MORSE: Week Two Opponent the Seattle Seahawks Preview
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This week’s opponent is the Seattle Seahawks. They are coming off a win at home against the Denver Broncos and rookie QB Bo Nix.
According to Warren Sharp, the Seattle Seahawks “are as close to middle of the road as any team in the NFL. In the last three years they are 1 game below .500.” This was under Pete Carroll and those days are in the rear-view window. Now the Seahawks are coached by Mike Mcdonald, the former Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator. He is the youngest coach in the league. The Seahawks have some very inexperienced coaches. Ryan Grubb is the Offensive Coordinator. He is a 1st year Offensive Coordinator in the NFL and comes from the University of Washington. As Offensive Coordinator for the past two seasons at Washington he overhauled the Offense with Michael Penix and lead them to leading the nation in passing yards per game, yards per game, 1st downs per game, and 3rd down %.
Aden Durde is a first year Defensive Coordinator. He is from England and played linebacker in the NFL. He is one of leading principles in the International Pathway Program. The Seahawks also hired Jay Harbaugh, son of Jim Harbaugh, as their Special Teams Coordinator. Another 1st year coach in the NFL, he spent 9 years under his father at Michigan. They are a complete unknown.
Offense
3 WR 1 TE
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| QB | Geno Smith | Sam Howell | – | – |
| RB | Kenneth Walker | Zach Charbonnet | Kenny McIntosh | – |
| WR | DK Metcalf | Jake Bobo | Marcus Simms IR | – |
| WR | Tyler Lockett | Laviska Shenault | – | – |
| WR | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Dareke Young | – | – |
| TE | Noah Fant | Pharaoh Brown Q | AJ Barner | Brady Russell |
| LT | Charles Cross | Stone Forsythe | ||
| LG | Laken Tomlinson | Sataoa Laumea | ||
| C | Connor Williams | Olu Oluwatimi | Jalen Sundell | |
| RG | Anthony Bradford | Christian Haynes | – | – |
| RT | George Fant Q | Michael Jerrell | Abraham Lucas O |
Geno Smith is an experienced QB in the NFL entering his 12th season. Last year with a banged up and inconsistent Offensive Line he completed 64.9 % of his passes for 3624 yards. His TD to Interception ratio was 20/9. Smith is a very capable and fast runner if forced out of the pocket having run a 4.59 40-yard dash when he came out of college. In the 2013 Draft he was a 2nd round pick (#39) of the New York Jets. He eventually replaced Russell Wilson in Seattle. Sam Howell the former Commanders starter was signed as the backup and gives the Seahawks a valuable and veteran backup.
The Seahawks are blessed with one of the Top receiving corps in the league. They are ranked as the 6th best group. The deep threat DK Metcalf leads the team. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the 2nd year speedster out Ohio State, gives them a complimentary payer on the other side. That frees up veteran Tyler Lockett to roam free from the slot. Last week the Seahawks only threw the ball 25 times and completed 18 of those tosses. That was good for 170 yards and 11 1st downs. Lockett led the Seahawks last week with 6 catches on 7 targets for 77 yards. This should be a classic matchup of the Patriots secondary and the Seahawks WRs. When Smith is pressured his average pass play drops to 5.9 yards per completion.
The running game is no slouch. Kenneth Walker ran for 103 yards on 20 carries and a TD. Backup Zach Charbonnet has 2 catches for 29 yards and a TD. Walker was a DNP at practice on Wednesday or Thursday with an oblique strain. He was injured late in the game Sunday. Charbonnet isa capable backup if Walker can’t go.
