The frustrating thing about this game is how winnable it was.

The Bengals have been one of the AFC’s best for the last two years. For whatever reason, they’re stuttering and stalling. After a couple of really good initial drives, Joe Burrow and the offense fell asleep. Defensively, they can play far better than they have done so far.

Yet the Seahawks couldn’t capitalise thanks to an awful offensive display.

They had absolutely no answers in the red zone. The Bengals just had to bring pressure and that was it. Job done. Seattle had no way of working anything out when one play over multiple red zone visits would’ve won the contest.

After a concerning start on defense, the unit turned things around and were superb. They deserved for the offense to get the job done. They failed, badly.

It was painful to watch frankly. There was very little creativity or problem solving. The red zone work was so brain meltingly bad. Geno Smith was hesitant and jittery, taking key sacks or holding on to the ball in big moments.

A friend of mine who isn’t a big NFL fan happened to watch the game. He text me immediately just saying, ‘your QB needs to throw it mate’. Too true.

We said this game would be a gauge for the team. So it proved. I think today we received evidence that Smith is merely a bridge quarterback. He is not the answer. He is not going to get this team to where it needs to get to.

The hesitancy was paired with bad decision making, avoidable sacks, an inability to diagnose the blitzing and find solutions. He had several opportunities to get the job done and he couldn’t do it.

His first interception was a horrendous decision. What did he see to think throwing into blanket coverage to Jaxon Smith-Njogba was a good idea? It very much felt like he was desperate to get JSN more involved, so just threw it his way anyway. What a horrible miscalculation, given it robbed the Seahawks of three points in a tight game.

The second pick was a complete miscommunication between Smith and D.K. Metcalf. I’m sure blame can be apportioned both ways but either way it was ugly.

Shane Waldron isn’t absolved of blame. The red zone issues are on him too. You have to find some answers.

However, this season is a big one for Smith. As we’ve documented, he’s due anywhere between $31.1m and $41.1m next year. He has to show he’s worthy of that salary.

That doesn’t mean he has to match Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. He can’t be a key reason why you lose though. On a day like this, doing the little things well would’ve been enough. He couldn’t do it.

We all want the Seahawks to be great, not good. Smith has to be the placeholder to someone who can deliver greatness.

The roster is being built nicely. The Seahawks might lack blue-chip elite players like the 49ers but it’s a developing roster.

They need a quarterback who can win games like this.

Yes, the Detroit performance was excellent. Now we’ve had a poor display here, a horror-show second half against the Rams, a bad first half against the Panthers and a forgettable performance against the Giants where he spent the second half wanting to fight everyone.

He has five touchdowns and three interceptions in five games. The Seahawks are 3-2. Let’s embrace it. Quarterback is a need, has to be a strong consideration in any draft thoughts for 2024 and the Seahawks need to find someone who can win games like this.

There are positives from the game, mostly on defense (with a shout-out to Jake Bobo). The defense was great. It’s hard to focus on positives after watching the offense though.

There’s a big difference between 4-1 and 3-2. The late part of the season is such a murderers’ row of opponents that dropping games early is going to be a problem.

Blowing this game is going to make for a difficult week. It’ll be difficult to get over.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Now here comes a proper test.

At 3-1, the Seahawks have a loss to an inferior Rams team, a close win over a competitive Lions team and wins over two teams that are in utter disarray. Have they gained muscle mass from their three-game win streak or is that bulk just fat from an all-cupcake diet? Time to find out.

It is very possible that this game against the Bengals could prove to be a turning point. A win would take them to 4-1 and give them enough momentum to consider the next five games as winnable (Cardinals and Browns at home, a trip to Baltimore, a home game against Washington and a road trip to play the Rams again).

That in turn would give them enough mojo to take on the serious tests the rest of the way (a home and away matchup with the Niners sandwiched around a game in Dallas followed by a home game with the NFC Champ Eagles coming to town). An 8-2 record going into that stretch would be far more confidence-inspiring than, say, 6-4.

Now is the time to get started on that run.

This week’s game could be an ideal scenario to start it. The Bengals are a beatable team. Despite Joe Burrow apparently returning to health and putting on a scary display with Ja’Marr Chase last week, their offensive line is a bit of a mess and they can neither run the ball nor defend the run very well at all, ranking next to last in the NFL in both categories. The Seahawks must exploit these weaknesses in order to win this game.

They will also need to contend with themselves a bit. As a team, they are a bit of a walking contradiction.

They are 0-3 coming off a bye week the last three years. However, in that same span they are 7-3 in 10am games. They are the #6 scoring offense but cannot convert third downs and too often leave opponents in games. They were one of the weakest pass-defending teams in the NFL in the first three weeks and then exploded against the Giants and their disaster of an offensive line two weeks ago. They have two very promising tailbacks but have not fully deployed them as a critical part of their offense yet.

I suppose all teams have these types of contradictions. And yet, the ones that end up succeeding are able to reconcile them on the good side of the ledger. This game presents a prime chance for the Seahawks to do it.

The Seahawks Need to Play a Clean, Smart Game

The highlight reels from the Cardinals game were rightfully focused on Chase’s three-touchdown day, including a 63-yard bomb where Chase made a fantastic adjustment to the ball in the air. The offense seemed back in prime form and cruised to a 14-point victory.

Let’s be right – the Bengals were nowhere near their best. The Cardinals were their plucky selves and were in the game well into the fourth quarter — but made several tactical mistakes that doomed them.

They were leading 14-10 deep in their own zone with a minute and change to go in the half. They just needed to burn the clock and get into the locker room with a lead. Instead, Josh Dobbs threw a horrible pick-six to give the Bengals a 17-14 lead. Burrow then came right out of the locker room and hit Chase on that deep pass for a 24-14 lead.

That is a big swing to recover from. They very nearly did. Arizona drove for a touchdown and then intercepted Burrow on the very next drive. With the help of a 41-yard trick reverse run play, they drove deep into Bengal territory. They sputtered at the Bengal 16-yard line and faced a decision: Kick a field goal to narrow the lead to one point or go for it on fourth and one.

They chose poorly. They called a Joshua Dobbs run. Not a sneak – a run. He got into the flat and Jermaine Pratt stopped him for a loss and a turnover on downs. The Bengals drove the field for a touchdown to make it 31-20. On the ensuing drive, the Cardinals, with time and options, fumbled the ball and the Bengals recovered. Ballgame.

This is what good teams do. When they are not having their best game, they still find ways to win. The Bengals took advantage of the opportunities the Cardinals handed them. The Cardinals did not.

The Seahawks have excelled in turnover differential this year with six takeaways and only one giveaway (the Geno Smith interception intended for Jaxon Smith-Njigba). Playing a tough opponent on the road, with one of the NFL’s best quarterback-wide receiver combos on the other side, they cannot afford to give them extra chances — be it from turnovers or challenging play calls at critical times of the game.

They also must solve their third-down problems. Sustaining drives keeps Burrow and Chase on the bench. I guarantee you, against those two, every three-and-out the Seahawk offense gets is playing with fire.

If only there was some way the Seahawks could simultaneously move the ball down the field, while eating the clock and scoring points…

Feature the Run Game and Do Not Get Away From It

Another contradiction. While the Bengals gave up 142 yards on the ground to Arizona on only 22 attempts on Sunday, the bulk of those yards came from three explosive runs. They got 87 yards on those three runs and the other 19 runs gained them 55 yards.

This continued a trend of sorts by the Bengals defense. They are next to last in the NFL in rushing defense but those yards come in infrequent, big chunks of explosive plays and are sandwiched around several small gainers. Have a look at this chart of their four worst rush defense games this year. Notice the pattern.

Cincinnati’s defense is not one that gets routinely gashed for 7-9 yards on every run. They surround good solid stops with undisciplined, explosive plays.

Have a look at the NextGen charts for Nick Chubb, Gus Edwards and Derrick Henry against them in their games:

Look at all that green. Gorgeous. It’s there for you if you want it and are willing to commit to it, Seattle. You just have to be smart enough and determined enough.

One more bit of dumping on Arizona: in the second quarter they forced the Bengals to punt. They had a 14-10 lead and at that point had rushed for 49 yards on the ground already. Starting at their own 30-yard line, they chose to throw the ball three times — all incompletions. They punted. Burrow drove them to the 1-yard line before failing to score and then Dobbs threw that ugly pick-six from his own end zone.

After that, the Cardinals got the ball back. They ran James Connor for six yards but threw two incompletions, leading to another punt and the Bengals nearly got another shot at the end zone before the half was over.

