As I have said it recently before, I’m not much into predictions these days for the Seattle Seahawks. For example, I no long preview games and predict outcomes. There’s other better writers out there that love to do that.

For me? That routine started to feel like a chore, and I hate chores!

That’s said, nothing prevents me from making a bold take when I see a good one. Right now, I gotta bold take on these 2023 Seattle Seahawks that I feel right good about, and am happy to share.

They are going to have a good defense this year. Yup. Bank on that.

Will it be elite? I don’t know, but through two games, they are top tennis the league at stopping the run, and that is at least something.

Last year, they were the worst run stopping defense I have seen in Seattle in well over twenty years. It hurt my soul watching that run defense. Make no mistake about it, being able to stop the run for the last two games is a good, positive baby step.

Now, I get it. A lot of naysayers will point out that these Seahawk defenders have been terrible against the pass in these same first couple games, and in each game, they gave up 31 points each. I won’t deny that. Those are horrible numbers, but you know what?

Chicken butt.

I think the pass defense is going to change in a big positive way, and I think it’s going to happen soon. Last week at Detroit, Seattle faced one of the better offenses in the league, they went against a quarterback who has had a lot of success against them, and they gave up a number of passes against more contested coverage than the week before.

What does this mean? It means that Seattle showed signs to tightening their cover three defense that they appear to be returning towards. I think they just need to few more games to gel with it, add more press with the corners, and sort through their best looks.

Let us remember that there are still a lot of new faces on this defense trying to build chemistry with each other. Chemistry with the Legion Of Boom did not happen over night. When Richard Sherman took over the left cornerback spot, he had to figure out how Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas played. When Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril came to town, they had to figure out on the fly how to pass rush with each other.

As that legendary defense formed, there were days where they hemorrhaged huge yards through the air. Russell Wilson had to try and win shootouts against Andrew Luck, and Matthew Stafford. In 2013, the year that led them to a Super Bowl win, the lowly Tampa Bay Bucs came into Seattle and put up huge yards and a bunch of points.

As Cliff Avril points out in the teams wonderful docs-series Season Of Boom, the core of Pete Carroll’s defense is “bend don’t break.” Carroll wants you to abandon the run and throw it. He wants to feature a defensive line for which the inside gaps are easily defended by big men, and he is willing to give up short gains through the air.

Ideally, this should lead to defenders developing natural instincts to where the ball will go, and then makes plays on them. In time, it allows them to play faster, and more decisive. That’s how Kam, Earl, Richard, and Brandon Browner eventually played together. They would concede certain amounts of yards, but as the field shrunk towards the red zone, the back of the end zone becomes an extra defender. That was the area of the field where a lot of their bigger plays would happen. A lot of turnovers were created down there, sacks would happen, and teams would often settle for field goals.

I think Pete Carroll is happy to give up yards if it means settling for field goals. To him, I think having a good scoring defense means more than how many yards of offense his defense gives up. In other words, if the defense gives up well over 300 yards through the air, but holds an offense to under 20 points, Carroll considers that really good defense.

The key to that whole philosophy is entirely dependent on the ability to stop the run. Through two games, Seattle is showing a good ability to do that. Last year at this time, they did not.

So, what’s the difference?

I kinda think, to some degree, Carroll is returning back to his old scheme up front again, at least enough to where he knows certain tenets of his core philosophy are followed, and namely the ones to which the A and B gaps of the interior portion of the line of scrimmage are always defended.

Truth be told, I don’t think Seattle is really operating much out of a 3-4 scheme like defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt was trying to run last year. Last week, against the Lions, Seattle ran the 3-4 less than twenty percent of the time.

Don’t get too caught up in the positional labeling that Seattle has on their team page with their roster, either. Guys who are listed as linebackers are playing a lot of defensive end through these games, and guys are listed as ends are playing a lot of three technique defensive tackle.

I think Seattle is heading back towards the 5-2 in their base defense, and then 4-2-5 nickel on what they anticipate to be passing downs. They want to have enough bodies around the line of scrimmage to discourage the run, and encourage the pass. This is a contrast to the weirdly anti Pete Carroll stuff they did in bunches last year that screamed “run at us in third and long, and you will get a first down” against teams like Tampa, the Saints, Raiders, and Panthers (all annoying losses in 2022).

I think a return to more 5-2 is a return to a defense that Carroll knows best.

During the LOB days, Seattle listed players on their roster like they were operating as a 4-3, but the bird’s eye look of this defense was always a 5-2 look in it’s base. Bruce Irvin was listed as a linebacker, but played at the line of scrimmage like a stand up defensive end. Red Bryant was listed as a defensive end, but he played like an extra defensive tackle. Carroll’s defenses were always hybrids, and I think they are returning to this hybrid philosophy. This is encouraging.

A big key moving forward now is for the back end to sync up. Highly drafted rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon gave us a positive glimpse last Sunday in Detroit that it could be on it’s way soon.

I thought the rookie played a really positive game being thrown into the fire against the Lions. His instincts and technique showed up well against the run, and his tackling was good with 5 credited stops. He also had a key 4th down pass defense.

Sure, he got burned badly on a flea flicker, but I think he got caught getting sucked into trying to do someone else’s job against the run then doing his assignment, and I think he’s going to learn form that quickly. Spoon is a smart instinctual cookie. There is a reason why this team wanted to draft him at five overall last Spring.

On the other side, Riq Woolen has scored strongly through two games with the Pro Football Focus gang. He is tailor made for Seattle to return to its cover three stuff.

In the back end, I sense that the safeties are working to figure each other out more. Julian Love is coming into the situation here from the Giants where he did a lot of two deep safety stuff. He is holding the fort at strong safety for Jamal Adams, and is adjusting to a new scheme of playing more in the box, and building chemistry with Quandre Diggs.

Julian Love is a good football player, and is going to figure it out. When Adams gets back, it will be interesting to see what Seattle does with these two in their nickel looks. Will the presence of Love allow for Adams to play the weak side linebacker role, or will Love be Seattle’s best option at nickel corner?

Hmmmmmm..

Now, I circle back to Devon Witherspoon. I think the key to the whole tasty taco is right here.

Much was made during training camp about Seattle trying Spoon at nickel. There was some concern that he wasn’t showing enough to be the left outside corner. I suspect that the plan always was for him to be the outside guy opposite of Woolen in the base defense, but I also think that Carroll and crew began to envision his potential of sliding into the slot like Jalen Ramsey did so well with the Rams for a few years.

Watching Tre Brown step in for Woolen was huge against the Lions last Sunday. Not only was he graded Seattle’s best performing defender by PFF, he might have just showed his coaches that he showed be the outside guy opposite of Woolen in the nickel defense. If this is the case, the guy who could really be in store for a big breakout year in 2023 is this Brown.

Seattle’s most ideal nickel look might feature Adams at linebacker next to Bobby Wagner or Jordyn Brooks, Diggs and Love at safety, Woolen and Brown outside, and Spoon at the inside nickel position. I think this could be the package that is most assured to both stop the run, but also provide top playmaking abilities against the pass, and provide the best blitz options.

Where are quarterbacks most likely to go on third down if Spoon shows well as the nickel? Nope, won’t likely be towards Woolen (they are showing that already). Maybe not towards the rookie so much as the season wears on.

Maybe the passer looks to a tight end covered by a linebacker. Maybe to Brown who just got a pick 6 against Jared Goff who hadn’t thrown an INT in what has felt like forever. Defenders will anticipate that more and be more ready in their drops.

I am saying it now, if Spoon is able to move inside and hold down that nickel spot, and Brown is able to get onto the field opposite of Woolen, and Adams plays more linebacker, I think the 4-2-5 is probably going to be Seattle’s strongest look on defense. I think this is what they are building towards.

The final piece of the whole enchilada is for the pass rush to come together. Make no mistake, through two games thus far, it’s been bad.

Seattle needs their pass rushers to build chemistry together. I kinda have a lot of faith that it is coming.

Guys like Uchenna Nwuso, Boye Mafe, Jarran Reed, Dre’Mont Jones, Mario Edwards are already making plays in the backfield against the run. They just need to feel each other as pass rushers. Darrell Taylor is going to be a guy to factor as a rusher, as well.

It may not come together like we all want it to this week against Carolina. Jarran Reed as been sitting out of practice with a sore groin, and if he’s not going to play, the Panthers might feel inclined to really test the run defense. I think Seattle has players who can still hold up inside like rookie Cameron Young, and reserve defensive tackle Myles Adams, but neither guy is Reed right now.

The two players who probably need to most figure each other out on the DL are probably Jones and Nwuso. I think Seattle is envisioning them as their new Bennett-Avril combo. I suspect Seattle will want to see how they move together with stunts, but really, they just want these two younger established vets to work together knowing how each one rushes.

Bennett and Avril communicated with each other a lot during the 2013 campaign in order to figure out their best rush plans. This took time. It was about a month or so into the season before dividends started paying off.

I think we could see a similar chemistry about to brew with Jones and Nwosu, along with others factoring in. Edwards has an ability to rush inside. Reed is a good inside pass rusher. Adams has shown potential. I think the team wants Cameron Young to develop as a rusher inside. Boye Mafe, I feel is on the verge of being a really good edge rusher. Darrell Taylor is already a good edge rusher. Derick Hall is a rookie trying to figure out his rush plans, but I think he’s got too much natural talents to not come on as the season wears along.

Seattle has a lot of decent pieces. I will even go as far to say that I think they have the potential to be a lot better of a collective than what people want to give them credit for right now.

So, yeah. I’m going to say it. I think the Seahawks are going to be good on defense this year.

This isn’t just something that I am writing about to wish it into existence, either. This is carefully reasoned stuff I am scribing. Simply put, Seattle has too much talent in their secondary to not be good, and I think they have just enough up front. It is going to come together this year.

I think they are going to be good on defense, and I think they are going to continue being really good on offense with Geno Smith and company. That should equal double digit wins this year, and another run at the playoffs.

Will it be good enough to overtake the 49ers?

Like I said, I’m not into making predictions, but I think they have put out their documents-series The Season Of Boom beyond the reason of this year being the tenth anniversary of the Super Bowl win over the Broncos. I think it has been put together to inspire these players and the fans in the stands.

Yeah. I think good things are about to happen. You heard it here. You will soon see.

Go Hawks.

You can think whatever negative nilly thoughts you want about Pete Carroll, and his 2023 Seattle Seahawks. I will not try to steer you one way, or the other.

You can believe, with all of your soul, that so long as he remains coach of the team, they will never reach the Super Bowl again because he is too old and has too much “lost his way.” Okay.

