Please do. Other than the Green Bay game and three minute highlights most of us have not seen the Seahawks this year. Folks like you that follow them closely year round are going to know a whole lot more about them than any of us here.
Alrighty-then. [stretching/limbering knuckles] Let me start by giving you all a brief scouting breakdown of the Seahawks Defense -- since that's going to be a major focus heading in to this game.
Back in 2009, former head coach Jim Mora made some very interesting comments in regards to the league-wide perception of the Seahawks. He said that back when he was coaching the Falcons, the perception of the Seahawks was that of a soft team -- "that if you come out early, hit them in the mouth hard -- they will roll over". That was how Mora put it ... and so what he really was seeking ... was for guys who were "dirtbags" [again, his words]. Well, 3 years later that is exactly what the Seahawks has become. They are anything BUT Soft -- thugs are more like it. Those defensive statistics that you see are
very real, as these guys are scary good. I've seen a lot of defenses throughout the years. The Seahawks defense back in 1984 was extremely good (that team went 12-4 and lost to the Raiders 13-10 in the playoffs, the eventual SB champs). Led by guys like Jacob Green, Kenny Easley, Freddy Young, and Dave Brown ... that team finished the season #1 in the NFL in the Give Away/Take Away margin. I saw that team play and let me tell you ... I'd say that this current Seahawks D is better. As I'm sure you've heard by now, they've been dubbed "the Legion of Boom" by the fans and they very much play with a nobody gives us any measure of respect attitude. For example, prior to the Green Bay game, CB Richard Sherman said, "If we win, nobody's going to be talking about what we did. It's all going to be about what Green Bay DIDN'T do." That's very much the kind of attitude they play with game in and game out -- never too high, never too low -- very business-like.
If you were to characterize Pete Carroll's defensive philosophy in a nutshell, it would be "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" [heavy emphasis on the faster, as speed on defense is everything to this guy]. Very quickly after John Schneider was hired as GM it was out with smaller, slower, veteran guys ... and IN with younger, bigger, stronger, faster, instinctual guys who played with a chip on their shoulder. CB's Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman very much typify what Pete Carroll is all about.
The lynchpin of the Seahawks defense (right up front) starts with DT Brandon Mebane and DE Red Bryant. Mebane is a guy who though he may not show up in the stats ... absolutely is a pain in the butt for opposing OL's. Think of him basically as the immovable rock in the middle of the stream who demands double teams and allows other guys behind him to make plays. Former Seahawks Dave Wyman and Steve Raible (now the Hawks play-by-play announcer)
had HUGE praise for Mebane after the Rams game. He has basically been unblockable of late. Red Bryant (Jacob Green's son-in-law) though he's listed as a DE is a guy that they'll also slide around to DT (depending on the scheme) and is very much a key to the Seahawks run defense. Consider those two guys right there 1A and 1B in terms of where things flow from. On the outsides, DE's Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin are absolutely scary fast LEO DE's who can get after the QB in a hurry. In the Cowboy game (for example) the Seahawks had BOTH of those guys out there at the same time quite a bit ... and they absolutely lit up Tony Romo. When he wasn't getting pummeled, he was often running for his life. Though he's not got a lot of attention yet -- Bruce Almighty (Irvin) is a guy who's just starting to figure things out. He absolutely manhandled the Carolina offensive line all game long. He has 4.5 sacks in 5 games and looks to be getting better and better every time he's out there.
And though most of the national attention is usually on the Seahawks secondary -- their linebacking corps is an extremely talented and underrated group. K.J. Wright and Leroy Hill are big, fast guys on the outside who can both play TE's very well are have very good closing speed on opposing RB's and WR's. Perhaps the biggest addition though to this team this past offseason is a guy who has garnered very little attention outside of the local media -- rookie MLB Bobby Wagner. Last season, most scouts agreed that the 2 best MLB's in the country were Mychal Kendricks out of Cal ... and Bobby Wagner out of Utah State. Wagner has significantly upgraded the MLB spot, as he (again) brings very good speed, instincts, coverage and tackling ability to the position. Against the Panthers, there were plays he made that last year's starter Brandon Hawthorne couldn't simply because of the speed and instincts he brings. He is a very capable pass rusher as well -- don't underestimate the potential impact that he could have on this game.
Finally, let's talk about the one area of this team that many people want to focus on -- the secondary. There are a lot of National Experts out there who are starting to believe that this Seattle Secondary is the best in the NFL. Trying my best to remove my my homer glasses -- I'd have to agree with them. Across the board, ALL of these guys are very, very good. Sherman was the only one of this group who DIDN'T make the Pro Bowl last year ... and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if ALL 4 starters made the Pro Bowl this season. Seattle's secondary is very big, very fast, and they are all ballhawkers. Starting with the starting CB's, Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are 2 of the biggest and fastest in football. Sherman is 6'3" 195 ... while Browner is an incredible 6'4" 221. They are very physical and are what truly allows the Hawks to be able to run many of the coverages that they ultimately do. Many of the Hawks CB's that you may have seen in the past are used to playing off the receiver, giving them a cushion -- not so with these guys. They will play a LOT of bump and run with these 2, as they are very physical and will be in the face of the opposing receiver all game long. Basically, expect a mugging within the first 5 yards. You need only go back to the tape of this past game and look at Steve Smith to see the impact Sherman had (Smith ended up getting completely rattled). One thing of note that I find interesting -- Steve Smith is 5'9" 185 -- the exact same size as Wes Welker. They believe they have the size, speed, and catch-up ability to run stride for stride with any WR in football -- and from what I've seen, I'd say they do. The safeties are equally as impressive. SS Cam Chancellor is as big as many NFL LB's (6'3 232 lbs) and with his speed can hit like a mack truck. I'd hate to be a receiver crossing the middle against that guy. He is a very sure tackler -- excellent against both the run and pass. Finally, the true lynchpin of the secondary is FS Earl Thomas. Thomas has elite speed, fantastic coverage instincts, and a real nose for where the football is going to be. He could very easily play CB if need be ... as he is such a great center fielder. Think of a very young Troy Polamalu in terms of impact he has of really shrinking the field.
Now I'm not going to go dubbing these guys the 1985 Bears or anything like that ... but I WILL say that this defense is every bit as good as the 49ers right now ... the Jets defense from a couple of years ago (and perhaps even better than those 2) ... and one of the very best I've seen in years. In many ways, this group kind of reminds me of those classic Oilers defenses that Buddy Ryan ran. They are really, really good and it will be very interesting for me to see -- just as a pure football fan -- how these guys do against THE MOST prolific offense in the NFL. The fact that this game is being played in Seattle will make it all the more interesting ... as I'm sure you've heard by now that Century Link Field is an unbelievable advantage for that defense. When that crowd really gets rocking ... the noise levels can reach 116 dB's (as much as a Boeing 747 engine) AND seismologists have actually recorded tremors there during games (Marshawn Lynch's now infamous run against the Saints being a good example). Since 2005, there have been more false starts there than in any other stadium in the NFL -- so that is an unbelievable advantage to the Seahawks Defense, as opposing offenses simply cannot hear the snap count. Should be a very interesting game just from that standpoint alone. Brady with his lightning fast passing attack vs THAT defense -- WHOO! As a football fan alone (taking rooting interest out of it), it doesn't get any better than that.
