NFL Analyst Dan Orlovsky Ranks Seahawks Near Top of NFC
The Seattle Seahawks kick off the new season on Sunday, Sept. 10 against the division rival Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field at 1:25 p.m. PT. After a successful season that saw a 9-8 record and a playoff appearance, the team is poised to improve behind starting quarterback Geno Smith.
Smith came into last season battling for the starting role with newcomer Drew Lock. Lock arrived in town via a trade with the Broncos that sent Russell Wilson to Denver, in a move that put Smith's future with the team in question. But Smith. prevailed and had a career season, earning him a new contract and the starting job for the foreseeable future.
Former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky is one of the national faces who are high on Smith and the Seahawks as the new season approaches. In an appearance on SeattleSports with fellow former NFL player Brock Huard and Mike Salk, Orlovsky outlined who he thinks are the best teams in the NFC after Philadelphia and San Francisco and where Seattle fits.
“Very close. I would sit here and say after that group, we’re having a conversation of the New Orleans Saints, the Seattle Seahawks, the New York Giants and maybe like the Green Bay Packers,” Orlovsky said.
USA TODAY
But Orlovsky cautioned the Seahawks aren't yet a complete team, with much work still left on the offensive line.
“I think the offensive line, especially on the inside, is probably the question mark offensively. Geno is going to play really well, (they have) two good backs, a plethora of receivers – let’s see how Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) comes back from the injury and just kind of see how the interior offensive line plays,” Orlovsky said. “And then defensively, you want to see does (Boye) Mafe take a big step? (What does) the addition of Dre’Mont (Jones look like)? How well the secondary gels in the back end … Where does Jamal (Adams), if at all, find his way onto the field? Can (Tariq) Woolen put a (good) second year in a row?”
The logic Orlovsky offered regarding Detroit over Seattle right now is sound, but that could change as the season goes on.
“Seattle is going to be a really, really good football team,” Orlovsky said. “The reason why I would sit here and say I think I put Detroit above Seattle is I don’t think that Seattle has a unit on their team, respectfully, that is as dominant as Detroit’s offensive line. Detroit’s offensive line will control games. I don’t know if Seattle has a unit that I sit there and say, ‘They are, when it comes to controlling the game, dominant.'”
And if Smith can have an even better season this year than his award-winning, career season in 2022?
“If he does, we’re having a conversation of this team being in the NFC title game conversation,” Orlovsky said. “I’ve said this multiple times: No one threw – no one, not a single quarterback in the NFL – threw more perfect passes last year than Geno Smith did.”
