How Bad/Good is our Defense?

[kidhawk]

I, as with everyone, got a little spoiled being at the top of the heap, so I've been looking at this defense through the blinders of last season. Let's look at some numbers from this current season

Total Yards Allowed per Game: 316.1 ranked 5th overall

Total Points per Game: 21.4 ranked 10th overall

3rd down Percentage: 44% Tied for 21st overall

Passing YPG: 226.6 ranked 10th overall

Rushing YPG: 89.6 ranked 6th overall

Sacks: 10 Ranked 26th overall

Interceptions: 3 Ranked 26th overall



Realistically this is still a top 10 defense in the important categories Like yards per game and points per game. We are top 10 in both rushing yards allowed and Passing Yards allowed.

Our weakness seems to currently lie in the turnovers, and 3rd down percentage. We have been just missing turnovers every game this year. If we can turn around the 3rd down statistic, this defense could be back to their elite form.

 

[pehawk]

I still think they're top 5, and when healthy will be top 3, maybe even the best. Outside of statistics, the Seahawks are still accomplishing their primary objective; make offenses sustain long drives at the cost of punishing hits and via TOUGH throws and nearly impossible catches.

Rivers and Romo we're forced to make unbelievable adjustments within the pocket, even then it took unbelievable catches to capitalize on their quarterbacking. Over a 16 game season the opposition wont be able to do that.

Rams game was just an anomaly...and had more to do with a depleted secondary and wobbly Kam.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Like I said in the Optimism thread yesterday I was much more encouraged by the D's performance Sunday than the offenses.

Much better with pressuring the QB, penalties, stops on 3rd down and turnovers.

Still left a lot of opportunities on the field, but looks like the D might be turning the corner on getting back to playing really sound good football. I see no reason the D can't continue to improve over the next two weeks at home against bad teams.

 

[jake206]

Gotta fix the pass rush.

 

[lobohawk]

They are very good and probably in the top 5. Are they as good as last year? No. That's why it was important for the offense to improve and be more consistent than last year.

 

[kidhawk]

They are very good and probably in the top 5. Are they as good as last year? No. That's why it was important for the offense to improve and be more consistent than last year.

I think when healthy, they could be as good as last year. Losing Lane, then Wagner has been extraordinarily tough on the center of our defense. A lot of these 3rd down conversions which are killing us on defense are either made easily convertible short situations due to 1st and second down plays in the middle or 3rd down conversions across the middle. I think losing these two guys has made it much tougher on our defense, and with the heightened expectations, it has left a lot f fans feeling deflated watching other teams move down the field.

Looking at it purely statistically though, shows that they still are playing pretty solid football, even with the injuries we've had, and getting guys back for the stretch will make them that much better.

 

[ivotuk]

Greg Scrugs is improving and imho, will be this year's Clinton McDonald. I think we get back to last year's level now that Harvin is gone and we can go back to our regular defense.

Remember, we are a top 10 defense with backups to backups playing DB, the nickel, Linebacker, and DL. Plus Kam has slowed this year with his injuries. Add to that playing some of the top QBs in the league, and our offense not winning the time of possession battle, it's amazing we are ranked this high!

 

[brimsalabim]

Washington used blitz packages to confuse the Dallas protection last night. As a result they owned third down. We aren't getting enough pressure Rushing 4 with this squad (at least not until pin your ears back time) I think we are going to have to get out of our comfort zone to get back to dominance.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Gotta fix the pass rush.

I'm hoping we pick up Clem for a 6th rounder today, he'd be perfect back in the rotation.

 

[kidhawk]

Gotta fix the pass rush.

I'm hoping we pick up Clem for a 6th rounder today, he'd be perfect back in the rotation.

It was just a one off game vs Carolina, but we had pretty decent pressure this week. This being directly after Pete saying he was going to make some adjustments to improve our game in that area, gives me hope that he's getting this situation well in hand.

I'd like to see a few more games where we get good pressure on the qb before I'm convinced, but with the Raiders and Giants coming up, I think it could be just what the doctor ordered

 

[hawkfan68]

I still think they're top 5, and when healthy will be top 3, maybe even the best. Outside of statistics, the Seahawks are still accomplishing their primary objective; make offenses sustain long drives at the cost of punishing hits and via TOUGH throws and nearly impossible catches.

Rivers and Romo we're forced to make unbelievable adjustments within the pocket, even then it took unbelievable catches to capitalize on their quarterbacking. Over a 16 game season the opposition wont be able to do that.

Rams game was just an anomaly...and had more to do with a depleted secondary and wobbly Kam.

Well said Pe. To add, the Rams game was lost because of the ST mistakes. Otherwise it may have been a W. The Rams had under 300 total yards of offense. However they amassed 112 yards in kickoff returns and 89 on punt returns. That's 201 yards the special teams gave up. The defense will get better.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Gotta fix the pass rush.

