In some areas of life, change is difficult.

That’s not the case with the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. Since these two teams last played in a similar scenario two years ago, both teams have a new head coach and the Broncos have a new starting quarterback.

Mike Macdonald is now the Seahawks head coach, and he brings a defensive-minded approach that could bring elite defenses back to Seattle.

FanDuel Sportsbook favors the Seahawks in their Week 1 opener against Denver. Seattle is a -5.5 point favorite, with the total point total at 41.5 points.

To preview Sunday’s game, we go “behind enemy lines” with John Gilbert from Field Gulls to get a feel for the Seahawks.

MHR: The Seahawks have a new head coach for the first time in 14 seasons. How surprising was this change? How are fans reacting to Mike Macdonald? And what are the differences between the two?

John: Personally, I wasn’t too shocked by the decision to move on from Pete, but there were certainly plenty of fans who were. Despite the team’s success early in his tenure, the reality is that the Hawks have earned exactly one postseason victory since the Obama administration, and that lone playoff win came against a team that lost its starting quarterback to a concussion in the first quarter.

That’s not to say the team was bad, because in recent years they were obviously good enough to stay in the playoff race late in the season. Ultimately, however, the Rams and Niners dominated the NFC West, and the 7-2 losses to those two teams over the past two seasons didn’t help.

MHR: How are Seahawks fans feeling this season? What are your expectations for the 2024 season?

John: The excitement and optimism is at a fever pitch. That can be said at the start of most seasons, but it’s even more true this season and fans are excited that the team can field a good defense for the first time in a long time.

The Seahawks under Carroll were, of course, known for having one of the best defenses in NFL history. However, Seattle last had a top-10 defense in 2016, and they’ve finished in the bottom quarter of the league each of the last two years, so even an average defense would be a significant improvement.

MHR: What is Seattle’s plan of attack on Sunday, offensively and defensively? How will the Seahawks get the win?

John: Offensively, the Seahawks will likely start with Air Raid. By all accounts, Geno Smith had a phenomenal offseason, and now it’s time to see what he can do with the offensive weapons at his disposal. With DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett, there should be no shortage of ball movement in Ryan Grubb’s aggressive offense, but Smith only played five snaps during the preseason, so even Seattle fans are waiting to hear exactly what Grubb’s offense will look like in the NFL. And as has long been the refrain in Seattle, the team will go as far as its offensive line allows. There are plenty of inexperienced players who could get playing time, but the front office signed experienced players in Connor Williams, George Fant, and Laken Tomlinson, so the difficulty shouldn’t be as great as in years past.

On paper, Seattle has all the makings of a top-tier defense, but it may take some time for the unit to get enough game practice to perform at its peak. Injuries have limited players like Dre’Mont Jones, Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson during the offseason and training camp. I expect moments of brilliance and dominance early in the year punctuated by gaps in coverage and failed gap-fills that should slowly fade as the group gains experience and game practice.

MHR: What’s your best bet for Sunday’s game at FanDuel Sportsbook? What do you think of the current spread?

John: I think the Seahawks will win the game, but the 5.5 point margin is a little high for me. That’s a margin they could easily reach, but I don’t expect it to happen since I expect Sean Payton to get the Broncos hot and ready.

What I like is the over, as the over/under of 41.5 seems very low to me. I mean, I remember very clearly a Seahawks game against the Broncos where Seattle scored more points than that, and I would be very surprised if the two teams didn’t easily go over 42 points, as both teams are playing under new defensive coordinators.

MHR: What are your expectations and predictions for Sunday’s game?

John: I expect the Seahawks to win somewhere in the 31-27 range.