Is the Seahawks Defense Finding a Groove at the Right Time?
On Monday night, the Seattle Seahawks held their opponent under 20 points for the first time all season. In their matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Seahawks defense was able to dominate the game from start to finish. They made life miserable for Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia offense by sacking the quarterback 6 times and getting in his face seemingly every time he dropped back to pass. The final score shows Philadelphia scored 17 points, but 8 of those came on a flukey Hail Mary (and subsequent 2 point conversion) with just 12 seconds remaining on the clock.
The impressive performance against Philadelphia came just one week after Seattle held Kyler Murray and the Cardinal’s offense to 21 points. It’s easy to overlook the Eagles game due to Philadelphia’s offensive ineptitude, but Kyler Murray and the 2nd ranked Cardinal’s offense are an opponent that can’t be taken lightly. In the pivotal NFC West matchup with Arizona, the Seattle defense was swarming from kickoff all the way until the final whistle. Their run defense was particularly impressive as they held Arizona, a team averaging 155.9 yards on the ground, to just 57 rushing yards on 18 attempts. The lack of a run game forced Arizona to lean solely on Kyler Murray’s arm to generate offense, and the young superstar wasn’t quite up to the task. The Seahawks went on to claim victory by a final score of 28–21.
Through 11 games Seattle has managed to come away with 8 victories, good for first place in the competetive NFC West. However, these 8 wins have largely come in spite of their defense rather than because of it. For the majority of the 2020 season Seattle has been home to a historically bad defense. To try and understand how bad, let’s look at some numbers comparing this year’s defense to the 2013 team where the Legion of Boom led the team to a Super Bowl victory. Through the first 8 games of the 2020 season, the Seahawks defense has allowed a staggering 243 points (30.4 per game) to opposing offenses, while back in 2013 that team only allowed 231 points all season (14.4 per game)!
Since being hired as head coach in 2010, Pete Carroll’s Seahawks teams have consistently been home to some impressive defenses. His teams regularly make postseason appearances and are often viewed as championship contenders, and the standards for this years squad are no different. In order to reach these lofty expectations the Seahawks need their defense to continue playing like the unit we’ve seen these past few weeks rather than the one we witnessed throughout the first half of the season. The big question is, are these last two weeks simply a flash in the pan, or are they a sign of a positive turnaround that can continue for the remainder of the season?
Coming in to the 2020 season Seattle wasn’t expected to have a great defense. They ranked near the bottom of the league in yards and points allowed per game in 2019, and one of their biggest weaknesses was their inability to rush the passer. To make matters worse, in the 2020 offseason the Seahawks lost their best pass rusher — Jadaveon Clowney — via free agency and didn’t do much to replace him. The results have been unsurprisingly poor and the team now ranks dead last in yards per game surrendered to opposing offenses.
A good pass has has always been a top priority for NFL teams, and it’s no surprise that this priority has found its way into the league’s trend towards data and analytics. One of the key metrics teams have recently started paying attention to is sack differential (sacks - sacks allowed). The NFL is a quarterback driven league, and the ability to make life easier for your own quarterback while simultaneously making it more difficult for your opponent’s has become a key indicator of overall team success. The undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers make sack differential a focal point of their team building philosophy, and their +31 margin ranks best in the league by a wide margin. In recent years, every team making the Super Bowl has had a positive sack differential, and most of these teams wind up ranking at or near the top of this category.
So far in 2020 Seattle possesses a negative sack differential with a margin of -4, but recent moves may be indicating the team is trying to address this issue. Head coach Pete Carroll has emphasized that he wants to get his team back to running a more balanced offense to make life easier on superstar quarterback Russell Wilson. Although Wilson has the offense playing at a high level, he’s been sacked 31 times on the season and the offense’s overall performance has dipped in recent weeks. The timing of the philosophical shift lines up well with starting running back Chris Carson returning from injury. Carson is a bruising runner capable of carrying a heavy load on offense, and his presence has been sorely missed these past few weeks. By featuring Carson and implementing a more balanced approach on offense, the Seahawks hope is to see a decrease in sacks allowed and an increase in the team’s ability to sustain drives on offense. This improved offensive efficiency should in turn make life easier on both Wilson and the team’s defense.
In addition to the strategic changes on offense, we’ve also seen Seattle’s front office try their hand at bolstering the defense by adding a pass rusher of their own. Although Seattle didn’t do much in the offseason to address this need, they did make a move at the trade deadline that appears to already be making a positive impact. The Seahawks acquired defensive end Chris Dunlap from the Bengals in an attempt to boost their ability to get after the quarterback, and in just four games Dunlap has already registered four sacks — ranking him second on the team.