You can also be firmly intrenched within a staunch mindset that Geno Smith is nothing more than an expensive run of the mill quarterback who will never take this team far, and they need to draft a quarterback next year in order to be cheap at the position, and load up on veteran talent elsewhere on the roster. Cool. You are not alone in those thoughts.

You can also, of course, believe that, despite this surprising win on the road against the trendy Lions, these Seahawks are still due a down season this year. You know what? They might be. We will see.

What I think very few people would find a hard time discrediting is the fact that, historically, Pete Carroll coached Seattle Seahawk teams have done very well coming off of tough losses like this team faced last week at home against the Rams. Much was made this week about how Seattle was in trouble heading into Detroit. I, myself, had my doubts, but I don’t think enough folks who have followed this team for a living reflected on how good of a coach Carroll is at getting his players to respond after a tough loss, even though he is in his thirteenth year now coaching this team, and he has been doing exactly that for years now.

I would also say that, even though I had doubts about this matchup, I wouldn’t predict a Detroit Lions victory over this team. I don’t get involved in previewing and predicting games for the Seahawks anymore on this blog. Partly, it is because it has allowed my writing to become too formulaic and thus feeling more like a chore, but another reason is because over these last few years, these Pete Carroll coached Seahawks have become less predictable.

It is almost like the only thing I can predict is for them not to be predictable.. unless maybe when it is coming off of a bad loss. When that happens, many of these iterations of the Pete Carroll Seahawks tend to come out swinging the following week.

This week was one of those weeks, and while it was by far perfect, it was a thrilling game to watch. After all, the Seahawks had to travel on the road and face a team with a loud and fired up fan base, better offensive and defensive lines, and a collection of skill players who are more than capable of going toe to toe what Seattle has.

Given the fact that Seattle was down both starting offensive tackles, it should have felt surprising that they were as competitive as they were, even for much of this game feeling like was still going to become a likely loss. As I watched this game, I was preparing to write a piece about “moral victories.”

But instead these Pete Carroll Seattle Seahawks prevailed, and they did it by doing the very stuff against the Lions that I asked for them to do in a piece I wrote last week. Good on them.

Offensively, they stayed firmly with the run enough to allow pro bowl quarterback Geno Smith to throw pretty play action passes that kept this offensive humming. Yes, Seattle did not net a bunch of yards on the ground in this game, but 22 carries by the backs for a meager 62 yards kept the Lion defenders (knowing Seattle was down two starting tackles) having to honor the run, and that allowed for Geno to go 32-41 for 328 and 2 touchdowns with most of those throws coming off of said play action.

I said this last week, and I will say it again, this new and improved version of Geno Smith is very good at play action. He is tall enough, athletic enough with a strong enough arm, and the accuracy needed to throw pretty down field passes off of heavy run formations. Many of Seattle’s best plays of the game came off of this stuff. They royally messed up last week against the Rams not establishing this, but they didn’t make that mistake again here. Bravo!

Run the freaking ball, and Geno should be good to deliver. This should be the formula the rest of the way. Some games, the run will get going well enough that Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet will be the guys with all the fancy stats. Other times, it’s going to be Geno, and Tyler Lockett, DK, and others because of the commitment to these runners.

But just run the fricking ball.

Defensively, this team is still a work in progress, yet again. I said it last week, and I will say it again, I’m not super duper in love with this scheme Seattle is running. They do things that make it hard on me, but I will say that, at times, they show flashes that makes things interesting, and hopeful. Through two games now, at times, they will blow up plays in the backfield, create some turn over, and at others, they will get sliced and diced, and give up points.

In this game, they again gave up a ton of points and yards through the air, but then reserve cornerback Tre Brown turned into The Black Panther and took over the fourth quarter by sacking Jared Goff on one play, and then picking him off for 6 points on the next. Then, to complete the circle of feasting and famine, Brown gave up a touchdown in the end zone on the next series.

This is sooooooo Seattle Seahawks defense under Clint Hurtt, it seems. Honestly, it doesn’t feel that far off from the Seahawks defense under Ken Norton Junior. People will say that this is really Pete Carroll, but the vibe I get is that Carroll grants his defensive coordinators a bunch of autonomy to call their own schemes until he has to step in and fix. Hopefully, it fixes itself soon.

One positive that I can say about this defense against the Lions is that rookie Devin Witherspoon looks like the real deal at cornerback, and that is pretty cool. He had a few rookie moments like getting beat on a flea flicker, but the dude hadn’t played in the preseason at all, and is just now working himself in. He had a few nice pass defenses, and a really good open field tackle for as minimal gain early in the game. For his first professional start, I thought this was a nice start. I am excited about his potential moving forward.

It was also nice to see defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones getting his first sack with the team after not factoring in much against the Rams, and then drawing criticism from fans and media because of the expensive nature of the contract. So far, Jones is on pace to get about 8 sacks this season. Not bad for an interior guy at all, but we will see.

Also another guy who is on a nice pace now is Geno Smith. We can all point to the nice game Tyler Lockett had, and DK, and the tight ends, but Geno had to enter into Ford Field with reserve offensive tackles Jake Curhan and Stone Forsythe starting (and playing surprisingly solid) against the dreaded Aidan Hutchinson and company, in front of a huge crowd of loud, jacked up, blue ski masked Detroit fans, and he had to stay patient, poised, and deliver, and when the team needed him most, deliver a walk off touchdown in overtime.

Outside of the one play towards the final minutes of regulation when bad Russell Wilson entered into his body, and demonically possessed him into truly one of the most bizarre running around in circles like a chicken without his head sacks that I have ever seen, Geno Smith had an outstanding game, under the given circumstances. That walk off touchdown pass on the road in OT is why he’s being paid the big dollars. Others played well around him, but Geno Smith delivered like as high priced quarterback should. Good job, Geno Smith.

So, yeah. You can away pine for Michael Penix Junior all you want to be the next starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and that’s fine. I get it.

I dig Big Penix Energy, too, and having a talented quarterback on a cheap rookie contract is gold in this league, but the reality of it is that, if Geno keeps playing this way, Seattle isn’t going to be anywhere near where they have to be in order to draft a quarterback like that. So, maybe it’s best to just embrace Geno as the guy, and get behind him.

After all, the Seahawks face the Panthers back at home next week with rookie quarterback Bryce Young, and then travel to New York to face a suspect Giants team on Monday Night Football. It is entirely possible that in a couple weeks, Seattle is sitting at 3-1 heading into their early bye week.

What felt like what was sure to be a long season last Sunday against the Rams, and gave me moments of thinking about Seattle having an off year that could lead to another top ten pick, now this win makes me think that Seattle can still do serious damage to other teams this year, if they keep together fighting through adversity like this. Now, it feels like a lot is more possible, and I like that feeling.

Make no mistake about it, going to Detroit and pulling off this win without Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Jamal Adams, Boye Mafe, and for much of the game, Riq Woolen, .. yeah, this sort of feat is a thing that can give this youthful roster a lot of confidence heading into New York, into Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Dallas. After all, Detroit is supposed to be that sexy team that this year, aren’t they?

So, you can doubt these Seahawks all you want. You can even pine for a new head coach, quarterback, defense, ownership group, etc.

The one thing I would caution against is predicting what this team will do moving forward. Like many other teams in this league right now, it is still too early to figure out what they are, but right now, I wouldn’t bet against them. Not yet, anyways.

Also, after watching this game unfold like it did, I now have the feeling that Seattle, and its head coach, is an entity in this league that just really pisses off a lot of people, and is a festering itch that just won’t go away. Like, right now, there are a lot of Lion fans who hate this team kinda like maybe how Packer fans do, Panther fans, Giant fans probably do, Dallas and Philly fans, and, of course all those 49er faithful fans.

I think fans for teams in other markets are desperate to believe that Seattle sucks, and when their team gets beaten by them, it’s like watching their ex happily hitched to a short nerdy dude who works for Radio Shack and drives a Geo Metro. It makes them wonder what he has going on for himself that they do not possess themselves.

Honestly, I think that is what Pete Carroll is. If you are a hater, he is that weird old elf who is banging your ex inside his Metro, and you want to burn your eyeballs out with flaming marshmallow sticks whenever you see his team win. Each time Carroll and company win, you take another step closer to becoming either a Sith apprentice, or a Reddit troll.

As a life long Seahawk fan, I appreciate rooting for a team that has a coach who annoys people in that jolly sort of way. In fact, I kinda revel in it.

I would even bet that there is a smallish faction of Seahawk fans who are pining for this team to collapse this year so that that change finally occurs at the top, and they are annoyed by this win. To them, I drink their tears of frustration.

Will Pete Carroll get this team back to a Super Bowl? I dunno, nobody does, but I am going to have fun finding out.

Go Hawks.

Well, we are now enough days past the debacle of season home opener the Seattle Seahawks had against the godless Lost Angeles Rams, and the dust has calmly settled for me. I have one big wish for my Seahawks this year.

I don’t need them to get back to the Super Bowl, or the NFC championship game. Don’t get me wrong, I would be elated beyond tears if they did, but I don’t need it. I’m not even a hundred percent sure I absolutely need them to get back to the playoffs right now.

What I need most from this team is for them to really get back to Pete Carroll football. That’s it, and I am sure this probably makes many snort laugh at that suggestion.

I get it. Pete is not the chiseled offensive minded Ken doll that Sean McVay is, or the cool young hipster offensive guru that Kyle Shanahan appears to be, but Pete Carroll football has a clear, and concise, and proven winning identity.

So, right now, I am trying to not overreact to the toilet bowl flushing worthy performance that just happened against the Blink-182 listening Rams, but I think the biggest issue that I see with the Hawks right now is that they lack a clear identity. What was the identity of that offense? And what exactly is that defense, anyways?

Last Sunday, they appeared more offensively concerned with getting the pass game going over the run when the run looked quite promising in the first halve. Weirdly, it appeared that Seattle chose to go downfield even more when the two starting tackles went out in the third quarter. Shane Waldron should have went to more of the run when Aaron Donald starting feeling his groove after two of the best players on the offensive line was out of the game. It’s that simple.

Defensively, I don’t know what to say. As bad as the offense was in the second half, I kinda trust that Geno and the Gang will correct themselves as we get further into games more than I trust what this defense is right now, and that pains me to express this as a Seahawks fan, and as a Pete Carroll one, as well.

For years now, I have been waiting on this defense to get back to being at least formidable. Personally, I fear that under Clint Hurtt, they are going to be caught up trying to do too much up front, and on the backend with all these “multiple looks” – and thus nobody is really going to master anything, and therefore, we will continue to see an underwhelming defense for yet another season under Carroll, sadly. I really hope I am wrong.

