where does our front 7 rank among the leagues best

[davidonmi]

I look at the Panthers, the Jets, maybe the Texans, and after that I don't know who's better, I mean maybe the 49ers but that front sevel is declining a bit. The highway robbery we had in FA I think we've gone from below average to one of the best. Red being healthy also helps.
Panthers and Jets I definitely believe are better. After that we might be #3, am I going too far?

 

[RolandDeschain]

We MAY have a top 3 D-line if our pass rushers work out against GOOD offensive lines, but it's certainly too early to tell. Linebackers...Definitely not, but we're good and improving in that area.

 

[Johnny]

We have the best defense in the NFL, and as far as I'm concerned the Front and Back of that defense works together to become #1... Take it how ever you want... but IMO. Our front seven is just as good as the back four.

 

[Scottemojo]

Front 7 that I am convinced is better than our?

I think our front 7 is the third best in the NFC west. Forget the league.

Cincy, Miami, Carolina, Houston, Denver, Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, Jets, KC, those are all teams I would consider as good or better, and if I looked close I could probably come up with more.

First, I think this subject is premature.

Second, a lot of teams have a front that makes the secondary look better than they are. We have a secondary that makes the front look better.

 

[SeahawksFanForever]

Do we even have typical front 7? I thought we have bunch of unique players and packages for those players depending on the situation.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Second, a lot of teams have a front that makes the secondary look better than they are. We have a secondary that makes the front look better.

+1

 

[davidonmi]

Your right, I just heard schlereth talk up our front seven as being one of the best in football so I posed the ?

 

[Seahwkgal]

Houston isn't that great at all if you take away JJ Watt. Our front has amazing depth and when Clemons gets to full capacity and Irvin comes in-watch out!

 

[themunn]

Bobby Wagner was the best MLB in the league last year.
Clemons/Avril/Bennett/Irvin are not JJ Watt/Von Miller/Aldon Smith 20 sack guys, but they're all 10 sack guys, and there are few teams with 2 10 sack guys let alone 4.
Mebane is sorely underrated, Bryant is one of the best run-stuffing ends in the league, KJ Wright is also a very good LBer, but it's insane to think that you could actually call him the "weak link" in the front 7.

We don't really have a front 7 though do we?

If we had an entirely healthy team Bryant, Bennett, Avril, Irvin, Wright, Wagner, Clemons, Smith, McDonald, Mebane, McDaniel, Schofield and Hill would all play a significant number of defensive snaps - we don't have a single player in the front 7 that plays every snap, and that makes them insanely difficult to gameplan for, that to me is just as important as who the guys are.

 

[sutz]

Do we even have typical front 7? I thought we have bunch of unique players and packages for those players depending on the situation.

I think you've hit on something here. Our front 7 probably doesn't stack up well against more 'conventional' defensive teams, but I suspect we'll do well in the sack department this year, maybe at least in part because our secondary is so good.

On their own, maybe they don't stack up, but as part of our scheme, I think they'll grade out well.

 

[Ozzy]

I think we potentially can be as dominant as anyone and that's not homer talk. They have played lights out and I don't think its all because of the secondary although that obviously helps. The emergence of Bennett as a special player has made the biggest difference. Once Clemons and Irvin get rolling we can easily be a top 3 front 7. They do have to go out and prove it but nothing I've seen so far makes me think otherwise....this group is much better than last year. Again Bennett is HUGE for us. I don't think people on the site realize how good he is.

 

[kearly]

I think our front seven is the 2001 Mariners of front sevens. It is loaded with above average contributors, minor stars, and one, perhaps two legit stars. It's biggest asset isn't its playmaking or its star power, the biggest asset is its versatility and depth. The 2001 Mariners had a very, very good team while also overachieving massively. The 2001 Mariners just clicked. That's what the 2013 front seven is doing. The pieces are fitting together very well.

I think, right now, Seattle is in the convo for top front seven. Seattle is getting pressure, especially at home, and they are smothering the run. We have the league's fastest LB corps, especially when KJ Wright isn't on the field. Wagner adds a ton in coverage.

However, Seattle's run defense has declined in the second half of the season every year since PC/JS arrived. It could very well be that our front seven peaks early but wears down in part to our reliance on size in the front four.

 

[Scottemojo]

Irvin. Schofield. Wright. Wagner. Mebane. Bryant. Clemons. McDaniels. Avril. Hill. Bennett.

I can't even list 7. This just isn't a standard group.

 

[bestfightstory]

For three years now, I have felt our reliance on Mebane is too great. I am bewildered as to why we haven't built up behind him. When he wears down, or, if he were to ________, our run defense would plummet, IMO.

 

[kearly]

BFS, we are pretty deep at 1-tech right now, IMO. McDaniel is a good run stuffer. McDonald anchors very well and has looked very impressive the last two weeks. Bryant can play 1-tech if needed and he's improved quite a bit at DT this season. My only worry now is that all four of those guys are veterans in their mid to late 20s. A few years from now, Seattle will have to hit the reset button on DT, but for the foreseeable future our situation there is looking pretty good, especially if McDaniel and McDonald remain cheap this next offseason.

 

[bestfightstory]

Well, that eases my mind some, Kearly. I like seeing Red put in a few downs on the interior as well.

I don't think there many men at any position who can do what Red did to Iupati.

 

[kearly]

Irvin. Schofield. Wright. Wagner. Mebane. Bryant. Clemons. McDaniels. Avril. Hill. Bennett.

I can't even list 7. This just isn't a standard group.

This is a bit of a microcosm of how amazing our roster is. I wonder if there is another front 7 in the NFL worth a damn that comes even close to substituting personnel as much as Seattle does.

 

[freezefail]

Who cares when the secondary is #1 :-D

 

[Blitzhawk]

Its much more like we have the best front 13 in the NFL. I think that is the benefit of having a recent college coach. One thing I always liked about Chip Kelly when he was at Oregon (and why I believe he was able to have such a fast O) is he always rotated his backup players into the games on a regular basis. This not only helped to keep your guys fresher but gave your backups tons of valuable in game experience in case they had to step in for injuries.

Now, I do not know how much PC did this in college not being a big USC fan but I garner from his "next man up" and "always compete" mantras that he probably did much the same. College allows you much more flexability w/ the larger rosters but it seems we are taking the "run by committee" idea to the next level w/ our great depth...esp on defense.

So, while we may not have those super expensive mega stars, we do have a stable full of very good guys. Personally, I would rather have 3 ten sack guys over 1 twenty sack guy any day (and twice on Sunday :mrgreen: ).

 

[rideaducati]

Bobby Wagner was the best MLB in the league last year.
Clemons/Avril/Bennett/Irvin are not JJ Watt/Von Miller/Aldon Smith 20 sack guys, but they're all 10 sack guys, and there are few teams with 2 10 sack guys let alone 4.
Mebane is sorely underrated, Bryant is one of the best run-stuffing ends in the league, KJ Wright is also a very good LBer, but it's insane to think that you could actually call him the "weak link" in the front 7.

We don't really have a front 7 though do we?

If we had an entirely healthy team Bryant, Bennett, Avril, Irvin, Wright, Wagner, Clemons, Smith, McDonald, Mebane, McDaniel, Schofield and Hill would all play a significant number of defensive snaps - we don't have a single player in the front 7 that plays every snap, and that makes them insanely difficult to gameplan for, that to me is just as important as who the guys are.

Front seven is a term for other teams. Those teams tire towards the end of the season. Seattle has a front 13 that all get to play. Look at that list of names and tell me which team goes that deep into players without injuries besides the Seahawks.