Seahawks defense was ranked 30th against the run.

[Chawker]

We will miss Al Woods playing NT this season. I'm sure Clint Hurtt is feeling the pressure in 23 to pull our ailing run defense into middle teens. But I'm afraid at this point all we have is hope. Cracking the top 20 in run defense will land squarely on Hurtts shoulders, frankly I thimk its a lost cos. Fingers crossed. Here we go.

GO SEAHAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sutz]

I suspect some people are over-emphasizing the role of the NT and who can play it.

 

[toffee]

I therefore advocated to trade Lockett for Chris Jones, a 4 time all-pro and finalist of defense player of 2022, and second best DT in the league.

https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/kc-chiefs-chris-jones-ranked-as-pffs-no-2-interior-defensive-lineman-in-nfl

 

[Mick063]

I suspect that after the first two games, you will be puffing your chest out, saying I told ya so. Here is what I believe will happen. There are too many new faces on defense for it to immediately gel. The first quarter of the season is going to light some folk's hair on fire even if the team has a winning record. Then the team is going to get incrementally better on defense. Constantly improving, week after week. The toughest part of the schedule is on the backend of the schedule. The defense will rise to the occasion down that critical stretch. The team will peak at the right time.

 

[oldhawkfan]

I suspect that after the first two games, you will be puffing your chest out, saying I told ya so. Here is what I believe will happen. There are too many new faces on defense for it to immediately gel. The first quarter of the season is going to light some folk's hair on fire even if the team has a winning record. Then the team is going to get incrementally better on defense. Constantly improving, week after week. The toughest part of the schedule is on the backend of the schedule. The defense will rise to the occasion down that critical stretch. The team will peak at the right time.

So basically like every other year under Pete Carroll. Pete always uses the first quarter of the season to tweak and cobble together the team. He tried last year but with the lack of depth, talent and injuries, the defense never stood a chance. This year’s defense will end up way better than last years. Technically they could drop two spots to 32, but with the influx of better talent and the maturity of the ‘22 rookies, along with the return of Bobby Wagner, this defense will be way better.

 

[Maulbert]

I therefore advocated to trade Lockett for Chris Jones, a 4 time all-pro and finalist of defense player of 2022, and second best DT in the league.

https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/kc-chiefs-chris-jones-ranked-as-pffs-no-2-interior-defensive-lineman-in-nfl

Not happening, bro.

 

[Smellyman]

I suspect some people are over-emphasizing the role of the NT and who can play it.

and over-emphasizing not retaining people who sucked against the run. All the muppets on the inside and Barton are gone, thank goodness

 

[Hawkmode]

Run Defense is measured as total yds allowed...its an accumulation stat that gets exacerbated by allowing explosive runs. We had 8 games and one playoff game where we allowed 150 or more rushing yards...we won only 1 of those games (against Rams).

Poona Ford at 5'11" 310 lbs played NT for us early in his career and played well. Jarran Reed is 6' 3" 307 and has "heavy" hands to occupy the attention of an opponents O-Line meaning he's hard for a guard/center to free themselves
/shed to "2nd level" (LB depth).

Wags/Bush have speed/range to limit explosive runs. Our secondary corners/safeties have aggression/speed to also corral explosive runs.

Our Edge/OLB are young and improving...Uchenna with Hall/Mafe should become better at stopping outside zone rushes. Dre'Mont Jones and Mario Edwards/Mike Morris can penetrate O-lines to stop rushes behind Line of scrimmage. Major changes have been made as a "clean" sweep of our front seven from 2022...execution needs to match expectations.

 

[hawkfan68]

Run Defense is measured as total yds allowed...its an accumulation stat that gets exacerbated by allowing explosive runs. We had 8 games and one playoff game where we allowed 150 or more rushing yards...we won only 1 of those games (against Rams).

Poona Ford at 5'11" 310 lbs played NT for us early in his career and played well. Jarran Reed is 6' 3" 307 and has "heavy" hands to occupy the attention of an opponents O-Line meaning he's hard for a guard/center to free themselves
/shed to "2nd level" (LB depth).

Wags/Bush have speed/range to limit explosive runs. Our secondary corners/safeties have aggression/speed to also corral explosive runs.

