It’s not often you find players with the size, proportioned body weight and ability to drop the anchor as a nose tackle with the elite athleticism to work openings in the pass rush and move across the line to present attacking opportunities from different positions.

NC State’s Alim McNeil is a rare find.

I watched him against Virginia today and it was an exciting experience. Not just because he managed to tip a pass into the air, catch it himself and then run it back (while breaking a tackle) for an 18-yard touchdown.

He’s listed at 6-2 and 320lbs. You can load him up inside and he can handle blockers to control the running game. Double teams can’t shift him. Against Virginia he dominated with NC State giving up just 63 yards on 26 carries (2.4 YPC) until late in the fourth quarter and the game was over.

That’s not the exciting bit though. You can always find big, powerful nose tackles. It’s the athleticism that goes with it that is exceptional.

I’ve not see many men his size move with the freedom he does. He has a first round athletic profile.

At SPARQ he ran a fantastic 4.96 forty and then, unbelievably, followed it up with a 4.27 short shuttle. To put that into perspective, Joey Bosa ran a 4.21 at his combine. Montez Sweat ran a 4.29. Bradley Chubb ran a 4.41. Malik McDowell ran a 4.53.

Players with his size simply don’t possess his level of agility.

He’s also highly explosive — jumping a 34-inch vertical.

If he gets anywhere near these numbers at the combine — there’s a distinct possibility he will fly up draft boards.

Tony Pauline graded him in round four during the summer but for me he’s destined to go much earlier. He is going to rise when people get to know him.

Watching him today and on tape from other games is a real treat. His ability to shift across the line has to be seen to be believed. He’s like a stunting EDGE. He has complete control of his feet and he uses minimal steps to work to openings and explode into the backfield. When he engages at the LOS he drives defenders deep into the pocket with power. He locks on and finishes. He’ll take a center for a ride and bull rush to the QB.

McNeill has a terrific swim move to break free from initial contact. You can line him up at the five technique to attack the B gap. He’s just too slippery, too quick — yet with the frame of a bulldozing defensive tackle. It catches blockers off guard.

Incredibly he has minimal bad weight. He’s a big dude — but he looks in fantastic shape. There’s amazing definition in his arms and he isn’t carrying a big gut. Dare I say — he almost looks a little bit like Aaron Donald at times. He’s compact, explosive, cat-quick and put-together. He blows up the interior the same way Donald did at Pittsburgh too.

Yet you can also use him on early downs to control the interior running game:

Let me be clear — he isn’t Donald. Nobody is. It’s just very unusual to see a complete defensive tackle with the power, size and control McNeill possesses combined with unique agility.

I’ve not been this excited about a defensive tackle in a long time. If he continues to play like he did today against Virginia and if he tests as well as expected at the combine, I doubt Seattle will have much of a chance at drafting him. Yet he’s amazingly talented and worth keeping an eye on just in case. He could be a big riser over the coming weeks.

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Before getting into this weeks advanced stats review, check out our latest podcast previewing Sunday Night Football…

Advanced stats review for week four

It was very evident that Seattle blitzed a lot less in Miami and that shows up in their blitz percentage for the season — which has dropped to 30.2% from 36% last week.

It’s also clear that Seattle is essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of trying to create sacks. They know they don’t have anyone on the D-line they can rely on to win 1v1. The pass rush has never looked this weak. As a consequence, they’ve had to blitz a lot to try and manufacture pressure.

That in turn led to a ton of explosive plays and yards being conceded. Seattle remains #2 in the NFL for explosive plays given up (20) behind only the hapless Atlanta Falcons (21). They have given up 1604 passing yards which is still easily first in the league. The second placed team, Atlanta, have conceded 1366 yards.

Seattle has given up 1111 air yards, the most in the NFL. Second placed Cleveland have given up 813. The Seahawks have given up 609 yards after the catch — third most in the league behind only Arizona and Las Vegas.

The Seahawks are also conceding 7.8 yards per pass attempt.

So they reigned things back against the Dolphins. The blitzing was replaced by a much more conservative approach which clearly suited the second level defenders. The big question now is — how do they create pressure playing this way?

Even taking the Miami game into consideration, the Seahawks have blitzed 65 times this season — third most in the league behind only Baltimore and Buffalo and level with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh.

Despite missing the Miami game, Jamal Adams (31) remains the fourth most blitzed player in the league behind only Alexander Johnson, Shaquil Barrett and Matt Judon.

Bobby Wagner has blitzed 21 times — 20th most among all players.

The blitzing enables Seattle to lead the NFL in QB knockdowns (20) and their knockdown percentage of 10% is ninth best in the league.

They have 21 TFL’s so far — sixth highest in the league. Jamal Adams, Alton Robinson and Poona Ford have three TFL’s. K.J. Wright and Benson Mayowa have two. Bobby Wagner, Ugo Amadi, Quinton Dunbar, Lano Hill, Bruce Irvin, L.J. Collier, Bryan Mone and Anthony Rush have one each.

Unsurprisingly the heaviest blitzers — Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay — lead this category with the lowly Jets having the same number as Seattle. Again, as we’ve discussed, blitzing clearly manufactures production in the way of pressures, QB hits and TFL’s. The key to whether you’re succeeding doing it is sack percentage and that’s where Seattle is struggling because they don’t have a proper starting DE on the roster.

The Seahawks have only six sacks in four games. Only five teams have fewer sacks (Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Carolina). Despite blitzing so much, their pressure percentage is 20.5% — just outside the bottom third in the league.

Seattle’s sack percentage dropped from 3.1% to 2.9% after the Miami game. It’s now the second worst mark in the league behind only Carolina (2.0%). That’s the statistic, in my opinion, that is the most concerning for this team.

Snacks Harrison, who is joining Seattle’s practise squad and will eventually be added to the 53-man roster, is not going to make a jot of difference in terms of sacks. He has just 11 sacks in his eight-year career. He’s a run-stuffing, classic nose tackle.

Their ability to find someone — anyone — who can win off the edge in 1v1 situations is the key to the Seahawks truly elevating their defensive performance. I still think they should be aggressive in the trade market to solve this problem.

Pull this off and we could easily see a rapid improvement. Clearly some things are working. Their turnover percentage is 17.8% — the fifth best mark in the league. That’s likely why the Seahawks are ranked 21st on defense per DVOA (and not lower). Add a pass rusher and who knows what they could achieve?