So, for me, I need to see some reincarnation of the vintage Pete Carroll LOB styled football again. I need to see a more simplified defense that plays fast and furious and connected.

I don’t know if I need to see them fully abandon more of the 3-4 stuff (although, I would kinda welcome it), but I need a better plan. In my inexpert observations, I really think I am going to sound like a broken record abut this, but I think Hurtt still has these guys doing way too much.

A lot was made on social media and on the airwaves about how defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones didn’t show up last Sunday, but I don’t think that was on him that much. I saw him at times playing inside at 3 tech defensive tackle, and at other times standing up like a linebacker. Even for as versatile and productive as Michael Bennett was back in the day, he was squarely a hand in the dirt dude who fired out of his stance, won with leverage, quickness, and strength at both DE, and both DT spots. Just let Jones have the chance to do that in this scheme for a long duration, and then judge his play. Keep it simple, and clear for him.

As for the DE/OLBs, I think the same thing. At times Uchenna Nwuso, Darrell Taylor, and Boye Mafe were rushing the edges, and at other times (in order to create zone blitzes) they were dropping into coverage. These dudes should be your primary pass rushers whenever they are on the field.

I do not care what label is put on this scheme, whether they run a bear front, 3-4, or if they show more 4-3 stuff, if you drop one of these guys off into coverage, you are taking one of your best rushers out of the pass rush scenario. Seattle has been going this for a long enough now over the past few years where I have to imagine that it is no surprise to a seasoned, smart quarterback such as Matthew Stafford, or a sharp play caller such as frat boy Sean McVay.

This is the biggest reason why I have been clamoring for Pete to get back to more of the 4-3 aspect of his older scheme. In the old LOB defense, each guy up front had his designed thing to do, and Dan Quinn had very defined roles for them to play. Big Red Bryant played a monster run stuffing end that took half of the side of the field away to run towards. Brandon Mebane controlled, and often blew up the gap between guard and center. Michael Bennett mixed as a power end with Bryant, but was really the primary pass rushing DT. Cliff Avril and Chris Clemons were the speedy rush ends always going forward and not dropping. Even the reserves had their defined jobs, and did them well.

I think Boye Mafe has too much talent at the line of scrimmage to be dropping into coverage. I think he is a natural defensive end, chiseled out of a defensive end factory. He naturally plays the run very well, keeps containment, and I think he has traits to be an explosive, and reliable pass rusher. I think Darrell Taylor is more of a natural 4-3 end, as well. I think Uchenna Nwuso is more than capable of being a 4-3 rush end or a SAM linebacker, and is probably the only guy out of the edge rushers who, at least at this stage, truly fits either scheme. When I look at rookie second round pick Derick Hall, I see the second coming of Frank Clark. He’s a defensive end, to me.

If Seattle wanted to do this, I honestly think they could line up more in their old 4-3 base scheme, have Mafe as the Leo end, Dre’ Jones as the 3 tech, Jarran Reed at nose tackle, Mario Edwards playing the big 5 tech spot, and Nwosu being the old Bruce Irvin SAM, with Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks at the starting off ball linebackers, and I think this would be a formidable enough base front for this team moving forward. In nickel, Nwuso becomes a primary rush end like Chad Brown was way back in the day, Edwards kicks inside mixing in with Jones and Reed, and Taylor, Mafe, and Hall mix in as the other rush ends. Simple, clear, and defined. This is what I would prefer seeing, but that is just my take.

On the back end, especially when Jamal Adams finally gets back, I feel like they could return to more cover three, thus keeping Adams in the box (a la Kam Chancellor), while mixing in some press, and making it harder on receivers to get into their routes. They have the talent now to get back to this style of play, and keep it simplified enough to where each guy clearly knows what his assignments our and the assignments of his mates. This way they play fast and confidently, and they can adjust the coverage calls pre-snap if they need to, just like the LOB guys did back in the day.

For me, I feel like Seattle has collected enough good young talent for Pete to steer this thing back to the scheme he knows best, and because he knows his old scheme inside and out, he can correct issues at they materialize. It feels so obvious to me, that is would nearly be a dereliction of duty to not do this, in my opinion.

Even rookie fifth round DT Mike Morris on Sunday played well enough to look like a potential starting 3 technique on base downs in the future. I would like him to have that defined role moving forward and learn to just master that, and maybe he develops well enough that it kicks Dre’ Jones to at 5 tech role outside more like Bennett.

Personally, though, I don’t know if we see Pete making this shift back to his older defensive scheme (at least this year). Honestly, I wouldn’t bet on it.

I suspect he is at a stage in his coaching career where he wants to elevate young coaches, and give guys like Hurtt opportunities to develop their own schemes, and Hurtt seems very steadfast in his beliefs in the Vic Fangio 3-4 stuff that he learned in his time in Chicago, and why wouldn’t he? Fangio’s defenses are consistently very good, but I digress. My greater point is that I think Carroll has likely elevated Hurtt to defensive coordinator in order to give him the autonomy to develop his own vision as a coach, and Carroll doesn’t want to strip that away from him.

Let us remember, Carroll was a long time defensive backs coach and coordinator in the league before he got opportunities for head coaching. He consistently credits legendary Viking coach Bud Grant for believing in him and giving him a great opportunity. He also credits 49er legend Bill Walsh. So, I can very much see, at this stage in his life, Carroll wanting to give bright young coaches platforms of similar opportunity. I think that matters to him. Personally, if this is true, I think it’s very commendable, but also, I really want wins, Baby.

So, we will see where this defensive scheme goes, and how well it adapts. If I can’t see a return to Carrol’s old scheme, at least let me see the defined identity to what this defense is. Right now, I can’t determine what it is, and that troubles me.

Offensively, there is no reason why Seattle should not lean more into the run game the rest of this year. As I watched the play calling against the Rams defense, I was reminded of the opening of the 2018 season when Brian Schottenhiemer was trying to let Russell Wilson cook too much against good defenses in Denver and Chicago and the offense looked ridiculously out of sorts. Pete Carroll stepped in and mandated a whole lot more of Chris Carson, and for the rest of the way, while Russ wasn’t cooking so much, he did look like the play action king of the entire NFL, and you know what? They were a playoff team when many thought that maybe they wouldn’t be after the complete tear down of the LOB.

There is no excuse in the world why Pete Carroll shouldn’t be steering Shane Waldron back to an offensive attack that allows Geno Smith the same benefit. Geno is built to be a quality play action passer in this league. He’s tall, athletic, throws accurately, and he tosses a great deep ball.

Something tells me that Carroll will step in and correct this offense as he did in 2018, if pass happy play calling continues with bad results. It might likely happen this Sunday in Detroit against the fired up Lions. Geno Smith, after what he faced during the second half against the Rams, might actually welcome more a committed ground attack.

I also think there’s a chance that we see some better effort on the defense, even if this defense, again, underwhelms here and there. Bobby Wagner didn’t come back to Seattle to play garbage defense. Now that the dust has been knocked off of a number of defenders who didn’t play the preseason, they might be looking to prove that the second half against the Rams an outlier to who and what they are. Maybe, possibly, the Lions will be the team caught napping a bit.

But given the way Dan Campbell is, I think the more likely scenario is that the Lions are going to be pretty jacked up, and more than ready for this game. After all, they went into Green Bay last January, beat the Packers, and spoiled their chances of getting to the playoffs, only to watch Seattle advance into the post season instead of them. They might have circled this game on their calendar the minute it came out.

So, I am not going to pick the Seahawks to win this game on Sunday. Actually, I’m not going to do anymore pieces about predicting games and outcomes. The routine of that is not as interesting to me these days as I continue to write about the Hawks. Instead, I would just like to offer weekly thoughts and musings about the Seahawks as this season progresses.

The thought I have this week is that, so long as Pete Carroll remains the Commander and Chief of the Seattle Seahawks, I want to see them get back to his formula that won a Super Bowl a decade ago. I want to see unapologetically Pete Carroll football, and then let the chips fall where they may.

In recent years, I think Carroll has drifted away from that, but he doesn’t have a prima donna, legacy obsessed quarterback that he is trying to appease anymore. He can get back to where he belongs, and these players will follow him lock step. He can be a staunchly old schooled, ground and pound, defensive minded head coach who maximizes the talents on his roster, and then pisses off hoards of pass happy millennials and Gen Z’ers on Twitter X.

After all, it is all about the ball. The team that possesses the ball longer, and takes the ball away is the team most likely to win. That’s the formula. So, just do that.

Go Hawks.

If you are reading this blog, you are likely a big time Seahawks fan. I mean, why else would you waste your time with it? Maybe you are just here for my typoes and half-baked proses, but who knows.

If you are, in fact, at diehard Twelve, I am not going to tell you how you should handle the pain and misery of watching the Seahawks stink up Lumen Field in a 30-13 loss to a Rams team that wasn’t expected to be very good this year. If you threw your beer at your television set when DK Metcalf started losing his mind in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, I support that. If you were trying to stab out your eyeballs with toothpicks watching Seattle’s lack of pass coverage and pass rush, I totally get it. If you want Pete Carroll and John Schneider fired, okay. Twelves need to feel their feels.

For me, I’m kinda not all that upset with this loss. I mean, it sucks a nasty wet fart to lose like that, especially to the mother stinking Rams, but I just still see a lot of silver linings for this team.

Truthfully, I never really jumped onto the bandwagon that was considering Seattle to be a serious contender this year. As much as I have wanted to believe that, deep down I have accepted a more realistic idea that we are probably another draft class away from reaching that status.

So, for me, 2023 is about continuing to play young guys and developing them through the course of a season. If they win a bunch of games doing this, that’s fantastic. If they struggle and lose a lot of games, but still stay somewhat competitive in those matches, I think that can also be very ideal.

In many ways, I think these 2023 Seahawks are in a win-win situation. Winning a lot of games now means that they are a contender, and if so, then that’s super. Losing, however, for me, simply means another draft next year to which they will be picking in the top ten range, thus further building up a deep, youth, talented roster, and as many know, next year’s draft class appears to be potentially a very loaded one at quarterback, and anyone who reads this blog knows how much I dig Geno Smith, but I also see the value of having a talented young passer on a cheap rookie contract, too, if that comes to be the situation.

So, as much as I have been hoping another fun season for this team potentially winning a bunch of games, perhaps going further in the playoffs, there has been another side of me envisioning scenarios where Seattle falls short, and I sorta think that’s okay in the long run.

