How stout will our front 7 be in 2019?

[Schadie001]

It was said above. When we won the SB it was with a rotation of many DE and DT. Bennett and Avril didn’t play the entire game. We lost that recently and need to go back to it. I think We are on our way. Philly replicated our model a few years later and made the SB. In recent years our 4th Qrt pass rush has dropped off and I believe it Is because we relied on a shallow rotation, rather than a constant churning of fresh legs.

 

[Jville]

Here are the (referenced above) snap counts for the top eight defensive linemen in 2013

name............ defensive snaps........ percentage defensive snap......... ST Snaps

M. Bennett............ 600.................................... 57.5% ..............................43
C. Clemons........... 570.................................... 54.7% ..............................36
T. McDaniel........... 528.................................... 50.6%...............................34
B. Mebane............. 531.................................... 50.9% ..............................27
C. Avril................... 551.................................... 52.8% ................................5
C. McDonald.......... 530.................................... 50.8% ..............................23
R. Bryant................ 481.................................... 46.1% ..............................44
O. Schofield............144..................................... 13.8% ............................154

 

[A-Dog]

M. Bennett............ L.J. Collier
C. Clemons........... Ziggy Ansah
T. McDaniel........... Al Woods
B. Mebane............. Jarran Reed
C. Avril................... Jacob Martin
C. McDonald.......... Poona Ford
R. Bryant................ Quentin Jefferson / Raheem Green / Naz Jones
O. Schofield............Casseius Marsh

Feels like we are still a player short at edge. If Ansah doesn't pan out that will be a problem. It's also asking a lot of Martin to fill the Avril role. Ideally we get one more player (Nick Perry?) and Martin moves to the Schofield Slot.

There are a lot of question marks at the 5T spot. Collier is not going to be Michael Bennett out of the gate. Jefferson has a pretty low ceiling, Green is unproven, and Jones has regressed. If Green can emerge as a consistent impact pass rusher that would sure help.

 

[knownone]

Pete Carroll on Green:
[*“Our expectation is that we’re going to play him at 5-technique (end), play him at defensive end, and use him as an inside rusher as well in nickel situations, then we’ll see what that brings us, but that’s the thought right now,” Carroll said. “We need a little help there, so it’s a good get for us… (His versatility) is very important for us. We’ll definitely have some options here. He’s really young, he’s a 20-year-old kid, and he’s from a great school down there, Serra High School. He’s got a lot of potential to grow. We’ll move him all around and figure it out.”]
https://www.seahawks.com/news/pete-carr ... k-ahead-to

Pete Carroll on Collier
[“He’s going to play five technique for us," Carroll told reporters. "He’s very flexible and can move around. The guy that I saw pop up on the TV that he’s a lot like is Michael Bennett. He has the versatility and the style and the penetration ability, he’s really slippery. He has terrific pass rush makeup and so we’re going to fit him right in the scheme in that regard and look forward to that. You could see it early on that he had that kind of stuff to him. He’s really long and has good length to him, [he has] a really nice pass rush bag of tricks. He’s got all the stuff. We think we have something really special in him and I fell in love with the fact that he had a big chip on his shoulder and he wanted to prove it and all that too. He really fit in.”*]
https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/sea ... e-seahawks

Previous injuries - Green
[*“The only reason he fell is because he had a little bit of a medical downgrade with an issue,” Schneider said. “We brought him in, our doctors were able to put their hands on him twice, give him a great exam here. He was able to spend some extra time with our coaches—we got to know him a little bit even better than we did. I’m sure he thought he was going to go higher. We like guys like that… It’s interesting, we have an orthopedic medical grade then we have a durability grade we use as well with our sports science guys, and he has a very solid durability grade. We’re excited about that.”]
https://www.seahawks.com/news/pete-carr ... k-ahead-to

Both of these guys are redundant. Why draft Collier in the first round when you drafted Green last year?

With Greens injury history -which popped up last year- my initial thought is the Hawks cannot rely on the guy. IMHO, Green's injury history, cannot rely on him, redundant players put this guy on the bubble.

However, Chris912.., made me think for a moment. Why not keep both, keep them fresh, and rotate these guys throughout the game? And, the team kept CJ Prosise for how many years so if they're willing to keep Prosise why not Green if he suffers another injury this year?

All that being said, it makes sense to keep both, rotate these guys because PC always says you never have enough pass rushers.

I wouldn't read too much into their post draft analysis on Green's position. Green is 2ish years younger than Collier and he's a bit of a freak athlete. If I remember correctly they expect him to play at 290-300 pounds. If he developes physically he'll be able to play anywhere on the line. He's still probably a year away though, and Collier seems to be one of the more pro ready prospects this year.

