The Rich Get Richer

The Seattle Seahawks have put to rest any doubts as to whether or not they are poised to make a run at the Super Bowl this season. They made the trade with Minnesota to bring in a dynamic playmaker in Percy Harvin, which will not only add a threat to their offense that they were lacking last season, but will certainly help with the development of Russell Wilson. They also made big moves on the defensive line adding Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to bolster their pass rush. And now, with the acquisition of Antoine Winfield to an already dominant defensive back corps, the Seahawks have made their case for not only the most improved team of the off-season, but also as the top team in the NFC. (And as my fiancee' thinks, the best team in the whole NFL).

The Seahawks already have a stacked squad of defensive backs with Pro Bowl free safety Earl Thomas, Pro Bowl strong safety Kam Chancelor, and Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Browner. Not only do they boast three Pro Bowlers, but they also have the biggest snub in last year's voting, Richard Sherman. Every one of these defensive backs has the talent to be the top guy on any team in the NFL, so to have all of them playing on the same team is quite an accomplishment. One of the biggest reasons for their collective success is their unheard-of size. Three of the four are 6'3'' or taller (Sherman, Chancelor, and Browner). The size and physicality of these corners and safeties is just too much for the wide receivers in the league to handle on a consistent basis.

Now Seattle has brought in one of the most consistently great cornerbacks to ever play in the NFL, Antoine Winfield. Despite his advanced age (Winfield will be 36 come this June), he has been ranked as the number one cornerback by Pro Football Focus in two of the last three years, ranking ninth in his "off year". Not only is Winfield a premiere cover corner, he is also the best tackling corner that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Most corners that you see in the NFL are almost allergic to coming up and making a tackle, but Winfield plays with a completely opposite mindset. He loves to come up in run support, stick his nose in there and make the tackle. He exemplifies what it means to do whatever it takes to help the team win.

While I have seen countless examples of teams making a huge splash in the off-season, having huge expectation and falling flat on their faces, it is hard for me to imagine that this will happen to Seattle. They already had a playoff caliber team before all of the moves that they made, and every single one of their moves has provided them with an elite player that fills a need that prevented them from going to the Super Bowl last season. Let me go on record right now as predicting that the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in Met Life stadium in Super Bowl 48.