The Dolphins carried on the trend of opponents not running against the Seahawks. People have put this down to ‘great run defense’ but it’s more a result of scoreboard pressure and Seattle’s inability to defend the pass.

Miami running backs only carried the ball 15 times on Sunday. Myles Gaskin managed 40 yards on his ten carries.

As a consequence of this performance, where the Seahawks gave up 103 rushing yards, their expected points contributed by the rushing defense dropped from around three points to -0.97.

Seattle’s passing defense has an expected points contributed tally of -50.09 — sixth worst in the league behind Atlanta, Jacksonville, the Jets, New Orleans and Dallas.

A lot of people seem to want Dan Quinn back in Seattle if he’s fired by the Falcons. His defense has an expected points contributed by the pass-defense of -76.46 — by far the worst record in the league in this category. You might also notice that Quinn’s defense is among the worst across the board in most categories and he’s leading an 0-4 team.

Shaquill Griffin has been targeted 36 times this season, second most in the league. He’s given up the second most completions (24). Tre Flowers has given up 23 completions despite only starting two games. Griffin has given up the most yards in the NFL (348) and Flowers is third on the list (290).

The Seahawks have only missed 19 tackles so far — a big improvement on last season. That’s the third best tally in the NFL.

It’s well known that Seattle’s special teams is excelling. The Seahawks force their opponents on average to start drives on the 21-yard line. That’s the best record in the league and a credit to the punting of Michael Dickson and the kick-coverage.

Roster moves

On top of Snacks Harrison joining the practise squad, the Seahawks also added Jonathan Bullard to their 53-man roster (with Neiko Thorpe heading to IR).

Bullard was a highly rated prospect in 2016 who somewhat unexpectedly fell to round three. After an underwhelming period in Chicago he had a year with the Cardinals and was recently on their practise squad.

His main issue was size. His best position was operating as an interior disruptor yet at 285lbs he wasn’t going to be able to play early downs. Yet equally he lacked the length and profile to play as a defensive end who kicks inside.

He does have a desirable profile though with 33.5 inch arms, a 1.65 10-yard split, a 4.56 short shuttle and a 9-8 broad jump. He’s explosive and aggressive and had a superb highlights reel at Florida.

The Seahawks might utilise him as a specialist interior rusher. They could also have him offer some depth at the five-technique seeing as Rasheem Green is still out. It’s an interesting addition.

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Time to tap into the Belichick tree

I had an opportunity to watch most of the Rams vs Giants game on Sunday and suddenly got a great sense of déjà vu.

Los Angeles only managed 240 total yards on offense — the worst performance since Sean McVay was appointed Head Coach.

They stuttered and stalled and simply couldn’t move the ball.

If it wasn’t for bad mistakes by the New York offense and a blown coverage on a 55-yard touchdown to Cooper Kupp — the Rams would’ve lost and would’ve barely reached double figures in points.

It felt a lot like Super Bowl LIII.

On that night the Patriots held the Rams to 260 total yards and three points — despite LA dominating the league for the entire regular season with a prolific, unstoppable offense.

So what’s the consistent feature here?

Bill Belichick’s plan.

The Patriots had two weeks to prepare for the Super Bowl and cooked up a scheme that could possibly be Belichick’s greatest coaching achievement. Holding McVay’s Rams to three points was incredible.

He tackled LA’s endless misdirection and desire to reach the perimeter by installing athletic players up at the line of scrimmage with the ability to operate in space once they’d diagnosed the play and fly to the ball carrier.

Steven Ruiz provides a breakdown here:

In order to defend the Rams’ deadly outside-zone running game, Belichick played the exact same front. He played a four-man defensive line but flanked it with Patrick Chung and Donta Hightower, creating a six-man surface for the Patriots defense. The Rams weren’t going to get an on edge on this front.

Los Angeles, which ran outside zone more than any other team in the league, ran it just three times against New England. That’s why we saw so little of Todd Gurley, who lost snaps to C.J. Anderson for the second game in a row.

Throwing out the six-man line served its purpose … just like it did when Belichick used the same exact front the slow down the Bears in the 1990 playoffs. Chicago finished that season second in the league in rushing. Against Belichick’s surprise six-man front, the Bears managed only 27 rushing yards on 16 attempts. Nearly three decades later, the strategy worked again, holding a Rams run game that finished third in rushing to 62 yards.

Fast forward nearly three years and here’s a New York Giants team led by Joe Judge — a long time Patriots special teams coordinator — enjoying the same success.

How many rushing yards did the Giants give up against the Rams on Sunday?

58 yards on 23 attempts for an average of 2.5 per attempt.

It worked again.

They’ve found the secret formula to limit the Rams.

Let’s compare this to Seattle’s performance against the same offense. In the last five games between the teams, LA scored 42, 33, 36, 29 and 28 points.

Here’s the total offensive yardage conceded in each game:

2017 (H) — 352
2018 (A) — 468
2018 (H) — 456
2019 (H) — 477
2019 (A) — 455

The Seahawks have a 1-4 record in those games.

Not good.

Pete Carroll put together the bulk of his current staff in 2018. It was the start of the re-set with a number of high-profile players and coaches departing.

The Seahawks had completely lost their identity and in an attempt to regain control, Carroll appointed familiar faces and people who would run his system.

It was the right thing to do at the time. Seattle recaptured its identity, avoided a huge downturn in results despite the siphoning of talent and quickly got back on track.

Now that they’re three years in it might be time for a rejig. Arguably, they could do with some outsiders to come in and offer new ideas.

It’s not unfair to contemplate the possibility of big changes to the defensive staff at the end of the season. The poor results so far aren’t entirely the fault of the staff — many of Seattle’s issues on defense are down to personnel and team building decisions.

Nevertheless, it seems somewhat likely there will be some moves in the off-season.

It might not be a bad idea to find someone who is currently with the Patriots in some capacity or was part of the staff in 2018 and give them a job.

Belichick’s defense is different to Carroll’s. Sometimes though, you need to steal an idea or two. A new voice can be a good thing.

In 2017 Paul Allen asked Carroll and John Schneider to appoint an outsider in an advisory capacity. Allen wanted to find ways to challenge his GM and Head Coach, to present a new perspective.

Mike Pettine, now the defensive coordinator in Green Bay, was brought in. Pettine’s background is not in the 4-3 under but he spent a year as a consultant in Seattle.

Who knows how Carroll felt about that plan or whether he saw any worth in it? He hasn’t made a similar appointment since.