Our Edge/OLB are young and improving...Uchenna with Hall/Mafe should become better at stopping outside zone rushes. Dre'Mont Jones and Mario Edwards/Mike Morris can penetrate O-lines to stop rushes behind Line of scrimmage. Major changes have been made as a "clean" sweep of our front seven from 2022...execution needs to match expectations.

Good points. However Poona signed with the Bills in the offseason.

 

[toffee]

and over-emphasizing not retaining people who sucked against the run. All the muppets on the inside and Barton are gone, thank goodness

it's good that they were gone, I think we are still unsure because some of the replacements lack experience.

 

[Scout]

First of all I saw a lot of poor tackling last year so that has nothing to do with the nose tackle and that is a result of the ILBs and DBs needing to make open field tackles and they did not. Second, gap integrity isn't all on the NT because if a safety or Mike can't make an open field tackle then all that effort for the NT went to waste if an opposing ball carrier kicks it outside of the tackle box. Outside of the tackle box is where a boundary CB or a safety that has come down has to make a play.

What I am saying is that the Seahawks had issues with run defense last year because that entire front seven was suspect. If the Hawks are going to play Bear fronts with five down lineman at times it requires gap integrity but also the safeties and LBs being gap disciplined by flowing to their correct gaps. Bear fronts are easily defeated if your LBs and DBs can't make open field tackles I mean that is what it comes down to.

Now if the Seahawks do play more Bear fronts that means that the performance of the players next to the NT will matter just as much. Reed next to Jones is going to be fun to watch as they disrupt on the inside with Taylor/Mafe and Nwosu on the edges. What I mean is that I am confident that Reed or Jones can win a 1v1 matchup when it is presented upon them on the inside. Don't forget that the Hawks also have rookies Hayward/Morris that they will rotate and also Edwards that can kick inside for NASCAR packages on third downs. I also expect to see Smith with more playing time and also Hall who is very underrated as he is going to be active on game days.

A bear front is a pressure defense that can only put pressure on offense if they can clamp down on the gaps like any other defense. The difference is a failed tackle in a Bear front goes for a huge gain for the opposing offense. There is more risk/reward with Bear fronts which is why that alignment on defense is used strategically and not all the time. That is why DB and LB tackling matters so much more in a Bear front.

 

[Hawkmode]

First of all I saw a lot of poor tackling last year so that has nothing to do with the nose tackle and that is a result of the ILBs and DBs needing to make open field tackles and they did not. Second, gap integrity isn't all on the NT because if a safety or Mike can't make an open field tackle then all that effort for the NT went to waste if an opposing ball carrier kicks it outside of the tackle box. Outside of the tackle box is where a boundary CB or a safety that has come down has to make a play.

What I am saying is that the Seahawks had issues with run defense last year because that entire front seven was suspect. If the Hawks are going to play Bear fronts with five down lineman at times it requires gap integrity but also the safeties and LBs being gap disciplined by flowing to their correct gaps. Bear fronts are easily defeated if your LBs and DBs can't make open field tackles I mean that is what it comes down to.

Now if the Seahawks do play more Bear fronts that means that the performance of the players next to the NT will matter just as much. Reed next to Jones is going to be fun to watch as they disrupt on the inside with Taylor/Mafe and Nwosu on the edges. What I mean is that I am confident that Reed or Jones can win a 1v1 matchup when it is presented upon them on the inside. Don't forget that the Hawks also have rookies Hayward/Morris that they will rotate and also Edwards that can kick inside for NASCAR packages on third downs. I also expect to see Smith with more playing time and also Hall who is very underrated as he is going to be active on game days.

A bear front is a pressure defense that can only put pressure on offense if they can clamp down on the gaps like any other defense. The difference is a failed tackle in a Bear front goes for a huge gain for the opposing offense. There is more risk/reward with Bear fronts which is why that alignment on defense is used strategically and not all the time. That is why DB and LB tackling matters so much more in a Bear front.

Nice breakdown. A heavier dose of zone blocking use has unleashed athletic mauling guards/centers into the 2nd level (LB/SS zones) exploiting gap integrity against power/counter runs. As you pointed out certain coverages work better with bear fronts and I think our team can "turn the corner" with our recent influx of youth.

I've also wondered how much impact the new rules on refs enforcing helmet contact fouls has played a role. Natural tackling tendencies run counter intuitive to avoiding some helmet contact...especially when the runner is using body control to avoid a tackle. I only watched some poor tackling with our team...not really cognizant of other NFL teams. Trying to avoid helmet contact can result in a bad attack angle...a good runner can take advantage of any hesitation in a "would be" tackler...hate the rule (just punish the flagrant helmet contact)

 

[JPatera76]

I think Reed with be fine at NT as someone else stated on here he was a NT at Alabama.

