(I should note: the trade is contingent upon Seattle being able to reach a long-term deal with Harvin.)
Before the trade went down, Vegas had given the Seahawks 12/1 odds to be the next champions of the NFL (fifth-best). While the Seahawks had a more-than-stellar first season under new signal-caller Russell Wilson, let's try to be reasonable here ... they were probably overrated a bit to begin with. That's not to say that Seattle doesn't have a legitimate chance to reach next year's Super Bowl, because - quite frankly - I think that they do. However, let's not go overboard like the rest of the world and coin them as the new favorites to win it all. As long as Wilson continues to develop as an NFL starting QB, I believe that the 'Hawks will be considered a contender for a long time to come. They had a very nice season last year, which ended just shy of the NFC Championship Game.
Of course, now the expectations have grown ten-fold. First of all, let's look at who was ahead of Seattle in terms of chances to win it all next year: Green Bay (10/1), New England and Denver (both 15/2), and San Francisco (7/1). Is there anyway you can really consider Seattle better than Green Bay, definitively? Yes, I'd argue that the Seahawks have a higher ceiling than the Packers, but the Cheeseheads are probably the safer choice to have a legitimate shot at winning it all next year. It's a bit iffy there. I would probably say that the aura of Bill Belichick is what is contributing to the Patriot's high odds. I really don't see them making it back to the promised land with a team similar to last year's roster, only older. Peyton Manning's Broncos are clearly the prohibitive favorite to represent the AFC in next year's championship game ... and who can argue against that? They're legit.
So who does that leave? Ah, how quickly we forget. Remember the craziness that was the second half of the season in San Francisco last year? All the talk around the NFL for the past few months has been Colin Kaepernick. The guy is amazing ... not to mention the fact that the team was one play (and possibly pass interference call) away from winning Super Bowl XLVI. Then bring back almost the entire roster from last year's team, add (potentially) eleven new rookies to fight it out on the depth chart, and sprinkle in the possibility of acquiring an elite cornerback in Darrelle Revis?! There's no way the 'Niners aren't next year's early season favorites. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they both play in the NFC West. So even though both teams are probably in the top-five to start next season, only one can win the division.
The acquisition of Percy Harvin is clearly going to help this team. They have an elite run game, future elite quarterback, and arguably one of the top defenses in the world - including a dominating corner for years to come in Richard Sherman. For years Seattle has been known to be seeking a top-tier wideout ... they're almost as anemic at the position over the past decade as the Detroit Lions. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Seattle is definitely among the major contenders heading into the 2013 season, but they'll have to deal within their division first ... not an easy task. Exciting things are ahead for fans of both teams and the NFL as a whole, as we could be looking at the new football version of baseball's AL East. It'll definitely be interesting to watch Pete Carroll's high-tempo offense get even faster out west. Look out, east coast bias.
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