its no longer debatable whether this defense might be...

[keasley45]

...on par with the LOB.

The only question is for how long they can be as good as they are and whether we can do enough on offense to win a championship. This team is special. I think as fans, we can feel it, and even more importantly, the players on the team feel it. Love this interview with DLaw, particularly in how he talks about their one game at a time mentality and not caring about accolades or the fact that they control their own destiny in winning the West. Best line that i have heard in a long time from any seahawks player ever - when asked about how they approach the games they have upcoming, DLaw underscores that that they only see who is in front of them, not what other teams in the division are doing.



Mic Drop quote ...

'We dont care'... 'They Line up, they get f'd up'

Holy hell, this unit is something special. Love every single one of our players from the starters to the backups.

Jesus, lord, please offense - dont let us down this year.

SB or bust.

 

[Nv_Hawks]

This D will get better. It’s missing Love and Reed. Add in a healthy Knight and Mills and they could be pretty special.

 

[94Smith]

Woah ! Pump the brakes! They are no where near the LOB stat wise. It’s debatable whether they are even the best defense in the league . And they have just faced the murderers row of cam ward and the 32 ranked offense and max brosmer and the 29 ranked offense

I get your enthusiasm , but the LOB was one of the best defenses of all time

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Go Hawks

Side note, a Niners fan on a Hawks page acting like a team has an easy schedule.........when the Niners come into the year with the easist schedule in the league. I'm here for it though.

 

[oldhawkfan]

Woah ! Pump the brakes! They are no where near the LOB stat wise. It’s debatable whether they are even the best defense in the league . And they have just faced the murderers row of cam ward and the 32 ranked offense and max brosmer and the 29 ranked offense

I get your enthusiasm , but the LOB was one of the best defenses of all time

Fair enough. As a digits fan are you really even watching the Seahawks let alone their defense or do you just check the score and highlights?

This defense may or might not be as good as the LOB. Give them time and they might be better. This is definitely the best defense the team has put together since the LOB. They are currently at least in the conversation with the LOB as best in team history.

I will hold final judgement until they have played like this for more than part of a season. Many folks thought MM would be able to build a dominant defense in 2-3 years. He might just be ahead of schedule.

 

[Jac]

The only question is for how long they can be as good as they are and whether we can do enough on offense to win a championship. This team is special. I think as fans, we can feel it, and even more importantly, the players on the team feel it. Love this interview with DLaw, particularly in how he talks about their one game at a time mentality and not caring about accolades or the fact that they control their own destiny in winning the West. Best line that i have heard in a long time from any seahawks player ever - when asked about how they approach the games they have upcoming, DLaw underscores that that they only see who is in front of them, not what other teams in the division are doing.



Mic Drop quote ...

'We dont care'... 'They Line up, they get f'd up'

Holy hell, this unit is something special. Love every single one of our players from the starters to the backups.

Jesus, lord, please offense - dont let us down this year.

SB or bust.

With respect to how long they can be good...this time, we need to continue taking the draft seriously and continually refresh the pipeline. Both eras involved adding vets on the DL, so we'll need to look for opportunities to do that as well when Williams and Lawrence age out.

 

[hox]

DLaw is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. He just makes big plays every game and is funny too.

As for the LOB comp, this D-Line is arguably better. The LBers, still have to give the edge to the Bobby and KJ in their primes. And LOB secondary is still way better.

Culture / team chemistry is on par or getting there.

Add in MM's scheme though... that could be the equalizer.

 

[94Smith]

Fair enough. As a digits fan are you really even watching the Seahawks let alone their defense or do you just check the score and highlights?

I can guarantee I watch more of the Seahawks than you watch of the 49ers. I live in Seahawk country , they are on tv every week

 

[pittpnthrs]

Woah ! Pump the brakes! They are no where near the LOB stat wise. It’s debatable whether they are even the best defense in the league . And they have just faced the murderers row of cam ward and the 32 ranked offense and max brosmer and the 29 ranked offense

I get your enthusiasm , but the LOB was one of the best defenses of all time

Agreed 49ers fan or not. The defense is good for sure, but the LOB defense was legendary,,,,,,this defense aint that yet.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Nor should they be expected to be that good. Yet.

 

[kidhawk]

I don’t think our current defense as a whole is on par with the LOB Super Bowl years. What I do believe is that our defensive front is better than our defensive front was then. We still need to improve in the defensive backfield to be great overall but I drool over what we have created in the front of this defense. Teams should be afraid.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

When we get Reed, Love and Knight all back? Look out. To me, the D Line is what has been so impressive. These guys are fricken relentless.

