Anyone who has read my posts over the years knows a favorite emphasis of mine is learning how championship teams were built. 

 

In the aftermath of Seattle's impressive win over Denver in the Super Bowl, I hadn't given much thought to how Seattle built their team until I heard a member of the Seahawks being interviewed on the radio in the after game celebration of their win.

 

I can't remember who it was (WR Doug Baldwin, IIRC), but he indicated that a whopping TWENTY ONE (21) of the team's Fifty three (53) man roster were undrafted free agents!  That's FORTY PERCENT of the team!! To me, that number absolutely boggles the mind, if it's true.

 

But then there are other ways Seattle bucked "conventional wisdom" in building this team.

 

Their QB is an undersized 3rd round pick. More Super Bowl QBs were first rounders than any other single round, and most were over 6'.

 

Many people have argued against the use of free agency and trades for players in building a championship team, yet Seattle signed guys like Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Matt Flynn  and Marshawn Lynch as free agents, and traded a first round pick in exchange for Percy Harvin.

 

Many, including TMD, have argued that it is now impossible for a defensive, ball control team to win the Super Bowl any longer, yet Seattle, a defense first, run the ball team dominated all year and won the big one.

 

I have argued that the best teams of all time (those who won multiple Super Bowls within a short period) have tended to place a heavy early round emphasis on skill players.  This runs counter to those who maintain building through the trenches is the only way to truly win.  It's too soon to say whether Seattle will win multiple Super Bowls.  Nevertheless, looking at them at this early part, Seattle seems to buck both trends.   Going back to 2009, Seattle spent three first round picks on linemen (Okung, Carpenter, Irvin), and three first round picks on non linemen (Curry, Thomas, and this year's first on Harvin). 

 

Conventional wisdom also seems to pooh pooh the idea that having guys with character issues on your team is anathema to winning a championship.  But once again, facts show otherwise.  Percy Harvin, Marshawn Lynch and Bruce Irvin are among those champion Seahawks that had multiple off field issues at different points in their lives.

 

No matter what your philosophies are in building a team, an honest evaluation would leave you marveling at what Seattle has done, and if you are a Jaguars fan, hopeful their success can be replicated here.

 

Hats off to Seattle!

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