Could this season see our best D under PC/JS?

I hate to give him that much credit but I do think Bennett is key, not so much of his ability on field, as much as I have concern for the issues with him being a distraction.

IMHO, the answer to your question is yes but it depends on a few variables.
GoHawks

pmedic920":iv7339op said:

I hate to give him that much credit but I do think Bennett is key,

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This.

Richard appears to have been a good secondary coach, and he seems to have more charisma than Bradley or Quinn did. But I don't think the change at DC should be overlooked. Quinn was legitimately one of the more gifted defensive coaches in the NFL. I know it's Pete's defense and all that, but the defense immediately went to another level when Quinn took over for Bradley, and even before that, our defensive line talent development was on a much higher level when Quinn was on staff.

Richard is going to have to be a hell of a DC to replace Quinn, who was good at generating a disruptive pass rush with four or five rushers and knowing when to (rarely) send more than that amount.

But personnel wise, yeah, I mostly agree with the OP. You look at the rosters side by side and the talent and depth this year defensively is the best ever, though with more question marks.

RCB and NCB are probably the two biggest question marks for me. By midseason, when the coaching has had a chance to takeover and the new players have acclimated, I think they do have a chance to be pretty great.

On paper, the Packers and Steelers look to have two of the better offenses in NFL history. Those games will be huge tests for this new defense. Ravens and Cowboys will also be tests, to a lesser extent, due to their dominant offensive line play. We also get to face Adrian Petersen in a stone cold, 10 AM road matchup.

I agree that Richard as a DC will prove to be the biggest factor. Really hope he is a great one.

IMO Bradley would have been every bit as successful as Quinn had he had Avril and Bennett.

Those two guys gave us the pressure we needed that we just didn't have with Chris Clemons alone.

Definitely think this defense can be better than ever this season. We have to stay healthy and a certain Moses needs to put his ego aside for it all to come together, though.

I know this thread is about the defense, but equally exciting is my belief that this will also be the Seahawks best offensive squad in team history, too. I think the Graham/Lockett additions are going to prove to be absolutely huge.

Pretty hard to surpass the defense of year before last. It was all-time, right up there with the '85 Bears and 70s Stealers. Of course I'd love it if this one was better.

I think they'll be really good, but like HFSD1 said.. the 2013 defense was historically great. Had the perfect blend of depth, health, and fire stemming from the Falcons loss.

We should definitely have the motivational aspect working for us given how XLIX ended, the other two remain to be seen.