A tale of two run-defense

[toffee]

22 Second-half rushing yards, on 11 carries by Falcons running back duo Bijan Robinson and Tyson Allgeier after those two combined for 117 yards on 15 carries in the first half.

Folks, that was an average of 7.8 yards/carry in the first half and 2 yards/carry in the second half. Can someone point out what adjustments we made? Not like they didn't try to run in the second half, being behind and all, but more like they couldn't, not with 2 yards per carry.

12 Numbers Of Note From The Seahawks’ Week 7 Win In Atlanta

 

[SoulfishHawk]

It was def. noticeable in the 2nd half. Seems like they were staying in their gaps better and of course better tackling. But that's just fan from his chair opinion.

 

[knownone]

Probably nothing. 6 of Atlanta's final 11 runs came on their final drive down 31-14 with their 3rd string RB seemingly killing the clock (they ran it 6 out of 7 times). The others came on their lone TD drive, still over 4 YPC.

Seattle's run defense gets worse with volume. It's pretty strange. They'll be good for ten snaps, then get gashed repeatedly for massive gains.

 

[bileever]

It was def. noticeable in the 2nd half. Seems like they were staying in their gaps better and of course better tackling. But that's just fan from his chair opinion.

This is what Leonard Williams said yesterday about the adjustment that the Seahawks made after halftime:

“Just stop running lateral,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “At one point in the game, they tried to get our D-line running sideways. We finally got to a point where we checked in with each other and were just like, ‘Let’s get vertical, let’s knock blocks back.’ The (Atlanta) running backs, they were really good at trying to stay alive, so we’re always talking about that second, third and fourth man in.”

 

[toffee]

It was def. noticeable in the 2nd half. Seems like they were staying in their gaps better and of course better tackling. But that's just fan from his chair opinion.

To my untrained eyes, something happened, but not sure what.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

That's kind of how it feels. Whatever you guys did, do that some more.

 

[Fox0r]

Probably nothing. 6 of Atlanta's final 11 runs came on their final drive down 31-14 with their 3rd string RB seemingly killing the clock (they ran it 6 out of 7 times). The others came on their lone TD drive, still over 4 YPC.

Seattle's run defense gets worse with volume. It's pretty strange. They'll be good for ten snaps, then get gashed repeatedly for massive gains.

There's nothing strange about it. Defenses get worn down and are less anxious to get smashed in the face by a 230 pound wrecking ball play after play.

 

[toffee]

There's nothing strange about it. Defenses get worn down and are less anxious to get smashed in the face by a 230 pound wrecking ball play after play.

That should be the case, but our run defense actually gotten better in the second half?

 

[Ozzy]

I think it’s something. They didn’t have any success in the second half. Bijan created a ton on his own and to the eye test sort of had an incredible game of incredible individual effort. Most backs aren’t Bijan.

This probably won’t be a top run defense because that’s not the focus of a Macdonald defense but keep the score down, cause turnovers and it won’t matter, same formula Baltimore used.

 

[LeveeBreak]

I think our interior D was more stout this week compared to the last 3. Obviously, Murph is the main reason...but the rest of the D-line played better as well. MM talked about having the right amount of snaps this week across the line. There could be more to that than I would have thought.

RB's getting through LB gaps has hurt us the last 3.5 games...which is the opposite of games 1-3 where our ILBs were studs. I'm not trading Dodson or Baker just yet...Baltimore fans talked about how MM's D took 1/2 season or more to digest and execute.

For the failures of the run D over that time...I don't think they were ever beat up by a RB. I think they had missed assignments and were outplayed by O-lines...but not intimidated by the ball carrier.

 

[toffee]

I remember former all-pro FS Earl Thomas once said that compare to Seakawks' system, the Raven defense was very complicated and hard to remember. I also remember Pete likes to keep things simple and allow guys' athleticism to win plays.

 

[MORGULON]

This is what Leonard Williams said yesterday about the adjustment that the Seahawks made after halftime:

“Just stop running lateral,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “At one point in the game, they tried to get our D-line running sideways. We finally got to a point where we checked in with each other and were just like, ‘Let’s get vertical, let’s knock blocks back.’ The (Atlanta) running backs, they were really good at trying to stay alive, so we’re always talking about that second, third and fourth man in.”

That's what I told them to do.

 

[bileever]

This is what Leonard Williams said yesterday about the adjustment that the Seahawks made after halftime:

“Just stop running lateral,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “At one point in the game, they tried to get our D-line running sideways. We finally got to a point where we checked in with each other and were just like, ‘Let’s get vertical, let’s knock blocks back.’ The (Atlanta) running backs, they were really good at trying to stay alive, so we’re always talking about that second, third and fourth man in.”

Oops, I should have added that this quote was in Michael-Shawn Dugar's article in the Athetic today. Give credit where credit is due.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5858163/2024/10/20/seahawks-win-falcons-mike-macdonald/

 

[knownone]

There's nothing strange about it. Defenses get worn down and are less anxious to get smashed in the face by a 230 pound wrecking ball play after play.

Sure, that's true in general: defenses do tend to wear down.

What's strange about Seattle is that the decline (at least in the splits) is not just the result of cumulative carries that wear the defense down. Seattle's run defense is up and down the entire game; they'll be stout for five carries, then give up a 40-yard run, stout for more carries, and then get gashed into oblivion. Teams don't need to wear them down to generate explosive plays. They just need volume.

Paradoxically, this is also why some of us think Seattle can fix the run defense. The difference between them being terrible and average is only a handful of plays per game.