One scenario that I felt could lead to a lot of losses is losing a number of key starters. What happens if Geno gets injured for a month or more? What if we lose Tyler Lockett, or K9, Riq Woolen, or Quandre Diggs?

In this game against the Rams, Seattle was in fairly decent control of it heading into halfttime. Then they lost starting right tackle Abe Lucas, and then left tackle Charles Cross went out of the game; two of the very brightest talents on their roster. The lack of depth behind both was instantly felt.

Seattle couldn’t pass block or run block well enough with the reserves, and Geno Smith is not the style of quarterback who is going to dodge a heavy rush with his legs and agility like vintage Russell Wilson had years back. He looked constantly hurried and flustered, got sacked a bunch, and sorta lost composure going for a deep go route to DK Metcalf on third and four instead of opting for a shorter completion.

A strong narrative of this game will be about how badly Seattle’s offense played in the second half, and to be clear, they did. They needed to find a rhythm and they needed better poise. I would also say that the aggressive attacking style defense that Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt had kinda been promising didn’t show up on any level outside of stopping the run, and that did not help matters at all. They were gawd stinking awful on third downs.

The truth is that the Rams didn’t need a run game with how open their receivers were for Matt Stafford. I’m no football film junky, but I sensed a lot of soft coverages. Riq Woolen looked bad. Tre Brown looked bad. Bobby Wagner, Jordan Love, and Quandre Diggs didn’t look great, in my opinion. There was no pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage. This felt like a Ken Norton Junior 2018-2019 Seahawk defense. They played the run well, but didn’t get home on the quarterback, and couldn’t cover to save themselves.

Also, I never got a sense of the disruptive inside pass rushing force that Dre’Mont Jones was supposed to be after signing a monster deal to come to Seattle, and supposedly be the next Michael Bennett. Jarran Reed looked more impactful of a DT stuffing the run, blocking a kick, and putting at least some pressure on Matthew Stafford.

From, what I saw, Clint Hurtt had Jones doing a lot, from being in a three point stance as a three tech, to standing up as what looked like an inside blitzing linebacker? We will get more into the whole concept of different looks in a moment.

While it was fun to see edge rushers like Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwuso stuff the run and get tackles for losses, nobody got home on Stafford. The coverage and the pass rush were, in no way, connected in this game. That was a huge disappointment for me.

In that regard, as I was watching this lack of “Pete Carroll football”, I was pretty darn annoyed, to be honest. I would imagine that it’s tough to play an attacking style defense if you are willing to give up easy completion after easy competition. It makes me wonder what the plan is, and here is my greater point and concern.

There was a simplicity with the old 4-3 LOB defense. It allowed good, talented, smart football players to play fast, and adjust quickly to things pre snap. Everyone understood the structure, and it freed them up.

To use a music analogy, some musical snobs can scoff at bands such as the Ramones back in the day for having simple cords, but the simplicity freed them to be more precise, and exact, and fast, and they recorded a boat load of catchy tunes in the process over the years. Sometimes, less notes is a good thing.

The Vic Fangio 3-4 that Hurtt has been trying to adapt calls more aggressive coverages and mixed looks in attempts to send pressures different ways, and confuse quarterbacks. What I fear is happening right now is some weird nowhere land in between both philosophies.. like Carroll is trying to strive for some middle ground with trying something new with a lot more notes and meshing it with what he knows in his cover three stuff.

I am, of course, speculating on all of this, and what do I really know about NFL defenses, anyways? – But I will also say this following thing.

I really miss Carroll’s old 4-3 cover three scheme that was consistently really good against the run, was good at getting to the quarterback, was willing to be bend don’t break against the pass, made timely plays in the backfield, and had a great mixture of solid vets, a few pro bowlers, and had great depth with young up and comers. I wish Carroll would get back to that scheme. San Francisco runs it. The New York Jets run it. Dallas runs it. It is still relevant in this league.

I want Pete Carroll to be The Ramones again. I pine for it.

What I also really, super duper, big time wish for is that DK Metcalf would get past his occasional bush league WWF antics out on the field. In the past, I have been more forgiving of him taunting defenders and losing his cool than many others have been. I chalked it up to immaturity, and have felt he would outgrow it over time.

Well, he has been in this league for five years now. It is time to grow up. His taunting in the late fourth killed any remote opportunity for Geno Smith to mount a late comeback. It showed lousy leadership. It also made him look like a total idiot, and it doesn’t look super great that he laid a cheap shot hit on Rams corner Ahkello Witherspoon, either.

DK Metcalf isn’t dumb, and this is why this continual behavior has become so damn frustrating for me. He should know better by now.

I think he needs to decide what he wants to be. Does he want to reach his fullest potential as a pro, win a Super Bowl, be an eventual Hall of Fame player? If so, he needs to play smarter, and not put up dumb bulletin board material in the Rams’ locker room days before the game by talking trash about their secondary and fans, and not start jawing in the final critical moments of the game, and taking an unnecessary cheap shot on a defenseless defender just to look like the tougher dude.

DK Metcalf is starting to come across as a dude who wants to trash talk in order to get under the skin of the opposition, but when the going gets tough for himself, he loses his cool and acts like a chump in the aftermath. He’s gotta get past that shit. He makes too much money to not be better than that.

So, yeah, in some ways, I’m not sweating this loss. The Giants got boat raced at home and lost to the Cowboys 40-0. The mighty Bengals got beat up by the Browns. Pittsburgh lost badly at home to the 49ers. The Super Bowl champs lost at home to the Lions. Shit happens in football, and far be it for me to be shocked that a Rams team, two years removed from winning a Super Bowl, came up to Seattle and took it to maybe an overconfident Seahawk roster.

But not seeing any real step forward with a defense that was promised to be better, and not seeing great composure by highly priced vets like Metcalf, yeah, those are harder things for me to watch as a diehard Seattle Seahawk fan. Those are things that I really hope that I don’t continue seeing in 2023.

Right now, I’m trusting that Pete Carroll is going to get both of these things turned around. Frankly, I don’t have any other choice.

I also don’t need the Seahawks to go into Detroit and beat the Lions next Sunday. If they do, then that’s awesome. What I do need to see is a way better effort, and way better composure, and way better fight.

If the effort is there, along with the composure and fight, and they lose a close match, I will not fault this team. The Lions look like a really tough out, they will be more rested, and they will be at home in front of a stadium full of jacked up fans. If Seattle manages to beat them on their turf, under those conditions, this miserable game against these super annoying Rams will long be forgotten in my mind.

Here’s to hoping for that. Go Hawks.

Well, here we are just a couple days before the Seahawks travel to play their final preseason game in Green Bay, and I am ready to project my final roster. I don’t image we will see many starters play in that matchup, if any.

No matter. Through training camp and these first two preseason games, I think I have seen enough. If I am the brain trust of Pete Carroll and John Schneider, here is my list of players on my active roster heading into the first game of the season agains the Rams.

Quarterback: Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Holton Ahlers (3)

I have Seattle carrying three quarterbacks. Geno is the established starter, Lock looks better in the system this year than he did at this point last year, and Ahlers is too interesting as a duo threat quarterback not keep around in some sort of Taysom Hill styled way. If I am Shane Waldron, I’m pleading for Ahlers to be kept in order to further expand the playbook of my offense.

Running Back: Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, DeeJay Dallas, Ken McIntosh (4)

K9 and Charbonnet are my one two punch with Dallas and McIntosh as my depth players. I was tempted to carry five backs with rookie SaRodrick Thompson, but I think Seattle can get away with placing him on the practice squad.

Wide Receiver: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith Njigba, Jake Bobo, Cody Thompson, Tyjon Lindsey (6)

This in the position group is muddied right now with JSN’s twist injury, and Dee Eskridge facing a six game suspension. I believe that undrafted rookie Jake Bobo is a lock to make the club. He feels like a classic big bodied west coast offensive possession receiver who gets it. Cody Thompson has been in the system for a few years now and will probably be kept as a valuable depth player at least until JSN is ready to go. The real surprise is another undrafted rookie Tyjon Lindsey making the cut. Seattle needs a reliable returner who isn’t Tyler Lockett or JSN, and Lindsey showed out big time against Dallas making a spectacular punt return at a pivotal point in the game.

Tight End: Will Dissly, Noah Fant, Coby Parkinson (3)

Seattle has a great three headed monster at tight end. This is a fun position group.

Offensive Line: Charles Cross, Damien Lewis, Evan Brown, Phil Haynes, Abe Lucas, Stone Forsythe, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, Jake Curhan (9)

Cross, Lewis, Brown, Haynes, and Lucas should be the starters. Oluwatimi is the backup center who could also be looked at as depth at guard. Curhan also has position flexibility at tackle and guard. Bradford should continue to battling Haynes for starter reps at right guard, and Forysthe provides value as the backup left tackle. Seattle has enough player flexibility to go a bit lighter on the OL with a couple guys stashed on the practice squad.

Interior Defensive Line: Dre’Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, Mario Edwards, Myles Adams, Cam Young, Jacob Sykes (6)

It will be interesting to see if Seattle adds here with a trade for, or a released veteran, but I also kinda sense from Carroll that they might like their DTs more than fans and media types do. Reed is the starting nose tackle. Adams and Young provide flexibility to play nose and 3 tech. Jones, Edwards, and Sykes are the DT/DE types. Promising rookie Mike Morris starts the season on the PUP list, which is kind of a bummer.

Edge Rusher: Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Darrell Taylor, Tyreke Smith, Levi Bell (6)

I think Boye Mafe is the starter opposite of Nwosu even if Darrell Taylor is healthy enough to start the season and isn’t traded; he looks that good, and he looks ready to emerge in year two as a pass rushing threat. I kinda think that Taylor could be trade bait, but we will see. Derick Hall looks Frank Clark-promising, and Levi Bell has been a preseason star through two preseason games. Tyreke Smith brings a tough physicality, and ideally, should be kept. Seattle is DEEEEEEEP at the edges, and I think that is exactly how they want it.

Inside Linebacker: Bobby Wagner, Devin Bush, Jordyn Brooks (3)

I am going to make the bold prediction that Jordyn Brooks is on the active roster in week one. On paper, this makes Seattle light at middle linebacker for a team that is operating out of more 3-4, but I think that they are going to mix up their looks more, and not be so much a true 3-4 team as some would have it. I also think Jamal Adams is going to fit into this group as a nickel linebacker, and play a lot of that, but we will see. Also, could Levi Bell serve as an inside backer on occasion? It’s an interesting thought as Michael Bennett as described him as a Swiss army knife player.

