The end of the 2016 season was a bit worrisome for the Seattle Seahawks. The team’s normally vaunted defense looked quite normal after Earl Thomas suffered a season-ending injury. Making matters worse, Thomas had left some doubt on whether he plans on coming back.
Those fears can now be put to bed.
#Seahawks Earl Thomas is committed, told me, "I'm coming back to prove I'm the best – I'm coming back to help my team win a championship."
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 2, 2017
Strangely enough, Thomas’ absence might have done more to prove that he’s the best than anything he’d previously done on the field.
Seattle’s defense is one of the best that the NFL has ever seen, especially given the offense heavy rules that it faces. For the most part, the 2016 season was no different. But when Thomas went out, the Seahawks vaunted Legion of Boom looked quite normal — or even bad. Bad offenses looked okay, good offenses looked great and great offenses looked unstoppable.
Winning a championship is going to take more than a revived Thomas. If Seattle can’t improve it’s offensive line play, then it will be nothing more than a playoff team and possibly much less.
If, however, the offensive front improves and Thomas is back healthy, the Seahawks chances are as good as anyone’s.