 

[Frank12]

I'm not going to compare this defense to the LOB it would be unfair to this defense to compare the two, The LOB was an historic D with multiple hall of famers, also they had put up numbers that not many others defenses have ever done.. Can Mike Macdonald build a historical defense?.. I say yes, but this D isn't on the same level the LOB was, the LOB absolutely destroyed one of the greatest offenses in the history of the nfl in SB48, and if it weren't for lossing Cliff Avril in SB49 I don't believe we would have been in the position of having RW3 throw the ball at the 1 yard line because we would've had the lead, lossing Avril really messed up the gameplan in my opinion.. so, no this defense isn't on the LOB level let, but they might be some day though

 

[oldhawkfan]

I can guarantee I watch more of the Seahawks than you watch of the 49ers. I live in Seahawk country , they are on tv every week

You aren’t wrong. The only time I can stomach watching them is if they play against the Seahawks or there is no other game to watch.

 

[JustTheTip]

I can guarantee I watch more of the Seahawks than you watch of the 49ers. I live in Seahawk country , they are on tv every week

Not really an answer to the question he asked and would only really hold any validity if the discussion included how the 49ers are playing.

 

[Jac]

At least Macdonald has us on the right track. Our defensive ranks in yardage allowed:

2019 - 26
2020 - 22
2021 - 28
2022 - 26
2023 - 30
2024 - 14 (1st half of the season was rough learning the defense)
2025 - 6

Who knows how far he can take us if JS continues supplying him with players...

 

[sutz]

Fans are always gonna make comps, nature of the beast.

I'd say that yes, we might be comparable in quality of play this year, but to be as great as the LOB we have to do it over several seasons. The LOB was top of the league 4 years running. We're in year 1 so far. Keeping as many pieces as we can on board and adding as necessary along the way will say if we are as great as them overall.

 

[keasley45]

Woah ! Pump the brakes! They are no where near the LOB stat wise. It’s debatable whether they are even the best defense in the league . And they have just faced the murderers row of cam ward and the 32 ranked offense and max brosmer and the 29 ranked offense

I get your enthusiasm , but the LOB was one of the best defenses of all time

No defense will ever be what the LOB was stat wise. Shoot, if the LOB played in today's NFL with the rule changes and emphasis on Offensive scoring and player safety, THEY wouldn't even match the stats they had. It's just not possible. But I do believe from a player unity perspective. A scheme perspective and their performance in TODAY'S NFL, they are absolutely in a similar class as the LOB. Like I said , the LOB didn't become the legend they are today until after leading the league in scoring in successive seasons. Let this D continue to gel and let's see what they do over the next 2 years.

Our D Line rotation is better. Period. Cliff and Bennet were incredible. But is what we are seeing from DLaw and Nwosu any less impressive over a season? As much as I live the old guard I would say no. Red Bryant was a grown ass man, but better than BigCat? No. Mebane and the crew that lined up next to him are not better than B Murphy.

I love Bobby as a tackling machine, but we was never the all around player that Ernest is. Bobby was a major liability in coverage. Ernest, as of yet just doesn't have the Robin that KJ was to Wagner's 'Batman'. But we will see what the draft and FA brings us next year. And... knight is not a bad player, nor is Thomas. KJ level? No, but KJ wasn't KJ in year one either. As a matter of fact, he lost the MLB job to Bobby.

Our secondary? Emanwori is a beast. Spoon is a beast. Love is a top 10 Safety and that was based on his play in his first season in MM's system. Guys like Jobe ... I think he is better than Maxwell ever was in coverage,... Pritchett - solid. Woolen - extraordinarily talented and starting to come into his own under MM.

And then there is MM, who for all Pete's wisdom in geling team chemistry, is light years ahead of his predecessor in terms of scheme Design and may well be better at getting a team to play together as one. So the potential is there for whatever heights this D reaches to be far more sustainable than the LOB was under Pete. Pete grew them into a firestorm and then stood by and let his coddling of Russ and affinity for 'chip' players over raw talent and personality extinguish it. MM seems like the kind of guy who will just throw gasoline on that fire, and he is just getting started.

 

[Ozzy]

While I think the LOB was better I also get Keasleys point. This era is different and this defense is different but I do think when Love comes back and we're fully healthy this will be the best defense in the league and its probably already the best defense in the league. Yearly stats are never super accurate because of injuries, who you play etc but them being #1 in DVOA on defense and it doesn't feel like they've had their best unit all on the field at the same time is scary.

Macondald is a top 3 coach in the league right now and a savant.

 

[chris98251]

It took LOB about three years to get to where they were feared literally, we are just getting started and have a few pieces left to sharpen up. No one defense is alike, and the players in the speciufic roles make the unit. We have had the Easley years with Green and Bryant as a very good defense also, many forget how good they were now. The LOB, and now this unit and what it ends up being. What I can say is this unit is much deeper in talent thru the PS then Pete's defenses were.