The Offensive line had trouble protecting Smith and Denver was able to generate some pressure on Smith. When pressure Smith’s completion yardage drops to 5.9 yards. Right Tackle George Fant is replacing Abraham Lucas who is on PUP. He is hurt now with a knee injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Stone Forsythe the backup LT moved in for Fant who was injured in the 1st Quarter. His Pro Football Focus (PFF) rating was 47th. Left Tackle is manned by Charles Cross a 2022 1st round pick (#9) out of Mississippi State. He started all 17 games as a rookie but missed 3 games last year. Cross was the #1 rated OT last week by PFF. Left Guard is veteran Laken Tomlison, who is entering his 10th year in the league. The 2015 1st Round pick (#28) out of Duke, stands 6’3” 323 pounds. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021. PFF had him rated 23rd. The Right Guard is Anthony Bradford. The LSU product enters his second season in the league and was a 2023 4th Round selection (#108). Last season he started 10 of the 14 games he appeared in. Last week PFF gave him a ranking of 57. He is the weakest link in an otherwise stellar offensive line unit. At Center Connor Williams holds it all together. The 2018 2nd round pick (#50) by Dallas enters his 7th season in the league. His PFF ranking was #11.
The Tight End position features Noah Fant who was a 1st round pick (#20) by Denver in the 2019 draft. Fant has never lived up to his high billing as a 1st Round pick. Last season he only had 19 catches for 261 yards but had a 13.7 YPC. Seattle acquired Fant as part of the haul they got for Russell Wilson. Former Patriot Pharoh Brown is the backup, but he has been hurt since mid-training camp. I don’t expect him to make the trip to Foxboro. I was surprised that Brown wasn’t retained by the Patriots. Rookie AJ Barner out of Michigan shows promise as a blocker. The 4th round selection (#120) was a player that I thought might have interested the Patriots. However, he was taken in the 4th round, much higher than any projection I saw on him.
Seattle ran no huddle a few times against Denver while playing at home. Can they do this with a hostile crowd in New England? The idea is to prevent the Patriots from making defensive substitutions based upon down and distance. They want to take advantage of favorable matchups like having Keon White at DT rather than the Edge. When White was double-teamed on run plays, he was easily moved off the spot and Cincy ran right over him for big gains.
Defense
Base 3-4
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| LDE | Jarran Reed | Byron Murphy | – | – |
| NT | Johnathan Hankins | Cameron Young O | ||
| RDE | Leonard Williams | Mike Morris | Myles Adams | |
| WLB | Uchenna Nwosu Q | Derick Hall | – | |
| LILB | Tyrel Dodson | – | ||
| RILB | Jerome Baker | Tyrice Knight | Drake Thomas | |
| SLB | Boye Mafe | Dre’Mont Jones | Trevis Gipson | Joshua Onujiogu IR |
| LCB | Tariq Woolen | Dee Williams | ||
| SS | Rayshawn Jenkins | K’Von Wallace | – | – |
| FS | Julian Love | Coby Bryant | Jerrick Reed O | |
| RCB | Tre Brown | Nehemiah Pritchett | ||
| NB | Devon Witherspoon | |||
This Defense could be very good under Defensive minded Head Coach Mike McDonald. At Baltimore he had the #1 Defense in the league and there are some very good players to work with in Seattle.
It starts up front and the Patriots won’t face the pushovers they played against in Cincinnati. Leonard Williams, who is familiar to Patriots fans since his days with the Jets has always caused havoc with New England. Entering his 10th season, he was a 1st Round pick (#6) in 2015 by the Jets. The USC product was a Pro Bowl selection in 2016. Williams was traded mid-season last year by the Jets and Williams actually played in 18 games last season because he never had a bye week. Jonathan Hankins is a space eater and lets others make the tackle. He clogs the middle and is stout at the point of attack. Hankins was a 2013 draft selection by New York Giants in the 2nd round (#49). The Ohio State product is now 32 but still gets the job done. Hankins comes in as a Free Agent from Dallas Cowboys. He started all 14 games he played in last season. Jarran Reed is a 2016 2nd Round draft pick (#49) by Seattle. After leaving in Free Agency, he returned to Seattle last year. Byron Murphy was the team’s 1st round pick this year (#16) out of Texas. He is a bit undersized at 6’ 297 pounds. He ran an incredible 4.87 40-yard dash. His senior year at Texas he had 40 QB pressures. Uchenna Nwosu is the starter on the opposite side, but he will be out this Sunday. He is listed as questionable but realistically he will be out with a knee injury. Derrick Hall will replace him. Hall replaced Nwonsu last season when he was hurt. In the 2023 draft Seattle chose Hall in the second round (#37). The 6’3” 245-pound backer ran a 4.55 40-yard dash.