I am not saying conclusively that all that happened because Arizona did not run enough on those series. However, when you are running the ball with success on one of the worst defenses in the NFL, why in God’s name would you stop?

And that is exactly what the Seahawks need to remind themselves of in this game. Why are we choosing not to run? They’ve played some pretty porous defenses so far and for some reason have elected not to base their attack on the ground game. The ground game they have invested two very high picks in.

That needs to end Sunday.

Defend the Short to Intermediate Passing Game – Win the Adjustment War

All right, one more dig at Arizona.

Last week, the Cardinals were getting after Burrow in the first half. They’d sacked him three times and pressured him at other times. Cincinnati’s offensive line was letting rushers through without much blitzing.

Zac Taylor and the staff made an adjustment at halftime. After Burrow came out and hit that 63-yard beauty, they cut back to a quick passing game with timing and rhythm. You saw the Chase highlights but there were many other plays they were so in-sync, Burrow could have walked the ball to him for 10 yards. He ended up with 15 catches.

It was mostly a slant or a simple in-breaking route. A typical crosser that teams see all the time. Yet his deep speed and the memory of that big touchdown kept the corners at arms’ length and Chase (and to a lesser extent Trenton Irwin) had free reign to run over the middle.

Burrow is brilliant at these routine throws. Most young quarterbacks are able to do the spectacular right out of the gate but struggle with these ‘this is what wins games’ type throws. Not Burrow. He reads defenses, sees where receivers will be open and delivers the ball with heat and accuracy.

He is currently one of the quickest pocket throwers in the NFL, averaging only 2.1 seconds in the pocket. On those average plays, unless there is a complete jailbreak on the offensive line – which is a possibility – the defense will have to be very selective on when they blitz and take full advantage of those plays Burrow needs more time to make his throw.

With Coby Bryant and Artie Burns injured, it appears that Devon Witherspoon will primarily play at nickel and Mike Jackson and Tre Brown will line up outside opposite Riq Woolen.

I wrote last week that the defense will need a find a way to slow down these short passes that keep them on the field, whether that is through timely blitzing and winning the pass rush battle or smartly covering these routes. Or both. That is just as true, if not more so, this week.

Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt have had a bye week to examine what is happening in pass defense and make adjustments. Do not doubt that Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow have been studying them as well.

It is time to see what this team is made of.

I’m going to start by producing some notes on two players I wanted to discuss today, then do a quick breakdown of some of the tier 1-3 players I’ve watched so far.

Justin Eboigbe is one to watch

I like watching Alabama defensive linemen because they generally have to be versatile and it’s easy to see how they translate to the next level. This is very different to the stunt-heavy, difficult-to-project edge rushers who play for the Crimson Tide. The big-bodied D-liners are in there being forceful, violent and it all translates.

I was a big fan of Byron Young a year ago and suspect the Seahawks were hoping he’d be there in round three. He fit perfectly what they were looking for in a D-liner. Similarly, I think Eboigbe will carry a lot of appeal.

He’s a different type of player to Young who had a more conventional interior D-line body (but could play defensive end in certain schemes). Eboigbe is listed at 6-5 and 292lbs but looks closer to the 280lbs range on the field. He’s a very mature, hard-nosed player and a former four-star recruit who’s been at Alabama since 2019.

Like Young, he’s not blowing anyone away with elite twitchy speed either off the edge or shooting gaps. He is a tremendously powerful, disruptive force. Whether he lines up off the edge or inside, he consistently drives blockers backwards into the pocket using heavy hands. He appears to have good length and extends to keep his frame clean. He shifts around the line and attacks from different positions but time and time again on tape you see the same thing. He wins his 1v1 match-up by gaining position and disrupting.

Young would often shoot-gaps to take away a lane or to contain the edge. He was also very strong at the POA and could control his blocks. As the year went on, he started to impact games and his ability to soak up linemen created opportunities for others. Eboigbe has basically started the season how Young finished 2022. He’s already drawing attention, holding his own in the running game, gaining position to force runs back inside and driving tackles backwards with power.

I do think he’s a better athlete than Young and you do see some quickness and agility when attacking gaps.

For me he just looks like a pro. Given his age and time in college football, plus his frame, that’s not a big surprise. As a player who can rotate and be flexible across the line, he could be an excellent option for the Seahawks in the next draft — provided there are no lasting issues from a neck injury suffered a year ago.

I’m still really torn on Drake Maye

He has the size, he’s a decent athlete, he has a good arm. There were times again on Saturday in a blowout win against Syracuse where he looked really good. He has improv quality that shines through on tape — making things happen. He had a couple of really well placed passes hitting receivers in stride. There were big-time throws on display as there always is with Maye.

However, there were also moments where you’re left scratching your head. Hesitation in his own end-zone when the situation called for urgency. Missed scoring opportunities. A throw that was so far behind his receiver and could’ve picked, only for the receiver to make one of the most improbable grabs all year with his trailing arm and actually run it in for a big touchdown, generously padding the stats in the process.

There’s a real boom/bust quality to him. The great moments have you nodding along with approval. The bad moments just leave you wondering ‘WTF just happened?’

I suspect he probably will be a very early pick because this is a bad draft at the top of round one. I currently only have Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr and Brock Bowers as ‘legit’ early picks. I’m toying with Tyler Guyton going in that category, plus Jeremiah Trotter. Right now though, this looks like a class full of day two picks and very few players you’d be ecstatic to select in round one (it’s still early though).

I think he’s a more creative Jared Goff. Which might not be too bad. It’s not that exciting either. I think Caleb Williams is in a class of his own in terms of the 2024 draft. Maye has the tools you look for in a NFL passer but I just wish we could see a bit more consistency. I keep thinking back to the South Carolina vs North Carolina game. UNC and Maye won but Rattler looked better despite facing far more adversity.

Tier 1 players (so far) — legit R1

Before I get into the list (which is in no particular order) — a reminder I have not watched all players who could realistically be listed in these ranges. Some won’t be listed on purpose, others because I haven’t studied them enough yet. I’m happy to clarify in the comments on certain players.

Caleb Williams (QB, USC)
Marvin Harrison Jr (WR, Ohio State)
Brock Bowers (TE, Georgia)
Tyler Guyton (T, Oklahoma)

It’s looking like a very thin ‘top of round one’ at the moment. Williams has everything you want in a quarterback in 2023. Harrison Jr has an opportunity to provide a team with an instant #1 target, while Bowers could provide the same kind of threat as a ‘big slot’ type. Guyton for me is a perfect blend of size, athleticism and power and he could easily be this year’s answer to Darnell Wright.

Tier 2 players (so far) — potential first rounders

Spencer Rattler (QB, South Carolina)
Riley Leonard (QB, Duke)
Drake Maye (QB, North Carolina)
Michael Penix Jr (QB, Washington)
Rome Odunze (WR, Washington)
Xavier Legette (WR, South Carolina)
Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE, Texas)
Graham Barton (T, Duke)
Joe Alt (T, Notre Dame)
Olumuyiwa Fashanu (T, Penn State)
Chop Robinson (EDGE, Penn State)
Jared Verse (EDGE, Florida State)
Jeremiah Trotter (LB, Clemson)

Rattler is propping up an otherwise lacklustre South Carolina team (with a shocking O-line) but the execution now matches the natural talent and he deserves a lot more attention than he’s getting. Leonard was incredibly impressive pre-injury and has a ton of next-level potential. Maye, as discussed, is superb at his best and confusing at his worst but the talent is there. Penix Jr’s arm strength is to die for.

Odunze combines natural receiving skill, big play ability, speed and an outstanding personality/character to likely ensure an eventual home in round one. Legette is one of the big movers this season — showing off X-factor playmaking ability, size and speed. Sanders needs to be more consistent and he’s a receiving threat rather than a complete tight end but you can’t ignore the athletic tools.

Barton is consistently brilliant for Duke. He missed their last game with injury but he’s a picture of consistency, brute force and talent. Alt has had some rough snaps this year but has the size to switch over to the right side where he’s better suited. Fashanu has as much physical potential as anyone in this class but there are still technical improvements to be had.

Robinson is a twitched up ball of energy and agility. His play doesn’t match the production but he follows a growing line of Penn State defenders with enticing athletic qualities. Verse’s play started strong and has dipped a bit but provided he tests as well as expected, he can come into the league and impact games. Trotter is a superb, impactful linebacker who is constantly around the ball and deserves more attention.

Select Tier 3 players (so far) — Day two picks

This is just a selection of players I like, not the full list of tier three prospects, which is far bigger (I currently have exactly 50 players listed and I have a lot more to watch and potentially add). I’ll include more names as we go along and reveal the full list when I publish my horizontal board later in the year. This is going to be where the meat of the class is I think.

