Do we have the pieces to run Mike McD's Defense?

[JayhawkMike]

No matter who became the new head coach he would have improved the defense. But I’m hopeful Macdonald will improve it much more than anyone else would have.

 

[Rat]

Geno Stone is another Raven set for free agency also. Had seven INTs last season, and I remember at the halfway point, he had PFF's best coverage grade among safeties. I don't know if he kept that going.

 

[Chevy]

We can have the missing pieces by the end of the draft and free agency. The draft and free agency line up with our needs.

 

[JayhawkMike]

Everyone I see listed here is likely to be expensive, no?

 

[Chevy]

Everyone I see listed here is likely to be expensive, no?

Who was listed on here as free agents that you are referring to?

 

[Seattle Person]

There are a couple of reasons why I feel like our defense could take a step up right away.

1. We were playing catch-up with Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt. Carroll realized that the defensive landscape had changed in the NFL. That is what Clint Hurtt was all about, Fangio's concepts along with a few others had become the dominant meta in the NFL. Hurtt had been in Carroll's ear about those changes, but neither of them could implement the system properly. Modern NFL defenses come with all of the complexity of modern NFL offense. Just lining up and doing what we do was no longer an applicable. What we got is a defense that lacked identity. It tried straddle the line between a modern NFL defense and the keep it simple stupid philosophy of Pete Carroll. Our defense lacked direction and identity.

2. MacDonald is at the cutting edge of the NFL defensive meta. He's been a terror both at the collegiate and NFL level. Carroll and Hurtt tried implementing this style of defense without having any first hand experience with it. We hired a defensive coordinator that didn't having any experience with this style of defense and we had a head coach that had never used these schemes. It was a recipe for failure and ultimately it led to Pete Carroll's demise. Instead of trying to adapt, he is ahead of just about everyone in the defensive sphere right now. He's been some variation of this stuff since college, implementation is going to go A LOT smoother.

3. MacDonald has coached under both of the Harbaughs. If he has learned from their management style, he's going to run a much tighter ship than Carroll did. Carroll's style was a double edged sword. It allowed players to be themselves but it also leads to undisciplined teams. The style of defense MacDonald runs requires a lot of discipline and communication, something our defense has lacked for years under Carroll's teams.

4. There is a lot of fat that can be cut from our books. We likely can bring in a few guys that know his scheme better after cutting a few guys off our books. I suspect that Lockett is going to be a cap causality among a few others.

I just read or heard somewhere an idea of turning spoon into a safety a la Hamilton to maximize his skills. It’s going to be crazy to see how spoon develops now regardless

The thing that made Hamilton and the Ravens defense take off was making him a hybrid safety/nickle. Some people might freak out as I say this but should we be surprised if the Seahawks value someone like Terrion Arnold in the first round. You get another CB and move Witherspoon around. However, not just any CB but someone really really talented in Arnold.

Again...people are going to freak out this but I'm throwing out out-of-the-box ideas so we don't always have the same conversations about trenches. I want a better OLine and DLine too but I also want to talk about new things.

 

[Fade]

Do we have the right players for our new HC's system?

His system is to fit it to the players he has. He is not Pete Carroll square pegging round holing players.

 

[TheLegendOfBoom]

90% turnover means they are only keeping 6 players from last year. Who ya got as the 6?

Spoon
K9
DK
JSN
Lockett
Mafe
Cross
Woolen

These guys may have the best chance of staying…either just too talented or on cheap deals….

 

[morgulon1]

Spoon
K9
DK
JSN
Lockett
Mafe
Cross
Woolen

These guys may have the best chance of staying…either just too talented or on cheap deals….

Id like to add:

J Reed
M Morris
J Love
Nwousu
Oluatwami
Lucas ( if surgery goes well)
Bobo

At this point, I don't have any idea who is staying and who is leaving. Seattle isn't in the best cap situation so do they rip the bandaid off this off season or try and kick the can down the road? Does the new HC see any value in Diggs ? Adams?
Is he ok rolling with 34 year old Geno Smith? DK Metcalf and Lockett are set to make a whole bunch of money... Do they just leave things the way they are ?

 

[Appyhawk]

There are a couple of reasons why I feel like our defense could take a step up right away.

1. We were playing catch-up with Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt. Carroll realized that the defensive landscape had changed in the NFL. That is what Clint Hurtt was all about, Fangio's concepts along with a few others had become the dominant meta in the NFL. Hurtt had been in Carroll's ear about those changes, but neither of them could implement the system properly. Modern NFL defenses come with all of the complexity of modern NFL offense. Just lining up and doing what we do was no longer an applicable. What we got is a defense that lacked identity. It tried straddle the line between a modern NFL defense and the keep it simple stupid philosophy of Pete Carroll. Our defense lacked direction and identity.