And now that he's switching to NT... after being able to Rush the QB he's a be a dual type of threat to a lot of centers if it pans out. I'm not really worried about our linebackers with Bobby back there to help with the run. And our secondary doesn't worry as much either. I just hope our guys actually wrap up and tackle. Seems the one thing Seattle was the best in the league, they forgot how to do and that was tackling.

 

[Mix]

I therefore advocated to trade Lockett for Chris Jones, a 4 time all-pro and finalist of defense player of 2022, and second best DT in the league.

https://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/kc-chiefs-chris-jones-ranked-as-pffs-no-2-interior-defensive-lineman-in-nfl

How would the Hawks absorb Lockett's dead money, and also pay Jones a new contract?

 

[bileever]

There are lots of reasons to be concerned, but I'm generally pretty hopeful about the defense. In context, last year seems more like an anomaly than a trend. In the two previous years (under the much-reviled Ken Norton, Jr.), the defense finished 12th and 15th (and 5th against the run). The chances that Pete fixes the defense after seeing what didn't work last year are good.

And Pete did a lot this off season to address the defense. We were very active in the free agent market, getting Dre'mont Jones, Bobby Wagner, Julian Love and Jarran Reed. We also got some nice pieces in the draft--Witherspoon, Derick Hall, Cameron Young and Mike Morris. And then there was addition by subtraction. If Pete and his staff did a good job of self-scouting, we'll be better for it. (One interesting case in point is Ryan Neal. As a strong safety, he just didn't do enough in run support. Despite his high rating by PFF, Neal had a total of 66 tackles as opposed to Julian Love's 124. Neal didn't play in as many games, but only averaged 4.7 tackles per game compared to Love's 7.8.)

Yes, we'd all love to have that huge nose tackle for this defense. I wish we had Vita Vea on the defensive line. But there aren't enough great nose tackles to go around, unfortunately. But if that ends up being the only deficiency on this defense, I think we'll survive.

The Chiefs went from 27th to 16th last year. And that was after losing Charvarious Ward, Tyrann Mathieu and Jarran Reed. I like our chances for seeing a significant improvement.

 

[Weadoption]

if the addition of Hargrave and health of Kinlaw and up pushing this kid off the roster, could easily see the Hawks nabbing him. just explosive.

 

[GGotskill]

Cracking the top 20 in run defense will land squarely on Hurtts shoulders, frankly I thimk its a lost cos.

 

[Chukarhawk]

My bar is turn this from putrid to middle of the road this year. this is going to take 2-3 years to build the D back to a top 5 D.

 

[Scout]

Nice breakdown. A heavier dose of zone blocking use has unleashed athletic mauling guards/centers into the 2nd level (LB/SS zones) exploiting gap integrity against power/counter runs. As you pointed out certain coverages work better with bear fronts and I think our team can "turn the corner" with our recent influx of youth.

I've also wondered how much impact the new rules on refs enforcing helmet contact fouls has played a role. Natural tackling tendencies run counter intuitive to avoiding some helmet contact...especially when the runner is using body control to avoid a tackle. I only watched some poor tackling with our team...not really cognizant of other NFL teams. Trying to avoid helmet contact can result in a bad attack angle...a good runner can take advantage of any hesitation in a "would be" tackler...hate the rule (just punish the flagrant helmet contact)

The bottom line is that if you have guard/centers reaching the 2nd level the DBs and especially the LBs have to be able to stack and shed to make a play on the ball carrier. We know Wagz can do that as well as Jamal Adams so we will have to see what the rest can do.

The new rules impacts a lot of coverage looks as well as fronts in that overly aggressive play will be called by the refs. So clean defensive football is all about being at the right place and at the right time to make a play.

 

[TwistedHusky]

This is actually one of the reasons that I get worried when I hear that our RBs are tearing it up in camp. IS it our RB being outstanding?

Or does our rush defense still suck?

Our LBs were abysmal last year. The solution of bringing in a FA and aging vet hopefully helps. Worry about how much tread Bobby has on his tires still though.

We probably need to see preseason games with our starters against someone else's to know what we have first.