The linebacker corps is completely revamped. Boye Mafe had 9 QB pressure last week good for #3 in the league. The 2022 2nd round (#40) draft pick by Seattle played collegiately at Minnesota. Speed is his game at 6’ 4” 261 pounds he ran a 4.53 40-yard dash. That’s running back speed. Tyrel Dodson came over as a Free Agent from Buffalo. He started 10 of the 14 games he played in last season. He filled in when Tremaine Edmunds went down and came through with 74 tackles. The 2019 UDFA was developed by Buffalo. He was suspended 6 games for the 2019 season over a Domestic Violence incident in Arizona. Buffalo thought enough of him they kept him on their Practice Squad for the year. Jerome Baker the other inside Linebacker came in from Miami. The 2018 3rd round pick (#73) by the Dolphins, played at Ohio State. Patriots’ fans may remember Baker’s 1st game in 2020 against the Patriots. He finished with 16 tackles (12 solo).
The Secondary has two exciting young players in CB’s Tariq Woolen and Devin Witherspoon. Woolen is player I liked coming out in the 2022 Draft. The University of Texas San Antonio product stands 6’4” 210 pounds and ran a 4.26 40 at the combine. Witherspoon is a 2023 1st Round (#5) selection of Illinois. He is listed as their Nickel Back. At 6’ 185 pounds he ran a 4.45 40 at the combine. He was selected as a Pro Bowl Corner last year. Tre Brown is the starter at Right Cornerback. Seattle is very good at drafting and developing their own players. Brown was a 2021 4th Round (#137) selection out of Oklahoma. He started 7 of 15 games he was active for and amassed 34 tackles. He has a history of injury problems missing good chunks of his first two seasons. The Safeties are Rayshawn Jenkins and Julian Love. Jenkins is entering his 8th season in the NFL and was a 2017 4th round (#113) pick by the then San Diego Chargers. Last season in Jacksonville, Jenkins the Strong Safety started all 17 games and had 101 tackles. Love was a 2019 4th Round selection (#108) of the New York Giants. He came to Seattle last season and amassed 123 tackles on his way to a Pro Bowl selection. This is a very good group as evident by their PFF Rankings last week. Julian Love was #1 Safety, Devon Witherspoon the #3 Cornerback followed by his teammate Tariq Woolen at #4, Tre Brown was #46 and Strong Safety Rashwan Jenkins was the #11 Safety.
Special Teams
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | |
| PK | Jason Myers | – | – |
| P | Michael Dickson | – | – |
| H | Michael Dickson | – | – |
| PR | Dee Williams | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | – |
| KR | Laviska Shenault | Dee Williams | Kenny McIntosh |
| LS | Chris Stoll |
Jason Myers was 2 for 2 on Field Goals and 2 for 2 on Extra Points. Michael Dickson had a 48.2 average per punt with a net of only 38.8. He had no punts downed inside the 20. Dee Williams is the Punt Returner, and he returned 1 of 4 Punt Returns for zero yards and 3 Fair Catches. Laviska Shenault had 3 Kickoff Returns for 74 yards and a 24.67 Yards Per Return.
The Oddsmakers made Seattle 3.5-point favorite and the Over / Under of 38.5 points. I can see why the Seahawks are favored. They have a very stout Defense led by a Defensive minded 1st year coach. The Patriots Offense played well against a very bad Bengals defense. Their Offensive line wasn’t great as Rhamondre Stevenson was getting hit in the backfield and it was because of Stevenson, not the O-line they were able to succeed. Stevenson had 118 yards after 1st contact. That is not sustainable in the NFL. Jacoby Brissett needs to pass on 1st down as well as Play Action. They need to stay out of 3rd and long and eliminate the stupid penalties. The Patriots Defense needs to stand tall in order for the Pats to be in the game in the 4th quarter. Look for a low scoring affair between these two teams.
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