Some of these players could easily bump up a round.

Will Howard (QB, Kansas State)
Quinn Ewers (QB, Texas)
Malachi Corley (WR, Western Kentucky)
Ben Sinnott (TE, Kansas State)
Cooper Beebe (G, Kansas State)
Sedrick Van Pran (C, Georgia)
Charles Turner (C, LSU)
Steve Linton (DE, Texas Tech)
McKinley Jackson (DT, Texas A&M)
Howard Cross (DT, Notre Dame)
Byron Murphy (DT, Texas)
Tyleik Williams (DT, Ohio State)
Jer’Zhan Newton (DT, Illinois)
T’Vondre Sweat (DT, Texas)
Justin Eboigbe (DE, Alabama)

Howard makes too many bad decisions but I just love the way he makes technical throws over the middle into tight windows, has excellent size and he’s a great athlete. There’s plenty to work with. Ewers is too erratic but the simple fact is when he throws the ball, he has the same ‘flick of the wrist’ brilliance Aaron Rodgers has. The natural talent is obvious but he needs more game-time. Will he get that beyond 2023 with Arch Manning waiting in the wings? Or does he turn pro?

Corley has a good, solid frame but combines it with the twitchy-quickness of a smaller, dynamic receiver. He’s exciting to watch. There’s depth, unsurprisingly, at receiver again this year. Sinnott is just a wonderful player to watch and he can do a bit of everything at tight end. Whoever drafts Beebe or Van Pran will solidify an interior O-line position for many years. Turner’s passion for the game, fierce competitiveness and length shows up on tape at center. I really like him. Linton has length, size and twitch and he carries a ton of potential as an edge rusher.

Jackson is my favourite defensive tackle in this class so far. He’s a warrior — eating blocks, providing more pass-rush than he’ll be credited for, playing every down like it’s his last. He is the heart and soul of Texas A&M. Notre Dame’s Cross is a close second thanks to his motor, quickness to shoot gaps and disruptive playmaking ability. Texas’ Murphy is small like Cross but he’s an amazing athlete. Williams at Ohio State takes most of the defensive snaps for a reason and Illinois’ Newton can be a big-time disruptor on his day. Texas’ Sweat has seen his play improve dramatically in 2023 to the point where he’s massive but is playing with surprising agility and twitch for a 360lber. He has caught the eye in every game and has the highest pass rush win percentage among interior linemen playing a minimum of 20% snaps (21.2%). Eboigbe, as mentioned above, looks like he could play NFL football today.

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Apologies I’ve been quiet for a few days. Saturday was a hectic day-job day, Sunday I was at the Bills vs Jaguars game and today I attended my uncle’s funeral. I managed to squeeze in some college football when I could, so here are some brief notes…

— The more I watch the more underwhelmed I am with this draft class. There’s depth at certain positions (QB, DT) but a lack of top-end quality. There’s a distinct lack of outside pass rush with blue-chip potential, I’m struggling to find dynamic players in the secondary and aside from Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr and Brock Bowers — it’s really difficult to identify top-10 prospects. Unless you pick right at the top of round one, this could be one of the worst draft’s in years to possess a high pick.

— This was a really poor week for quarterbacks. Kansas State’s Will Howard did not play well in a loss to Oklahoma State with some ugly turnovers. I’ve no idea what Quinn Ewers was doing with his first of two interceptions against Oklahoma. It was a totally careless, bizarre error. He hesitates on the throw, clearly doesn’t like the look and yet throws it anyway. Why? He remains erratic although he settled into the game and showed off easy arm strength (he can flick his wrist like a certain former Green Bay QB). Cam Ward threw a couple of interceptions. All three lost. I was particularly keen to see more of Howard and while there were some mitigating circumstances in his display, he still played poorly. I didn’t see Drake Maye or UNC this week and I’ve only watched highlights from Williams/USC. Spencer Rattler and Michael Penix Jr didn’t play.

— I don’t understand why LSU’s Maason Smith continues to be projected by some as a high pick. He looks cumbersome and awkward to me and LSU’s defense continues to toil. He was credited with a sack against Missouri but what actually happened was he grabbed the QB’s facemask and pulled him down to the turf. No flag was thrown in one of the worst decisions of the season. I also thought Ohio State duo Michael Hall Jr and Tyleik Williams played within themselves, as did Texas’ vaunted D-line. Howard Cross was typically active but stayed stuck on a few too many blocks against Louisville. A disappointing week.

— Let me chuck in a positive. I like the look of Missouri QB Brady Cook. He’s only a junior and could do with staying for his senior season, adding some size/power and playing more games. However, he has a good arm and can complete difficult passes. He’s a really useful athlete when he needs to move around or scramble. He’s shown poise and accuracy this season. At the weekend he, like the QB’s mentioned above, had a bad interception. He threw the ball straight to a DB when the read was never there, similar to Ewers’ first pick. He also had a desperate heave with 37 seconds remaining that led to a pick-six and a fumble in the game. However, he also suffered a number of dropped passes and Mizzou really shot themselves in the foot against LSU. They should’ve won. Cook is one to monitor for the future.

— The other big positive for me is the continued performance of Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton, who I wrote about last week. He’s so big and athletic — with the ability to get into position with ease and then use his physical tools to maximum effect. Every time I watch him I come away impressed and there’s no doubt in my mind he’s turning into this year’s Darnell Wright. Few people were talking about Wright during the season a year ago but his performances were so good at right tackle, he stood out a mile during games. He was eventually drafted 10th overall. Don’t be surprised if Guyton similarly goes a lot earlier than anyone is projecting.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Record: 3-1

Thoughts

Being a Seahawks fan is truly an experience. You run the gamut of emotions from one game to another, sometimes from one quarter to another, even from one series to another. This first four games were no exception.

The team started out flat with one of their worst games in Pete Carroll’s tenure. Alarm bells were rightly ringing.

They have since won three games in a row, displaying the grit and determination needed to escape such a poor opening game. An overtime thriller against a rising Detroit Lions team provided some equilibrium for the fans and two as-expected wins against the seriously offensive line-challenged Panthers and Giants has provided momentum.

There are a lot of good things to enjoy and a lot of things that need improvement if the Seahawks are to be a true contender in the NFC.

MVP

1a Jarran Reed

Take Reed off this roster and what do you get? A defensive line in chaos. Instead, we have a defense that is gelling somewhat, is consistently good against the run when tested and Reed has done more of his share of pass rushing from the inside.

He’s on pace to equal or surpass his great 2018 season where he finished with 10.5 sacks, 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 22 pressures. In fact, he is on pace to obliterate his tackles (68) and pressure (34) numbers. His 71 PFF grade so far speaks to his impact beyond the counting stats.

Incredibly, he is only playing 60% of the defensive snaps so far this season. He played through pain and had what Pete Carroll called his career-best game against the Panthers in Week Three.

Reed may end up being a serious free agent steal for the Seahawks if he keeps playing like this. The team has a grand total of $4.1 million committed to him for this season and next, with an all-in number of only $9 million.

Another quarter like the first four games this year and everything the Seahawks get after that is pure, unadulterated profit.

1b Bobby Wagner

2023 is not some feel-good farewell retirement tour for Wagner. He is bringing a very good level of play for the Seahawks so far this season.

The stats: An 86.9 PFF grade, 50 tackles (third in the NFL), two sacks, two pressures and two QB Hits.

It should be noted that in a sample size of four games, he has not been effective in pass coverage. Asking him to cover slot receivers (like he did on Adam Thielen in Week Three at times) seems more of a scheme problem and a misuse of his skills.

Wagner is on track to blitz about 59 times this year, which feels about right. The Seahawks need to utilize his skills a bit better, asking him to go forwards to attack gaps instead of backpedaling in zones and coverages.

His value though is not all in stats. He has contributed leadership, giving a fiery speech to the team after a very poor effort in Week One – one to which most players and coaches pointed to as a reason they had a course-correcting win against Detroit the following week.

He also makes Jordyn Brooks better. Brooks seems more solid without the run-the-defense role the middle linebacker usually has and is freer to be the hunter-killer type that seems more suited to his skills. He has already a career-best two sacks on only nine blitzes (the Seahawks only blitzed Brooks 17 times last year) and his pressure rate is way up. He also has 41 tackles and three tackles for loss which are top-10 numbers for his position. This is no doubt partly due to Wagner taking some responsibility off of his shoulders.