 

[nanomoz]

Given the way they've paid attention to defensive tackle (Jamie Meder and Al Woods--nose tackles that occupy space), I suspect that they think that Jarran Reed and Poona Ford will continue their progress as penetrators and situational three-techniques. Hopefully they're right, and the pass rush inside improves. This team misses Bennett shooting gaps inside.

So much depends on the progress of really young players like Ford, Green, Martin, and Shaqueem. I suspect they are going to try to make Shaqueem a LEO / situational pass rusher. Otherwise, I think they'd have signed Nick Perry or someone like him.

 

[toffee]

I suspect our run defense will improve with Al Woods, rushing still questionable, defends on Ziggy's injury recovery, Collier's readiness to start, Green's progress; quite a few IFs.

 

[DJrmb]

M. Bennett............ L.J. Collier
C. Clemons........... Ziggy Ansah
T. McDaniel........... Al Woods
B. Mebane............. Jarran Reed
C. Avril................... Jacob Martin
C. McDonald.......... Poona Ford
R. Bryant................ Quentin Jefferson / Raheem Green / Naz Jones
O. Schofield............Casseius Marsh

Feels like we are still a player short at edge. If Ansah doesn't pan out that will be a problem. It's also asking a lot of Martin to fill the Avril role. Ideally we get one more player (Nick Perry?) and Martin moves to the Schofield Slot.

There are a lot of question marks at the 5T spot. Collier is not going to be Michael Bennett out of the gate. Jefferson has a pretty low ceiling, Green is unproven, and Jones has regressed. If Green can emerge as a consistent impact pass rusher that would sure help.

I agree completely. I would like to see them bring in a veteran for competition, more of a known commodity and if the young guys beat him out then you know they're ready. If not then you have a safety net for a year.

 

[Hawks46]

Our LB corps now looks amazing, but I don't think they are finished adding veterans to the defensive line. We have 15 players competing for 9 spots and will likely add more between now and cut downs. I also wouldn't be surprised if we traded a late pick next year for somebody.

I agree with this. I don't see them relying on a rookie or 2nd year guy at the DE spot opposite Ansah. Not as the starter at least without beating out a veteran. That's not a slight on Collier or Green at all, it's just lineman don't normally realize their potential until the 3rd year. I expect a veteran 5T to be brought in for competition at the very least. McCoy would be amazing if they could get him, or a guy like Wilkerson would be a good fit imo.

Collier is similar to Bennett in that his hand usage is outstanding for coming out of college. Hand fighting is one of the hardest thing to learn for DLmen and most rookies aren't great at it. He'll be productive.

I think our pass rush will be average this year. I worry a bit about Safety, Nickle CB and rush DE. I don't think Ansah will be all that great. Our run defense will be great and interior pass rush decent. Lber looks pretty damned good. Overall I think we're at least as good as last year and potentially better.

 

[DJrmb]

Our LB corps now looks amazing, but I don't think they are finished adding veterans to the defensive line. We have 15 players competing for 9 spots and will likely add more between now and cut downs. I also wouldn't be surprised if we traded a late pick next year for somebody.

I agree with this. I don't see them relying on a rookie or 2nd year guy at the DE spot opposite Ansah. Not as the starter at least without beating out a veteran. That's not a slight on Collier or Green at all, it's just lineman don't normally realize their potential until the 3rd year. I expect a veteran 5T to be brought in for competition at the very least. McCoy would be amazing if they could get him, or a guy like Wilkerson would be a good fit imo.

Collier is similar to Bennett in that his hand usage is outstanding for coming out of college. Hand fighting is one of the hardest thing to learn for DLmen and most rookies aren't great at it. He'll be productive.

I think our pass rush will be average this year. I worry a bit about Safety, Nickle CB and rush DE. I don't think Ansah will be all that great. Our run defense will be great and interior pass rush decent. Lber looks pretty damned good. Overall I think we're at least as good as last year and potentially better.

Michael Bennett wasn't really productive until his 3rd season even with his excellent hand fighting skill-set. He played in 7 games his first year and came away with 1 sack and 3 tackles. The next year he got 1 sack and 15 tackles in 13 games. Finally in his 4th year he had 4 sacks and 39 tackles over 14 games. Rookie D-lineman just aren't what you want to rely on if you're really serious about making a championship run (which seems to be the goal this year). I don't see any way Collier is ready to fill that Michael Bennett role in his rookie season at 500-600 snaps.

 

[KiwiHawk]

Although Poona Ford saw limited action last year, he received the 10th-highest rating for a defensive tackles from Pro Football Focus and allegedly made San Francisco's center cry because he was unable to block him. Don't discount his presence in the middle.

 

[lukerguy]

Ask me in a few months when the rest of UFAs and cuts are signed.