Reviewing the advanced stats & grades post-Minnesota

Ethan Pocic continues to excel in pass pro

PFF grades vs Minnesota

***Edit — information removed***

Advanced stats review via Pro Football Reference

Seattle’s turnover percentage (the percentage of drives that result in a turnover) is 17.9%, sixth best in the league. They are tied second in the league for takeaways with Baltimore (10) and two behind leaders Cleveland (12).

The Seahawks still lead the league in passing yards conceded (2356). The Atlanta Falcons are second (2230).

After three weeks the Seahawks were blitzing 36% of the time. That lowered to 30% last week and is now at 29.6%

Their pressure percentage increased from 20.5% to 21.4% after the Minnesota game. They recorded three knockdowns against the Vikings and their knockdown percentage dropped slightly to 9.6% from 10% last week.

Seattle’s sack percentage rose after the Vikings game from 2.9% to 3.6% — although for the season that is still the fifth worst record in the NFL. Considering they are still blitzing at a rate of around 30% for the season, sack percentage is the area they must improve for the rest of the season. A reminder that in 2018 their sack percentage was 7.3% (11th best) despite blitzing only 18.4% of the time (fifth lowest). Pete Carroll’s scheme simply functions better when they have one or two people capable of creating pressure up front when rushing with four. Without wanting to beat a dead horse, acquiring someone who can provide that off the edge to help the team get off the field without needing to bring the house, is probably the route to a significant improvement.

In terms of expected points contributed by passing defense, the Seahawks are at -58.35, fifth worst overall. Atlanta is dead last with a whopping -96.85, by far the worst record in the NFL.

The Seahawks have seen a bit of an increase in missed tackles. They were second only to New England for fewest missed tackles after four games. Now they’ve jumped to the 17th best record with 37.

Seattle increased their TFL’s for the season to 24 — 11th most in the NFL.

Shaquill Griffin continues to lead the NFL in times targeted (45), passes completed (31) and yards given up (412). His completion percentage against is 68.9%. He’s given up four touchdowns, second most in the league. He’s allowed a passer rating of 108.7.

This is not the statistical profile you want in a contract year.

Meanwhile, here’s a review of the Minnesota game from Chris Simms where he touches on some of the defensive issues (and Seattle’s need to dip into the trade market) plus a lot more in an interesting breakdown:

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139 Comments

  1. Rusty

    At least Shaq has a couple picks, but yeah been a rough year

    I almost wonder if with Dunbar’s injury issues and Flowers’ apparent regression, if a CB wouldn’t be a more pressing trade need than a pass rusher? … or it’s at least close.

    • Rob Staton

      Not for this scheme mid-season.

      But not paying Griffin needs to be a strong consideration.

      • CaptainJack

        Let Shaquill get overpaid somewhere. I wouldn’t try to retain Dunbar either. Convert Neal to corner, have Blair compete there as well. Ugo Amadi is better at nickel than Blair. Then just draft another safety in later rounds again to replace Hill.

        • Rob Staton

          If they move on from Griffin and Dunbar then I certainly hope the plan is not to move Neal and Blair to corner.

          • clbradley17

            The interchangeable safety to corner theory sounds like former OL coach Cable’s DL to OL experiments a few years ago. By the way, didn’t they do that with Tre Flowers? Haven’t been paying attention to CB Flowers play this year. How’s that working out?

            • dcd2

              Flowers has been awful. Simms talked about it in the video too. He’s not meant to be put in man-to-man on a consistent basis and he’s been getting torched. Another byproduct of needing to create pressure by bringing extra rushers is putting our CB’s on an island, and they just don’t have the skills to man up top flight WR.

              • Rob Staton

                If you blitz you have to play man in order to eliminate the quick throw. And the Seahawks have built their team not to play this way and are having to be aggressive to make up for the total and utter ineptitude of their off-season ‘fix’ of the pass rush.

  2. sam denny

    It seems strange that the seahawks waited to this year to try pocic out at center since that was his natural position in college. You would think after Britt’s success they would of pivoted sooner. Might have avoided the Pittsburgh center signing. (bad sign I already forget his name). Do you think the hawks extend pocic Rob?

    • Rob Staton

      It’s too soon to say yes on Pocic. We need to see. But if he carries on playing to this level and the price is relatively cheap — then sure. They have options though — with Alex Mack also a FA and Britt will be fully recovered by then. So no real urgency I’d say.

      • Pran

        I would say stick with Pocic if he continues to perform. He is young and can grow with Russ rather than switching to someone every 1 or 2 seasons.

    • Rusty

      Well …….. Britt’s success is exactly why he didn’t play center …….. because Britt was

      Why you’re drafting a center in the 2nd round when you just paid a center is a decent question, though they thought Pocic could play all interior positions better than he’s showed

      • Ashish

        Please stop experimenting with OL position. If you want center draft a center, if you want guard draft guard. Pocic played center mainly in college and we tried him as center in last year of the contract. It’s not that he did well in other position.

  3. Danny

    Hey Rob,

    With teams like Atlanta, Philly and New Orleans in cap hell next season, would the desperation to get out from that situation potentially manifest in an opportunity for Seattle to acquire one of their pass rushers for a below market deal? In Atlanta’s case, could Takk McKinley, Fowler or Jarrett be available for any 2 of our day 3 picks next season? Philly and New Orleans probably feel like they can still make the postseason given their in division situations and for that reason, Atlanta feels like the most logical trade partner given our needs.