3 Geno Smith

Smith has been a puzzle this season. Not quite the accurate, dazzling Geno of early 2022 but neither has he been the hold-your-breath high-wire act Geno of late 2022. More somewhere in the middle.

A quarterback has more influence on a team’s success than any other position and Geno has good numbers and the Seahawks are 3-1. Ergo, his place on this list.

The counting numbers so far are good: A 68% completion rate, five touchdowns against one interception and being sacked only seven times while playing most of the quarter without his starting offensive tackles is commendable, all things considered.

However, he has had whole halves of football where he looked indecisive and mistake-prone and the offense – while being very good overall, mind you – has sputtered in the red zone and has yet to reach its potential.

If the Seahawks have designs on taking a step beyond a Wild Card one-and-done, they need more. Mistakes and settling for field goals are fine when you are playing the Panthers and Giants teams of the world and the margin for error is comfortable. If they want to truly run with the upper echelon teams, that margin shrinks considerably. They will need more from Geno.

Honorable Mention: Michael Dickson, Uchenna Nwosu

If you want some real candidates for underrated Seahawks players on the league stage, it is these two.

Dickson is leading the NFL in punting average with a wild 53.5-yard average and we know it is no fluke.

Week One, in the fourth quarter with the Seahawk offense struggling, they punted from their own 27-yard line. Dickson blasted it into the Rams’ end zone for a punt of 73 yards.

Week Two, late in the Detroit game, Geno Smith had taken an incredibly ill-advised sack to pull the offense back to their own three-yard line. The Seahawks brought Dickson in, and all he did was blast a 64-yard bomb from his own end zone.

I have said this for years. There is not much more the Seahawks can ask of Dickson. He is a weapon that will likely be appreciated better when he is retired.

Uchenna Nwosu. He had a great season last year, signed a $45 million contract extension this offseason, his star is still rising and still it feels like most Seahawks fans and general NFL fans do not fully grasp his impact yet.

He has two sacks, 13 tackles, four tackles for loss and five pressures so far, for a 78.4 PFF grade. Ho hum.

One more stat: he has two forced fumbles and they were both meaningful. One sealed the game against the Giants, and the other flipped the game in Detroit. The Lions took a 14-7 lead into the locker room and received the kick to start the third quarter. Nwosu stripped David Montgomery, the Seahawks recovered and two plays later the game was tied.

Rookie of the Quarter

1 Devon Witherspoon

Concerns about passing on Jalen Carter, the pre-draft testing, the calf injury, the contract and lack of practice time have been answered emphatically.

Three games. 23 tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, 15 catches conceded in 30 targets (10 targets per game!) for a 50% completion rate and a 75.3 QB rating when targeted.

Oh right. And a 97-yard pick-six.

DROP THE 🥄 RIGHT NOW Y'ALL

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/21UWsZ2Ft9

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 3, 2023

And yet, it is not just the numbers and the big plays that make Witherspoon so special. It is the smarts – disguising his blitzes, body-positioning himself to make tackles around the edges and immediately adapting to playing zone defense and the nickel position, something he had not done much of in college. Lesser players often struggle for half a season to get up to speed on these concepts.

Plus the toughness – he is putting runners, receivers and quarterbacks on notice that he is not to be trifled with.

The Seahawks have been a victim of their own success, having not been able to draft in the top-five for over a decade. It was fair to wonder what the team would do with a top pick. With Witherspoon, we know they knocked this one out of the park.

2 and 3 Everyone else

Zach Charbonnet: So far, he has about a full game’s worth of carries, with 21 runs for 105 yards, a perfect five yards per carry. He has also added 4 catches for 23 yards. But the mentality he brings to this offense is what makes him special:

OH MY GOD CHARBONNET 😳 pic.twitter.com/WZZ9qvMt5J

— Moore_Solozz (@GVO_Prods) September 24, 2023

Anthony Bradford: After not getting much work with the first line in camp and preseason, he has just about supplanted Phil Haynes as the starting Right Guard. After Haynes got hurt against the Giants, Bradford came in and offensive line play did not drop at all. In fact, Pete Carroll commented after the game that the Seahawks had planned to job-share that position with Haynes and Bradford.

Brian Baldinger likes him, and surprisingly Bradford has rated as well or better in pass protection than the run game so far, despite having a classic run-game mauler profile.

.@Seahawks drafts well and develops better. Everyone in this league can learn from what Pete Carroll and staff do. @giants @nfl #nfl. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/ziFwElKhhT

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 3, 2023

Jake Bobo, Cam Young, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Derek Hall, Olusegon Oluwatimi: We have been able to see enough from these players to know the Seahawks had another very good draft behind their star #5 overall pick.

Bobo has not just been a training camp and preseason darling. His run-blocking is legitimately great and he has added a touchdown catch and been seen running great routes that have yet to be exploited by the quarterback.

Young has played only 61 snaps but has been seen standing up blockers, taking on double teams and even occasionally spending time in the backfield. Having missed so much camp and preseason time with injury and then losing Mike Morris for the season, the interior defensive line was looking mighty thin. Young has rewarded the Seahawks’ faith and patience and if they are wise, they will keep finding more snaps for him as the season progresses.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been lost in the offensive depth and playbook thus far. The Seahawks have not utilized him well, deploying him as an at-the-line of scrimmage type player for wide receiver screens and simple crossing routes. His play is fine but his use in this offense thus far is something that needs to be addressed if they are to get real value for spending the #20 overall pick on him.

Derick Hall is getting the Seahawk Rookie Defensive End treatment, only playing 104 snaps in 4 games so far. He has not looked out of place and occasionally flashed. He has four quarterback hits and three pressures. With Darrell Taylor’s run defense still an issue, there may come a day soon where the team decides to give Hall more of his snaps and deploy Taylor as a situational rusher.

Oluwatimi got a handful of snaps in the Giants game and acquitted himself well. The team did not misfire on offense, nor was Geno Smith running for his life from the Giants’ interior defenders. It is very hard not to see Oluwatimi as the starter in 2024 at center, if not later this fall.

Successes

1 The Pieced-together Offensive Line

Andy Dickerson, Shane Waldron and Pete Carroll deserve some serious praise for what they have done.

Go back to before the season started and let me tell you the Seahawks would be without Charles Cross and Abe Lucas for three of the first four games and Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan would make the starts in those three games.

Oh, and by the way, Phil Haynes would miss most of two games and Damien Lewis would miss three quarters of a game.

Then listen as I tell you the Seahawks won all 3 of those games and stand as one of the NFL’s best scoring offenses.

Did those linemen play against cream puffs? No. Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNiell, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams and Kayvon Thibodeaux are all legitimate defensive line talents. And yet, the offense did not just scrape by, but excelled. Unreal.

The team may need to seriously think about giving Andy Dickerson contract extension with a raise with the promise he will not leave Seattle anytime soon. That kind of work will get rewarded by another team if the Seahawks refuse to.

2 The defense in the Giants game

The Seahawks just have the Giants’ number on offense for some reason. Last year they bottled up Saquon Barkley, sacked Daniel Jones five times and forced two turnovers in a ‘where has this defense been’ win.

They decided to up the ante this year. In conceding three points, they brought their scoring defense ranking from near last in the NFL to middle of the pack.

They sacked Daniel Jones an incredible 11 times.

They pressured him 25 times.

Let’s pile on – they almost sacked Jones four more times, as he had runs of no gain or one yard.

They had 14 Quarterback Hits. 10 tackles for a loss.

Four different players each had two sacks and seven different players overall recorded sacks. Five other players who did not get a sack got a pressure. That means 12 different defenders recorded a pressure or a sack.

Witherspoon’s pick-six and hammer hits.

Giants fans exited Met Life before the fourth quarter had even started. The Giants getting the ball back with just over a minute to play and just calling two run plays to kill the clock and run the game out. The offense just conceding defeat.

The Giants are an injured, ineffective, unmotivated mess right how. You can definitely put a chunk of the Seahawks’ defensive performance on that. Yet the Seahawks were there, ready to take advantage and they had the motivation, the talent and dare I say the scheme to take advantage.

And it was gorgeous.

3 The Pass Catchers

First, something to know – none of the Wide Receivers or Tight Ends are on track for some amazing career-high season at this point. That seems odd to start a kudos with but I want to demonstrate how the numbers we have seen so far from this group are just scratching the surface of what they can become.

D.K. Metcalf is sporting a 144 quarterback rating when targeted. Last year he had an 88 rating. He is getting more first downs, running more varied routes and not making mistakes (he has one drop and no fumbles). His body control and chemistry with his quarterback have ascended to match his giant size and blinding speed.