However — it’s hard not to observe the success New England and New York have had against the Rams being led by the same connected coaching tissue.

One of the main reasons the Seahawks have only won the NFC West once in the last five years is because of the way they play the Rams. Perhaps this year will be different? Regardless — if there are coaching changes in the summer, it might not be the worst idea in the world to identify someone with experience of the plan that has stymied the Rams twice to see if you can bring that same impact to Seattle.

The Seahawks are meeting with an old friend

Snacks Harrison isn’t the only player coming in for a visit this week. It’s been revealed that Mychal Kendricks is too.

This would be a smart addition for the Seahawks.

Kendricks was put in a difficult position in 2019. With the defense operating mostly in base, he was tasked with playing a lot of coverage and trying to offer some pass rush from the SAM position.

Pete Carroll regularly referred to his 4.47 forty at the 2012 combine to justify the move. While he’s certainly still a good athlete, the chances are he’s lost some speed since then.

Nickel cornerback is one of the toughest positions to play in the modern NFL. Having to take on some of those duties as a 240lbs linebacker is a thankless task. His play suffered, he missed 21.1% of his tackles and then he picked up a serious injury.

With the Seahawks moving away from base, he would be the ideal rotational linebacker.

As a pass rusher he graded well last year — receiving a 75.3 grade from PFF for his 84 pass rush snaps

With Bruce Irvin out for the season and Jordyn Brooks seemingly set to miss a chunk of time with a knee injury — the Seahawks’ depth at the position has taken a hit.

And sadly, Cody Barton continues to struggle.

It was bad enough last year when he was being blocked in the playoff by Aaron Rodgers and stiff-armed by Kyle Allen:

You could put it down to some rookie growing pains. Was he unsure of himself? Did he need to settle into the league?

He certainly needed to improve though. There were too many mistakes, too many missed opportunities.

Last Sunday in Miami was his first chance to start this season and it didn’t go well. Again — he was missing tackles, being juked in the open field and he just doesn’t seem to have the ability to read and react. He could make up for that by playing with an aggressive, physical nature but that’s also missing (see above).

His PFF grade against the Dolphins was a 48.1 with a horrible 40.1 tackling score.

Reportedly he’s carrying a quad injury. The Seahawks can’t afford to carry anyone this year though, especially with the defense in the state it’s in.

Kendricks might not suit playing as a hybrid SAM/Nickel in an ambitious (and possibly misguided) return to base defense. As a third linebacker complementing Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, however, he’s certainly up to the job.

If Jordyn Brooks is going to be out for some time it makes sense to bring him in.

As for Barton — it’s hard to know where he goes from here. They wouldn’t be meeting with Kendricks if they weren’t concerned. Is he salvageable? They traded up in round three for him in 2019 but he’s just not showing enough.

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Reviewing the PFF grades

***Edit — information removed***

Now comes the real test

The Seahawks have enjoyed a winning start but the next run of games will be a serious test of their credentials.

By the end of tonight there’s a reasonable chance their four opponents will have combined for a 4-12 record so far. Dallas have looked abysmal and probably should be 0-4. The Falcons, who are wholly responsible for the Cowboys not being 0-4, are likely to lose against Green Bay and remain winless. The victory against Bill Belichick and Cam Newton was clearly a strong result but the Dolphins remain in rebuilding mode.

The next opponents, Minnesota, are probably better than their 1-3 record suggests. They showed in the playoffs last year when they won in New Orleans that they’re a match for anyone on their day.

It could potentially be Seattle’s toughest game so far and shouldn’t be taken for granted. The benefit of winning it, however, can’t be underestimated.

After the bye week the Seahawks face Arizona (A), San Francisco (H), Buffalo (A), LA Rams (A), Arizona (H) and Philadelphia (A). That’s a difficult stretch.

Starting 5-0 would afford Seattle the ability to drop a couple of those games and still potentially remain in a strong position to contend for the #1 seed. Especially considering the following three games would be against the Giants, Jets and Washington.

As I said on the podcast yesterday — the Seahawks are far from a flawless team but they are a winning team. We’re about to find out how good they truly are.

A reminder that pressure matters

Against Miami, the Seahawks found some answers on defense. The blitz-heavy style of the first three weeks didn’t suit their personnel and was conceding too many points, yards and explosive plays.

The conservative nature of sitting in coverage and a weak pass rush will be problematic some weeks against better opponents. However, there’s surely no doubt that forcing teams to ‘take what they’re given’ and hoping to tighten up in the red zone is better for this team than giving up 93-yard drives in 38 seconds.

This style will be even better if they can somehow find a trade partner before the deadline to acquire a dynamic EDGE. They just need somebody — anybody — who can win 1v1 battles to create the sacks they’re currently struggling to find.

If you’re wondering how important this can be, just look at the Niners vs Eagles game yesterday. A week ago Nick Mullens was being touted to replace Jimmy Garoppolo. Not anymore, not after his horror show on Sunday night.

The cause? He was pressured on 54.8% of his dropbacks — the most of any quarterback on Sunday. He was rattled and made mistakes. Garoppolo and Jared Goff are prone to this too.

The Seahawks have pulled off some smart trades before the deadline in the past — such as Quandre Diggs and Duane Brown. They need to rekindle that magic again in order to really elevate their post-season chances.

If you missed yesterday’s instant reaction podcast, check it out below:

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This was the type of game the Seahawks needed.

In our game-preview podcast earlier in the week — I mentioned the need for a closer game that allowed the defense to hang in there and build some confidence.

Mission accomplished.

The manner of this game could benefit the Seahawks in a big way moving forward. They’ve found a way to play on defense.

It was conservative. It gave Miami an easy option on most downs. Some quarterbacks will be too good for this to work and could slice and dice downfield and then hit in the red zone.

However, the key is there was never a sniff of an explosive play downfield. When you constrict everything and tighten up in your half, you can hold teams.

Miami collected field goals today and that was fine.

When they had to press and chase the game, mistakes were made. They couldn’t go through the gears. They were taking what they were given and when they had to get more, they couldn’t.

It’s a style of play that not only suits the existing scheme and personnel — it can also complement a prolific offense.

Forget blitzing 36% of the time. Forget needing your cornerbacks to plan man in those situations. Forget needing the blitz to work (it wasn’t — 3.1% sack rate) or you run the risk of getting burned.

This is the style to play for this team.

All of the problems we’ve talked about still exist. This D-line still badly lacks anyone who can win 1v1 and get after the quarterback consistently. They still need to try and acquire that player before the trade deadline.

