over the past two seasons.

Rounding out the Seahawks offensive attack are the receiver corps, boosted this offseason by the trade for former Minnesota Viking Percy Harvin.

Beginning his fifth year in the league and first with the Hawks, Harvin racked up 3,302 yards and 20 touchdowns in his four seasons with the Vikings.

Harvin has also returned five kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, including a 104-yard return in 2011 and a 105-yard return in 2012. Harvin’s kick-return abilities are expected to help make up for the loss of Leon Washington, who was released following the trade for Harvin.

Joining Harvin on the outside as primary targets for Wilson will be Sidney Rice, Golden Tate and third-year returner Doug Baldwin.

“We’ve got a really good group and we’re not counting on anything going anyway tilting the field toward one guy or the other,” Carroll said. “We’re just going to play football.”

On the other side of the ball, the league’s top defense from 2012 returns looking for more as well.

Led by fast-talking cornerback Richard Sherman, the Seahawks are looking to prove that last year was not a fluke.

The pre-season begins Aug. 8 in San Diego. The regular season gets started Sept. 8 in Carolina.

But the big contest early on is the head-to-head matchup with the division rival and Super Bowl favorite San Fransisco 49ers during the home opener Sept. 15 at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks and the 12th man plan to try and break a world record for crowd noise.