Tyler Lockett. Every time I think I’ve run out of ways to say he is amazing he does something else. He is getting an average amount of targets and catches but they are not very deep afield at this point. He is averaging 6.7 yards of air per catch, easily a career low. His longest catch this season? 23 yards. That’s it. This is the same player who caught 35-yard and 40-yard bombs this time last year against New Orleans. And yet, he is on pace to match his best touchdown catch seasons this year. Is there anything he cannot do?

Noah Fant is leading all NFL Tight Ends with 16 yards per catch. Take back that monster 51-yard catch and run against the Giants and he is still third with 12.11 yards per catch.

Colby Parkinson? Right behind him at 14.5 yards per catch. All of his catches have produced a first down except for one.

Here is the craziest stat of all – Lockett, Metcalf and Jake Bobo are the only players who have a receiving touchdown so far this season.

This offense has so much potential it is thrilling.

Struggles

1 The Week One loss

This loss was one of worst displays of football we have witnessed in years from this team.

How did this happen?

Pete Carroll has a well-earned reputation as a motivational coach. The Seahawks came into 2023 having won their season opener four years in a row. They often came out strong and focused on Week One, throwing tricks and wrinkles opponents were not prepared for and catching them off guard.

This year, they were beaten by a Rams team that featured a collection of castoffs and veteran retreads on defense and a brilliant gameplan on offense that exploited a defensive weakness with surprising ease.

Bobby Wagner played the game as if it was any other game, rather than being the fire-breathing defender ready to prove something to the team that cut him.

Team leaders like Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf said after the game that the Rams wanted it more. It took a Bobby Wagner motivational speech to get this team focused for Week Two.

The Seahawks went out and added safety Julian Love in the offseason, knowing Jamal Adams would miss time. They talked up Love’s versatility and that Quandre Diggs was fully healthy and was a team captain on defense. Yet they looked uncoordinated, unprepared and unable to communicate effectively on the field against the Rams. Pete Carroll actually said the defensive backfield had trouble with the Seattle fans’ crowd noise when on the field. Seriously?

The offense had its moments in the first half but had to settle for field goals more than they would like, starting a pattern that has bled into future games at times. The second half featured three meaningful yards gained by the offense. Three.

Again, this is a team with Aaron Donald and ten other guys even regular Rams fans would be hard to name. They made halftime adjustments and this Seahawks offense could not move the ball on them at all.

It was stunning.

2 Pass Defense

Up until the Giants game, this defense was near the bottom of the NFL in passing yards conceded. While it is easy to point to all the defensive line changes the offseason brought, there is really no good excuse for the product this team put on the field this quarter.

Miscommunication. Listless tackling. Blown assignments. Offensive coordinators somehow getting their shifty targets matched up with linebackers.

Seahawk defenses in years past were predicated on keeping the ball in front of you, not allowing the offense to make explosive plays and then punishing dinks and dunks. This defense has not been able to even tackle properly after dinks and dunks, allowing teams to both deploy safe, low-risk passes and gain more than just short yards. It eats the clock, puts pressure on the offense and wears the defense out.

In a way, that Rams game modelled for the rest of the league how to attack this defense. There is no reason to even look Riq Woolen’s way when there are so many opportunities elsewhere.

The Giants game appeared to be an improvement but their utter failure of an offensive line masked some of the problems the Seahawks are having. Teams like San Francisco, Dallas, Cincinnati and others have far more potent offenses and you can believe they were taking notes on this defense.

The investment at the safety position needs to provide a much, much better return. At this point, with an emerging pass rush and Devon Witherspoon terrorizing defenses in a number of ways, even just a league-average return would be acceptable.

3 Utilizing their talent on offense

The Seahawks are having a problem that other teams wish they could have. They simply have more talented players than touches available currently and it shows.

Every game in a 3-1 quarter has been followed by questions of why certain players are not getting more involved in the offense.

The running backs are an inexplicable #22 in the NFL in number of rushes. Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet are just waiting to explode. Every single time one of these players run the ball, the announcers trip over themselves to explain that running the ball is a foundational piece of Pete Carroll’s core identity and that he loves it.

What’s more, the teams the Seahawks have faced are not known for being tough in the running game. Ken Walker has averaged two explosive runs per game so far this year.

So then why is it not happening?

There is some good news here. In a recent press conference, Carroll stated that is not happy at all with the running game and said it in a way that you know he is determined to fix it. But averaging 24 carries per game is not the way to do that. They need a game where they threaten the 35 or 40 carry mark. Just let the defense rest up a bit, let Geno be his efficient self without needing to carry the whole show, and dominate their opponent.

That is not the only area that needs improvement though. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo are not being featured enough in the passing game. The tight ends have also gone from prime touchdown creators back to the guys the team turns to when they need a spark.

Smith-Njigba has been plagued by a number of play designs that do not feature his strength. The Seahawks seem intent at this time on giving him only wide receiver screen passes and simple crossing patterns, rather than deploying him to run routes and use his natural skill to create separation.

Perhaps they are handling him with kid gloves due to his wrist surgery?

Perhaps Geno Smith has not been making great decisions on pass plays? We have seen data that says Smith-Njigba is open after creating separation from his defender, so maybe it is just a matter of getting game familiarity with his quarterback. Yet the team needs to unlock this incredibly valuable asset soon.

Next Quarter Games

@Cincinnati
Arizona
Cleveland (throwback jerseys!)
@Baltimore

Second Quarter Goals

1 Offensive Identity & consistency

As you saw above, this offense needs to get more players involved. There may actually be a simple solution: just create more first downs. More first downs mean more snaps with the offense on the field. Spreading the ball around becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Despite their high-scoring offense, the Seahawks are currently #31 in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage on offense. It is the feast or famine model they are currently running on.

It may all simply improve with time. Perhaps the offensive line will provide some improvement when their tackles come back and the interior players get more intuitive with one another.

One thing that seems a factor here is Geno Smith’s decision-making. He seems to be favoring more short passes that gain yards but do not get the Seahawks a new set of downs. His strength in 2022 was throwing the ball downfield while still maintaining a high percentage of completions. Shane Waldron and Pete Carroll badly need him to return to that sweet spot.

This bye week is an ideal time to study their tape and see how defenses are attacking him and develop a focus on routes that can keep the chains moving.

2 Defend the middle of the field

This is going to be very interesting to watch. Devon Witherspoon has been targeted ten times per game so far. After that impressive performance against the Giants on a national stage, teams may not want to throw his way nearly as much anymore.

On the other side the Seahawks have Riq Woolen, who teams already do not want to throw to.

This may force teams to push the ball even more towards the center of the field. How will Diggs, Love, Bryant and the linebackers adapt to this? Will there be solid communication and improvement after the bye week?

We can only hope.

Because this defense, with two very impressive corners, a pass rush built from depth and a solid first quarter of run defense, could be the league-average unit this team so desperately needs.

If they can rectify this big, ugly deficiency.

3 Heal

I know that’s a hard one for a team to implement. “Ok guys, in the game Sunday we’d like no more players to get hurt, ok?” Yet this team has had so many injuries it has bordered on ludicrous.

The old ‘get their injuries out of the way early and be healthy down the stretch’ hoping and wishing strategy seriously applies to the 2023 Seahawks.

This team is in a precarious position. They have depth in many areas, even enviable depth. But the best depth will not survive if they keep suffering so many injuries.

Jamal Adams needs to come back strong.

The tackles cannot miss many more games (as good as the backups have been, it feels like playing with fire to have them in much longer).

John Schneider cannot afford to have that seemingly annual phone call this year where he rings a running back on the couch and says “hey, all of our guys are hurt. Do you want to unretire for our biggest game of the year and help us out?”

They need a healthy, clean run of games in the upcoming quarter.

Howard Cross (DT, Notre Dame)

This is the third time I’ve watched Notre Dame and on each occasion Cross has impressed me far more than some of the other big name DT’s eligible for 2024. I was put off a little by his size (6-1, 288lbs) but it’s time to get over that and talk about his talent.

Cross has everything you look for in a disruptive interior force. He possesses great quickness to gain position with his first step and he bursts beyond sluggish blockers. He asks questions every single snap. I’ve not seen anyone better at shedding blocks to create pressure within this class.

It’s not just about quickness and athleticism either. Cross is a warrior with his hands and he can play with great base, anchoring on contact then disengaging. It’s no exaggeration to say he’s a nightmare to defend. He’s relentless in his playing style, not giving his opponent a minute’s peace. If it’s not a great get-off to simply burst through an opening, he’s battling and fighting to the whistle or driving blockers into the pocket.

