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

[keasley45]

And honestly, they can be different. No real need to compare. LOB was phenomenal. This defense is on its way. Both can exist.

Yup. That's why I said 'on par'. It's not possible to compare units from different eras

The points allowed stat seems inflated with the very dodgy offensive playcalling and execution when playing with big leads… lots of TDs given up in near garbage time in the 4th q as fatigue eases our pass rush ferocity.
The unit is improving and getting healthier…. Exciting times.

Exactly, which is why doing a 1:1 stat comparison isnt accurate. The LOB rarely had to contend with prevent D calls because more often than not, our offense didn't even get rolling until the 3rd or 4th qtrs and we often won games by a TD or less.

Tough to handcuff our D by making them swallow garbage time leads where in some cases, the strategy is to take less risk when you are up big and force the opposing team to HAVE to go on a long, time consuming drive to get points.

It also isn't fair that our D has been handcuffed by several short field situations where our offense have given away the ball in our own end and forced them into tough situations. That wasn't the kind of thing Pete's teams did often (TOs ).I can think of 31 points off the top of my head that the D swallows because we gave the ball away.

 

[DericLee]

I remember the LOB giving up the go ahead TD AND 2-point conversion against the Cardinals, losing us the game in 2013.
They where amazing, but they where still fallible.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

And a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter of SB 49. Injuries or not.

 

[FrodosFinger]

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

Reed is good to go this week according to Macdonald. Not sure about Love. Bradford’s elbow is fine also tho not sure how he hurt it, could be when he gave up the only sack on Sunday lol

 

[RiverDog]

...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.

We're currently ranked 6th in yards allowed and 3rd in points. In 2013 and 2014, our two SB seasons, we were ranked 1st in both categories. Maybe not on par, but it's getting close.

 

[hawks85]

So while I at first thought it was a little crazy based on per play efficiency this defense is better than LOB. I'll see if I can post the graph but it shocked me. Now they still have to finish it out as the LOB stamped it out with a dominating performance against the best defense of all time but at least on paper this defense is playing lights out.

So I still think the LOB was better and possibly the best defense of all time. This defense appears to be on the verge of being special as well.

Yeah, the LOB team STOMOED out the best offense in NFL history in the SB and that was VERY impressive. I just like our current defense better for some reason. Maybe it's because of our simulated pressure packages that Coach Mike draws up.

 

[hox]

The LOB had an insane amount of takeaways too (picks and FFs). Led the league with 2.4 per game that season:

 

[Ozzy]

Yeah, the LOB team STOMOED out the best offense in NFL history in the SB and that was VERY impressive. I just like our current defense better for some reason. Maybe it's because of our simulated pressure packages that Coach Mike draws up.

Nothing wrong with liking this current style more. I sort of get it honestly. I have more trust in Mike being able to change schemes and approaches too when guys go down or personnel changes which makes me more confident in the current approach for sure

 

[94Smith]

That's kind of cherry picking stats. They have only faced one top 15 offense through that time. I think you have to look at the year in whole

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Better defense than your precious 29ers.

 

[cymatica]

And a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter of SB 49. Injuries or not.

If Tom Brady left the game everyone would put an asterisk next to that win, not one person would say injuries don't matter. I put that blown lead on Pete for activated Tharold Simon instead of Marcus Burley. No way Burley would have been roasted in the slot like Simon was and the Patriots weren't doing much until Lane and Avril were knocked out.

 

[94Smith]

Better defense than your precious 29ers.

I did not even say that. I said they were not better than the LOB. They are not as good as the 2022 niners either

 

[Sperrydogg]

I knew he would move the needle massively from where Pete was when he left but I don't think anyone could've predicted he was this much better at this stage of their careers. He is the McVay of defenses.

My only thing with Mike is his dependence on his offensive coordinator, it’s probably pretty common for a head coach to be more offensive or defensive but with Mike it really seems like he is kinda hands off the offense which means success will bring a churn of offensive coordinators and even having to reinvent the offense over and over

 

[Ostatehawk]

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.

When you are the boss, owner, or leader it falls to you to make the hard choices. I think MM is willing to make those hard choices - even if they need to be made due to a poor decision he may have made. I don't believe Pete was willing to make the tough decisions - especially when he created the necessity for them to be made.

 

[hawks85]

Nothing wrong with liking this current style more. I sort of get it honestly. I have more trust in Mike being able to change schemes and approaches too when guys go down or personnel changes which makes me more confident in the current approach for sure

I know what it is now. The LOB had a lot of picks the year they won the SB. If I remember correctly, they had like 30 picks and they didn't have a lot of sacks. The LOB was known for the hard hits and the ability to pick the ball off. That's cool, but me, I like sacks and strip sacks and generating pressure from everywhere. That's the reason I like this defense better. Now imagine if this current D had Sherman, Kam, Earl and Brandon in the back field.

 

[Torc]

My only thing with Mike is his dependence on his offensive coordinator, it’s probably pretty common for a head coach to be more offensive or defensive but with Mike it really seems like he is kinda hands off the offense which means success will bring a churn of offensive coordinators and even having to reinvent the offense over and over

I disagree with your assessment on this. From watching his interviews and radio show, it seems like Mike is setting the direction that he wants the offense to go. He's been pretty clear when the OC wasn't calling plays that fit that direction. No, he's not micromanaging the OC, but he is definitely giving feedback in and after games about the playstyle and he's been very involved in training camp and such directing the overall style.

Grubb didn't follow directions. Grubb is gone.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I did not even say that. I said they were not better than the LOB. They are not as good as the 2022 niners either

I did not even say that they were better than the 2022 Niners defense. This is a Seahawks page, pardon me for not bowing to the almighty Niners. Also, GO HAWKS

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

That's kind of cherry picking stats. They have only faced one top 15 offense through that time. I think you have to look at the year in whole

It is and it isn’t as MacDonald’s Ds seem to have a pattern of flipping a switch of pure dominance later into seasons.

 

[94Smith]

It is and it isn’t as MacDonald’s Ds seem to have a pattern of flipping a switch of pure dominance later into seasons.

The last 4 weeks of the season will be the true tell of the tape. Heck if they can dominate the colts it will be the real barometer

 

[RolandDeschain]

I think it's a bit premature to label them as being on par with the LoB. Our defense gave up 24 points to the Titans, and that's the most points the Titans have scored in ANY GAME this season thus far. I love how our defense is playing, but crowning them the reincarnation of our LoB defense is not yet proven. That being said, if we had the interior linemen we have now back on that LoB defense, we'd have pitched shutouts in literally half our games in 2013, lol.