Midseason Seahawks Evaluation

Well, we're half-way through the NFL season, and it's time to answer that musical question:

How good are the Seahawks?

Let's start with what they are best at:

#1 in the NFL: Offensive Yards per Game
#1 in the NFL: Rushing Touchdowns
#1 in the NFL: Yards per Play
#1 in the NFL: First Downs per Game
#1 in the NFL (tied): 4th down conversions

This just in: their offense rocks. The biggest reason for this is one Shaun Alexander:

#1 in the NFL: Total Yards
#1 in the NFL: Yards per Game
#1 in the NFL: Rushing Touchdowns

The Seahawk's offense has what it take to take it to the next level. But what about the defense?

#14 in the NFL: Total Yards Allowed
#9 in the NFL: Yards Allowed per Play
#14 in the NFL: First Downs Allowed per Game
#12 in the NFL: Rushing Yards Allowed per Game
#15 in the NFL: Receiving Yards Allowed per Game

The Seahawks offense is reliably in the first quartile. The defense is reliably in the second quartile. Is this good enough to go all the way?

The only one team has is ranked in the top quartile of both offense and defense (yds/game): Indianapolis Colts (8-0). One other is ranked in the top quartile of offense, and the second in defense: Cincinnati Bengals (7-2). (Though they are ranked behind the Seahawks in both categories.) One team is ranked in the top quartile of defense, and the second in offense: Washington Redskins (5-3).

I hesitate, after all these years, to say it: but this could be the year for the Seahawks to go all the way. Right now, Indianapolis is playing better, but there really aren't any other teams that can make that claim.