    Thank you, love the blog!

    • Rob Staton

      Yes, I’ve been discussing this for a few weeks.

      I doubt Atlanta deals Jarrett but there are going to be options within those squads and someway, somehow — they have to make savings eventually.

    • clbradley17

      At first glance and knowing that the Eagles are playing the Ravens this week, they should or could be 1-4-1 after that game and also seemingly looking to deal. But their next 3 games are the Giants, Cowboys and the Giants again, so they could be at the top of that terrible division after that stretch. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this year’s NFL East playoff team win that division with 6 wins.

  4. jopa726

    Happily surprised at PFF scores for the Offensive Line. Shaquill Griffin’s play has to improve. The Arizona Cardinals and DeAndre Hopkins will tear up this Secondary if, they don’t play better.

    From the Wild World of Bruce Irvin’s Twitter:

    “Leveon hated on Jamal for leaving the jets now he gone 😂🤦🏾‍♂️”

    “And clowney still got the same amount of sacks as me on the year! I’m just saying 🤷🏾‍♂️”

    • vegashawk

      VERY fortunately for the seahawks, Chandler Jones is out for the Cardinals. Otherwise that game would be really hard. Without Jones, their Dline is very meh. Hopkins should still tear us up, but at least we dont have to deal with their best defensive player.

  5. AlaskaHawk

    Rob, I was wondering how this was calculated? It seems like the defense has gotten turnovers, maybe not many interceptions? Or do you need to run it back for a defensive touchdown?

    “In terms of expected points contributed by passing defense, the Seahawks are at -58.35, fifth worst overall.”

    • Rusty

      Yes expected points factors in interceptions, those are big plus plays for a defense. They don’t have enough interceptions to make their overrall passing defense any good, though.

      FWIW Ben Baldwin’s numbers have us at 9th worst passing defense EPA/play

  6. Chris

    Rob,
    Quick clarification question (I could be missing something) but for the grades you put after the first five games, are those the averages for the players? Or are they the best & worst score they received for a game?

    Great write up regardless, and I’ve heard the league as a whole struggled mightily on defense the first few weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if defenses and players start to shape up in the near future.

    • Rob Staton

      They are the averages for each player after five games.

  7. GoHawksDani

    OL seems fine. They just have to run to the right side.
    Really small sample but maybe Moore and Bullard could give some plus in passrush?
    I doubt PCJS will trade for a big name player (just has a feeling they won’t :(), but some cheaper guy for a 4th? Based on eye-test Griffin doesn’t seem THAT bad. Not an elite CB but rather mediocre than awful. I’d keep him for cheap and he could be either a CB2 or an A+ backup. Flowers seem awful though. Not sure if there’s someone other than Dunbar who could step up and be the other CB if Dunbar is not available (maybe Thorpe?).
    To me Bobby doesn’t seem awesome this year. In first game he played his usual future HoF-self but lately he seems mediocre most times.
    Barton is not good. And that might be an understatement.

    I think for this defense to be at least mediocre these would need to happen:
    1, Keep Flowers on the bench
    2, Adams needs to return and don’t push him with too much tasks (coverage)
    3, Keep KJ at SAM, Brooks needs to return and take the WILL and play at least decent
    4, Figure out what rotation works át the DL. Keep them fresh. Sign a DE at least a usable (someone like Jacob Martin for example), but a better player is obviously prefered. Rotation could be something like this: For 100 snaps I’d give 40 Moore, 40 Collier, 40 new guy, 35 Mayowa, 25 Bullard, 20 Robinson snaps or something like this and obviously push the player who plays better. On the inside for 100 snaps, I’d give Reed 70 snaps, Mone 30, Ford 40, Harrison 40, Rush 20

    • BobbyK

      In fairness to Bobby, I don’t think too many DTs would look great with a starter like Poona Ford supposedly occupying blockers for him.

      In fairness to Poona, he’s a solid rotational guy who shouldn’t be a starter or play starter snaps.

      Snacks isn’t going to come in and dominate but it will be nice to see if Bobby improves when he starts situationally gobbling up a couple of OL when teams run after he gets into football shape.

    • CJ

      Wagner really shines when the DL keeps him clean, and he can read and react. When he’s fighting off blockers, he can get washed out of plays if not reading perfectly. And you know the gameplay going for any opposing offense is keeping him in check.

  8. CaptainJack

    Rob,

    How concerning or encouraging is it to you, that after Jamal Adams went out injured, the defense seems to have marginally improved, especially in terms of pass rush? (Again, I say marginally).

    Does this indicate we could see a much improved defense when Adams (as well as possibly Hill, Brooks and Green) come back after the bye, or that Adams doesn’t really improve this defense because of his poor coverage performances?

    • Rob Staton

      Well they’ve improved their sack percentage by 0.5% so let’s not get carried away.

      • CaptainJack

        Still, even a marginal improvement is surprising considering Adams was our only source of pass rush the first 2.5 games. I expected things to get much uglier.

        • Rob Staton

          It’s a negligible improvement which is fairly irrelevant.