They also gave up a touchdown drive at the end that was far too easy — a common trait through four weeks.

Yet this works so much better. It was safe, sound and that’ll do.

It was needed too because the offense stuttered and stalled for large parts.

After three weeks of electric, record-setting prolificacy — there were some issues (with the exception being a terrific performance from David Moore).

Two drives ended prematurely thanks to drops by D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks failed to convert a 4th and 3 despite being in field goal range (an aggressive call, which is fine, but they lost points). Russell Wilson threw a red zone interception at the start of the second half.

It all adds up in the end. When Seattle took a 17-9 lead into the half, then marched into the red zone to start the third quarter, that should’ve been the moment to put Miami away.

Instead, it turned into one of those games — with the defense hanging on.

Thankfully they were up to the task — and clung on long enough for the offense to rekindle its mojo late in the fourth quarter.

Shaquill Griffin looked a lot better. Tre Flowers was much more comfortable. There were no glaring issues in the secondary and the linebackers appeared a lot more free to roam, read and make plays.

Hopefully this is the blueprint going forward. It won’t work every week. Teams will have tape now and will find ways to capitalise on a lack of aggression and pressure. In those games, the offense will simply have to be more like weeks 1-3 and less like week four.

Next they face the Vikings, who won their first game of the season today on the road in Houston.

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Check out this weeks podcast and share your thoughts in the comments section…

It’s very important to establish why certain statistics exist.

Listening to the radio and Pete Carroll’s press conference yesterday, there were several references to the ‘good’ run defense and the number of pressures and QB hits the Seahawks are delivering.

Stats can be deceptive, however. In isolation they don’t always tell the full story.

So let’s do some fact checking using Pro Football Reference.

“The Seahawks are hitting the quarterback a lot and this is good news!”

Seattle leads the NFL in QB knockdowns after three weeks (18) and their knockdown percentage is 11.6% (sixth best).

They also rank second in the NFL for pressures (37) although their pressure percentage is only middle-of-the-road (22.4% — 16th in the NFL).

Without context, these stats suggest Seattle’s defensive line is doing a better job than many people think.

A more extensive look at the stats tells a different story.

If you blitz often, you will manufacture pressure.

If you send six or seven defenders to take on five blockers — you will have players in the backfield and you will hit the quarterback.

Seattle’s blitz percentage is 36.4% — fifth highest in the league. In comparison, last year they blitzed only 26.9% of the time and in 2018 the number drops to 18.4%.

The Seahawks are currently blitzing more than Gregg Williams (32.7%). They have blitzed 60 times, second most in the NFL behind only the Steelers (65).

Jamal Adams has blitzed 33 times so far — the second most among any player in the league behind only Shaquill Barrett (37). Had Adams finished the game on Sunday, the chances are he would be leading the NFL in blitzing.

The high number of pressures and QB knockdowns are simply a result of Seattle’s increased blitzing this year.

For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers have by far the most pressures in the NFL after three games with 59 (22 more than second placed Seattle). They also blitz 51.2% of the time — way more than anyone else. It’s 7.4% more than the second heaviest blitzers (Tampa Bay — 43.8%).

The reason the Steelers have so many pressures is directly because they are blitzing on more than half of their snaps.

Seattle’s QB knockdowns and pressures are equally manufactured because they are blitzing more than they’ve ever done under Pete Carroll.

It’s not indicative of defensive line improvement or success. It’s simply a byproduct of a more aggressive approach.

The key to success when blitzing is sacks — not pressures or knockdowns. If you are bringing the house you have to get home. If Jamal Adams bursts into the backfield and hits the quarterback but the pass is complete — that counts as a pressure but it can still lead to a big play (as we are seeing).

Seattle’s sack percentage, despite their blitzing, is just 3.1%. It’s the fifth worst in the NFL. That is the problem and that is the key statistic to focus on.

Let’s look at the five worst teams for sack percentage and how often they blitz:

Carolina — 1.7 % sack percentage, 14.4% blitz percentage
Minnesota — 2.8% sack percentage, 32.7% blitz percentage
Las Vegas — 2.9% sack percentage, 23.1% blitz percentage
Detroit — 2.9% sack percentage, 22.9% blitz percentage
Seattle — 3.1% sack percentage, 36.4% blitz percentage

With the exception of struggling Minnesota (who are missing Danielle Hunter), none of the other teams are blitzing anywhere near the rate the Seahawks are. Seattle’s sack percentage is comparable to Detroit and Las Vegas but they are playing so much more aggressively to try and sack the quarterback.

This is a failure.

They are producing sacks at the rate of teams who rarely blitz — and yet they are one of the heaviest blitzers in the NFL.

Let’s go back to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lead the league is blitzing. Their blitz percentage is 51.2% but their sack percentage is 12.3% — also the highest in the league. That is what it’s supposed to look like.

Tampa Bay, who blitz 43.8% of the time, have a sack percentage of 9.7%.

The simple fact is there’s no comfort to take from Seattle’s increasing pressures and knockdowns. That is an inevitability of blitzing at the rate the Seahawks are. The problem they have is despite being so aggressive in bringing heat, their sack percentage is poor.

It creates a perfect storm of mediocrity. You’re exposing the second and third level of your defense by blitzing so much but by not sacking the quarterback, you’re giving them an opportunity to expose your limited numbers at the back end and find mismatch opportunities.

For example:

A downside to how much the Seahawks are blitzing Jamal Adams is that it can leave situations like this:

A LB ends up having to cover a WR in man coverage due to the pressure rules being the final eligible receiver count (#3 for the LB here) as opposed to a "like body" (RB/TE). pic.twitter.com/0vHPivMZAm

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 29, 2020

Hits and pressures are nice but the Seahawks will continue to give up a NFL-leading 430.7 passing yards per game, 6.6 yards-per-play and will blow-up the league record for passing yards conceded in a season (they’re on pace to give up 6891) unless they turn these blitzes into more sacks or they blitz less and find a way to do a better job rushing with four.

“Seattle’s run defense is really good!”

This is an even bigger mirage.

Teams do not need to run against the Seahawks and the stats make this case very well. Seattle isn’t ‘taking away the run’ and ‘forcing teams to pass’. Opponents are simply ignoring the run and preferring to pass.

There are two reasons for this.