I'm hoping we pick up Clem for a 6th rounder today, he'd be perfect back in the rotation.

It was just a one off game vs Carolina, but we had pretty decent pressure this week. This being directly after Pete saying he was going to make some adjustments to improve our game in that area, gives me hope that he's getting this situation well in hand.

I'd like to see a few more games where we get good pressure on the qb before I'm convinced, but with the Raiders and Giants coming up, I think it could be just what the doctor ordered

I was just fine with the pressure, I'm just worried about Avril and Bennett's work load. They're both WAY over their snap count of last year, and both are working extremely hard right now to get to the QB.........so my fear is they're gonna wear down as the season progresses.

We could use another DE like Clem in that rotation.

 

[pehawk]

The pressure in the Carolina game was mostly due to delayed blitzing, IIRC. Not a sustainable tactic (for Pete personally).

 

[kidhawk]

Gotta fix the pass rush.

I'm hoping we pick up Clem for a 6th rounder today, he'd be perfect back in the rotation.

It was just a one off game vs Carolina, but we had pretty decent pressure this week. This being directly after Pete saying he was going to make some adjustments to improve our game in that area, gives me hope that he's getting this situation well in hand.

I'd like to see a few more games where we get good pressure on the qb before I'm convinced, but with the Raiders and Giants coming up, I think it could be just what the doctor ordered

I was just fine with the pressure, I'm just worried about Avril and Bennett's work load. They're both WAY over their snap count of last year, and both are working extremely hard right now to get to the QB.........so my fear is they're gonna wear down as the season progresses.

We could use another DE like Clem in that rotation.

Pete mentioned them specifically saying that he wanted to get back to a better balance. I took that to mean that they'd rotate younger guys in more. Looking at the snap counts for the past two weeks, Bennett dropped from 90% against the rams to 82% against the Panthers.

I love Clemons, but if he comes in, we likely have to drop a guy like Scruggs, and it's unlikely we keep Clemons around past this season. I kind of wish there was a few more weeks before the trade deadline because I'd like to see this altered rush pattern for a few more weeks to see if it's going to continue to get better pressure like it did against the Panthers.

 

[rjdriver]

I think we miss the leadership of Red and Chris on that D line. I especially feel the lack of offensive time of possession is what is killing our defense. I don't care how good you are, you can't allow a defense to be out there 70% of the game and perform at an elite level. This was evident against SD and DAL.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Our historically great defense from last year was crippled by losing McQuinstan, Bryant and Clemons--not just because of losing those great players,but we never replaced the d-line depth that allowed us to bring in fresh attackers on the line. It pressured qbs into making mistakes agisnt the Legion and get all those picks--including the one that got us into the SB. The D is still good, but it's a shadow of what it was last year. This year we need Wilson to win tough games for us, because we no longer have the defense that will.

 

[jdemps]

Our historically great defense from last year was crippled by losing McQuinstan

Wrong side of the ball but the point's still valid.

Lets not forget the injuries to Marsh, Williams, Hill, etc. who were expected to replace depth.

Also, injuries to BWag, Maxi, JLane, Simon, Kam making the coverage a little softer than last year.

Lets also not forget the ill advised emphasis on passing (to Harvin) that has skewed our TOP and left the D on the field far longer than last year.

But...

With guys like KPL and Burley getting real play time gives us the flexibility down the road to have Irvin put his hand in the dirt or send backers on the blitz. Plus we should get Hill back soon. Expecting us to turn the corner for the stretch run.

 

[acbass]

On its face, our defense seems to be lacking pretty far behind last year's. When I actually sit down and think about it, and watch some film, I'm not sure they are necessarily playing that much worse. They just haven't been able to capitalize on some of those turnovers like they did last year. There are also some guy hurt and banged up that have caused us to have to do some different things. IMHO, the loss of Wagner is so huge. I think K.J. is just out of position at MLB. That causes sort of a ripple effect that opponents have been able to take advantage of. I really have two concerns that really trouble me moving forward. 1. The lack of pass rush. For whatever reason guys just haven't been getting there. This past week was MUCH better as Newton was constantly having to move, but they still had some problems sealing the deal. Yes, I know Newton is a physical freak, but that attempt by Bennett in the end zone just can't happen. I feel as the rest of the defense tightens up the pass rush will come around. If not, this season is may be horribly frustrating. My 2nd major concern is tackling. This team has been known to be one of, if not the best, tackling teams in the NFL. Hell, wasn't there a video being passed around about how they do it? (I didn't see it, just heard about it, so if I'm wrong/misguided, excuse me.) This year, I've just seen way too many missed tackles. This is especially frustrating because I know they can, they just for whatever reason aren't. I think if we can get some of these guys back on the field, namely Wagner, then we will be fine.