Imagine entering a new football season brimming with optimism, having waited several months for the joy of watching the game again. You are shivering with anticipation to see your home team play. Initial hype turns into soul-crushing disappointment as you witness your team continuously make mistakes and lose winnable games. This is currently the case with the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. There has been much hope for the team among its fans, but three weeks into the 2017 season, they are being let down by their team underperforming for what they are.

So how did this happen? A suitable place to begin is the offseason. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has continually praised the offensive line and how much they have improved over the months. This praise turned out to be unfounded, as the offensive line has struggled over the first few games of this season, and they seem to be having even more trouble than they did in the previous season. This is greatly hindering the Seahawks’ offense as a whole, which is spearheaded by quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson does not have enough time to throw the ball to a teammate without his blockers doing their job. He constantly gets sacked and is forced to throw the ball too early as a result of the poor performance by the offensive line. This has also worn out the Seahawks defense, whose players do a great job until the offense wears them out.

The Seattle Seahawks have been known for their stellar defensive play in recent years. Their group of defensive backs, known as the “Legion of Boom,” have led the NFL in minimum points allowed numerous times. However, these players can not do their jobs well when the offense keeps forcing them back onto the field by failing to get first downs or scores, which brings on fatigue. This was on full display during Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans. They started off strong, stuffing almost every run and limiting Tennessee’s overall offense, but they became tired as the game progressed because they were on the field for too long. Both sides of the ball played well for only one half each, which tells us that the Seahawks need to improve with consistency if they want to have any hope of clinching a playoff berth.

The Seahawks have not just been lacking in this one game, but also the two games that preceded it. They have only achieved one win thus far, a 12-9 home victory against the San Francisco 49ers. Even though Seattle has consistently started slow over the past few years, these are not reassuring numbers. This team will have to significantly improve their sloppy play and pick up the pace over the course of the season to be considered legitimate contenders in the NFL.

Despite the sluggish start and pessimistic outlook, Seahawks fans like myself are still at least somewhat optimistic for a strong season because they have had at least ten wins every year since 2012. It is only three weeks into the season and there is plenty of room for improvement. However, there is no guarantee for progress, and the disappointment of fans will only intensify if the Seahawks keep driving themselves into the ditch.