His lack of size, as with a lot of shorter linemen, helps with leverage. He also keeps his legs moving so everything is a forward motion. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a DT give this much effort down after down and he does it with a high number of snaps too (more on that in a moment). I don’t know how he’ll measure for length but there’s hardly any evidence of him getting washed out. He actually initiates contact well and drives through it — rather than exposing his chest and being driven out of position.

Further to this, he can bench-press blockers and keep himself clean with his eyes in the backfield to read the play and react. There’s very clear tape where he controls the block on contact and you can see his eyes in the backfield, waiting to determine his next move.

Double teams can get after him which isn’t a surprise at 6-1 and 288lbs but the fact Duke at the weekend had to resort to that speaks volumes. He’s always on the move trying to find answers when he doesn’t get the initial win and he plays to the whistle.

As an athlete, Cross looks like he has great agility. I think he’s a very interesting, potentially exciting player. He will need to test through the roof to be a high pick at his size but I wouldn’t rule out a great short shuttle or explosive traits.

Cross’ pass rush win percentage of 18.2% leads college football among players who’ve played +50% of snaps. This is important because while other interior rushers have a higher win rate, they’re playing fewer snaps. Cross and Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton (17.5%) are both in the top-three for pressure percentage among players playing +50% of the defensive snaps.

Other big names who are excelling are playing less. The following are all playing between 20-49% of the defensive snaps:

T’Vondre Sweat — 23.5%
Rylie Mills 22.6%
Byron Murphy — 17.9%
Michael Hall Jr — 15%
Tyler Davis 13.8%
Kris Jenkins 12.7%
McKinley Jackson — 9.5%

It’s something to consider. Cross and Newton are winning at a high rate while playing a lot of football.

Size and length has always been important for the Seahawks up front so this might be an issue projecting Cross to Seattle. However, as we saw again this year, they’re all-in on attitude, effort, grit, leadership and physicality. That is Cross, even with a smaller frame.

I’ll also say that re-watching the Duke vs Notre Dame game just convinced me even more that Riley Leonard has so much potential. It’s good to hear his injury is a high ankle sprain and nothing more serious because it looked ugly.

I want to keep stressing the point that it’s a lot easier for a quarterback to play in an prolific spread system where they’re hardly sacked and they get easy reads throwing to talented receivers. The quarterbacks who face a lot of pressure, play in variable systems and complete difficult passes into tighter windows — they are easier to project to the next level.

Leonard, as I said at the weekend, was far from perfect against Notre Dame. However, he put his team on his back in the second half and dragged them from a 10-point deficit to a winning position. He ran with skill and athleticism and he completed big plays in critical, high-pressure situations. That type of game against a tough opponent, playing without your left tackle, can show a lot more than a player sitting in a nice, clean pocket spraying bombs around the field to the tune of 400 yards and five easy touchdowns.

Tyler Guyton (T, Oklahoma)

Increasingly we’re seeing athletic, very capable right tackles starting in college. Darnell Wright was an example this year and Abraham Lucas the previous year. Guyton has a great opportunity to be another high pick as a productive right-sided blocker.

He’s light on his feet but heavy in the way he controls blocks. He handled 1v1’s in space against Iowa State and Cincinnati but also showed he’s very capable of driving people off the line. He can get out on the move in space with ease so pulling is no problem and he can be effective on screens at the next level.

Guyton has very easy footwork and agility to get into position then drop the anchor. He’s a very impressive right tackle with top-45 potential. I’m looking forward to watching him against Texas.

Ray Davis (RB, Kentucky)

Wow. Physical, elusive, forceful. He had a prolific performance against a mediocre Florida team and I can’t wait to watch more.

Davis shifts his weight to change direction with ease. He was slippery and evasive when he needed to be and he was putting his head down and getting the tough yards too. This was one of the best individual running back performances I’ve seen in a long time. Every time he was on the field instead of one of the other runners, the difference was noticeable. He was the Kentucky offense.

It wasn’t just about brute force and breakaway speed either. His patience to let blocks develop and then the decisiveness to exploit opportunities was so impressive. Once he’d taken advantage of his blocking, time and time again he would make at least one defender miss to get even more yardage or he’d run through contact.

Davis even had a couple of really good pass-pro reps.

The Kentucky O-line played its part and Will Levis will be wishing he could’ve played behind this line for returning OC Liam Coen. However, Davis is a genuine benefactor of Kentucky upgrading both their line and their offensive coordinator and he looked like a NFL runner in this game. He destroyed Florida. He embarrassed them.

I can’t imagine the Seahawks will be spending another high pick on a running back but I guess it’s worth noting that Kentucky are back to running an offense inspired by Sean McVay.

Maason Smith (DT, LSU)

I keep seeing Smith being projected in round one and I just don’t see it. I know he’s coming off an injury but he just looks too rigid and almost a little bit clumsy. There are definite flashes where he executes a nice swim to break into the backfield but more often than not he’s a non-factor.

At the moment I’ve got he and team mate Mekhi Wingo slated for early day three as potential rotational rushers. I reserve the right to adjust those grades down the line but it was just so easy for Ole Miss on offense on Saturday. We’re not seeing enough impact up front from the LSU D-line and they just look ‘OK’.

I think McKinley Jackson, Byron Murphy, Howard Cross, Tyleik Williams, Michael Hall Jr, Jer’Zhan Newton and T’Vondre Sweat have shown far more early round potential.

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Devon Witherspoon.

I was thinking of ending this review there. It was tempting.

Tonight a star was born. The fifth overall pick showed he has the potential to be special.

Two sacks, an absolute hammer-hit at the line of scrimmage, a pick-six.

Troy Aikman called him, “unbelievable”, “a shark in the water” and compared him to Deion Sanders. So there you go.

We all watch football for different reasons. Some people love high-octane passing. Others like the X’s and O’s. I want to watch the Seahawks beat the s**t out of other teams.

Witherspoon is my kind of player and I love the fact he’s Seattle’s kind of player too. Watching him come up to the line and level people, as a cornerback, was a joy. He’s physical and impactful.

I am totally fine with the Seahawks using him as a playmaking, tone-setting nickel. We don’t need him to play outside to justify the #5 pick. I want him in a position to be around the ball as much as possible. He won’t be able to do this every week, obviously. But what a stage to announce your arrival in the NFL.

He lit up what was otherwise a slopfest of a game. Mistakes, penalties, injuries. It was a mess.

The Seahawks are a better team and thankfully, managed to swim through the slop just enough to gain a win that never really felt in doubt.

The Giants look appalling. I gained a headache during the game thinking about Daniel Jones’ $40m a year deal. Imagine being tied to this level of performance? They can’t get out until 2025.

For Seattle, my other takeaways were the aggressive play-calling on defense leading to an incredible 11 sacks (great to see) and the quality of their drafting. They have done such a good job the last two years acquiring talent.

The Witherspoon speaks for itself but then you look at the O-line. They’re playing an entire backup unit and it’s not back-breaking for the offense. This is testament to the way they’ve drafted and built. They are targeting the right O-liners from college football and you just have to give it to John Schneider and co. After years of bad moves on the offensive line, they now have talent and depth.

The running game is still too stop-start to be satisfied with. However, Zach Charbonnet is exactly the type of runner you need to play a physical brand of football. Ken Walker is also immensely talented. Please get the run going because you get the sense once it starts, it’ll be difficult to stop.

Jarran Reed just keeps showing to be so vital in the early weeks of the season. His attitude and toughness is extremely welcome in the defensive interior and it’s a concern that he’s banged up so early. He’s critical to this team. Overall the front seven played brilliantly and it was good to see a big play/turnover from Mario Edwards sparking the opening score, plus some flashes from the younger guys up front. The Seahawks smelt blood as the game unfolded and the very aggressive defensive calls created loads of pressure. It was exhilarating to watch.

Also, how can you not love Jake Bobo run-blocking?

Now, there’s a reason why this game gets labelled a slopfest. There are still things that could hold the Seahawks back when they aren’t playing teams like the Panthers and Giants.

They relied on the New York’s ineptitude for their points — three turnovers and Noah Fant probably should’ve been tackle or nudged out of bounds. The Seahawks had an opportunity tonight to do what Dallas did and absolutely obliterate the Giants and they didn’t, which is a shame. It speaks to the messy nature of the game that it didn’t happen. It just wasn’t clean on offense.

They have too many weapons to basically only have one game out of four with rhythm and consistency. I wasn’t sure really what the offensive plan was today, despite the Giants’ defense being horrendous in the previous three weeks. They didn’t find a way to exploit a struggling unit and should’ve done, even with a backup O-line.

