If you were expecting to see a lot of championship football from the Seahawks this season, you weren’t paying attention during the offseason. While Russell Wilson isn’t doing any better in Denver, Seattle definitively hit the reset button this year – and that usually means some hard times are ahead.
Geno Smith has done an admirable job at quarterback in Wilson’s absence and the run game finally showed signs of life in Sunday’s loss to Atlanta. However, the big story of the 2022 season to date is a defensive unit that’s completely gone to pot with poor showings rampant at all three levels and on the sidelines.
After the game, coach Pete Carroll admitted everyone has to do better.
Pete carroll says of defense “we’ve all got to do a better job.”
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) September 25, 2022
Clint Hurtt and Sean Desai haven’t been given an all-star defense, but they have to figure out how to employ their pieces better – because they keep getting beat in the same ways.
At the top of the list is a run defense that was one of the league’s best last season but has suddenly became the worst. Through three weeks only the Texans are allowing more rushing yards per game – and Houston doesn’t count.
It’s been a poor all-around effort, but teams are honing in on Seattle’s edge defenders in particular. Both the 49ers and the Falcons went wild running wide zones and the Seahawks were totally unable to adjust and make stops.
As for the passing game, they’re once again not getting enough pressure. Yesterday Marcus Mariota felt comfortable enough to complete his first eight passes, all going for 14 yards or more.
Marcus Mariota's first 8 completions today all went for 14 or more yards and all resulted in first downs: pic.twitter.com/3vzeFZ7dc0
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) September 26, 2022
It’s tough to stay competitive when you’re making Mariota look good and couldn’t stop the run if your life depended on it.
So, what’s the solution?
It’s over our paygrade to suggest schematic adjustments. However, personnel-wise we can think of a few guys who could have helped this defense. Re-signing Carlos Dunlap, K.J. Wright and D.J. Reed wouldn’t have solved all their problems, but it’s guaranteed they’d look a lot better than this.
