LOB might be even better than it was in the superbowl run

[kf3339]

Depends on the pass rush. Strong rush means more mistakes made by the QB hence int's , pass breakups and incompletes.

Jarran Reed should bring some pressure up the middle , mebane just couldnt last year. Reed could have a great rookie season with like 10 sacks or more.

If you saw him in college you'd know that he has very limited pass rush ability. He's no Mebane in that regard.

We don't know what his pass rush ability is because Alabama didn't ask him to perform that role. That is what even Saban said when he was asked about Reed. We need to stop guessing what he can or can't become until we see him in action against real NFL OL's. In addition let our coaches/veteran players teach him how to pass rush, and collapse the pocket.

Right now no one knows anything.

 

[BlueTalon]

I think there's a slight chance the defense will be as good as the 2013 version, not likely, but I am certain it will be significantly better than last year. And that excites me! It would be cool as anything to have the top scoring defense in the league again.

 

[ivotuk]

http://sports.mynorthwest.com/140287/jo ... n-of-boom/

 

[IBleedBlueAndGreen]

Depends on the pass rush. Strong rush means more mistakes made by the QB hence int's , pass breakups and incompletes.

Jarran Reed should bring some pressure up the middle , mebane just couldnt last year. Reed could have a great rookie season with like 10 sacks or more.

Ummmmm Reed was widely thought to be the best RUN stuffing DT in the draft. He had a total of TWO sacks in his final two years at Alabama. There is no chance he gets double digit sacks with the Hawks. That's just not the type of player he is, nor what the Hawks are expecting him to be.

 

[McGruff]

I think Lane is a better corner than any of Browner, Thurmond or Maxwell were in their prime, so that right there makes this the best iteration of the LOB.

Add in having Shead and Simon and Browner filling out the 3,4 and 5 positions, with a couple of quality developmental guys in Smith and Jean baptiste . . .

I think the upside of this secondary is the highest its ever been. the one concern for me remains Safety depth. Jeron Johnson and Chris maragos are missed.

 

[jlwaters1]

Depends on the pass rush. Strong rush means more mistakes made by the QB hence int's , pass breakups and incompletes.

Jarran Reed should bring some pressure up the middle , mebane just couldnt last year. Reed could have a great rookie season with like 10 sacks or more.

If you saw him in college you'd know that he has very limited pass rush ability. He's no Mebane in that regard.

He was a big part of a championship D line. Mebane is past his best and reed is a young hungry rookie who has talent

I'm bullish on Reed as anyone, but if he get's more than 4 sacks this year I'd be shocked. I think he'll be more effective as a pass rusher than many expect, but I just don't see him being as effective as you describe. He also may be limited in his reps to start out so he might only be in on running situations which will surely affect things.

 

[raisethe3]

I think Lane is a better corner than any of Browner, Thurmond or Maxwell were in their prime, so that right there makes this the best iteration of the LOB.

Add in having Shead and Simon and Browner filling out the 3,4 and 5 positions, with a couple of quality developmental guys in Smith and Jean baptiste . . .

I think the upside of this secondary is the highest its ever been. the one concern for me remains Safety depth. Jeron Johnson and Chris maragos are missed.

How so? Lane barely did anything during his first 4 years here in this league. Maxwell, was inserted into the starting line-up when Browner was suspended and he played extremely well as a back-up player. Same can be said for Browner.

On the other hand, Thurmond...yes he hasn't really done much over his career. I would say Lane is better than Thurmond at the moment.

 

[McGruff]

I think Lane is a better corner than any of Browner, Thurmond or Maxwell were in their prime, so that right there makes this the best iteration of the LOB.

Add in having Shead and Simon and Browner filling out the 3,4 and 5 positions, with a couple of quality developmental guys in Smith and Jean baptiste . . .

I think the upside of this secondary is the highest its ever been. the one concern for me remains Safety depth. Jeron Johnson and Chris maragos are missed.

How so? Lane barely did anything during his first 4 years here in this league. Maxwell, was inserted into the starting line-up when Browner was suspended and he played extremely well as a back-up player. Same can be said for Browner.

On the other hand, Thurmond...yes he hasn't really done much over his career. I would say Lane is better than Thurmond at the moment.

The only thing holding Lane back is opportunity and health. When healthy he's the best cover corner we've had not named Sherman.

 

[kearly]

I know PFF had some nice things to say about Sherman last season, but in the first half of the year he was a legitimately below average corner, and in the second half of the year (against mostly bad QBs) he was good, but not close to his 2012-2013 peak. Overall I would say he was merely a good corner last year. Though in fairness to him, he was likely hindered by a new DC and a banged up supporting cast. Still, there was a fire Sherman used to have in his early years that got much dimmer after he got paid.

The rest of the corners are #3s and #4s to me. IMO Lane isn't quite as good as his rep on these boards, and he's hurt all the time too. Lane is basically the anti-Maxwell, fewer boneheaded mistakes but he creates very few turnovers, doesn't dominate with press and has struggled with durability. If we are talking about outside corner, I'd much much rather have 2013/2014 Maxwell over Lane. Lane is a good player but there are sound reasons for why he got $6 million and not $16 million. Shead is sometimes solid, sometimes replacement level. Burley seemed like he was coming on last year and then he just disappeared, that said I do like Burley as a #4 corner. Simon is like C-Mike in his first stint, talented yet still had a lot of work to be done (and time is running out).

Browner is probably done playing corner in the truest sense.

Tye Smith I like quite a bit, but only in very small sample sizes. I think he'll be good, but it's way too early to say for sure.

Talent-wise I think Seattle is well above average at CB but they are currently only a shadow of the 2013 unit. If Sherman returns to his dominating form that will immediately change things of course.

Talent isn't all that matters though. Kris Richard suprisingly struggled with the secondary in his first year as DC. He didn't even seem to trust his own players and called a lot of soft zones. If the talent steps up, and Richard trusts that talent more, then we could see a nice boost to the secondary. But I'm kinda doubtful that happens. I still think Seattle is going to win a LOT of games this year, maybe even the most wins ever, but it won't be the same way they won in 2013 with suffocating secondary play.

 

[Largent80]

I think the DC angle needs to be explored more here. As Kip said above Richard was in his first year, and our depth was dismal after losing quite a few players to F.A. and injury after the SB. He inherited a decent squad but not the hungry players Quinn inherited.

So, his path last year was more difficult. This year, he's got the experience gleaned last year and (hopefully) a talented depth pool. Simon really needs to remain healthy and contribute. To me, Shead and Burley are large factors if the secondary takes a step back up.

And lastly...Sherman. The swagger was really missing last year (new dad?) I don't know but we need the SB run Sherman to be elite.

 

[chris98251]

They were also moving him around a lot more in coverage so things would appear different as he adjusted also.

 

[Jville]

I thought the return of Jeremy Lane, to the field of play, had a big impact on the defense. He can really play the ball. He was credited with 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions in the 6 regular season games he appeared in. I think Carroll sees Lane's return as a key to getting those defensive take aways back up to the level his scheme strives for.

Resigning Jeremy Lane was huge in my eyes. With Richard focused on coverage match ups and moving his people around, Lane is gonna be fun to watch. I think we are all in for a real treat.

Edit: P.S. I should have mentioned DeShawn Shead. He evolved his game thru his snap opportunities in 2015. I think Shead adds a lot to Richard's confidence going into 2016.