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RENTON, Wash. -- When it comes to Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, optimism isn't a hard thing to find. Carroll always tries to find the positive outlook in every possible situation. With that in mind, it's no surprise Carroll is exceedingly hopeful about what the Seahawks can accomplish in 2016.
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"It's been a good solid preseason," Carroll said. "I'm fired up that we played hard and tough throughout. We should have won all our games. ... I think it's an exciting team. With the leadership that we have and the kind of depth that we have, I think it gives us a real chance to have a nice season and I look forward to getting this thing started."
Seattle returns the core of a team that has won a playoff game in each of the last four seasons. Russell Wilson looks poised to take another step forward at quarterback. Doug Baldwin was among the most prolific receivers in the league over the second half of the season. Thomas Rawls and Jimmy Graham are approaching full health and a defense that has led the league in points allowed four years in a row returns most of its starters.
Wilson is coming off the first 4,000-yard season of his career and tossed 34 touchdowns to only eight interceptions last year. In the final seven games, Wilson threw 24 touchdowns with just one interception.
The Seahawks started 2015 poorly with road losses to St. Louis and Green Bay en route to a 2-4 record through six weeks of the season. The slow start made the playoffs an uphill climb and took the opportunity to host postseason games out of the equation. The Seahawks have not lost a home playoff game under Carroll and the last home playoff loss came in 2004.
The Seahawks begin their 2016 campaign with a visit from an infrequent visitor. The Miami Dolphins have not played a game in Seattle since 2004. The last time the Seahawks hosted the Dolphins, Jerry Rice scored the first touchdown of the game for Seattle. It's been that long since the Dolphins made the longest flight in the NFL to Seattle.
This matchup bears little resemblance to the one played 12 years ago. The Seahawks have played in three Super Bowls since and won their first championship. Miami has made the postseason once.
A home opener against the Dolphins provides a little softer landing for Seattle, who are still waiting for Rawls and Graham to get back to 100 percent.
Rawls will play against Miami while Graham will likely be a game-time
decision.
--Trevone Boykin is the leading candidate currently on Seattle's roster to be the team's backup quarterback.
But whether he's done enough for the Seahawks to actually feel comfortable with him as the backup to Russell Wilson remains uncertain.
Boykin -- an undrafted free agent signing out of TCU -- concluded the preseason with a lackluster performance against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night. Boykin completed just 7 of 15 passes for 72 yards and was constantly under pressure by the Raiders.
"He had some problems tonight. We had some trouble with some stuff," head coach Pete Carroll said. "It was kind of like a little bit of the wild bunch out there. The guys were having trouble getting lined up. I'm not quite sure where it all came from but we struggled tonight just kind of administering the game for us. We had trouble finding any continuity for a while. Then we just ran the football and did way better, things simplified and all that. But he was not as sharp as he's been."
When asked directly if he has done enough to start the season as Seattle's No. 2 quarterback, Carroll replied "we'll find out."
Boykin has routinely struggled when playing against opponents' backups in early portions of preseason games. However, he has been successful engineering drives when playing late in games against third-string defenses.
He led a late fourth quarter comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in Seattle's preseason opener that culminated with a Hail Mary touchdown pass to Tanner McEvoy and two-point conversion run by Troymaine Pope to grab a 17-16 win. However, it would be the only touchdown pass he threw during the preseason.
Boykin finished preseason completing 37 of 71 passes for 418 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also rushed 12 times for 70 yards and a touchdown.
"I think as any young quarterback, there's a lot on his plate with what we ask him to do," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said last week. "He's continuing to grow. I think with that being said, he has performed well. There's obviously things that he can do better and improve on. We're working on each and every one, every day. I like the progression that he's made."
Whether that progression has been enough to make the Seahawks comfortable he could fill in for a couple games if necessary is uncertain. They did not add a quarterback via trade or waiver claim during the initial cutdown process.
--Defensive end Michael Bennett is expected to be ready to play in the opener after having a routine procedure last week in California to ease an ailing toe. The injury has bothered Bennett for the last several seasons and has never kept him from playing in games. The trip was part of the standard maintenance plan for the injury.