          All it really shows is that whether they blitz Adams often or not, the pass rush is equally crap at getting home.

        • Rusty

          I think quality of the opposing offenses is a factor here

    • pdway

      I’m choosing to think that the D has gotten marginally better in this area – and adding Adams back will give them a bump above where they were in the first couple games.

      • Rob Staton

        Until they get better personnel on the D-line, the improvement will be miniscule.

  9. ABCinco

    Do you think Bullard’s solid performance (in a limited capacity) is a sign of things to come? Or just a flash in a pan against a poor pass blocking oline?

    • Rob Staton

      Who knows? Let’s wait and see.

  10. hobro

    Measured by DVOA, the Seahawks moved to third up from sixth last week. Unsurprisingly they got there by having a top-three offense and a below-average defense. More controversially, DVOA continues to rank them pretty highly on run defense, partly because they’ve played teams with decent run games.

    • Rob Staton

      Sure, and they’re still rated relatively highly in run D because nobody bothered to run for four weeks of the season and their numbers are down.

      But in their first real test they gave up 201 yards. We all saw what happened on Sunday.

      • hobro

        DVOA isn’t a volume metric like yards per game, so whether the opposition runs 5 times or 25 times isn’t really relevant. DVOA is more like yards per carry, except instead of measuring yards alone they’re measuring a number of factors that define a “successful” play – so, for example, an eight yard gain on third and 10 is much less successful than a two-yard touchdown run on third and goal from the 2.

        The less than outstanding performance in the Vikings game certainly supports your scepticism about the Seahawk’s supposedly excellent run defense. On the other hand, the Vikings have a pretty good ground offense, and it was only one game.

        • Rob Staton

          I’m pretty sure, however, that I read Seattle is ranked 8th vs the run and 28th vs the pass and it basically averages out.

          And my opinion is having just watched their run defense on Sunday get their arses kicked despite Dalvin Cook missing a half is it probably isn’t the 8th best run defense and that the first few weeks where the run D wasn’t really challenged has played too much of an impact on this system.

          • dcd2

            It’s all about balance. The run defense sucks, but the pass defense blows.

            In seriousness though, the Vikes were the first team to make a concerted effort to pound the rock against us and met little resistance, with or without Dalvin Cook.

  11. cha

    Rob I don’t want to pile more work on your back, but I think it would be really interesting to get the PFF’s for the opponent as well and see who really performed. It might trigger some interesting analysis points.

    • Rob Staton

      Unless a Vikings fan (or another opposition fan) posts those numbers I’ll only be able to access those grades with a very expensive elite PFF account.

      • hobro

        People often post them on their team’s subreddit. I took a quick look through reddit.com/r/minnesotavikings and didn’t see anything, but they may turn up yet.

      • charlietheunicorn

        Paywalls are rubbish 😀

      • Chase

        How much is a premium account, I, and I’m sure others, would love to pitch in to get you an account.

        • Rob Staton

          Really appreciate you saying that — but I think for the sake of having access to all teams game-to-game, it’s probably not worth the investment.

  12. Tecmo Bowl

    “Seattle’s turnover percentage (the percentage of drives that result in a turnover) is 17.9%, sixth best in the league. They are tied second in the league for takeaways with Baltimore (10) and two behind leaders Cleveland (12).”

    This is what gets lost in a successful bend/don’t break defense. The more plays an offense runs the more chances the defense has to force a TO. While the Hawks have been giving up a mind boggling amount of yards, they have been forcing 2 TOs a game.

    • Rob Staton

      It also needs to be remembered though that the defense started like this a year ago and then the turnovers dried up. And the defense then looked shite.

      • GerryG

        Yep, turnovers have a fairly high amount of randomness. INTs are skewed by 1) some QBs are abysmally terrible 2) some balls are tipped/deflected (think Olsen’s blunder week three) at which point there is a lot of luck/randomness involved 3) forcing fumbles are a strength, but recoveries are quite random, especially once the ball starts bouncing.

        If this team was forcing turnover because of a fearsome pass rush I would feel more confident it could be sustained, strip sacks and bad throws due to pressure. That’s not the case here. there is going to be a few weeks where there are 0 turnovers, and those weeks are going to require better D play to get a win.

        • Rob Staton

          All fair points. I recall last season the Seahawks were taking the ball away a lot early in the year, then it suddenly dried up. I fear the same thing will happen because there’s no obvious reason for why they’ve occurred so far.

  13. charlietheunicorn

    I just had to check the stats….

    Green Bay and Tennessee have 0 and 1 “giveaway” combined through 5 weeks. Truly remarkable ball control by both squads. Not sure this is sustainable, but they are being really sound with controlling unforce errors (TOs) on offense.

    • Volume12

      Tennessee is gonna be a tough out for anyone. Tannehill is killing opponents w/ the PA. Pretty soon those safeties are gonna start creeping outta the box and Henry’s gonna have a lot of running room.

      • charlietheunicorn

        They definitely had a coming out party on Tuesday Night Football.
        First time I’ve been able to really watch them.