One, the Seahawks are doing a good job applying scoreboard pressure and forcing teams to ‘chase the game’. That isn’t conducive with running the ball and ultimately it isn’t a review of Seattle’s run defense. This is down to the success of Russell Wilson and the offense.

Secondly, teams are passing for 430.7 yards per game and it’s too easy to throw against Seattle. The Cowboys had a three-play, 75-yard scoring drive that lasted 48 seconds on Sunday. Throws for 13 yards, 22 yards and 40 yards had them in the endzone. They then had a three-play 93-yard drive that lasted only 39 seconds. Throws for 52 yards and 42 yards were enough to score a touchdown.

The Seahawks gave up similar drives against both Atlanta and New England.

They’ve conceded more explosive pass plays than any other team in the league. They’ve surrendered 18 pass plays of +20 yards and six pass plays of +40 yards.

Are passing yards against everything? No. However, there’s a difference between giving up slow, time-consuming drives and giving up loads of explosive plays that lead to quick touchdowns. The Seahawks are giving up far too many explosive plays.

Basically opponents don’t need to run. They are saving their running games for short yardage and goal line situations, having thrown to get into position to score.

Atlanta, New England and Dallas only combined to run 67 times against the Seahawks — the third lowest total in the league behind only Pittsburgh (61) and Green Bay (63).

The difference between the Seahawks, Steelers and Packers is quite simple. Passing yards conceded:

Seahawks — 1292
Steelers — 708
Packers — 741

When you combine Pittsburgh’s sack percentage (12.3%), passing yards conceded (708) and running yards conceded (162) you can make a strong case for them possessing a rounded, elite defense. Last week they were ranked #2 in the NFL on defense by DVOA.

The Seahawks are in a totally different situation. Their sack percentage is 3.1%, they’ve given up 1292 passing yards and 200 running yards. This isn’t rounded at all. It’s emphatically weighted towards a negative pass defense.

Teams are having their merry way with Seattle when they throw the ball. It makes the running game a complete irrelevance.

Seattle is giving up, on average, 8.5 yards per attempted pass (second highest in the NFL). In comparison, Tennessee have the worst yards-per-run statistic so far at 5.8 YPC. So even compared to the worst running defense in the league, you’re still getting nearly three more yards per play if you throw against the Seahawks.

Running against Seattle simply makes no sense. Not because they are doing anything right but because they’re doing so much wrong in the passing game.

Media members and fans have been quick to praise Seattle’s 3.0 YPC conceded so far. That’s the third best mark in the league, behind the Steelers (2.7) and Buccaneers (2.9). Again though, this doesn’t come close to telling the whole story.

As noted, teams have only attempted to run against the Seahawks 67 times so far. This includes a combined 18 runs by Matt Ryan, Cam Newton and Dak Prescott — most of which were clear short yardage situations or scrambles.

These types of runs are not intended to lead to big gains. A small sample size can easily be impacted if you have teams running mostly in short-yardage situations. If the max-gain on a play is a couple of yards, you’re not going to see a high YPC average.

In comparison, Pittsburgh’s 61 runs faced include two rushes by Jeff Driskel, four runs by Daniel Jones and one run by Deshaun Watson for a total of seven quarterback carries — 11 fewer than Seattle has faced.

The Packers have faced only five quarterback carries (four by Kirk Cousins, one by Matt Stafford). Without the high number of quarterback carries in their first three games, the Seahawks would’ve faced by far the fewest runs in the NFL.

Zeke Elliott ran only 14 times against the Seahawks on Sunday. Three of those runs came on one drive on first and goal (one from the five-yard line and two from the one-yard line, leading to a touchdown). A further carry came on fourth and 1 (converted) and another carry came on 2nd and 1. He also ran the ball from his own end zone leading to the safety, with the Seahawks wisely guessing the play-call and bringing the house to score two points.

Nearly half of his carries were in situations not conducive with big gains. So again, this impacts YPC.

Pro Football Reference has a statistic called ‘expected points contributed by rushing defense’. The Steelers lead the league with a score of 13.64. This means their run defense is helping them gain the value of a couple of touchdowns per week. Tampa Bay, who are blitzing at a similar rate to the Seahawks and have conceded a similar number of yards in the running game (200 vs 211) are gaining 10.94 points of benefit from their run defense per week.

The Seahawks are only gaining 3.22 points from their run defense.

It perfectly highlights the difference between a ‘good’ run defense and an ‘irrelevant’ run defense.

So what about the passing game? Pro Football Reference also projects ‘expected points contributed by passing defense’. Seattle’s passing defense is contributing -47.16 points per game — third worst in the league behind only Jacksonville (-53.57) and Atlanta (-48.06).

It means that Seattle’s passing defense is so bad that it’s giving opponents a near 50-point advantage week-to-week. Only the brilliance of Russell Wilson is enabling them to survive this so far.

The Seahawks’ run defense isn’t bad. It’s just totally irrelevant because the passing defense is atrocious. You don’t need to run unless you have to (short yardage). If you throw, you will be able to move the ball with ease and you will get explosive plays.

That’s the context of what Seattle’s defense is I’m afraid.

“Seattle’s secondary will make up for a bad pass rush!”

This was a common refrain during the off-season. The reality is very different.

Shaquill Griffin leads the NFL in yards given up (319). Quinton Dunbar is second (212) despite missing the Dallas game. Jamal Adams is seventh (209).

Tre Flowers has only started one game but he’s already been credited with 146 yards conceded. Quandre Diggs has given up 84 yards.

Both Adams and Diggs are among the league leaders in receiving yards per target (14.0 and 13.9 respectively).

Griffin is responsible for giving up three touchdowns — the most in the league by a defensive back. He’s also being picked on with 29 targets — second only to Darqueze Dennard (32).

Teams are completing 78.6% of their passes thrown at Flowers, 75.9% thrown at Griffin, 73.3% at Adams and 61.9% at Dunbar.

Quarterbacks have a 133.9 passer rating throwing at Flowers and a 131.2 rating throwing at Griffin.

Adams also leads the team in missed tackle percentage with 11.5%.

The second coming of the Legion of Boom? A group capable of making up for a terrible looking defensive line?

Not really.

I suspect the numbers would improve if the Seahawks weren’t having to blitz so much. Jamal Adams is a good blitzer and it’s a big part of his game but the total reliance on him as a pass rusher so far doesn’t seem to be doing him any favours.

If the Seahawks could rush with four 10% more of the time and actually win some 1v1 battles up front, then this would probably help the secondary in a big way.

