The Hawks Nest: Surveying the Defense
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by SSreporters
Hello, SSR here with edition #2 as a Seattle Seahawks beat writer. Today, I'll take a look at why Seattle's defense is better than everybody thinks.
The Seattle Seahawks have not been known for their defense. As a matter of fact, I don't know everyone on the Seahawks defense. But let me show you the defensive side.
Seattle has a 4-3 record heading into their bye week. The key to their winning record is not just the teams they are facing, but it's their defense. In 3 of their 4 wins, they did not allow a touchdown in that game (even the Bengals win, they allowed 2 touchdowns). In their 3 losses, they've allowed point totals of 23, and 21 twice (the Saints scored 28 points, but 7 came on special teams). Lets look at the strengths of this side at the halfway point of the season.
Strengths:
- The secondary has been solid this season. They have not allowed a passing play of 50 yards or more all season, and that includes QB's like Drew Brees, Ben Rotseiljftsdljfsdljgberger, Carson Palmer. Marcus Trufant leads the team in interceptions with 3, while new additions Brian Russell and Deon Grant have made big impacts, with Russell picking 1 off, while Grant has picked 2.
- Linebacker Julian Peterson and defensive endDarryl Tapp have been sensational. Peterson has one interception, to go with his 7 sacks, second in the league to Osi Umenyiora of the New York Giants. Darryl Tapp had a career high 4 sacks last Sunday against the Rams (then again, everyone can have a career day against the Rams), and a forced fumble. Overall, Tapp has 5.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles this year. Expect both of these men to be Pro Bowlers at season's end.
- The pass rush for Seattle has improved from last year. The team has sacked the QB 23 times, earning a top 10 ranking in the NFL.
Pretty good for Seattle. But.......
Weaknesses:
- The pass rush is inconsistent. Save for the Steelers game, all of their losses have resulted in the lack of a pass rush on the QB.
- Stopping the run is still a problem. Again, in their losses, they have not been able to stop the run. They are 4-0 without allowing a RB to run over 90 yards.
- 3rd and 40. In virtually every game, they continue to allow 3rd and 10 or more to be converted. They continue to expect the deep ball, have their DB's way too far down the field, and allow a first down. That is inexcusable for a supposed contender. The 3rd downs in general have been awful for Seattle. They cannot continue to let their defense stay on the field, which was the reason why Pittsburgh pulled away.
So who is the current defensive MVP for Seattle? Julian Peterson without a doubt.
Overall Grade: B-
Look for some more reviews over the next few days for the offense and special teams.
SSR