Cornerback: Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Artie Burns (5)

Seattle is very solidly four deep at corner with Woolen, ‘Spoon, Jackson, and Brown. All four of these guys are starter types in this league. ‘Spoon probably starts his career as their nickel corner but will eventually be an outside starter in the base defense, as well, I suspect. Burns provides quality veteran depth. Where is Coby Bryant, you ask? Hmm..

Safety: Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams Julian Love, Coby Bryant (4)

Diggs and Adams are the starters, and Cody Bryant will transition to backup safety while possibly mixing in at corner, as well. I suspect Jordan Love becomes the “starting” nickel strong safety when Adams plays more of a nickel linebacker role. This position group provides Seattle with a crazy amount of positional flexibility on the back end.

Special Teams: Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Chris Stoll (3)

Seattle has a pro bowl kicker, and pro bowl punter, and some dude to play long snapper.

Final thoughts about this projected 53 and the Seahawks heading towards the regular season

I don’t know how realistic it is for Seattle to cary three QBs but I don’t want them to lose Ahlers to another team by trying to stash him on the practice squad. Therefore, I hope he is rostered and they find certain ways of using him on Sundays while trying to develop his game as a passer. It would be fun to have a Taysom Hill type in Seattle.

I also do not know how realistic it is for Seattle to cary six edge rushers. Five seems more realistic, but I love the potential of all six of those guys.

In that, if Seattle were to move a player for more interior DL or MLB bolstering, I think Darrell Taylor would likely bring the most back in return. He’s a good pass rusher and young enough to think that there is still upside to his game, and because he redshirted injured his rookie season, he is a restricted free agent next Spring. A team trading for him would have club control over him next year. I think Philly, with their log jam at DT, might serve as an interesting trade partner considering that their current DC was on the Seahawk staff last year.

Heading into the season, I was excited about JSN mixing in right away as the slot receiver, and alas, we are probably going to have to wait a couple games for that. The Dee Eskridge suspension looms bigger now. Seattle is going to need someone who can reliably hold down the slot until JSN is ready. As fun as he’s been in the preseason, Jake Bobo is probably not that guy. Maybe this is an opportunity for Cody Thompson to finally make his mark. He’s been a guy on the fringe of the roster who they have liked for a while.

The JSN wrist injury really buggers up what I wanted to do with this final roster. I don’t want to PUP him and lose him for a full month of games, and ideally, I also don’t want to carry six receivers. In result, I chose to go light at middle linebacker for a while by adding an extra receiver. That’s scary for a team that wants to function in a 3-4 base defense more often.

I have very popular LB/FB and special team’s caption Nick Bellore not making the cut, and that’s probably the biggest stunner. I’m not convinced Seattle will do this, but I was willing to make him the sacrificial lamb in order to keep Levi Bell and Tyreke Smith on this roster. Bell can play fullback, and looks like someone who could be a special teams ace in the making with his motor.

I have five undrafted rookies making this squad with Ahlers, Bobo, Lindsey, Sykes, and Bell. I think their undrafted free agent class is that good. Seattle continues to be a great destination for undrafted players. That is a big aspect of Pete Carroll’s “always compete’ culture. Doesn’t matter where you have been drafted, if at all. What matters is what you did with your opportunities. All five of these guys have showed out with theirs.

On Sunday, we will see start seeing how this final roster shakes out. This is how I would do it, but I’m bracing for the reality that Seattle will likely do it a bit differently. Cool. I’m excited to see how it shakes out.

Go Hawks.

There is something about these 2023 Seattle Seahawks that has me increasingly super excited. I am resisting all urges to compare them to the historically awesome 2013 squad, but it’s becoming a challenge.

This team is fun to watch. They have an infectious energy. They are playing fast, and furious, and they are playing together.

They are also playing confidently, and you can see it with all three of their quarterbacks. I imagine some fans will remain skeptical as to whether Geno Smith can sustain his 2022 play this year. I am here to tell those sorts, I think he’s going to be better. I honestly do, and I think he’s going to continue being the guy here for a while.

I sat on the berm of a practice a weekend ago, and I witnessed Geno Smith running this offense like a pro bowl quarterback in his football playing prime. Against a very scrappy secondary, his passes were crisp, on target, and on time. With all of the weapons he has now, it felt like player’s choice as to where he went with the ball. In his brief appearance in this game, I saw more of the same. In my view, he looks really good.

In two preseason games, Drew Lock is showing a similar confidence and control over this offense. Last night, Lock looked like an NFL starting quarterback. He just did. If that was Justin Herbert playing in a Seahawk uniform, I can just hear the color analytic saying “yup, that’s the arm that made him a top ten pick in the draft.. yup, those are the athletic traits that are going to make you get paid.”

Through two preseason games, I also look at undrafted rookie QB Holton Ahliers, and I cannot help but think that John Schneider has unearthed a fascinating diamond in the rough who deserved to be rostered in the final cutdown. Ahliers just makes plays. He does it with his legs, and because of his threat as a runner, that opens up opportunities to make plays with his arm, and so far, he has been delivering. He is fun to watch.

This is just the quarterbacks. Seattle also has crazy depth at receiver. Every fan should be excited about Jaxon Smith Njigba, and he showed us why again last night. He can be a true superstar. For my money, though, I do not see how undrafted rookie Jake Bobo does not make this roster.

Bobo has so much going on for him in this offense. He feels like a classic possession receiver in a west coast offense. He’s big, he’s way faster than he tested at the scouting combine, and he’s a natural route runner with the soft hands you want to see. He looks like a guy that just gets it. On top of continuing to make plays on offense, he’s showing to be solid on special teams. Bobo has all the makings of becoming a classic Seahawk fan favorite.

So many key young guys are showing up, and balling out. This is what has me most excited about this club moving into the regular season.

Last night, Zach Charbonnet showed us why Seattle felt compelled to spend another second round pick on a running back. He looks like he can be a top end every down back in this league, but for my money, it’s the young edge rushers who have my juices flowing.

Boye Mafe was a highly drafted edge rusher last year who played well, as a rookie, against the run, but felt a bit raw as a pass rusher. Last night, Mafe looked like the best pass rusher in the game. On multiple plays, he had me leaping out of my seat. He was consistently effecting the quarterback, getting pressure, batting down passes, and hurrying bad throws. Make has the physical talent to be a stop end defensive end in this league. That is not an exaggeration and every Seahawk fan should be excited about that.

Rookie edge rusher Derick Hall has that potential, as well. That’s nuts. Like Mafe last year, he was a high second round pick. With Hall, though, his pass rush ability looks more immediate. He looks like a ready-to-go young Frank Clark. He’s thick, he’s fast, and he’s physical. You felt that at Lumen Field last night as he exploded in for a pivotal fourth quarter sack.

Second year edge rusher Tyreke Smith is building a case for himself, as well. He redshirted last year with an injury, but the Ohio State product looks promising now, and capped the game off with a fun, game clinching, fourth down sack.

Undrafted rookie edge rusher Levi Bell, through these two games, is also making a very interesting name for himself. He is consisting pass rushing and playing the run really well. He’s a dude who I am really rooting for to make this team. You want guys like this on your club.

With all the depth and talent at edge rusher, I honestly wonder if Seattle doesn’t consider moving Darrell Taylor for perhaps another proven interior defensive linemen, where their depth is more of a question mark. In his post game press conference, Pete Carroll said that he likes his rotation of defensive tackle types, and feels good there, but if I had to pick one spot where I would like to see Seattle had one more legit piece, it would probably at DT, and I like what depth players like Myles Adams are going through these two preseason games.

It was nice to see third year corner Tre Brown make a key red zone interception with the game on the line. He’s probably a depth player with the talent at corner now on this club, but he feels like a top end depth player who could start for some teams, and will become a key player this year.

What are my concerns about this club this year? Am I nervous about the depth at middle linebacker, and the defensive line?

Yeah, I don’t know, maybe. Not overly, though. Not like I was entering into training camp.

Devin Bush looks like a really good linebacker to mix in with Bobby Wagner, and Jordyn Brooks. I also think when teams start to get into a lot of passing plays against this defense, we could see a lot of dime coverage that will limit the need for multiple linebackers on the field. I also think that when they do finally get Jamal Adams back, he will be more in a linebacker role than a safety one.

I also think the steady preseason play of Myles Adams, and the promising play of rookie DT/DE Mike Morris might have Seattle better on their defensive line than many fans and media types think, but we will see. My daddy used to say that you can never have enough defensive linemen, and I hold true to that. I always want more. I see value in being greedy there.

But these 2023 Seattle Seahawks right now, through two preseason games, I really like. Like, I like them so damn much.

Also, it’s fun to see Jarran Reed back in a Seahawk uniform getting sacks. Love that dude.

Go Hawks!

I gotta confession. I have a deep-seated prejudice against 3-4 defenses. They don’t sound as tough as 4-3 defenses do. Just think about the simple math.

Would you rather play a defense that has four horses up front, or three with a bunch of ponies behind them? The choice is simple for me; give me more horses.

Last year, it sucked watching the Seahawks defense as they transitioned to a 3-4. Simply put, they could stop not the run. Cody Barton looked like the lead singer of Cody And The Keystone Cops playing against the run. They looked like bozos.

I loudly pined for a return of Pete Carroll’s “old scheme.” I needed it. My whole existence as a Seahawks fan was swimming in that dark wet cold pool of neediness.

After the season ended with a blowout loss to the 49ers int he playoffs, Carroll promised that there would be changes, but he didn’t elaborate on what it all would be, whether it was just players or scheme. I think he kinda said maybe both.

A few months later Richard Sherman dropped a mini bomb shell on his podcast that Carroll would be returning to his scheme. I felt elated. I was finally going to get my precious 4-3 under front back again.

Officially, the team continues to list its players with position designations that suggest that they are remaining in a 3-4. Drat. This has done nothing to alleviate the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach that they will suck at stopping the run again.

Then last night happened, as I sat on pins and needles, waiting to see what this supposed adjusted defense would look like. I gotta say it, I really liked what I saw. Like, really, reeeeeaaaally liked it.

To my eyes, I saw multiple fronts. At times, it looked 3-4, and at other times, it looked 4-3. Lots of times, it looked 5-2, and some football smarty pants would probably tell me that I was actually seeing a “bear nickel front.”

What are words, really?

I mean, they are just words. You can call Boye Mafe an outside linebacker, if you want, or a defensive end. You can call Mike Morris a defensive end, or a defensive tackle. In this Seattle scheme, all these designations are a true, and I think collectively, we saw a lot of these young guys play a pretty nice outing against the Viking offense in a variety of ways.

