Four numbers that tell the story of Seattle's defense in '17

MontanaHawk05 · Jan 9, 2018

http://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-seahaw ... se-in-2017

Good stuff. Basically, we fell to about the middle of the pack.

RussB · Jan 9, 2018

Thats what happens when your best defensive players age and become injury prone.

mistaowen · Jan 9, 2018

Good read.

Lack of pressure at key moments and being the worst 3 and 10+ defense in the NFL was a huge issue. Often times the 3rd and long completion was a relatively easy catch. Soft zone? Missed coverage? No pressure? I noticed KR liked to call a 3 man rush in these situations, might be something to evaluate.

Offense also didn't help by keeping them off the field much, ever play with an early lead, or flip the field.

MontanaHawk05 · Jan 9, 2018

RussB":2rs32dxf said:
Thats what happens when your best defensive players age and become injury prone.

You know...I'm really not sure what people expect Seattle to do. Brandon Mebane, Bruce Irvin, Byron Maxwell, Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Brandon Browner, Malcolm Smith, Clinton McDonald, Walter Thurmond, Atyha Rubin, Tony McDaniel...all examples of players Seattle did NOT hold onto. The myth that Seattle's defense is old and broken because Seattle was too nostalgic really doesn't hold up all that well. They've actually been quite cutthroat.

Were Seattle to just cut everyone because something something Patriots, you'd have no remaining continuity on the team and an awful lot of gambling on continued draft picks vs. sure things. Seattle signed its best players, the core of its chemistry, and this year, lost the gamble.

At some point you just have to accept that there's a randomness factor to injury.

original poster · Jan 9, 2018

Really enjoyed reading that.

I’m confident the defense will perform at a high level for a long time.

Chapow · Jan 9, 2018

MontanaHawk05":1l7yg1mj said:
RussB":1l7yg1mj said:

Thats what happens when your best defensive players age and become injury prone.

Click to expand...

You know...I'm really not sure what people expect Seattle to do. Brandon Mebane, Bruce Irvin, Byron Maxwell, Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Brandon Browner, Malcolm Smith, Clinton McDonald, Walter Thurmond, Atyha Rubin, Tony McDaniel...all examples of players Seattle did NOT hold onto. The myth that Seattle's defense is old and broken because Seattle was too nostalgic really doesn't hold up all that well. They've actually been quite cutthroat.

Were Seattle to just cut everyone because something something Patriots, you'd have no remaining continuity on the team and an awful lot of gambling on continued draft picks vs. sure things. Seattle signed its best players, the core of its chemistry, and this year, lost the gamble.

At some point you just have to accept that there's a randomness factor to injury.

This is a really great post and one I completely agree with.

And I fully expect the "Our defense is old and injury prone" crowd to completely disregard it.

original poster · Jan 9, 2018

I can’t remember the exact average age but Seattle’s D is far from old.

IIRC it was 26.something and middle of the pack compared to the NFL average.

hawkfan68 · Jan 9, 2018

I don't know who has made 30 years old as the barometer of all athletes being old. Many have surpassed that age and are still playing well. Just because few players decline after hitting 30 doesn't mean all of them do. I think plenty can play past that age. Losing Avril and Kam is not due to age. It's due to a freak injury they both suffered.

original poster · Jan 9, 2018

hawkfan68":3ggnxwfo said:
I don't know who has made 30 years old as the barometer of all athletes being old. Many have surpassed that age and are still playing well. Just because one player declines after hitting 30 doesn't mean all of them do. I think plenty can play past that age. Losing Avril and Kam is not due to age. It's due to a freak injury they both suffered.

Absolutely.

Outside of running backs, there’s lots of thirty somethings at every single position.

nwHawk · Jan 9, 2018

For as much as was made about what the Seahawks need to fix moving forward, at times when reading the piece it felt like Richard was the scapgoat. This could be a cautionary piece for those looking at him as a potential head coach, a la Colts.

I don't think he is going anywhere this off-season. And that's okay, because I think we'll be much better with him next year. The young buck is learning.

MontanaHawk05 · Jan 9, 2018

hawkfan68":1u050uvj said:
I don't know who has made 30 years old as the barometer of all athletes being old.

It's not ideal. The injury likelihood does rise significantly at that point.

Thing is, the Legion aren't even 30 yet. They weren't in 2016. Wagner and Wright are 27 and 28 now.

The front four (Avril and Bennett) was a bit more of an age gamble, sure, but Seattle has been reloading there for a while - not just neglecting it. Frank Clark and Jarran Reed were already there, not to mention any number of late-round fliers. This year, McDowell and Jones.

And Avril was a freak career-ending thing that looked like it could have gotten anyone.

chris98251 · Jan 9, 2018

It's age partially but more the mileage, the core has played more games then almost anyone else in the league with the extended seasons in the playoffs, that and they are aggressive tacklers as well, lots of repeated impact longer then many others in the league over 5 or 6 years adds up to at least one more season of wear and tear on their bodies, less time to rest and heal from nagging injuries that can blow up into bigger injuries etc.

mrt144 · Jan 9, 2018

hawkfan68":ul8mqlbh said:
I don't know who has made 30 years old as the barometer of all athletes being old. Many have surpassed that age and are still playing well. Just because few players decline after hitting 30 doesn't mean all of them do. I think plenty can play past that age. Losing Avril and Kam is not due to age. It's due to a freak injury they both suffered.

If anything there is some survivor bias there - the best players in the league play past 30 and give the impression that is a base standard of quality - no, they play past 30 because they are that much better than their peers, irrespective of age.

adeltaY · Jan 9, 2018

25th in points allowed after Sherman and Kam got hurt. That's a significant drop.

Four numbers that tell the story of Seattle's defense in '17

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