However, this doesn’t excuse some of the numbers above — particularly in the case of Griffin and Flowers. They’re simply not doing a good enough job.

Rather than the secondary prop up the defensive line, the Seahawks need to improve their pass rush to take the pressure off a struggling secondary.

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Here are some notes after the Seahawks moved to 3-0…

Pete Carroll is down on his defense and a little embarrassed

I think it’s clear. His body language and energy was zapped in his post-game press conference — not for the first time.

Carroll has cut a frustrated figure so far. Understandably so. He’s a highly respected Head Coach with a defensive background and he’s in charge of a defense that is putting on a horror show.

According to Brian Nemhauser at Hawk Blogger, no defense in NFL history has allowed more passing yards in the first three games of the season:

No defense in NFL history has allowed more passing yards in the first three games of the season than the Seahawks. It's not close.

1. SEA 1,292
2. NE 1,131 (2011)
3. SF 1,107 (2005)
4. HOU 1,106 (2010)
5. TAM 1,088 (2018)

— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) September 28, 2020

The Seahawks are also only six yards off being the all-time worst passing defense through three games in terms of yardage:

Remarkably, the Seahawks have not given up the most yards in NFL history through three games. Thank the 2019 Miami Dolphins.

1. MIA 1,498 (2019)
2. SEA 1,492
3. WAS 1,464 (2013)

— Brian Nemhauser (@hawkblogger) September 28, 2020

At the current pace, the Seahawks will give up 6890 passing yards this season. Last year’s league leader for yards conceded was Detroit with 4551.

This will be denting Carroll’s pride. I suspect the decision to ‘Let Russ Cook’ was partly through need rather than design. He knows they couldn’t play complementary football with this defense.

It’s easy to sympathise with Carroll. The Seahawks won the last two games, almost certainly, thanks to the culture he has created. No other team in the league is capable of winning close games at the rate of Carroll’s Seahawks.

Yet it’s equally fair to say this isn’t good enough. They entered the off-season stating they needed to fix the pass rush as a priority. Somehow, they’ve made the pass rush and the entire defense on the whole far worse.

Someone has to fix this and/or take responsibility.

What are the solutions?

Currently I think the options are limited. However, as I said last week, I do think there’s a rainbow ready to emerge. They just need the rain to subside.

With so many teams facing cap hell next year due to the economical impact of Covid-19, there’s a good chance we’ll see a fire sale down the line. When the Eagles, who need to raise tens of millions, can’t even beat the Bengals at home (and now face a gauntlet of upcoming games) — the chances are they will consider eating dead money this year to take cash off the books in 2021.

They aren’t alone. Several other teams are going to have some big decisions to make.

That could mean bargains to be had — either because teams cut players in a way they never would’ve dreamed of in the past, or they trade players at reduced prices.

What’s the alternative solution? You can’t walk into an off-season $60-80m over the cap.

The Seahawks possibly need to try and get through a few weeks here, get to the trade deadline and then maybe find some options. The problem is they don’t have a ton of cap space to play with themselves — so they’ll have to be creative to create space.

That’s why I’m not sure it’s the best thing to bring in Snacks Harrison. The Seahawks could use another defensive tackle in the rotation. Harrison should help keep the linebackers clean too.

Yet nobody is even trying to establish the run against the Seahawks. All of the issues are in the passing game and Harrison is going to contribute diddly squat there. Signing him eats up cap space and doesn’t really solve anything.

His salary won’t be guaranteed so they could cut him again down the line. A temporary signing could be smart. However, he’d need to justify his presence and his salary.

Bobby Wagner tells it like it is

Wagner looked disconsolate after the game. With a pained expression on his face, you could never have guessed the Seahawks had just won to go 3-0.

His words carried no energy. His body language said it all.

This isn’t good enough.

The media sought positives. Wagner wasn’t dismissive. He was polite and answered with respect. He couldn’t hide his true feelings though.

What does it mean to get a stop two weeks in a row to win?

“We shouldn’t have been in that situation”

How good is the run defense?

“It’s good to hold teams under 50 yards or 75 yards rushing but when we’re still giving up as many passing yards as we’re giving up it doesn’t matter”

Shaquill Griffin and Carroll (as noted above) told the same story with their post-game press conferences. If you’d not seen a minute of the action, you’d think the Seahawks had lost.

They know, as well as we do, that this isn’t good enough. This isn’t going to cut it.

Everything I said about the defense in yesterday’s instant reaction piece remains true. The defenders playing at the end deserve immense credit. Shaquem Griffin was like a man possessed — roaming the field in a new central position reading and reacting to the ball. Ryan Neal was mightily impressive in a very difficult situation with Jamal Adams out injured. Alton Robinson and Ugo Amadi stepped up to the plate.

What a tremendous effort, indicative of the culture and the spirit Carroll has created in Seattle.

Yet we also can’t hide from the reality of the overall unit. We can’t just stop discussing it because, by now, we all know things are bad.

I appreciate a lot of fans don’t want to talk about the defense. I know because people tell me all the time. If you want to bask in the glow of a 3-0 record, that’s perfectly understandable. That’s an admirable position to take.

I want to keep talking about it though. That’s my choice, as it is yours to read and debate or not.

As the writer Douglas Murray stated earlier this week:

“It’s much better to write about something that aggravates you or you’re really passionate about because it’s much better writing about those things than something you don’t feel all that enthusiastic about.”

This to me is the defining subject of the off-season and now the regular season. It needs to be discussed a lot.

How did the team come to identify the pass rush as their greatest need and yet do such a poor job despite spending so much money and picks?

How have they taken a problem and made it much worse?

Bobby Wagner isn’t papering over the crack, so why should we?

A brief look at the advanced stats

All stats provided by Pro-Football Reference. If anything changes in the week I will update the numbers.

— Seattle’s blitz percentage dramatically dropped after the Dallas game — from 36% to 22.8%. That suggests they reduced their blitzing significantly this week — although they remain the eighth heaviest blitzer’s in the league (Gregg Williams, on 26.2%, is now ahead of them again).

— The interesting thing is their pressure percentage also significantly dropped as a consequence — going from 22.4% in the first two weeks to 15.4%. That’s now just outside the bottom third in the league, despite the heavy blitzing numbers manufacturing more pressures because you’re always rushing more than the numbers in protection. Last week they were in the top-10 for pressure percentage.