It wasn’t perfect. There was a stretch in the first half where guys weren’t filling gaps the right way, and it was discouraging, but they adjusted, and then that was encouraging. There were also times where the backend left easy completions happen, but then they tightened down, as well.

In my world, you don’t have to be perfect all the time, but you have to be able to adjust when you suck. It is as simple as that in football, in the arts, in work life, and at home. Know how to switch up your shit when it’s not working is fundamental to survival, and is a more sure path to enlightenment than continuing to bang your moron head up against a wall because you don’t know what else to do.

Based on this one relatively meaningless preseason game, it appears that Carroll switched it up. At times, I saw what looked like defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt’s stamp, and at others, I think I saw Carroll’s. It could be that they have sat down together and figured out ways to blend both philosophies into one. That sound pretty cool, if that is true.

Front seven defenders is where I was most paying attention, and here’s a quick list of players I thought stood out pretty well.

I thought LB/DE Boye Mafe looked really strong setting an edge against the run, and rushing the quarterback. I think he could be the bookend to Uchenna Nwosu with the starters when the real season begins. Darrell Taylor is a nice pass rusher, but Mafe looks like a way better run defender who can also rush. Give me the guy to will beast against the run any day over the flashy pas rusher who can’t.

Rookie LB/DE Derick Hall looked really good firing out of a three point stance as an end in pass down situations, and had a nifty inside move on a stunt that showed a lot of promise. He has a chance to be an impact player this year.

I thought rookie DE/DT Mike Morris looked good at times, and could be an interesting rotational player as a rookie. There wasn’t anything he did that wowed, but he seemed stouter than I expected him to be with a new move towards being an inside player than he was in college last year.

Of the unheralded undrafted defender types, I really found myself loving the play of undersized DE Levi Bell, who brought tons of playmaking juice off of the edges, and I also liked watching newly acquired are agent Jordan Ferguson. Both guys made ton setting plays as pass rushers in the second half.

Honorable mentions on this hard charging defense are rookie safety Jerrick Reed, who packs a bit of an Earl Thomas punch, rookie DT Jacob Sykes who was active inside, and journeyman Jon Rattigan who played middle linebacker like he owed someone a lot of back rent.

On to the offense..

It was a bit of a stumble out of the gates with Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, K9, and DK Metcalf, and other pro bowl types standing on the sidelines as spectators.

Drew Lock, once again, teases with his height, athleticism, and arm talent, but also does things that make you really worry about turnovers when he plays. He had one interception off of a tipped pass that probably wasn’t that much his fault, but he also had a fumble on sack where maybe he should have been more mindful about protecting the ball than trying to make a play out of nothing. He also threw some very pretty dimes and two touchdown passes.

Rookie receivers Jake Bobo and Matt Landers both have real chances to make this squad, I think. They look like NFL wide receivers, and good physical catch and run guys you might like in a quick tempo west coast offense the coordinator Shane Waldron likes to run. Behind the big three of DK, Tyler, and JSN, these two guys made strong cases for themselves.

I knew nothing about Bryant Koback heading into this game, but I came out of it a fan of his. I loved how he ran and caught the ball out of the backfield.

Call me crazy, but I also loved how rookie free agent QB Holton Ahiers played. He didn’t look polished as a passer, and threw a YOLO ball up for a fluky touchdown, but he kinda also just made plays in a very infectious way. I wonder if there is some sort of Colin Kaepernick, or Tayson Hill like way to keep him on the roster, and use him from time to time. Laugh at it, if you will, but he was the team’s second best runner of the night behind Koback.

I really love seeing massive rookie guard Anthony Bradford run blocking. This dude is like two offensive linemen, and he was driving dudes back like they pinched the ass of his sister, or something. Holy shit, what a football player this guy looks like he’s going to be. Stud.

Preseason game one is in the books. Okay, I can breathe a bit little. My butt isn’t going to clinched up as much when I hear or read 3-4 when it comes to the Seahawks. At times, it honestly looked like maybe a 5-2, or 6-1, or something. Just keeping bringing the horses up front, Clint Hurtt.

Go Hawks!

Every year, at this point of the Summer, I get really excited. My Seattle Seahawks are about in embark in a training camp to usher in their new season. Regardless of how good they may or may not be, it’s just heavenly that football is back; the greatest game that God has ever made.

This year, however, I feel my juices extra flowing. I’m cautious about getting my expectations up too high, this is still a really young roster with the team potentially relying on green players to step up again like last year, but there are things about these Seattle Seahawks that have me very excited. I don’t want to get caught up into compared this group to teams of the past, I think that’s too easy to do as fans, and it isn’t wholly fair for the players, but I honestly haven’t been this excited for this squad since, well.. 2013.

I don’t feel like I’m the only one feeling this vibe from the Seahawks either. There are those in the national media who believe that the 2023 Seattle Seahawks could be a legitimately dangerous club this year. The common theme around this team centers on an offense that, on paper, is now loaded with a boat load of weapons for Geno Smith to play with, along with a more promising young offensive line, but there are also those who feel like this defense is loaded up enough to make a turn in its new hybrid scheme.

To all of this, I will say these following words. If Seattle gets a top five performance out of its offense this year with a middle of the pack performance out of its defense, I think it has a rock solid fighter’s chance to win back the division, and do some post season damage. Yes, I know San Francisco is still very talented, and you can’t totally discount the Rams from bouncing back, but there are just a lot of things about the state of these Seahawks that don’t have me overly worried about competing against these teams in the NFC West this year. Let’s break it down, positionally.

Quarterback

Geno Smith had a breakout season this year as a full time starter for his first time since 2014. The Seahawks made an unheard of move by trading away franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, and then Geno simply put up very Russell Wilson-like numbers throwing for over 4200 yards, completely nearly 70 percent of his passes for 30 TDs, 11 INTs, a 100.9 passer ratings, and by advanced metrics, he threw the best deep ball in the game.

Statistically, he also broke franchise records as a passer, and yet there are those who appear to be still doubting him. I am not one of them.

Yes, it’s true that he lead the league last year in turnover worthy throws by some advanced metrics, and yes, it is also true that defensive coordinators will now have a better sense on how to scheme against him. Honestly, though, I am not worried about either of those concerns.

Geno now has had a full offseason to self scout, further understand his role in this system, and understand how defenses will likely play against him. I think he is well aware that the NFL stands for Not For Long, and he has been working his ass off in his offseason training and film study. Football is the ultimate team game of chess, and I just like Geno’s maturity working in his favor of understanding that. I believe that he believes that he needs to be better, and will do everything he can to build off of his storyline in 2022. As I look at Geno, this is the vibe I get, and it gets me excited.

In the swings, Drew Lock who will enter into his second year as QB2 in Shane Waldron’s system, and if he is wise to it, he will model his work ethic and determination to get better after Geno’s when he was a backup for many years. In many ways, Seattle is the best spot for Lock to be in, and Geno is probably the best guy to be his mentor and friend. I would lie if I said I wasn’t just a little bit curious to see how Lock does in these preseason games. His issues have never been about physical talents, but rather processing and decision making. I’m rooting for him to get better on the latter parts.

I like this QB room for Seattle.

Running Back

Ken Walker III (aka K9) should have won offensive rookie of the year last season, but he plays in Seattle, and the rest of the country thinks this place is Siberia run by hippie communists with pink hair. That said, by all accounts, K9 has an incredibly bright future in front of him as a do-it-all back, if he can stay healthy.

He has legit superstar potential. He’s physical enough to run inside, but with rare speed to make every outside run a potential home run. He’s also got exciting potential as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

Backing him up is rookie runner Zach Charbonnet, who has some very interesting upside to his game, as well. Count me in with the few who loved it when Seattle drafted him in the second round last year. I don’t get bent sideways about positional value and when a running back should be drafted. For me, if the dude is talented enough, and you want him, and you believe he will be a great fit for your club, just take him.

Charbonnet is an exciting ball carrier who reminds me for long time former Seahawk great, Chris Warren, and much more recently in the league, former Bear running back Matt Forte. He can be a superb compliment to K9, and I think he has the talent to become a star in his own rights.

Behind these two dynamic runners in rookie runner Ken McIntosh, who was a star for the National Champs down in Georgia, and fourth year player DeeJay Dallas, who I still think has potential. These two guys give Seattle one of the deepest backfields in the league, and a crowded backfield is only going to make Geno Smith’s job easier.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Going into last offseason, the Seahawks had arguably one of the best receiver tandems in the league with the explosive playmaking talents of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett playing off of each other. I low key thought that maybe they would look to add a bit more to the slot receiver position to compliment them better in the second or third round of the draft last Spring. The Seattle Seahawks, however, stunned everyone by selecting Ohio State’s dynamically smooth Jaxon Smith-Njigba with their second of two first round picks, and now suddenly, Seattle has the potential of having the best receiving group in the league if everyone can stay relatively healthy enough.

JSN has the physical skills to be a true superstar in this league. His natural abilities to get open quickly matched with his soft hands, his run-after-catch instincts, and his understanding of the modern pass game should get every single Seahawk fan excited about the future. Essentially, he’s a bigger version of Doug Baldwin who was arguably the franchise’s best receiver over the years not named Steve Largent. Think CeeDee Lamb and Keenan Allen, potentially. I am BUMMED UP for this guy, and cannot wait to see him play in a Seahawk uni.

Behind the Big Three for Seattle is former second round pick Dee Eskridge who I believe has a chance to finally blossom in year three of his rookie contract (if he can finally stay healthy), and second year pass catcher Dareke Young, who is my dark horse candidate to break out in 2023 and surprise with his unique size and speed and run-after-catch potential. If Eskridge and Young click in this offense this year, watch out. This could be the best collection of pass catchers Seattle has ever assembled.

As for the tight ends, I love the state of this squad. Noah Fant, Will Dissly, and Coby Parkinson each bring something to the table as pass catchers and receivers. They are all well enough rounded players. Fant has freaky size and speed, Dissly is a great blocker and good pass catcher, and Parkinson has freaky size and good pass catching instincts along with upside to get better. This is a very fun group of dudes.

Offensive Line

This is where things start to get really interesting for the club. There is reason for high optimism, but also room for some skepticism, as well.

Perhaps one of the brightest things Seattle has going for it with their whole entire roster in the promising second year players they have at offensive tackle in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. Cross is a natural pass blocking left tackle, and Lucas is a complete player at right tackle with the ability to pass block well, and run block equally well.