Although Dunlap made his presence felt instantly, another key week 9 addition may be ready to make an even bigger impact on the defense down the stretch. The team’s sack leader on the season was inserted back into the lineup after recovering from an early season injury, and it may surprise you to find out who this player is. Although he plays a position not commonly known for getting after the quarterback, the one star Seattle did elect to pay a premium for this past offseason was All Pro safety Jamal Adams. Although he missed the entire month of October due to injury, Adams is the one leading the team in both sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (9), and recent weeks indicate he’s ready to remind the league just how dominant he can be.
Seattle had to give up two first round picks, a third rounder, and safety Bradley McDougle to pry Adams away from the Jets this past offseason. Although the price tag was steep, Adams is arguably a top 10 defender in the league and is likely worth every penny. Although he’s a safety by title, he’s one of the more versatile players in the league who’s capable of making an impact play from anywhere on the field. Just look at this breakdown of where Adams took his snaps during his time in New York:
Unfortunately for Adams and the Seahawks, the star “safety” has missed a large portion of the season due to injury. However his return paired with the addition of Dunlap has boosted the team’s overall performance on defense. When you take a look at Seattle’s defensive performance before and after Adams’ return from injury (which also reflects the addition of Dunlap) the difference is substantial. Take a look at the per game breakdown below:
Weeks 1–8: 28.4 points allowed, 1.7 sacks
Weeks 9–12: 26.3 points allowed, 4.8 sacks
The points per game difference is marginal yet still impactful, but if you were to strip out the week 9 game against Buffalo the per game number drops all the way down to 20.3. Then you look at the difference in sacks and your first instincts are likely to point to the newly acquired pass rusher being the cause for the boost, but when you take a deeper dive into Adams skillset and overall talent level as a player, you may start to conclude that he’s the real cause for improvement for this defense. So what is it about Adams presence that makes such a stark difference on this defense overall, and why is it that this difference didn’t manifest itself in the games before Adams suffered an his injury?
One reason I believe Adams presence wasn’t as impactful in those first few weeks is due the lack of an offseason caused by COVID-19. Joining a new team always comes with a bit of a learning curve, but joining a a new team, with no offseason, while having to learn just about every position on the defense is an incredibly tall order even for a player of Adams caliber. It’s likely that in his first few weeks with the team Adams was still adjusting to Seattle’s defensive scheme and also trying to get develop chemistry with his new teammates. With limited practice reps and no preseason games, it’s understandable that Adams may have needed some time to find his footing.
Adams is one of the more instinctual players in the league. His elite instincts frequently prompt him to go off script in attempts to try generating a big play. He’s a turnover and sack machine, and his unpredictability is often a nightmare for opposing offenses. Although his willingness to break free from the scheme often leads to greatness, at times ditching his assignment creates holes that his teammates need to account for. Adams teammates have had little time to adjust to his playstyle, and it’s been hard for them to get used to his unpredictability. The results have often been big plays coming for opposing offenses rather than for the Seattle defense. However recent weeks may indicate that Adams is becoming more familiar with his new scheme, and maybe more importantly his new teammates are starting to understand how to play alongside him. If the cohesion on this defense continues to improve, it will allow Adams to continue playing his instinctual brand of football and the defense’s impressive performances in recent weeks may start to become the norm.
The additions of Adams and Dunlap have already proven to pay dividends for Seattle’s defense, and the hope for the Seahawks is that we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Dunlap’s addition instantly helped boost the team’s pass rush, and although his presence has proved helpful his impact will be dwarfed by Adams’ gamebreaking ability if the “safety” can continue to improve his play each week. Although Adams missed the entire month of October due to injury, he’s still on pace to break the NFL record for sacks in a season by a safety (8). The fact that Adams is capable of breaking this record even with the missed time just shows how dominant of a player he can be. He’s one of the more unique and talented players in the NFL, and regardless of where he lines up on the field he’s going to make life difficult for every offense that he lines up against.
Seattle‘s made changes at every level to improve their team’s potential down the stretch. The front office’s decision to acquire not one, but two players capable of making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks appears to be making a positive impact on defense. This improvement on defense should in turn help make life easier on the offense, and the coaching staff’s philosophical shift towards a more balanced approach should simultaneously make life easier on star quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson has played at an MVP level all season long, but he hasn’t gotten much help from either his run game or his defense. His Herculean efforts can only take the team so far, and if Seattle wants to return to the Super Bowl this season, a more balanced approach is likely their best route to get there. Week 9 may have been a major turning point for Seattle this season, and if the team can continue to trend in the right direction they’ll be an opponent no team wants to face come January.