— Jamal Adams only played 65% of the snaps in week three due to his groin injury. It’s likely that the Seahawks’ high blitzing numbers are simply a review of how they’re using him. With him not on the field, the blitzing is reduced. As such, so are the number of pressures.

— What this tells us is the Seahawks rely on blitzing for pressure. That’s stating the obvious at this point. When the blitzing reduces, so does the pressure. When Adams isn’t on the field, the blitzing reduces.

— Seattle’s sack percentage improved from 3% to 3.1% this week — a negligible change. This remains the key issue for the Seahawks. When you are blitzing as often as they are but you’re not sacking the quarterback, you create problems. A secondary becomes exposed. Second level defenders are committed to your pass rush. Instead of letting your elite linebacker and safety read, react and make plays — they are propping up the defensive line.

— Everything just looks discombobulated. That’s perhaps to be expected. This has never been a blitz-heavy team. They’re doing things they’ve never done before and they lack talent up front. It’s not a good mix and won’t be easy to fix during a season.

— The run defense continues to be a mirage that is praised by the media and fans. Of the teams that have played three games, the Seahawks have faced the third fewest carries. Of the meagre 67 run attempts they’ve defended, 17 were designed short-yardage runs or scrambles by Cam Newton or Dak Prescott. Several more were goal-line carries after opponents passed deep into the red zone. When you’re playing a team on track to give up 6890 passing yards in a season, you don’t need to run.

— Look at it this way — if the Seahawks had given up 350 rushing yards on Sunday to Zeke Elliott, would anyone be praising the pass defense for limiting Dak Prescott to 120? The Seahawks are simply too easy to throw against for the run defense to be relevant.

What do the PFF grades say?

Key performers on offense:

Russell Wilson — 89.1
Mike Iupati — 85.2
Jacob Hollister — 77.6
Greg Olsen — 71.5
Duane Brown — 69.1
Tyler Lockett — 68.8
Will Dissly — 66.5
Ethan Pocic — 64.7
Travis Homer — 64.4

Iupati’s pass blocking grade (89.5) was exceptional. Ethan Pocic (81.9) and Chris Carson (80.3) also excelled in pass-pro.

Poor/average performances on offense:

Jamarco Jones — 40.8
Jordan Simmons — 49.7
David Moore — 55.8
Chris Carson — 57.5
Freddie Swain — 58.6
Brandon Shell — 59.4
Carlos Hyde — 60.4
D.K. Metcalf — 60.6

Jamarco Jones received a 22.4 grade in pass protection which is appalling. Jordan Simmons’ run blocking grade was only a 39.6 but he faired better in pass-pro (67.0). Duane Brown was credited with giving up a sack, a hit and three hurries but overall graded well.

Key performers on defense:

Shaquem Griffin — 85.6
Bobby Wagner — 82.5
Ryan Neal — 80.8
Poona Ford — 79.0
Ugo Amadi — 77.3
Jamal Adams — 68.5
Shaquill Griffin — 68.1

Shaquem’s high grade is due to a 90.4 in coverage. His pass rushing grade was a mediocre 60.9 (which, to be fair, passes the eye test for me). It’s worth noting that for that 90.4 grade he was only credited with five snaps in coverage and 12 as a pass rusher so I’m not sure why PFF gave him such a positive overall score. Equally Shaquill’s grade is elevated thanks to an 82.4 grade as a tackler although PFF did give him a decent 67.8 grade in coverage (which doesn’t pass the eye test). Ugo Amadi received a terrific 82.3 grade as a tackler and a 78.7 grade in coverage. This was a big game for Amadi.

Poor/average performances on defense:

Jordyn Brooks — 29.1
Damontre Moore — 34.5
Tre Flowers — 38.8
Benson Mayowa — 45.0
Cody Barton — 48.7
Quandre Diggs — 49.5
Anthony Rush — 53.5
Jarran Reed — 54.8
Bryan Mone — 55.6
Alton Robinson — 57.2
K.J. Wright — 58.7
D’Andre Walker — 59.7
L.J. Collier — 60.9

This was an alarming grade on debut for Brooks but he was coming into a struggling defense. Benson Mayowa received a 28.1 grade for his tackling and a 52.3 grade as a pass rusher despite having fewer snaps this week. Bryan Mone’s run defense grade was a paltry 48.3 yet as a pass rusher he received a 68.2 (which is weird). Alton Robinson’s debut was graded as a 66.1 in run defense, a 73.6 as a tackler and a 61.0 as a pass rusher.

Re-assessing 3-0 by looking at the opponents

This has been an unusual start to the season. No fans, lots of injuries and for the Seahawks they have a record setting offense (in a good way) and a record setting defense (in a bad way).

The teams they’ve played add to the uniqueness of it all. What to make of them? Winning in Atlanta is good. They have a potent set of weapons and a good quarterback. Yet they’ve since imploded, throwing away two games to start 0-3. Dan Quinn might be back in Seattle in a few weeks as a defensive assistant.

The Cowboys equally have a talented offense with an assortment of skill players. They have a good (not great) quarterback. Yet they’re incredible flaky — as we’ve seen in all three games — and seem to have a really muddled identity.

It’s hard to decipher the quality of either win.

Really good? Expected? Modest?

The one victory that looks unquestionably impressive is the New England one. They handled the Raiders. The NFL’s best ever Head Coach has got them organised, disciplined and on-point. Cam Newton is playing well. The Patriots are going to be tough to beat all year and look like a clear playoff team.

It’s just a shame Seattle’s defensive woes had to turn what should’ve been a relatively comfortable victory at 35-23 into an avoidable nail-biter.

Positive injury news

It was a relief to hear none of the injuries were serious. The dreaded ‘ACL’ didn’t emerge like last week.

The NFL really needs to act on Trysten Hill too. That kind of thing needs to be kicked out of the game. A fine alone isn’t suffice. A one-game suspension would be more appropriate along with a severe warning.

If you missed yesterday’s ‘instant reaction’ podcast check it out below…

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Not only is there an ‘instant reaction’ blog post after every game, there’s now a new ‘instant reaction’ podcast. Check it out below…

The Seahawks defense deserves immense credit.

Not for the 472 yards they gave up to Dak Prescott. Not for giving up another 20 passing first downs. Not for the 75-yard, 45-second touchdown drives they conceded.

However — at the end of that game the unit was decimated. No Jamal Adams. No Quinton Dunbar. A laundry list of other players hurt. Replacements drafted off the practise squad and thrown in.

