The Seattle Seahawks have landed at a very respectable No. 6 in Touchdown Wire’s latest NFL preseason power rankings. These rankings were compiled with a bit of a twist, however, based on each team’s strength of schedule.
Mark Schofield used Football Outsider’s Defense-adjusted Value Over Average to rank each club’s opponents and factor an average for each team. For Seattle, its Average Opponent DVOA was -1.2%.
“The big debate in Seattle right now is whether the coaching staff ‘lets Russ cook,’” Schofield writes. “Letting their talented quarterback throw more than he did in 2019 would be smart in this writer’s opinion. After all, Seattle ran the ball on 45.6% of their plays last year, sixth-most in the league.”
New on @TheNFLWire: Preseason power rankings with a different twist: Instead of W/L or point differential, @MarkSchofield dove into @fboutsiders's 2020 estimated DVOA for every team's opponents, and ranks every team from toughest to easiest schedule. https://t.co/5072bmS4on
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) September 7, 2020
“But whether Russ gets to cook or not, Seattle gets a relatively easy schedule according to Football Outsiders,” Schofield continues. “Seattle squares off against the AFC East and the NFC East this year, meaning games against the New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins, the Washington Football Team, and the New York Giants.”
The Seahawks will open their season on the road in Atlanta this year, with kickoff set for 10:00 a.m. PT on Sept. 13 against the Falcons. Seattle begins its first regular-season practice week with a bonus session Monday afternoon.
