The Seahawks thought so highly of Harvin that they signed him to a six-year, $67 million extension after making the trade. Expectations were sky-high in Seattle.
Earlier this week Harvin injured his hip, and after getting it examined by two different doctors, had decided to get surgery to repair the tear in his labrum. Harvin will miss the next 3-4 months, pushing back the start of his season until the end of November or early-December.
Prior to the injury, many experts were picking the Seahawks to be serious contenders for the Super Bowl and calling them one of the best teams in the leauge. Now that Harvin is hurt, a lot of these same experts are going back and changing their picks.
However, the Seahawks will be fine without Harvin.
First off, the Seahawks were one of the best teams in the NFL and they didn’t have Harvin then. Seattle’s top two receivers last year, Sidney Rice and Golden Tate, are still with the team and are used to being Wilson’s favorite targets. Wilson did just fine with those two as his primary targets.
Rice went to Switzerland earlier this week to get his knee examined and possibly for stem cell injections into his knee, but other athletes have gone through this same procedure and came back 100-percent healthy.
Secondly, the Seahawks aren’t a pass-first team. Marshawn Lynch is one of the best backs in the league, and Seattle will continue to pound the ball between the tackles with their workhorse.
Lastly, Seattle had one of the league’s best defenses last year, and they added even more pieces to their defense during the offseason. Seattle signed Cliff Avril this offseason, and many considered Avril to be the best pass rusher in free agency. The rest of their defense is returning as well, so this unit could be even better in 2013 than it was in 2012.
Losing Percy Harvin definitely hurts, but the Seahawks are still a very good team without him.
Seattle should still finish the season with one of the best records in the NFL, and should compete for the NFC West Title with the San Francisco 49ers.
Written by Mike Lucas, FootBasket Featured Columnist