Shaquem Griffin roaming the field just finding someone — anyone — to cover or hit. Ryan Neal trying to replace not only Adams but also filling in as basically the fourth string safety. Alton Robinson getting his first career sack at the absolutely vital moment — making a total mockery of the decision to make him inactive last week so that Luke Willson could play zero snaps. Ugo Amadi playing his heart out.

Players who were clearly exhausted, elevating their play to win the game.

That was a fantastic last stand and everyone involved deserves huge praise. As a consequence, the Seahawks survive for the second week in a row and move to 3-0.

That only tells a tiny part of the story though.

There were problems before and new ones are emerging.

We’ve seen three weeks of this passing defense now and we know they are not remotely good enough. Teams can do what they want. Prescott’s 472 yards go alongside Matt Ryan’s 450 and Cam Newton’s 397.

We’ve also now seen how critical offensive production is. Today Russell Wilson was jittery behind poor pass protection and every drive in the second half — until the vital drive at the end — was exhausting to watch. Even when Wilson had time, nobody uncovered. A 17-0 scoring run for Dallas made it a game and neither unit had answers.

Nevertheless — there’s nothing they can do. I’m not sure why they’d bother signing Snacks Harrison personally. Their issues are pass rush and coverage — not an interior run defender. No opponent is running the ball anyway — they don’t have to.

They’re going to need that final stop spirit for a few weeks. The pass protection is going to have to be better so Wilson can continue to put up 35-45 points.

We’ll see if they can keep going. They’re 3-0 and that is a positive. This doesn’t feel sustainable though especially with the injuries.

I’m not going to linger on D.K. Metcalf’s error. He just needs to learn from that. Prescott’s interception before half-time and two missed extra points more than made up for it in the error stakes.

I do want to reflect on what looked like a bad injury for Chris Carson. He’s a fantastic player. Ideal size, physical, tough and skilled. Yet his career has been plagued by injury. The Seahawks are going to rely on Carlos Hyde and hope Rashaad Penny can come back at the earliest opportunity. Beast Mode? Don’t rule out another cameo.

I’ll finish with this. If you want to be the MVP — you have to deliver in the big moments. This was far from Wilson’s best performance but ultimately he delivered a scoring drive when it was needed. Job done.

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The Seahawks don’t have a first or third round pick in 2021 so if they keep their second rounder, there’s a decent chance it’ll be spent on the defensive line.

With such limited stock, it’s going to be hard to make projections for what could easily be a non-top-50 prospect. Testing is going to have a bigger impact than ever next year with many players opting out of the college football season (although it seems the idea of ‘writing-off’ the 2021 draft was a bit premature, given all the major conferences are now playing).

Pittsburgh’s Patrick Jones is definitely one to monitor.

Today, he was fantastic against Louisville — recording three sacks and three TFL’s.

On the first sack he forced the left tackle into a wide stance because he was terrified of his speed off the edge. It’s an awkward position for a blocker and Jones capitalised — engaging with a fantastic punch and driving him back into the quarterback.

It’s a classic speed-to-power move that will have NFL scouts drooling.

His second sack came on a spin move that completely stunned the right tackle. He exploded into the backfield but couldn’t bring down the QB who tried to extend the play. Jones kept his motor running and mopped things up shortly after.

Jones’ third sack was a speed rush to the edge where he actually lost balance as he flew by the tackle. He recovered to complete the play.

He was constantly in the backfield using his quickness to impact running plays and disrupt the quarterback.

It was especially pleasing to see him using his hands and winning with power because his 2019 tape showed plenty of ability to win with speed. Now he looks like the complete package.

The Seahawks like their pass rushers to be lean with great bend and flexibility. Darrell Taylor doesn’t have the best get-off but he has tremendous balance and works some ridiculous angles to beat the tackle and straighten to the quarterback.

Jones shows off similar skills. He’ll drop his shoulder and dip to avoid contact, pivot from the block then work to the passer.

If you don’t control him after off the release he can beat you with quickness. He can swim inside to offer variety. We saw today the power he possesses and he’s mixing in a spin-move. His get-off is certainly good enough (it’s better than Taylor’s). He’ll put a tackle on skates and he gets wide to avoid the initial contact and then he’s athletic enough to straighten and finish.

He’s a classical pass rusher in the Seahawks/Carroll mould. This is the type of player they look for. He’s a pin-your-ears-back and get after it type with the frame, size and hands to play early downs. He’s what the Seahawks currently are missing.

When you watch him operate in space he’s very fluid. There’s very little wasted movement. There’s a suddenness to him. He provides that quick, early pressure that disrupts a quarterback. You need someone who can create easy 1v1 wins (or at least make it look easy). He could appeal to 3-4 teams because of his mobility.

Jones could’ve declared for the 2020 draft but opted to return this year.

How he tests will be vital. The Seahawks will still want to see a good 10-yard split and a decent overall profile. He’s ideally sized (6-5, 260lbs) but arm length is also key. He was only a three-star recruit so there’s no guarantee he’ll test brilliantly.

In terms of personality he’s all business. Jones is a man of few words but he booms them out with a deep, serious voice.

He has a terrific backstory as John McGonical notes:

“…Jones, whenever he’s asked where he hails from, acknowledges that he’s “not really” from Virginia. The son of a naval IT chief, Jones spent most of his life overseas. And it was in Japan, 6,500 miles from Pitt’s campus, where the pass-rusher found the game he loves.

Jones was born in Yokosuka on Sept. 29, 1998. He doesn’t remember much, living there until he was 3 years old, when his father and family were relocated to a base in Jacksonville. After a couple years in Florida, the Joneses moved to Naples, Italy, for three years, then back to Japan. In 2007, they took temporary roots in Misawa, an eight-hour car ride north of Tokyo, on the northern tip of the island. A few years later, the family went back to Yokosuka, where they stayed until December 2012.

Jones’ official Pitt bio says Chesapeake is his hometown, where he and his family relocated and remained in 2013. But everyone who really knows him understands that the around-the-world childhood he experienced shaped him into something more than a normal stateside kid.”

He’s also a multi-sports star and excelled at baseball — something the Seahawks appreciate.

Tony Pauline is reporting that he’s been given a firm second-round grade by teams. Based on what I’ve seen so far that’s a conservative projection. He has first round potential and if he lasts into round two — he’s definitely someone the Seahawks could have on their radar.

This is a really talented Pittsburgh defense. I wrote about two of their other players back in July including safety Paris Ford who I also like a lot.

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