        They provided a few blue prints to attack the Bills defense.
        Get the TEs up the seams, RB check downs in the flat…. and just smash them with a RB and play action pass off of it…. two of the 3 things we know Seattle can do when motivated. The TEs in the passing attack have yet to truly flourish, but it appeared 2 (or 3) TE sets were particularly effective against the Bills.

  14. Volume12

    Ethan Pocic out here looking like an O’Doyle brother from Billy Madison

    • Logan Lynch

      O’Doyle Rules!

      • BobbyK

        Hahaha

      • Volume12

        😂 was really hoping someone was gonnscreply w/ that. TY

        • Volume12

          🤦‍♂️ * gonna reply

  15. BobbyK

    I’m going to put on my rose colored glasses and think, what if…

    Collier and Green can improve at LDE. They won’t be good, but they might not suck. Between the two of them, it’s possible to keep both guys fresh even when the defense is on the field for a billion plays.

    Can Snacks stuff the run on run downs and Bullard rush the passer in passing situations? This could be key. These two guys didn’t start the year with the Hawks, but I like both pick-ups. Snacks can help keep Poona fresh (because he’s not a guy who can play tired, imo – based on his position and style of play) and if Bullard doesn’t have to worry about being an “all-around” player – I think there’s a good role for him just trying to get to the QB from the interior.

    Reed is solid. He’s the only guy on the DL that I actually think is a ‘good’ NFL DL but – I don’t think he’s anything close to ever warranting a Pro Bowl berth. That being said, the less a DT plays – the more effective he can be. With Snacks and Bullard seeing some PT, it’s possible there can be a semi-effective rotation with these DTs. Good? No. I didn’t say that. But possibly good enough.

    I respect Mayowa to a degree and it’s not his fault the organization made this guy their Leo. That being said, as admirable as he’s played in certain instances and as much as they have asked of him – it’s not feasible this can continue. He’s not “good.” He just doesn’t suck as much as I thought he would. Again, not his fault the team brought him in and put him in a position he’s not suited for in terms of succeeding (he’s a 2nd/3rd wheel, not “The Man”). Robinson is a rookie. Enough said. Taylor is the only hope even though he’s a rookie – but with the questions surrounding him, it would be irresponsible to expect anything from him this year (even though we only need a situationally effective Leo to spell Mayowa).

    Basically, we either find a Takk McKinley type to help Mayowa if Darrell Taylor can’t go… or they wait for Football Team to lose a few more games and do what they can do to get a Ryan Kerrigan type. Something must be done because this team can legitimately win a Super Bowl if they can get an edge rusher someway, somehow.

    • Gohawks5151

      Agree. I think Takk may be the best option because I really don’t think they will get rid of their 2nd rounder. Even Charles Harris for a 7th is more likely. The Snacks-Bullard rotation has potential. A “NASCAR-ish” line Moore-Reed-Bullard-Mayowa could be ok

      • charlietheunicorn

        Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble, but Takk McKinley has a groin injury currently.

        • Gohawks5151

          He practiced today. Limited though. He is on the Jamal timeline.

  16. Aaron

    Nick Saban has COVID per ESPN

  17. Ukhawk

    Whilst unlikely, I think the best option to upgrade the defense before the deadline is…

    Grady Jarrett!

    He’s young, under a team friendly $13mAPY contract for the next 2 seasons and arguably the current 2nd most dominant DT behind Aaron Donald.

    • Rob Staton

      I still think if they’re going to add it needs to be an EDGE.

      • Ukhawk

        But why edge?

        Hear me out:
        -yes ideally it’s edge but
        -No edge or ANY rusher available will be as productive nor disruptive
        -Jarrett has graded the THE BEST DT for PRWR per ESPN so far this season, at 24%! That’s higher than Donald and Jones who are on 18%.
        -Jarrett PRWR puts him just outside the top 10 EDGE defenders. Ie Higher than Clowney
        -Tell me they can, esp now, sign an edge defender for better production. Who?
        -AND they can reshape the roster NOW
        -Ford is a FA next year,and
        -Neither Jones nor Donald will cost Jarretts $13m if I’m recall correctly. Bargain!
        -BTW what edge would with that production
        -I also believe he can play across the line, at 5 tech and is a Swiss Army knife weapon
        – PLUS he’s easily a top 10 run defender according to ESPN metrics

        This guy will make everyone better

        Come on let’s think outside the box

        • Decaf M.

          Tbh I’m starting to like that idea. I believe Garrett would have the same affect Donald had on Fowler and Matthews. Garrett gets his 7+ sacks with an amazing run D and high pressure, allowing someone of mayowa, who I think is similar to Matthews in talent at this point, up to a 6+ sack man. And maybe he’ll teach Robinson and Reed some tricks. Right now, we just need pressure. And he brings it. I’d give up something like a 2021 2nd and 2022 5th for him. Wonder if the Falcons would bite on that.

        • Darnell

          I don’t think they have close to the draft capital to acquire Grady Jarrett.

          Metcalf is the only young player we have that Atlanta would consider fair compensation.

          Why do you have Atlanta trading Jarrett? He’s young enough to be a key piece the next time they are competitive.

        • Rob Staton

          Don’t tell me to ‘think outside the box’, please. As someone who writes articles daily on this team and has received plenty of ‘stick’ for mere proposals during quiet periods of the off-season, I have no problem ‘thinking outside the box.’