2. MacDonald is at the cutting edge of the NFL defensive meta. He's been a terror both at the collegiate and NFL level. Carroll and Hurtt tried implementing this style of defense without having any first hand experience with it. We hired a defensive coordinator that didn't having any experience with this style of defense and we had a head coach that had never used these schemes. It was a recipe for failure and ultimately it led to Pete Carroll's demise. Instead of trying to adapt, he is ahead of just about everyone in the defensive sphere right now. He's been some variation of this stuff since college, implementation is going to go A LOT smoother.

3. MacDonald has coached under both of the Harbaughs. If he has learned from their management style, he's going to run a much tighter ship than Carroll did. Carroll's style was a double edged sword. It allowed players to be themselves but it also leads to undisciplined teams. The style of defense MacDonald runs requires a lot of discipline and communication, something our defense has lacked for years under Carroll's teams.

4. There is a lot of fat that can be cut from our books. We likely can bring in a few guys that know his scheme better after cutting a few guys off our books. I suspect that Lockett is going to be a cap causality among a few others.

We had guys in position to make plays all year but none of them knew how to tackle. If we can just teach them how to get a guy on the ground without a penalty we will be an improved defense right out of the gate. Add a better scheme to start from and we're right back in the hunt. Get our lines competitive and we can make a run for playoff wins. Get us a QB that has some juice and we can get to the top of the heap again.

 

[JayhawkMike]

Who was listed on here as free agents that you are referring to?

All the Raven FAs that are coming off career seasons. I imagine we can grab one or two but probably high priced

 

[ZagHawk]

Yeap, blow it all up, no one should fret over a 9-8 team esp that wasn't highly rated on any metric.

Sometimes you gotta take a few steps back so you can run and take a giant leap forward.

 

[Chawker]

I love what mac said, in his presser about our defense being "PHYSICAL and EXPLOSIVE " The 12s got your back Mac !

My Seahawks are "MIGHTY" once again ! Go Mac Go.

CHEERS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Mcd

 

[Kamcussionator]

The Ravens played a 3-4, so the short answer to the OP question is, 'yes'.

There will be some roster churn for sure, but it's not going to be like when Hurtt came in and we had to swap out all our OLB and DE.

 

[warden]

Jamal Adams.

If there's anyone who can unlock his potential and utilize him the way he should be, it's Macdonald. Or has that ship sailed?

I think he has not recovered from his Quad injury. It is quite possible that he will never fully recover

 

[Chevy]

All the Raven FAs that are coming off career seasons. I imagine we can grab one or two but probably high priced

I think there are 3 Ravens free agents JS would be interested in signing, but he would not sign all three. Ravens DT/DE Justin Madubuike is one of the best FA this year and he should be one of our top free agent targets this year. He is still young (26), he has an athletic profile, great motor, and he was more impressive than the Chiefs DT Chris Jones in the playoffs.





The other two are ILB Patrick Queen and the FS Stone. Neither one would be an upgrade to Brooks or Julian Love.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I think there are 3 Ravens free agents JS would be interested in signing, but he would not sign all three. Ravens DT/DE Justin Madubuike is one of the best FA this year and he should be one of our top free agent targets this year. He is still young (26), he has an athletic profile, great motor, and he was more impressive than the Chiefs DT Chris Jones in the playoffs.





The other two are ILB Patrick Queen and the FS Stone. Neither one would be an upgrade to Brooks or Julian Love.

Queen not an upgrade to Brooks? That is a hot take. Queen started rough but for the last two years he’s been one of the better LBs in the league.

Queen also knows how to execute Macdonald’s scheme which is far more complicated and demanding on LBs than Carroll’s, especially in coverage which Brooks sucks at.

 

[Chevy]

Queen not an upgrade to Brooks? That is a hot take. Queen started rough but for the last two years he’s been one of the better LBs in the league.

Queen also knows how to execute Macdonald’s scheme which is far more complicated and demanding on LBs than Carroll’s, especially in coverage which Brooks sucks at.

Yes, for the last two years Queen has been a good ILB, because guess who was his defensive coordinator the last two years? Yes, it was Mike Macdonald! It took Macdonald's scheme to get the most out of Queen, otherwise Queen would have been a bust. If Clint Hurt had been Queen's defensive coordinator the last two years, Queen would have been bad.

So, Macdonald can do the same with Brooks, who had a better career prior to Queen benefiting from Macdonald's scheme.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Yes, for the last two years Queen has been a good ILB, because guess who was his defensive coordinator the last two years? Yes, it was Mike Macdonald! It took Macdonald's scheme to get the most out of Queen, otherwise Queen would have been a bust. If Clint Hurt had been Queen's defensive coordinator the last two years, Queen would have been bad.

So, Macdonald can do the same with Brooks, who had a better career prior to Queen benefiting from Macdonald's scheme.

Queen has always been better at coverage than Brooks. He’s also more rangy than Brooks. They rely on him quite a bit in coverage. Just because we hired MacDonald doesn’t automatically mean Brooks makes sense or is a fit for what he does.

Brooks has been a liability here since college. I’d argue that Brooks is not a fit for MacDonalds system. Brooks is also an FA. Why not sign the guy that knows how to play within the system already and help implement it?