A year ago, the Seahawks started 3-3 and everyone wondered why they were suddenly such a middling squad.  Then they rediscovered their old mojo and rattled off nine wins in the final 10 games to win the NFC's top seed again.

Now, here they are at the quarter pole of the 2015 season, sitting at .500 again. And, while it will only get tougher in the second quarter and a 4-4 record is very possible, if not likely, the Seahawks we see now are not the Seahawks we'll see in November and December.

As Pete Carroll recently said, "I know you like to see everyone go perfectly as they roll through this thing, but it isn’t like that. There are great challenges to it. We were 3-3 last year at one time, and everybody’s wondering, ‘Where are we? What’s going on?’ (But) we hadn’t found our stride yet."

Neither has this team -- obviously. And it's no surprise.

The notoriously slow-starting Seahawks were destined to be no better than 3-1, and 2-2 was a distinct possibility thanks to games at St. Louis and Green Bay to start the season.

They also were destined to struggle on offense -- it's no surprise the O-line, with new starters at three spots, has endured major growing pains and the coaches have taken heat for how they have used Jimmy Graham. It hasn't helped that Marshawn Lynch has been injured for most of the season.

But the slow start is not that much different than any other year since Russell Wilson became the starting quarterback in 2012. The Hawks rarely have been front-runners. In the first eight games, they have a .667 win percentage; in the final eight, it's .833. They score nearly a touchdown more per game in the second half of the season.

After the Seahawks started 0-2 this year, Carroll said, “There's always stuff that you have to go through to find yourself, to find your way. Sometimes it has to get way hard before it gets good. I like the other guys to learn the hard way, but sometimes you’ve got to learn it yourself.”

Since those comments, the Seahawks have rallied to reach .500, even as their offensive line continues to learn the hard way.

Now they start the second quarter; and, if you thought the first four games were tough, you're not going to like the next four.

It's their toughest stretch of the season -- back-to-back 4-0 teams (at Cincinnati and home vs. Carolina) and then games at San Francisco and Dallas.  

The Hawks also are one of three NFL teams that have to endure the grueling four games in 18 days this season.  The stretch started Monday against Detroit and ends with a Thursday night game at San Francisco in two weeks. (The Colts just finished their 4-in-18 stretch and Chicago will have to endure it in November. New England was among three teams to do it in 2014.)

As for the second quarter, a split is probably the best the Seahawks can expect -- considering they are playing three road games and the home game is against the undefeated Panthers. A 5-3 mark would be the same record they had midway through last season.

However the first half ends, the second half will be much friendlier. It starts with three straight home games and has just three road games -- they should win at least six of the final eight.

Last year, it took a come-to-Jesus meeting by the players after their loss in Kansas City in Week 11 for the Seahawks to become dominant again (on defense anyway).

That might have already happened this year, with the return of Kam Chancellor. Everyone is crediting Chancellor for straightening out the defense and helping the Hawks rally from a 0-2 start. The defense has held the Bears and Lions to three points on 20 possessions as Seattle has won the past two games 39-10, and the Seahawks are the No. 2 defense in the league as they head to Cincinnati.

“We’re trying to find our ways to continue to improve," Carroll said this week. "There’s a lot of ways for us here to get better obviously, and that’s really what our theme is -- to continue to strive to find those ways, adjust things and fix things so we can be more efficient and more consistent. It hasn’t been like we like it, but we’re pleased to be getting on track, and the way the defense is playing gives us a chance every week.”

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