          As for Grady Jarrett…

          1. The Falcons would want a high pick for Jarrett.

          2. They say they are not going to clear out top players until a GM comes in.

          3. The Seahawks need speed off the edge badly.

  18. Sea Mode

    [Re-posting from the tail end of last thread]

    Great video breakdown of the final drive by former NFL QB J.T. O’Sullivan in case anyone missed it the other day. Thanks to Big Mike for the share:

    Russell Wilson: Two-Minutes Cooking in the Rain
    https://youtu.be/48XC2O0J5Ug

    Pretty amazing how the final 3 throws of the game all went to DK… (even though I’m pretty sure the last one was designed to go to Lockett first read, but Russ saw he didn’t have another second to wait for the window to throw to him. You can see him looking Lockett’s way and his feet are facing that way, and he even makes one last quick glance back towards Lockett before firing away from his body to DK.)

    I’m watching the other ones he’s done on the Seahawks from different weeks.

    Rob, would be awesome if he would agree to a little Seahawks (or draft prospect) film session with you sometime! He obviously (who doesn’t) enjoys watching and breaking down Russ, so who knows.

    • Noah Parker

      This was awesome, thanks.

  19. ArmyHawk

    Does anyone know how they grade the special teams on PFF? Jut from the eye test it seemed like Dickson had another superb game but is graded at 60.4. Just seems way low for a great performance.

    • Rob Staton

      No idea

    • Big Mike

      Horseshit grade. He pinned them at the 3 not once, but twice. FFS. Makes me a little leery of their grading.

      • Rob Staton

        Let’s also not forget those were kicks close in. If you punt from your own 30 and it ends up on the three-yard-line, that’s a crazy good punt. If you’re punting from the opponents forty and have to just kick it 30 yards and it bounces along, it’s fairly simple for a team mate to get downfield and stop it crossing the goal-line.

  20. Darnell

    The distinction between when Cable identified an offensive lineman that he liked for the team and those brought in under Solari is pretty eye opening.

    Iupati, Lewis, Fluker, Shell, Simmons have all had varying degrees of success here.

    Amongst acquisitions under Cable, Duane Brown was already proven; and I suppose Hunt and Sweezy were successes relative to where they were drafted, and Glowinski needed to leave to become good. But Webb, Sowell, Ifedi, Joeckel, Nowak, Odhiombo – yuck. Fant is a success story too.

    • Darnell

      I should of course add that it doesn’t appear that Finney and Ogbuehi were wise acquisitions.

    • charlietheunicorn

      Easy to beat up Cable, but the OL for the Raiders are preforming pretty well this season.

      • SteveLargent80

        The Raiders have a more talented line to be fair. Rodney Hudson is a top three center, and Richie Incognito has always been a good guard

    • Rob Staton

      Well let’s be fair — Unger was a lost cause until Cable got him. Breno was perfectly solid. James Carpenter has had a long career. Okung was perfectly fine under Cable. Sweezy is a revelation given he was drafted as a 7th rounder having played D-line in college. Britt’s transition to center started under Cable.

      Also everyone always pins these picks and signings on Cable or Solari. John Schneider and the front office make the moves. Cable and Schneider were both on the record that all Cable does is offer input on the players Schneider identifies.

      • JUJUS

        dont forget that Super bowl year we played half the year with Ginger Paul McQunstan at LT with Okung hurt

  21. Sea Mode

    2020 Week 5: Seahawks vs Vikings | Seahawks All Access
    https://youtu.be/Fx-eyngoc7Q

    Moore’s ST hit got everybody more pumped than any of the TDs.

    • charlietheunicorn

      That is one of the bigger hits I’ve seen.
      Of course, he was almost double of the weight of the guy he smashed, but it was a textbook tackle.
      Amazing ability for a big guy on ST coverage.

      • Hoggs41

        I cant believe Abdullah actually got up. Thats 280 coming full speed.

  22. Gohawks5151

    There is a stat floating around that Adams, Dunbar, Shaq and Diggs have only played 77 snaps together. That’s about 1 games worth. With Adams and Dunbar new to the team and scheme I think that is significant. I think they have shown enough individually in their careers to say that this unit can improve. Also many new contributors in Mayowa, Mone, Brooks, Barton, Robinson, Amadi and Neal show potential. They have a lot of balls in the air. To me, half of this group lacks the knowledge of scheme and the other half lacks the familiarity to be comfortable and play fast. Throw in the identity crisis (to blitz or not to blitz?) of this team and it is easy to see where performance can lack. The bye week could be huge for this team to eliminate alignment/assignment errors and figure out ways to address physical issues. They are still flawed but the target is a mid-teen defense, not the LOB.

    • Hoggs41

      Thats what matters the most. Is can we improve while still winning games. If you can you can make a run, if you cant that run might come to an end.

  23. charlietheunicorn

    Dave Wyman is standing up for Barton right now on 710 ESPN.
    Funny. I think he might punch someone in the face by the time this is all over with…

    • Ashish

      Dave sees Barton as very good coverage LB, i have heard him saying on his show. I just hope he is right and Barton justify his 3rd round wager.

  24. Rob Staton

    I’ve added a video at the bottom of the article which is worth watching IMO. Chris Simms breaking down the Minnesota game — and Seattle’s defensive issues, plus a lot of other stuff.

