Article Courtesy of Ted Sevransky, A Professional Football Handicapper Featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting on the NFL this season, be sure to check out Ted’s 2008 NFL Predictions!

2008 Seattle Seahawks NFL Football Predictions
The Seahawks have entered the final season of head coach Mike Holmgren’s ten year reign.  Heir apparent Jim Mora Jr will be coaching the secondary this season before his ascension to the head coach following Holmgren’s retirement at the end of the campaign.  Seattle has enjoyed tremendous success under Holmgren: five division titles, and their only trip to the Super Bowl.  The Seahawks have won at least nine games in each of the last five seasons, a model of consistency in this topsy-turvy league.
 
On paper, Seattle looks like a contender in the NFC once again.  Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is a pro bowler in his prime.  Hasselbeck has been running Holmgren’s version of the West Coast offense for seven full seasons.  He set franchise records for completions, attempts and yards last year, while setting a career high with 28 touchdown passes.
 
Questions persist about the Seahawks skill position talent level.  Former pro bowler Shaun Alexander was released in the offseason, leaving the primary running duties to offseason acquisitions Julius Jones (Dallas) and TJ Duckett (Detroit).  Alexander hadn’t had a good season since the Super Bowl campaign of ‘06, but both Jones and Duckett have question marks surrounding their respective abilities and desire.
 
It’s a similar story at wide receiver, a unit that could be considered a strength or a weakness, depending on your perspective.  I tend to think that the latter is the case.  Deion Branch is coming off a career threatening knee ligament injury.  Bobby Engram is 35 years old, but he is coming off a career best 95 catch season.  Nate Burleson has been inconsistent at best during his five years in the NFL.  Second round draft choice John Carlton out of Notre Dame will probably be limited as a pass catcher in his rookie season.  This is a unit that could step up, or they could underachieve; not an easy prediction to make here in July.
 
Seattle rushed for 101 yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry last year, the worst statistical numbers of the Holmgren era.  The primary culprit was a mediocre offensive line that couldn’t punch open holes for the running backs.  Perennial pro-bowl left tackle Walter Jones is 34 years old, coming off serious shoulder surgery.  New offensive line coach Mike Solari will need to get a dramatic improvement from free agent signee Mike Wahle, who struggled with Carolina last season.  The Seahawks have seen a steady decline from this unit over the last two years, a decline that must be reversed in ’08 if Holmgren is going to go out on a winning note.
 
Seattle’s defense was their strength in 2007, and the stop unit looks very solid again heading into 2008.  Seattle ranked fourth in the NFL in sacks last year, with pass rushing force Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp leading the way.  First round draft choice Lawrence Jackson (USC) will provide additional pressure.  The question mark here is the play of the defensive tackles against the run, an area where Seattle struggled at times last year that has not been addressed through the draft or free agency.
 
The Seahawks back seven is loaded with top notch talent.  Linebackers Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill make a stellar unit together, but there is not much depth behind them at all – LB injuries will really hurt this team, if they occur.  Cornerback Marcus Trufant is another defensive pro bowler, anchoring a solid secondary.  Remember, the Seahawks held five different opponents to six points or less last year, winning and covering every one of those games.
 
Seattle’s special teams look like a serious problem area.  They lost kicker Josh Brown to free agency, as well as leading tackler and special teams captain Niko Koutouvides.  Long snapper Jeff Robinson retired.  Punter Ryan Plackemeier struggled in his sophomore campaign after a promising rookie season.  There’s no clear punt/kick return specialist on the roster, and a kicker battle between the aging, ineffective Olindo Mare and rookie seventh round draft choice Brandon Coutu.  Don’t be surprised if special teams mishaps cost this team a crucial game or two throughout the course of the season.
 
The schedule makers were not kind to many of these NFC West teams in 2008, and Seattle is no exception.  The Seahawks must make four separate East Coast trips for 1 PM start games in the first ten weeks of the season.  They went 1-4 SU and ATS in East Coast early start games last year, a perennial problem for Holmgren’s crew.  Throw in the fact that all three of their divisional rivals look better on paper now than they did last year and Holmgren’s final season at the helm might not end on a positive note.  Let’s not forget this key fact – Seattle’s 10-6 record last year came against the single easiest schedule in the NFL, by a wide margin, according to my weekly power ratings.  The 2008 schedule does not look quite as easy….