Jason Myers missed another kick. He’s having one of those ‘unreliable’ years sadly.

Geno Smith needs to chill. Aside from the injury he got all emotional and angry from what was basically a fair play and an unfortunate injury. I’m not sure why he started the second half. He didn’t look right, gave away a dumb taunting penalty and Drew Lock could’ve held the fort against this opponent. It worries me that teams will see this and think they can get in his head.

The injuries are mounting up in a serious way. You need injury luck to succeed. The Seahawks better be using up their bad luck in this opening quarter of the season because it’s threatening to spoil things. The bye is coming at an ideal time.

It’s unavoidable not to mention Jamal Adams. He lasted nine plays on his return. I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt here though — it was a majorly unfortunate concussion. Yes the tackling technique wasn’t ideal. However, what are the chances of that happening? The bye will give him ample time to return for the next game.

The Seahawks head into the bye with a good 3-1 record. There’s still a lot to fix but the defense is showing signs of life and it feels like there’s a lot more to come from the offense. Going to Cincinnati is a great test after the bye and will be a good gauge on where they are at.

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This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Here comes a very interesting matchup for the Seahawks — and on Monday Night Football no less.

The Giants in many ways have been similar to the Seahawks in recent seasons. Both have been on a mission to rebuild their lines in the trenches, they have both had a challenge properly utilizing the talent they have with their scheme and both reside in that good-but-not-great tier of the NFC. They finished with nearly identical records and claimed a Wild Card spot last year.

It is no wonder that when they play, it is a hard-fought but ultimately frustrating experience for both sides. The Seahawks won last year on the strength of a reborn pass rush, containing Saquon Barkley and making less mistakes than the Giants did. The Giants won in 2021 by riding a tough defense, some explosive plays in the running game and the Seahawks took their turn making mistakes with some questionable play calls.

The similarities continue this year. Both teams are struggling with their young offensive tackles. Injuries have forced backups onto the field for both more than they’d like. Defense has been a real challenge so far for both (Seahawks are 29th in scoring defense and the Giants are a surprising 30th). Both have recorded wins this year by the skin of their teeth against poor teams playing better than they should be allowed to.

The biggest difference? Offense. Seattle has had their struggles in the run game and fully integrating new additions Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jake Bobo — but they are still scoring at a very healthy pace and currently sit at fourth in the NFL in scoring offense. The Giants? They are 31st. A combination of injuries, poor offensive line play and an uncharacteristic bout of mistakes (penalties and turnovers) have them stuck in the mud.

30th on defense. 31st on offense. Banged up and there is a good chance their two best offensive players (All-Pro Left Tackle Andrew Thomas has been ruled out and Saquon Barkley is currently doubtful and a game-time decision) will not factor much in this game.

Just like last week, this is a trap game masquerading as an easy win for the Seahawks.

What can they do to go into their bye week with a win and some real momentum?

Own the Line of Scrimmage on Both Sides

I know how that sounds. The Seahawks have had struggles in the trenches for years and still have yet to fully overcome them and the Giants as an organization have always counted on that as a strength of their team. Yet there is a real opportunity here to control this game by winning where it really counts.

On defense, this Seahawks line is trending slightly upwards after their best performance of the year to date last week against Carolina. Before we get too excited about that, let’s temper things just a little bit.

They generated zero sacks and only three pressures Week One against the Rams. In Week Two, they improved with two sacks and ten pressures.

Last week, three sacks and another ten pressures. However, those numbers were generated in fifty-eight pass attempts by Andy Dalton and the Panthers — behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.

Three sacks and 10 pressures only meant a 16% pressure rate on Andy Dalton. While Jarran Reed deserves every bit of credit for having a fantastically gritty game, the stats the pass rush unit as a group produced were at best ‘as expected’ when you consider the volume and quality of opportunities they were given. They cannot be satisfied. More is required. Much more.

Thankfully, this week they play what may be the real Worst Offensive Line in the NFL, particularly with Thomas out. Have a look at how the Giants’ projected starters are rated by PFF in pass protection so far this season:

Those numbers are subterranean. Evan Neal is a particular disappointment. PFF graded him a 28 in pass-blocking last year and so far this year he is not much better.

If there were ever a game where the Seahawks should be able to flex their muscle and put pressure on the quarterback without resorting to blitzes, stunts and other tricks, this would be it. Three sacks and ten pressures are a minimum expectation for this game. Particularly when you consider that Barkley either will not play, or will be hampered by injury.

Now on offense, this one might be even better news for the Seahawks.

What has traditionally been a stout Giants defensive line group has been absolutely dreadful this season. They have plenty of talent on the line but the results so far are disturbingly bad.

They have two sacks so far in three games. Two. Chicago was the only NFL team going into week four that is worse, with one.

What about pressure?

This one might be even more shocking. They are only generating 16.7% pressure after three games, good for 29th in the NFL. They were sixth overall last year in generating pressure.

What is worse? They are blitzing on a crazy 53% of snaps and still getting almost nothing. The drop in effectiveness is simply stunning.

Kayvon Thibodeaux has been particularly poor so far, with only a sack and two pressures in three games — good for a putrid 36.6 PFF grade.

It is no wonder their defense is so bad this year.

Yet they do have something to hang their hat on, like rushing defense, right? Nope. They are 28th in the NFL in rush defense, conceding an average of 138 rushing yards per game through three so far.

The run charts are fascinating. There is no pattern, no specific weak spot to attack. In Week One, Tony Pollard attacked the middle and the right side of the defense. Week Two saw James Connor with some stops behind the line in the middle but several explosives running around the edges. Last week, Christian McCaffrey had his way running up the gut and to the left side.

Oddly enough, PFF loves the performance of Leonard Williams (82.1) and Dexter Lawrence (91.0) in 2023, giving them near Franchise Player grades. How can they be performing so well on such a poor defense?

One of the keys is they simply have not generated any turnovers, which is obviously big. The more the defense is on the field, the bigger the chance for yards and points are.

Two other factors work heavily in the Seahawks’ favor and are most likely linked: The Giants are one of the worst tackling teams in the NFL at this point and their blitzes are getting burnt like toast. How badly? Seven different opposing offensive players have logged an explosive play against the Giants in each week so far this year. When you blitz, the players in the backfield need to cover their men and be sure tacklers.

Neither of those things have happened yet.

Giants Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale held an ‘I’m OK, You’re OK’ press conference on the state of the defense this week and addressed a public challenge to the press (but really, his defense) in that he instructed them to chart all defensive tackles and see how many they miss.

Martindale characteristically said he saw no problems with his defenders’ effort against the Niners last week. Yet watching the game, you could see several times where George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell and Deebo Samuel played with a fire in their belly that was not there on the defensive side.

Players like Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet and D.K. Metcalf need a similar fire to keep the problems for the Giants going.

But it starts up front. This might be an ideal game for a run-heavy approach. Get the Running Backs at least 30 carries, if not 40. Get them to the second level and let them break tackles. Let big bodies like Damien Lewis and Anthony Bradford lean on this defense and control the game.

Winning another game without their starting tackles – while maintaining good offensive play – will be a good day’s work for this coaching staff.

Related to this, another area the Seahawks need to win on both sides of the ball…

Win the Tight End Matchups

Another similarity with these two teams: They both employ high-quality tight ends and both defenses struggle to keep their opponent’s tight ends in check.

The Giants, needing another weapon for Daniel Jones, went out and traded for Darren Waller and his record-setting contract this offseason. With all due respect to Tyler Higbee, Sam LaPorta and Hayden Hurst, the Seahawks have yet to face a tight end of Waller’s caliber this year. His reach, size and route-running capability is a matchup nightmare.

The Seahawks have real difficulty defending tight ends. They are conceding a league-worst 14 yards per reception to tight ends. The league average is nine yards per catch.

You are well within your rights to argue that this is a very small sample size of only three games and you’d be correct. However, you should know that the Seahawks were also the worst team in the NFL in this category last year, conceding – you guessed it – a league-high 14 yards per reception to tight ends. It is an ongoing problem.

They need to find a way to either a) defend Waller (and to a lesser extend the underrated Daniel Bellinger) or b) pass rush Daniel Jones so effectively that he cannot target Waller.

It would not be a surprise to see the Seahawks employ someone like Devin Bush to cover Waller. He may not be ideal but he is far more capable than Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner in pass coverage.

On the other side, the Seahawks have wisely employed all three of their tight ends with different responsibilities at different times this year. While they each have their strengths, they have worked toward becoming more complete players and that gives the Seahawks all kinds of options. This is particularly important because both Will Dissly and Noah Fant appeared on the injury report this week and are officially listed as questionable to play.