    • Hoggs41

      Interesting points from Chris. Im not sure I agree that they cant get it slightly turned around. We dont need to be top 10. Hell top 20 and giving up around 23 a game could put them in a place to do some damage in the post season. It will for sure be interesting to see how they do things when Adams comes back because he is right that rushing with 5 just exposes us. I think we still need to blitz from time to time but its obviously not working with Adams being the one to blitz all the time. Maybe they send the corners more often? Im not sure but hopefully they can figure something out to at least slow the other teams down.

    • Gohawks5151

      Calling Reed the only playmaker in the front 7 gets this video off on the wrong foot but it’s a good watch.

      • Rob Staton

        I think he meant the DL which is fair enough

        • vbullen65

          Do you agree with him saying, “Bobby Wagner is a good player, but not the hall of famer we were used to seeing from 2 or 3 years ago” ?

          • Rob Staton

            Yes.

            But if you put an actual D-line in front of him, I’m sure he can get back to the top level.

            • Gohawks5151

              Agreed. Even Ray Lewis had some down years after he lost Siragusa and Adams after the first championship. And he was younger than Bobby

    • Aaron

      Chris Simms trying to answer how to improve the Hawks D and he sighs…I feel ya brotha…I feel you.

      No silver bullets, no magic answers. They have to…HAVE TO be aggressive at the trade deadline. Only then will they have a chance to compete for a title becuase only then will they improve the defense from a trainwreck to something resembling a poor defense. Oh yes, and add some defensive consultants. Spare no expense.

      • Hoggs41

        It still feels like Kerrigan could be the top choice and one that could actually happen. Followed by Carlos Dunlap (the Bengals just refuse to trade) and the lo g shot being Yannick Ngakoue.

        • Rob Staton

          Kerrigan to me still seems like a guy that could be had for a low level pick, on a rental, and contribute.

          • Spencer Duncan

            Often some guys go for lower pick value then we expect. The salary cap situation with COVID may increase the likelihood that guys will be available for reasonable prices. If we can grab someone to push Mayowa down the depth chart, I’d be quite optimistic about the outlook of this team.

          • JUJUS

            Who gets bumped off the roster if we add Kerrigan and Snacks to the 53

        • Uncle Bob

          The statement, “part of the picture” applies here as does in most analysis, though humans tend to distill what they read down to two points of view. Outside of the Seattle fan/market place this same discussion is being had for a large number of teams, likely because of the high injury level this season that spans the league. I suspect there will be a lot of competition for “best available” D linemen across the spectrum of available talent/value/terms. On the surface JS doesn’t appear to have much trade value in his kit having spent the best of it already, unless he goes further out in years (not his historical style). I don’t disagree that every effort should be attempted to acquire additional D line help, but it looks like a low probability deal short of some unperceived brilliant move(s).

          The other side of that injury coin is that as other teams lose higher level talent (e.g. Jones on the Cardinals) it brings their overall comparative performance down a notch or two for the most part, as long as the Seahawks can continue the low level of injury they’ve had the past couple games. Crappy way to look at it, but reality. And, not having a preseason to tune up, the more a unit can play together the better they should produce over time. That is why I’m not as impressed with the average PFF grades above for the first quarter as they may not be as predictive as in seasons past for the first quarter of season play. Another factor that disadvantages the D line is the revised officiating, in particular the more relaxed calling of holding. Supposedly that should benefit all teams on the offense side as well, but the lower skill level of the Hawks D line might suffer marginally greater.

          Weak D line talent, marginal CB performance, not a good recipe for success, but it’s what we have for now. Can these guys gut up because of a belief in the potential for never being out of it as long as the offense remains powerful? Is there some talent down roster that the coaches underestimated (e.g. Ryan Neal) that might give some modest improvement? That’s why we watch, probably with fingers crossed…………….let’s see what happens.

    • Big Mike

      Outstanding watch/listen and Simms is the only one that noticed Russ got the free rusher to slow up just a bit on that last play buying that half second necessary to complete the game winning TD pass. It’s the kind of thing experience does for you. Simms is for my $ one of the best football guys in the media. He is sharp as hell and brings zero prejudices/favoritism from what I can tell.

      So I LOVE that Simms called DK “Superfreak”. Great nick imo. Of course now I have Rick James playing in my head……….

      • Rob Staton

        Chris Simms is great.

        Interesting, entertaining. I don’t agree with everything he says but when do you ever agree with someone 100% of the time?

  25. Tate

    Yes I know the defense is dreadful but we just have to get use to it, will cost us another prime year if Wilson more likely then not but we just have to hope we have create turnovers and Russ can just score enough points for us to win. In that video Rob posted Simms stayed Dk is the best WR in the NFL that’s a bit too much atm he has drops in his game and only played around 20 games .

  26. Donovan

    Here’s the lesson I hope PCJS take away from really the last few years of drafts and this horrendous defense: “Fill your primary holes in FA, so you can use the draft to pick the best player available rather than draft for need”.

    PCJS do a great job in later rounds when they’re not drafting a particular position but simply picking their highest rated player.

    But continually it seems we spend our first (and lately second) picks on a perceived team need.