In fact, I think Lucas has the talent to be a quality left tackle in this league, and there is a nastiness to him, as well. In year two, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lucas develops into one of the core leaders of this team, and becomes a tone setter for the whole OL. These two guys together give Seattle the potential of having a top offensive tackle tandem in the conference. That’s really exciting stuff.

At guard and center, things get murkier, but I wouldn’t say necessarily dire. Damien Lewis returns at left guard, and I think he’s one of the better young players on the team, but we have unknowns at center with free agent signee Evan Brown (rated highly as a pass blocker by PFF last year) and rookie Olu Oluwatimi battling it out, and at right guard with Phil Haynes battling the massive 6-5 330 pound rookie from LSU Anthony Bradford. There is the potential for Seattle to ride with two journeymen vets in Brown and Haynes, but there is equally the potential for Seattle to ride with the two rookies like they did with he tackles last year, if the two youngsters shine enough during the pre-season.

What I will say about the two rookie interior dudes is that Bradford was a freaky tester at the scouting combine last Spring who put up explosive numbers in terms of size, strength, and speed, and I kind thought maybe he would have gotten drafted much higher than where Seattle took him at the top of round four. Oluwatimi won the Outland trophy last year (an award given to the best lineman in the country), but I think measured length hurt his draft stock.

There are those around the league who believe that Seattle might have gotten the steal of the draft last Spring by grabbing Oluwatimi in the middle rounds, and that front offices over thought his situation. When I weigh these things out with him and the immense upside of Bradford, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Pete Carroll decides to roll with a couple rookies again on the OL. I think the table feels kinda set for that, but we will see.

Defensive Line And Edge Players

I’m lumping together the interior D-liners with the dudes who would be considered OLBs in a 3-4 and DEs in a 4-3 because I feel like Seattle is poised to run a lot of both fronts this year in addition to probably operating mostly out of a Bear Front defense, or if you want, a 5-2. If rumors are true, Seattle is going return to 2020-2021 form in featuring a 5-2 bear look that basically has two defensive tackles flanking a nose tackle, and two guys on the edges who will play hybrid DE/OLB roles. Together, they will work to stop the run, and pass rush.

I like their starting DT/DEs a lot in Dre’Mont Jones, and Jarran Reed. Both are three down players who can rush and run stop. Jones is your classic 3 technique player that coordinators covet to line up in the gap between guard and tackle on passing downs to be disruptive with his quicks, and he has the versatility to also play on the edges. J-Reed can play 3 tech and nose, and has a long history of working with defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt. Both guys allow Seattle to be versatile in their looks, and they will be backed by the athletic veteran DE/DT Mario Edwards, and the intriguing rookie Mike Morris out of Michigan who Pete Carroll seems particularly enamored with, and had a impressive pass rush win rate in college football last year.

Nose tackle is where things start to get murkier, and uncomfortable for some. Seattle appears willing to roll with rookie fourth rounder Cam Young as the primary nose tackle. Young was regarded as a nasty run defender from the SEC last year at Mississippi State, showed well at the Senior Bowl, and was a decent combine tester. I think the hope is that they found a young Al Woods with him. If that proves true, that would be awesome, but the lack of depth behind him feels concerning with Bryan Mone coming back from serious injury, and Myles Adams still being a bit of an unknown. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a late veteran addition here, but we will see.

That said, it’s the edge rushers who probably excite the most, and Seattle just locked up their best one in Uchenna Nwosu for the next four seasons. Nwosu is a fiery tone setter off the edge who works well out of a 3-4 but also has the stocky frame to probably hold up as the rush end in Carroll’s older 4-3 system. He’s in the realm of Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril, and Frank Clark, and he will be most likely book ended with Darrell Taylor on the other side (another young vet with interesting upside).

Both Taylor and Nwosu were productive pass rushers last year with 9.5 sacks each, and it will be fascinating to see how recent second round picks Boye Mafe and Derick Hall factor in. Some view Hall, in particular, as an edge rusher with a big upside to his game. While this is a unit lacking in big names, it might just be the position group that has the sneakiest upside and depth on the entire roster, and that’s saying something considering some of the wild depth they have at other positions. I’m excited about the edge rushers for Seattle this year.

Off-Ball Linebackers

What’s an off-ball linebacker, you say? Well, in a 3-4 they’re the two middle linebackers, and in a classic 4-3, they are the Mike, Will, and Sam backers, and off-ball is just a hipster way of saying they are the guys playing off the line of scrimmage, behind the DL.

Bobby Wagner returns to Seattle after his one year hiatus playing for the Loserville Rams. Look for him to be the leader of this unit, once again, even if he could be on a more limited snap count. He might not be asked to do as much in coverage these days, but play more of a factor against the run, and possibly be used as a blitzer, but we will see.

Ideally, Seattle would probably love it if Jordyn Brooks came back sooner from his late season knee injury, but realistically, it might take him a month into the season to see action, but again, we will see. When healthy, Brooks might be the guy you want on the field on every down above the other guys. He’s faster than Bobby is now, and while he’s always been a good run defender, last year, he showed signs of breaking out as a coverage guy.

In the event that Brooks isn’t ready to go, Seattle have former Steeler ‘backer Devin Bush in their back pocket, and he’s an interesting player. He’s a bit undersized but is a lightening fast run and hit player who has athletic traits that made him a former top ten pick in the draft a few years back. Bush could be in position to be the surprise player on the team this year, and stake a claim to be a long term fixture here in the future.

Behind these three, Seattle has depth players in Vi Jones, who showed well in preseason games last year, and Jon Rhattigan, who Carroll always seem to like. It feels like the team could look to add a bit more here, but considering how they like to use safety Jamal Adams as a linebacker in nickel situations, they might like this unit more than some are thinking.

Corners and Safeties

On paper, the Seattle Seahawks appear to have CRAZY depth at cornerback, and safety, as well. The secondary might be the strongest unit of the entire team, and the last time that was this case for this team, they were going to back to back Super Bowls. In many ways, I feel like this is why there is a growing buzz about Seattle challenging San Francisco for the division this year.

Last year, they struck absolute GOLD in the middle rounds of the draft landing Pro Bowl outside corner Tariq Woolen and playmaking nickel corner Coby Bryant, and getting immediate high level play from both players. They also got steady play from returning corner Michael Jackson Senior, and they just drafted Devin Witherspoon, who I have heard compared to Patrick Peterson, in terms of all around skills. If Witherspoon lives up to that hype in his rookie year, that is going to make this unit terrifying for QBs in a way we haven’t seen in Seattle in over a decade, and I am absolutely stoked for that to be true.

Patrolling the deep middle of the field is Pro Bowl safety and team leader Quandre Diggs, hybrid safety/linebacker Jamal Adams, and highly touted safety/nickel defender Jordan Love. I am saying it right now, the Seattle Seahawks have three guys on the roster capable of being Pro Bowl safeties this year. At the height of the Legion Of Boom, Seattle didn’t have that level of quality depth here.

I am confidently calling it right now, if the front seven players can just be average or slightly above, Seattle can make a push to become a top ten defense this year based on what they have in this secondary. That should excite every Seahawk fan, if they stop to consider that. I’m jacked as I write this.

Special Teams

The Seattle Seahawks have a Pro Bowl kicker and a Pro Bowl punter. Enough said here.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, it is too early to say what these Seahawks will do this year. We have to see how the preseason plays out, who stays healthy, who gets back sooner from injuries, how the defensive scheme better takes shape over what it was last year (which was largely a messy pile of poo up front).

We also need to see how Geno takes the next step forward as QB1, and how he further gels with his receivers. If I am to be honest, I really like his chances taking the next step forward as a passer. I just sense a lot of things about him in this situation that bodes well. He knows the system, it seems to fit him well, and the team has added significantly more pieces around him this year. I think he’s an anomaly in the league, and if he sustains his level of play, it’s going to have some front offices rethinking how they approach the QB position.

I am also more hopeful about year two of Clint Hurtt’s defense. I think we are going to see a cleaned up scheme, and I like the additions of Dre’Mont Jones, Witherspoon, Derick Hall, and Love, along with the return of Bobby. Last year’s defense was crap, and this team still made the playoffs. If they can just be middle of the road, they might be able to take the division.

But if this defense manages to flirt with being a top ten unit, truly, watch out for these 2023 Seattle Seahawks. Sorry, Niner fans, but not really, though.

Cautiously, I am fingers crossed very stoked. I am also ridiculously fucking excited that, after all these years, I am finally going to see them playing in their old school colors again, which were the best uni’s in sports history.. ever.

Go Hawks.

Bow down to the awesome might of Seattle Seahawk General Manager John Schneider, and kiss his Super Bowl ring. Bend knee to this funny little dwarf, for he is glorious when it comes to value picks in the middles rounds.

Schneider killed the NFL draft this weekend.. again. Time will tell how great this 2023 draft class is, but on the surface, it looks like they grabbed at least four players on Day Three of the draft who can be legitimate starters in this league. In the opening round on Thursday night, they took two players who could be stars, and in the second round, they took a couple guys who have the potential of being high end starters, as well.

Who knows about the small school safety they took in round six, he wasn’t much on the media radar, but it sounds like he is a fast, athletic guy who is great in run support, and has potential at nickel, as well. We will get more into him, and the whole class later.

For now, I think every Seahawk fan should walk away from this weekend feeling pretty good about where this train is heading towards this year, and beyond. Seattle did not reach for talent, and did not get caught up on positional needs when they selected. They just took best available players, and the truth of the matter is that, even though they made the playoffs in 2022, this roster isn’t talented enough to force needs.

They took a cornerback at 5 because that corner was the best player on their board even though their cornerback room is pretty good. They took an edge rusher at 37 even though interior defensive line was a much bigger need, but they found interesting value at DT later. They took a dynamic, playmaking WR at 20 even though they have DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and 2021 second round pick Dee Eskridge to factor in. They took a dynamic running back at 52 even though they already have a dynamic young running back in Ken Walker.

Now, Seattle’s strengths are stronger.

Now, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tyler, and DK on the field together, which receiver is a defensive coordinator going to focus attention on?

Now, with big, physical Zach Charbonnet mixing in with Walker, Seattle has two backs capable of big time starters in this league to wear out defenses in the second half of games.

Now, with scrappy Devon Witherspoon on one side of the field and freakishly long Tariq Woolen on the other, what side of the field is a quarterback most likely going to feel better about targeting?

See where I am going with this?

Instead of drafting a guy high to eventually replace Geno Smith, John Schneider drafted players who are going to make his job at quarterbacking much easier. He also found guys to immediately aid this team’s pass rush in coverage and rushing.