Colby Parkinson has been slowly developing into a player the Seahawks can employ in many different scenarios, not just in the passing game. He has made nice progress as a blocker in the run game and last week had some great ones.

Watch him line up next to the right tackle and just move Brian Burns completely out of the way on the goal line on Ken Walker’s touchdown run:

Steamrolling for the score! @Kenneth_Walker9 | @Seahawks

📺: #CARvsSEA on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UQdQ05hqXN pic.twitter.com/pITkc2Bw0U

— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2023

They will need that kind of tough blocking in the run game if they want to assert their will on the Giants defense. With their tackles still out — and the Giants feasting on the blitz as much as they do — a blocking tight end is worth his weight in gold for this matchup.

How can they help this team in the passing game? We have long pointed to the correlation between defenses that blitz the most and defenses that are poor in defending tight ends.

The Giants fit the bill there. They are currently 28th in the NFL in yards per catch conceded to tight ends and 31st in passing yards conceded.

Teams are paper-cutting the Giant defense to death with throws to tight ends. They’re the perfect ‘get out of jail free card’ when a team blitzes as much as the Giants do. They can chip and release, or just read the blitz and switch to a hot route for their quarterback to dump the ball off to and get some yards after the catch.

The Seahawks will want to use them liberally on Monday to both counteract the blitz and attack this defense with shots.

Some Misc Notes

— Geno Smith’s processing and decision-making will need to be sharper this week than it was last week. Granted, he got dialed in after halftime but during the first half, when the Seahawks were settling for field goals and the game was less comfortable than it should have been, Geno was hesitant at times and wasted time in the pocket before making questionable throws. The Giants blitz packages will not allow for that. He has to come out of the tunnel ready to play. If that means a series or two that is run-heavy and features some short, deliberate passes to get in rhythm, so be it.

— Daniel Jones is on pace to match his rushing numbers from last year. With his shaky offensive line, it makes sense that he will be as mobile as he always is and with Barkley limited or out, maybe more. It might make sense to once again assign a player to spy on him. Just sit tight after the snap for half a beat, see where the holes are developing and then pursue Jones. Jordyn Brooks, Devin Bush, and Jamal Adams would be interesting candidates for the job.

— One thing I noticed in watching Giants highlights for the last three games, Jones is drawing unnecessary roughness penalties at the end of his runs at a pretty impressive rate. It feels like one of those ‘but the quarterback is no longer a quarterback once he leaves the pocket!’ rules that refs agree to in principle but are happy to throw the flag on the second tackler coming to help his teammate. The Seahawks need to be aware of this.

— The secondary enters an interesting condition Monday. Jamal Adams is back, Witherspoon and Woolen are on the field together again, Tre Brown and Artie Burns will not play and Coby Bryant is listed as questionable. This sounds problematic, figuring out how all these players will work together and get snaps. Particularly with the nickel spot a question mark, as well as implementing what plans the team has for Adams. At this stage of the season, I personally am at ‘it could not be worse than what they’re thrown out so far’ so I am open to new ideas, even unconventional ones. For instance, how about a package with Quandre Diggs at nickel – returning to his roots – with Julian Love patrolling deep and Jerrick Reed getting some time at safety? If the backfield does not improve – and quickly – I think all options should be on the table.

— Speaking of Adams, it is perfectly acceptable to marvel at the hard work, determination and pain it took to get back on the field this year and hope he has a fantastic impact this season. It is also perfectly acceptable to hold your breath every time he launches himself into a tackle.

This was not a particularly enjoyable weekend of college football. Receiver Bru McCoy suffered a horrible injury in the Tennessee vs South Carolina game and Duke QB Riley Leonard appeared to suffer a potential season-ending injury right at the end of a battle with Notre Dame. Several other good players either didn’t play this weekend due to injuries or they suffered an injury during the game.

Aside from that there was very little drama other than the basketball game between LSU and Ole Miss and a number of high profile draft prospects underperformed.

I watched three full games yesterday. Here are some notes…

— I’m struggling with Quinn Ewers. He clearly has a lot of natural talent and I’ll keep praising his release. He’s a good athlete and showed that with a couple of impressive touchdown runs against Kansas. He’s just so erratic though. On Texas’ second drive he threw high twice and nearly had an interception. On the third drive a throw on the run was close to being picked. He finally was intercepted with an ugly throw over the middle, not spotting the lurking defender who read it all the way. There was very little fluidity to his performance despite having the benefit of a rolling running game. He only settled down when the score got out of hand. There’s something here but it’s hard to view him as anything more than a mid-round pick until he becomes more consistent and dominant. Texas’ defense had a quiet game against a triple-option attack. The key D-liners had minimal impact. Talented Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders left the game with an injury.

— There’s nothing more irritating than seeing good players let down by an offensive line. Spencer Rattler had no chance against Tennessee. He was sacked four times in the first half alone and the pressure was constant and relentless. South Carolina, in turn, played like a team terrified by its own O-line. They completely shortened their passing game and made things frantic. Everything was ‘get the ball out quickly’ on short routes, dump-offs, crossers, screens and passes to the flat. The Vols, on a revenge mission, flew around the field like their lives depended on it. Rattler’s skill as a dynamic, creative thrower was eliminated by the gameplan and lack of protection. It contributed to an ugly pick-six before half-time on a 3rd and 22 play. He felt pressure off the edge and threw way too high. What was the play-call all about though? Either run and just take it to the half or go for the first down. If you are going to throw on third-and-22, why are you throwing seven yards from the LOS? This felt like a ‘throw the tape in the bin’ kind of display. However, I think this was another good showing for Xavier Legette. The receiver/playmaker is firmly in top-45 contention with a great mix of size, speed and playmaking ability.

— Riley Leonard had an adventure for Duke against Notre Dame and there are so many takeaways. Firstly though, the injury. It looked bad and could be an ankle or knee issue. He might miss the rest of the year and if he does, you have to wonder if he’ll even declare. In the first half he missed throws and had a poor interception — not detecting a lurking defender reading his throw. Before half-time he settled down a bit and became decisive as a runner and made some good throws. In the second half, he led two big drives for touchdowns to take the lead. Duke shot themselves in the foot and he should be healthy and unbeaten this morning. They missed two easy field goals, blew a muffed punt opportunity to get a turnover when half the team tried to get on the ball, endured drops and asked the quarterback to pooch-punt instead of going for a 4th down at the end to kill the game. Then, with the contest on the line, they gave up a 4th and 16 conversion playing prevent defense. I really like Leonard. He’s a great athlete, an X-factor as a runner, he has a good arm and you can see mentally he’s on it. He’s not the finished article but he has everything needed to succeed. For me he’s a player with tremendous potential. I really liked the misdirection Duke used on key downs and Leonard would’ve been the talk of the town had Duke not let him down with their mistakes elsewhere. I think it’s clear he’s first round talent but now we need to see what the news is on the injury and what it means for his future. A quick other note — this was the second successive disappointing performance from Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt. Duke’s left tackle Graham Barton missed the game through injury. Although he won’t be a high draft pick, Duke running back Jordan Waters ran with real toughness in this game and gained many yards after contact.

— I’ve seen extensive highlights of Washington vs Arizona but not the full game. This was a quieter day for Michael Penix Jr. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass and the gameplan didn’t ask much of him but to get the ball out quickly via high-percentage throws. I find him one of the most fascinating and complex evaluations in a long time. His arm is absolutely remarkable. It’s one of the best you’ll see. He throws well from all sorts of angles, completes passes others wouldn’t even dare to attempt and he could be a big-time playmaker at the next level because of this. Yet the offensive system, lack of pressure and brilliant weapons just make him such a challenge to project to the next level. He’s played in this offense for years, at Indiana and Washington. The arm translates but everything else is so foreign to the NFL and you can’t match-up anything on tape to a NFL environment other than ‘wow what an arm’. It’s a real mystery but the arm is legitimately special.

— Some final quick notes. There are a lot of defensive players being talked up for the first round in 2024 but nobody is stepping up to the plate with production and dominance. It’s a worry how meek the defensive play is in college football at the moment. I don’t understand why Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is being projected in round one of some mocks, he’s a mile off that for me. Tulane’s Michael Pratt has a better arm than you’d think but he needs to settle down because he had some inaccurate throws vs UAB. I really like LSU center Charles Turner for his talent, passion for the game and his physical qualities. Ditto Texas A&M defensive tackle McKinley Jackson — my favourite interior defender I’ve seen so far (and he had another productive game this weekend).

I will watch other games in the coming days to gather more notes.

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