    Please stop doing that! Draft your highest rated player – you’re really good at talent evaluation – trust it even in the early rounds.

    • Ashish

      Next draft we might not have that problem we might trade them all 🙂

      • Big Mike

        Beat me to it. 🙂 Seriously with no first or third in the upcoming draft, they really have no choice but to approach it that way…………..well, I guess they could just do nothing. 🙁

  27. Darrin Johnson

    It is refreshing to have grades on all these players. How should they be used? How about more playing time for the ones that grade well and less for the ones who are grading out poorly. The bottom score of Flowers is most troubling, and should be a high priority. There seem to be few surprises, with the low level of Diggs and the high level of Shaquem Griffin being the outliers for me. Is that score for defense only? How do the Seahawks get Shaquem on the field more?

    • Darrin Johnson

      Maybe the players with high scores are being used right and at the correct usage rate. Double the minutes and reduce the grade?

      Homers low grade is not a surprise. He sure can block well, but every time he gets the ball I am cringing at the results. I think I am spoiled by Carson and beast mode. Imagine how much we will appreciate Russ ten or twenty years from now!

  28. FarmerJeff

    Rob – Given that metric you referenced – “expected points contributed by passing defense” – where Seahawks are bottom 5 and Atlanta is worst…Since both SEA and ATL employ basically the same defensive concept, does that not indicate “The League” has figured out its various weaknesses and how to beat it? If so, on a practical level, what are the options going forward? On a Practical Level…which means you’re not going to install a new defensive scheme or anything like that. That means you either make tweaks and adjustments, such as how and how often you blitz, or whether you play base, nickel, dime looks. Alternatively, to improve you have look to make personnel moves. It means you get better/smarter/more effective play from your existing players, or you upgrade the skill level or experience level of your roster. Examples of this would be trading for a dominant DT or Edge rusher or shut-down corner. In the time remaining before the trade-deadline, I’d expect JS to be investigating all those positions and more. With teams like the Jets and Falcons poised to position their salary cap for the future, do you see any player who might ‘fit’?

    • Rob Staton

      It’s certainly part of the issue. Teams have worked out how to play this defense over 10 years.

      But also it’s a scheme that depends on having talented players because it’s not a complex scheme. And I don’t think Seattle and Atlanta have good enough personnel.

      • Spectator

        My question then is, what has caused ATL defense to falter? We keep discussing getting there DLinemen. They have a pretty talented Dline. Fowler, Takk, Jarrett. With them being bottom of the totem pole, what has caused that? it seems like on paper they have talented Dbacks and Linebackers. Terrell is 1st rounder, Neal is good, Deion Jones is good, rest seem decent. Not all world, but with a good Dline, shouldn’t it be average at least? If its not the scheme being exploited, then what is it?

        • Rob Staton

          I said I did think the scheme was partly to blame.

          I also think Atlanta’s defense, like Seattle’s, has a few big names then a whole heap of rubbish.

    • cha

      I can’t speak for Atlanta, but what blows my mind with the Seahawks is, their entire defensive scheme is predicated on getting pressure with the front 4. The defense went from “very good” in 2012 to “truly frightening” in 2013 when they added Avril and Bennett, who could get pressure on any down. So we have the evidence right in front of us.

      PC in his season ending press conf last year said they need to get pressure with 4.

      Then they went and had the offseason they did.

      And now they can’t get pressure with 5 or even 6 at times. It’s no wonder the defense is set to give up an all time record amount of yardage.

      • Rob Staton

        Every time it’s spelled out, it just looks even more baffling.

        What the hell were they doing this off-season???

        • cha

          It’s like building a Formula 1 race car with a 4cylinder 135HP engine. “We’ve surrounded it with a top end suspension, state of the art transmission and breaking system though!”

  29. charlietheunicorn

    I think the major takeaway from the Chris Sims video…..

    Defenses throughout the NFL are not playing disciplined. It was funny how exacerbated he was about it. I also like that he mentioned the time of DK being in 1 v 1 matchup is coming to an end. Because, every time the Vikings (for example) were in 1 v 1 they got toasted late in the game.

  30. Sea Mode

    Meanwhile… old cast-off Mark Glowinski is the #4 rated RG per PFF.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/OctagonFootball/status/1316506490480582656/photo/1

    Not really trying to say anything. I guess just that scheme and patience in development matter.

  31. Rob Staton

    Stand by…

    https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/10/15/jaguars-release-cassius-marsh/

    Cassius Marsh is a free agent.

    Pete won’t be able to resist surely…

    • Big Mike

      Championship

      • Lewis

        He’s better than what we have. He also knows the defense. Funny, I started to ask yesterday if there might be a domino to fall from the Correa trade. Forgot Marsh was in Jax.

        • CaptainJack

          Always thought he looked very underdeveloped for an NFL defense end. I never thought he lived up to his athletic/physical potential.

    • TomLPDX

      I thought the same thing when I first saw that article…They’ll probably bring him in for a look at a minimum.

  32. JLemere

    Trade proposal by Bill Barnwell of ESPN

    Seattle Seahawks receive: Alex Mack (C) and Takk McKinley (LEO) from Falcons
    Atlanta Falcons receive: B.J Finney (C), 6th round pick (SEA), 7th round pick (BAL)
    Baltimore Ravens receive: Jacob Hollister (TE)

    I don’t think it’s possible cap wise, but it was amusing.