On top of all of this, Schneider found four guys in rounds 4 through 5 who NFL.com grades out as eventual starters in this league.. at positions of need. Then he took a fella in round 7 who some thought would be a third round pick.

That is how you crush a draft.

I give this 2023 draft class for the Seattle Seahawks an A+. I think it’s as good, if not better than last year’s draft class. I feel outstanding about the direction of this team moving into this season and beyond.

Here are all the players in order of selection and a brief breakdown about why I am so damn stoked about each of them being a Seattle Seahawk. Read it and weep.

Devon Witherspoon, Cornerback, Illinois

Picked 5th overall, Witherspoon is a 6-0 181 pound corner who plays with his hair on fire in coverage, and as a run defender. He has great playmaking instincts on the ball, and is a fierce hitter. Fans who loved watching DJ Reed play in Seattle a couple years ago are going to really love this guy. He has a great understanding of routes, and is natural in zone coverage. He’s a pit bull who is likely going to annoy a lot of 49er fans over the years.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Wide Receiver, Ohio State

Picked 20th overall, JSN is a nicely sized possession receiver, who like Doug Baldwin, is poised to do a lot of immediate damage in the slot. He is the best overall receiver in this class in terms of precision route running and hands. To me, he has Keenan Allen and CeeDee Lamb like potential. Super excited about this dude.

Derick Hall, Edge Rusher, Auburn

Picked at 37, Hall has the perfect size and athletic traits of players who have excelled here in the past for Carroll. He is right in the realm of Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril, and Frank Clark, just a naturally explosive, speed to power edge rusher who can work as a defensive end in a 4-3 or an OLB in a 3-4. He’s scrappy against the run, was a productive pass rusher, and a highly regarded leader at Auburn. First team SEC defensive end, which is saying something.

Zach Charbonnet, Running Back, UCLA

I flipped out with excitement when Seattle made this pick at 52. I think Charbonnet has big time talent. He’s a big, tough, quick playmaking dude who can do it all on the field. He can run inside, bust outside, he pass blocks well, and is a great receiver out of the backfield. I don’t think of him as a backup to Walker. I think Seattle now has two starting running backs, and they are going to split the load, which I find enticing.

Anthony Bradford, Guard, LSU

Seattle traded out of round 3 with Denver, and the desperate Broncos gave Seattle their high 4th round pick, plus their 2024 3rd round pick, which is absurd value for Seattle (thanks again, Denver!) With that 4th rounder, Seattle grabbed this massive athletic earth mover, who I had mocked to Seattle twice. If Seattle would have stayed at pick 83 and made this selection, I would have been fired up about it. Bradford is perfectly sized to play guard and tackle, and is athletic enough to do both at a high level. I think he comes in right away to compete for the starter spot at right guard with Phil Haynes. Outstanding pick.

Cameron Young, Defensive Tackle, LSU

Like Bradford, if Young was selected in the third round, I would have been giddy with excitement. I had him as a solid third round pick, in my mind. At 6-3 304 pounds, with long arms, and explosive traits, he has the size to play nose tackle, and the athleticism to play 3 tech and 5 tech. He’s an old school run stuffing DT with heavy hands to lock into double teams, and shock, and shed to make the tackle. Great value pick here in round 4.

Mike Morris, DE/DT, Michigan

Interesting pick for Seattle in the 5th round. Pro Football Focus had him rated as a 2nd rounder. He was a productive player in college last year, leading a strong Michigan team in sacks with 7 1/2. He did everything from stand up end, to a hand in the dirt inside guy for the Wolverines, but coming off of a high ankle sprain, he wasn’t a great tester at the combine. During a meeting with Seattle, he was asked to add weight in order to play on their interior defensive line as a 3 technique (very interesting). My gut tells me that Seattle might have found another 5th round gem, and he is going to work is ass off in order to prove a lot of teams wrong. Love it.

Olu Oluwatimi, Center, Michigan

With their other 5th round pick, Seattle took a center who Carroll said will compete to start right away. Olu is regarded as a smart tactician, and a natural leader. He’s a decent athlete for the position, and has the perfect squat build for the zone blocking scheme that Seattle adopted. I wouldn’t be surprised if Seattle starts two rookies again this year with him at center, and Bradford at guard. I like what this team is brewing now with their offensive line.

Jerrick Reed II, Safety, New Mexico

I’m not going to pretend to know much about this guy because I don’t. He wasn’t on my radar, but the scouting reports I have since dug up after Seattle took him in the 6th round all say he is fast, hard hitting defender against the run with good traits in coverage, as well. Not a big guy at 5-11 195 pounds, but neither is Quandre Diggs. Carroll said he will be looked at as a nickel defender, as well, and will add value to special teams. Seattle makes a deep safety rotation deeper with him added.

Kenny McIntosh, Running Back, Georgia

I’m no expert at this draft stuff, but I think Seattle got the steal of the draft in the 7th round by taking this playmaker here. I thought he would be a 3rd or 4th round pick, and mocked him to Seattle in previous pieces. He’s not a blazing speed guy, but I think he’s talented enough to start games in this league, or at the very least, be a very good third down back. He has very good receiver skills, and a great knack for where to sit down in the open flats. Seahawk fans should feel really good about the running back rotation now.

Final Thoughts About This Draft And The Seahawks Moving Forward

I have already said that I dig this draft, and that I think you should bow down to John Schneider. I think they absolutely nailed the draft for a second year in a row.

I love that they took explosive perimeter players early with their first three picks, and they added an additional starting running back with Charbonnet. I love K9 as much as the next Twelve, but I got really nervous last year when it looked like he was getting really beaten up in late November. In this day and age of football, where every athlete on the defense is bigger, stronger, and faster, I think smart teams load up unapologetically at running back. It is an important position to any team that wants perfect offensive balance.

I also love that Schneider had the onions to trade out of round 3 with Denver to grab an extra 3rd round pick next year. It was great value, and I think he likely saw about twenty to thirty players on his board around pick 83 who he had graded out very similarly. If he had stayed at pick 83 and taken Bradford, or Young, or even Morris, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at that pick. Bravo.

That said, I think the real beauty of this draft class is nailing the value of the picks in the middle round, yet again. Good teams find good value with interior offensive and defensive linemen in the middle rounds. Look around the league and see how many quality guards and DTs there are who where former fourth and fifth round picks. There’s a lot of them. These are not often the flashiest guys, but they are the dudes who make football.. football. They are the blue collars that often decide games. Some teams reach for them earlier and pass over premium positions, but other teams lay patient and find good ones later. I think Seattle did just that, brilliantly.

I think Seattle potentially found four really good starter types in Bradford, Young, Morris, and Oluwatimi. If I were to guess, Bradford and Oluwatimi will become starters sooner, but I think eventually so will Young and Morris.

With the defensive line, I suspect Seattle will work to get Poona Ford, or Al Woods back.. maybe even both. If they do, then I think Seattle has a real interior DL rotation going on with Dre”Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, the rookies, and these other vets.

Finally, I love that Seattle is showing total faith in Geno Smith and Drew Lock this year again at quarterback. Smith has earned the right to be seen at Seattle’s franchise quarterback. He was voted into pro bowl as a starting quarterback, and is probably a top five quarterback in the NFC conference right now. Lock, I believe still has the youth and talent to see if he can be further developed into a potential future starter.

For now, as a Twelve, I am continually embracing Geno. I’m buying his jersey. I love his potential even more in this offense with the receivers he now has, and the added depth at running back and offensive line. I think he can be special in this offense, and he can sustain it for a while. There is no reason why he can’t.

Bring. It. On.

Go Hawks.

Heading into this draft, Seattle had two big perceived areas of need; interior defensive line, and interior offensive line. Through two days of this NFL draft, these stubborn Seahawks have taken four high quality players who fit neither area of need, bastards.

I love a good bastard.

John Schneider tipped his hand to this philosophy of taking best available players where they select a week or so ago. In an interview, he said that this team has done best at drafting when they avoided taking players based on need, and just went for the best players available when picking. He felt like last year, they went that direction.

In this first round on Thursday, Seattle grabbed the best cover corner and the best receiver in the draft. Now, Seattle potentially has the deepest young cornerback room in the league, and potentially one of the top three receiver sets.

Yesterday, I was convinced Seattle would select a center or guard and then a DT. Instead, the took Auburn pass rusher Derick Hall, who is one of the most explosive and productive ends in the class, and then they took dynamic UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet (a guy I really wanted for the Seahawks but didn’t think would be available at pick 52). Both of these selections are home runs.

Derick Hall brings high percentile explosion and athletic traits that translate well into the NFL as a speed to power edge rusher a la Cliff Avril and Frank Clark. One report I read, suggested that his best fit is in a 4-3 defense, which I find interesting considering the rumor of Carroll switching back to his old scheme (although Carroll described him as an outside linebacker).

At any rate, Seattle only has Boye Mafe contracted beyond this season, so I think this selection of Hall makes a lot of sense. Whether they stay with in a 3-4 base, revert back to more 4-3, or just play the bear front stuff, Seattle needed to add another edge rusher, and Derick Hall brings traits that could make him a high quality starter. He also brings a high character personality, strong leadership traits, and a motor that helped make him a first team SEC defender, which is saying something. This is pretty exciting. I dig this pick.

With Zach Charbonnet, though, this is the pick I was really hoping for, but wasn’t anticipating Seattle making. All through most of last season, I was nervous about Seattle’s depth at running back behind Ken Walker after Rashaad Penny went down. I just wasn’t sold on the Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas combination of depth players.

In this modern NFL, offenses that like to be balanced need quality depth at running back. Teams that want to feature an explosive running back need two guys who can be quality starters.

Zach Charbonnet has the talent to be a pro bowl back in this league. He’s got great size, good speed, he can run inside and out, is a quality receiver, can run through defenders and by them, and is a quality pass blocker. In short, he’s a featured back, and now Seattle has two of them like more teams are trying to acquire. This was an absolute home run hit in my view.

Now Seattle has the potential for the type of dynamic one two punch in their backfield to really wear into defenses like USC did back during their hight of Pete Carroll football. Charbonnet can be the thunder to Walker’s lightening. I am jacked up for this, and Seattle still has six picks today to address the interiors of both of their lines (after trading out of Round 3 for an additional Round 4 pick and a 2024 3rd rounder).

Interestingly enough, there are guys available this morning who were projected to be high round picks on the offensive line in Ohio State OT Dawand Jones, and Ohio State Center Luke Wypler. Could both these guys be Seahawks after today?

I think it would be cool if they are.

Go Hawks!