Seahawks are Superbowl XLVIII Champs! Can They Repeat for XLVIV?

First off I couldn't make any post season NFL posts as I did not want to jinx any chances of the Seahawks getting to and winning the super bowl. As someone who has lived in WA his entire life and never seen a world champion in this state (WNBA doesn't really count) it's been an awesome ride.
Last season when the Seahawks had the breakdown against Atlanta I made a post about what they needed to do in the off season to get back to the playoffs. It seems either John Schneider and Pete Caroll read my post or it was an obvious prediction haha. They got the pass rushing DE I asked for, in fact they got 2. They approached the need for a DT and OLB. They even signed a huge play making WR, even though he was injured all year. I couldn't have asked for or predicted a better off season than that. Unfortunately injuries did plague the offense and defense from time to time this year, as it does to every NFL team, but the Seahawks "next man up" mentality prevailed.
Everyone predicted a Broncos/Seahawks super bowl but nobody predicted the outcome. An absolute blowout by the Seahawks who were playing like they were in Century Link Field in Seattle. The noise in New Jersey made Peyton struggle with his typical pre-snap adjustments and his "Omaha" snap count that he uses to draw players off sides. Additionally, Peyton had never seen a defensive line or secondary like the Seahawks provide. The coverage is tight and the pass rush and run defense are relentless. The Seahawks are young, agile, and fast at every position. Additionally, the Seahawks rotate in a new defensive line almost every play, keeping players fresh and making it hard on the O-line to block for Peyton. We did see a lot of ducks being thrown from the pocket as well. Peyton's passes seemed weak, wobbly, and inaccurate. As someone who has a lot of admiration and respect for Peyton as he has carried my fantasy team two years in a row, I can't help but notice as the season wore on he really seemed to lose his edge. Is it fatigue and old age? Is it the colder weather? I'm not sure. Hopefully he comes back because it's fun to watch him on offense and I'd rather see Eli leave the league before Peyton does.

Now that Super Bowl XLVIV is over the only thing left is the off season. The draft, training camp, and pre season will come in 2014 and the Seahawks will have some decisions to make to stay competitive and also keep their salary down. Here are a few positions I'd like to be addressed...

1. WR: Again I think the Seahawks need to draft a decent WR or trade for someone who is decent. As much as people love Golden Tate, I am not his biggest fan. Too often he tries to do too much and it has cost the Seahawks. He also had a case of the drops from time to time. I was fine with it because he was on a rookie contract and wasn't a true WR1; however, I'd like to see Baldwin and Kearse start over Tate. For that I think the Seahawks should let Tate hit the free agent market and not sign him to a big deal. Additionally, Rice is the 2nd highest paid WR behind Harvin. Rice hasn't done much for Seattle since coming here. He gets injured and rarely makes the big plays he's supposed to make. With Harvin in the lineup there's no room for Rice. I say that Seattle should cut Rice to make room for the salary cap.

2. DE: Again the Seahawks will need to approach the defensive end position. Clemons makes a lot and Bennett's contract is up. I would be fine with Seattle keeping either player but not both. If they can't keep Bennett for the amount they are paying him now, then they can let him go join his brother in Chicago. If they can keep Bennett to a longer term deal then Clemons may be getting cut to make room for salary caps in the future as all the rookie contracts start to end on bigger name players.

3. DT: Yet again Seattle has to look at the DT position. They rotated guys in and out at DT all season, but some key contracts will be up soon. Seattle will have to determine if they can afford to keep all their good DT's long term or let some go. McDaniel's contract is up and if he asks for too much, he may not be a Seahawk again next season and that spot will need filling.

4. Offensive Line: The Seahawks had injuries and issues all year on the O-line. Giacomini's contract is up and they must re-sign him as nobody was able to do as good of a job at RT as him this season on the team. Additionally, the team is paying a little too much for the LG position. They tried 3 players there this year with some success and some failure. It seemed that Carpenter's blocking has gotten worse and he's also prone to injury. Bowie did an ok job filling in for the Carpenter/McQuistan combo, but it was in a game where the Saints had zero pass rush. Bowie is awful at tackle but he may end up being Seattle's Guard of the future. Rotating McQuistan and Bowie may be their best bet. Sweezy was solid all year at RG and should remain there next season.

5. Tight End: Seattle may lose Zach Miller in the off season but it's just speculation at this point. While Willson is a great receiving TE due to his speed and athleticism, his blocking skills have been subpar. In fact Seattle used Bailey quite a bit in blocking situations later in the season. Miller is versatile as he was a good blocker and receiver. He also did great with onside kicks. If the Seahawks retain Tom Cable then they will most likely keep Miller as he's been Cable's go to TE for years.

Predictions for Next Season:
Once again the NFC West will be the best division in football. The Niners and Seahawks will be heated rivals yet again and will most likely go 1-1 against each other in the regular season splitting home games. However, everyone forgets how well the Cardinals and Rams played down the stretch. Both teams beat playoff bound teams late in the season and the Cardinals barely missed the playoffs. It wouldn't be crazy to think that the Cardinals, Niners, and Seahawks will all make the playoffs next season. Especially since the game is in Arizona. Additionally it's the 49th super bowl which adds a little flavor to the 49ers. The Seahawks will have a tough conference schedule but they should be up to the task again. The other NFC teams who will make some noise will be the Packers, Panthers and Saints yet again. The Saints had an awful team this year and still were top 5 on both sides of the ball this season. They just didn't have the weapons that they had in the past. I expect them to go get some more play makers on offense and defense this off season. Additionally, Ron Rivera has the Panthers playing lights out defense and as we all know, defense wins championships. The Packers will have Rodgers back from injury playing full time. When he went down they really lost their rhythm on offense, even though their defense still played pretty solid.

In the AFC it seems the Patriots will never go away. Belichick is too good at coaching young talent. He will win his division. Additionally, expect the Broncos to return IF Peyton Manning doesn't retire. I also expect Andrew Luck to rally the Colts back to the playoffs. He's too good, and lucky, not to. He's driven them to the playoffs in his first 2 years so he'll only get better. He'll also get some offensive weapons back as he had to make up for subpar running by Richardson and a few receivers who couldn't catch, such as Heyward-Bay, after Wayne went down. The Bengals will yet again make the playoffs. They keep getting more talent each season and despite their best efforts to not make the playoffs, the AFC still lets them in. I expect them to return once again, but I don't expect them to go past the first or second round. After that it's anyone's guess. The Dolphins may attempt another good season, but the scandal of Incognito is hanging over this team still. The Texans may also turn things around with a new coach as their defense is still decent and they still have arguably the best WR/RB combo in the league. They'll need to resolve their QB situation and also adapt to the new style of the new head coach.