  33. Rokas

    Yeah, about that Chris Simms video…at 3:15 I listened, that Jarran Reed is the only difference maker in SEA front 7…instant turn off followed.

    • BC_Hawk

      I actually don’t disagree with him. We have excellent “Depth” guys on Dline, but no “difference makers”.

      As for LBs, I love BWags, but he isn’t playing at the same level as years past. I think a lot of it is what he’s being asked to do given our lack of pass rush (coverage), and also not being kept clean. If we had a couple more “difference makers” up front, he would likely become one again too. He is good right now; not a difference maker. KJ has been great; love him at SAM, but he has less wheels than years past. Luckily, he is still an uber smart player, and is using that to make plays.

      We NEED “difference Makers” on the DLine to make everyone else a “difference maker”. Jamal isn’t even a “difference maker” this year.

    • Rob Staton

      Your loss.

      Clearly he meant D-line. Maybe if you did an hour long podcast where you talk in great depth about multiple teams/games, you might appreciate the odd slip of the tongue rather than act like some great heinous error has occurred.

      • Rokas

        I don’t think he meant D-line only, since he specifically mentioned in the same sentence that B-Wagz and KJ are playing alright, but he still separated Reed as the single standout player from the front seven.

        I agree that B-Wagz is not playing at an all pro level, but Reed is not playing better as well.

        • Rob Staton

          To be honest, I don’t give a toss if he meant front seven or D-line.

          His analysis was really good and that one line is an irrelevance.

  34. John seahawk

    Some reasons to believe the Seahawk D will be fine.

    The Seahawks defense is 17th in points per drive.

    The Seahawks defense is getting the best avg. starting field position from the special teams.

    The Seahawks defense is 10th in Red Zone pts allowed

    They do not fold under pressure.

    They have several players who are good bets to develop over the course of the year.

    Some reasons to believe they won’t.

    The Seahawks defense is 31st in yards per drive.

    Adjusted sack rate 26th

    Just because you don’t fold under pressure does not mean you will always be successful “when it counts”.

    When one of the reasons you will be fine on defense, is not your defense you have problems.

    Mediocre teams are much easier to stop consistently in the Red Zone than good ones.

    Fine is not fine for the Seahawks we are not trying to have a decent season to build on going forward. We are trying to win championships. They need to find a way to make this defense to be feared in at least on aspect of the game run defense, coverage, pressure, turn over rate, something.

    • Rob Staton

      I’m sorry — but the defense is not remotely close to ‘fine’.

      There might be a few choice stats that suggest it’s not 100% useless.

      But we can all see this defense is absolute rubbish and needs improvement.

      • John seahawk

        “not 100% useless” is the best description I have read so far, kinda made me laugh before it made me sad. They are really bad, the question to me is, is there enough there that any combination of trade, signing, players development etc can or will make them fine for what we need which is an even higher bar than it is for the much of the rest of the league. Or is it just my fandom that makes me think they can improve a no pressure defense that gives up yards at a historic level. to the point that a run could be made.

  35. CaptainJack

    Not to start anything,

    But Corbin Smith released an article about LJ Collier’s “improvement”, sometimes these sorts of articles show nice clips of good plays the player makes. This article showed a clip were LJ was left unblocked and pressures Cousins but he was still too slow to get the sack. That was the only clip.

    I am still left baffled how he was drafted in round one.

    • Big Mike

      Well in fairness he has improved. I mean going from riding pine to a JAG that’s on the field is a step up isn’t it? OK I’m a dick. He has made a couple plays this year. Again, an improvement over what he contributed last year which was literally nothing.

    • John seahawk

      There is a 9 minute film breakdown at the top of the article that may not have been there when you clicked, if you want to see what he is talking about. Don’t think it will have anyone fitting him for a gold jacket but he is getting better, certainly had plenty of room to do so. .

      • Lewis

        He barely played last year after getting hurt in camp. It was pretty much a lost season. That sucks, but I’m choosing to think of him as a “rookie” in that sense and believe he still has a lot of room to improve. We could sure use it.

  36. CaptainJack

    Been thinking this for awhile…

    But any chance we can trade Jamal Adams? How about to the cowboys straight up for Demarcus Lawrence?

    Let’s be honest, Jamal Adams hasn’t done jack to improve this defense, too much deficiency upfront for him to be effective.

    • Rob Staton

      No chance

    • Lewis

      The correct response here is to fix the deficiencies up front. We don’t need a superstar rusher, just someone decent.

  37. Big Mike

    I often rip PCJS for poor drafting and certainly when it comes to D line they deserve every bit of it. But in the interest of being positive, the drafting of Damien Lewis looks like it’s going to be a steal along the lines of DK.. Here’s a kid who’s played 5 games in the NFL and already grades out at 75.7. His run blocking is verging on, if not already elite. His pass pro at this point is between decent and good. That’s after 5 freaking games! It will improve over the next couple of years. Not sure he’ll ever be elite in that area but certainly will reach ‘really good’ IMO. Great draft pick PCJS! And a major shout out to Rob for introducing him to us over the last offseason.

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