In the opening game, Seattle Seahawks defense mostly controlled Denver’s debuting rookie quarterback and finesse offense with conservative, short passes.
In the second game, it faced New England’s quarterback, who is a place-holder for a prized rookie who will debut later. The Seattle defense got a far more physical, direct rushing offense. They got run over, particularly in the second half.
So entering a week-three test against the Miami Dolphins (1-1) Sunday at Lumen Field, where is this new Seahawks defense?
How does new coach Mike Macdonald view his unit on his 2-0, first-place, yet-far-from-whole team?
With the same tenet he’s been drilling into his players since he first met them in April.
Accountability.
The Patriots gained 185 yards rushing on 36 carries against the Seahawks Sunday.
“Makes you sick to your stomach,” Macdonald said Monday morning on his weekly radio show with 710 AM.
Patriots running backs Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson plowed for a combined 177 yards in Seattle’s 23-20 overtime win at New England. It took Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith’s masterful day, 33 for 44 passing for 327 yards, to overcome the lack of a running game, offensive line problems and issues on the defense.
Were those scheme issues? Were they a lack of execution?
“It’s both,” Macdonald said Monday afternoon, back home on the Seahawks’ first 2-0 start since 2020.
The defensive play-caller two games into his first head-coaching job said he was at fault. He said in New England he had his players in some spots and roles they hadn’t practiced much.
“Scheme-wise, some things that — without getting all the details — I’m putting on my shoulders on how we prepare, call it. The situations we are putting guys in, we could be better on that front, me in particular,” Macdonald said.
“And then on the other hand, you know, it’s just old-school football fundamentals that we need to be better at in our front seven. Our edge mechanics. How we’re taking on blocks. Some of our run fits at the second level (with the linebackers). Those things need to be improved.”
Macdonald counted 10 missed tackles by his defensive players in New England. That was opposite the 26-20 win over Denver in the opener the previous weekend when the Seahawks had one of their best tackling games early in a season in years.
Then there were assignment and execution errors. Edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones allowed Gibson to get around and outside him when he had outside contain on the left edge of the defense in the second quarter. Gibson ran free for a 19-yard gain. That set up the Patriots’ go-ahead field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Trevis Gipson, acquired in a trade from Jacksonville three weeks ago after top outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu sprained his knee, played a few more snaps for Jones after that mistake.
In the first quarter Jones lost edge contain on scrambling quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson ran up to pick up the QB Jones lost while Brissett was still behind the line of scrimmage eligible to pass. When Dodson did that, he left tight end Hunter Henry he’d been covering. Brissett flipped the ball to Henry who then ran for a 17-yard gain the Seahawks 6-yard line.
The Patriots scored the game’s first touchdown two plays later.
Macdonald saw that as two mistakes.
“Yeah, if you’re in coverage, you need to stay in coverage,” the former linebackers coach said. “If you’re in zone, you need to find the person in your area and play them until the quarterback passes the line of scrimmage. If you’re in man (coverage), you’ve got to stay on your guy.”
On an 18-yard run by Stevenson late in the third quarter, safety Rayshawn Jenkins came up fast into the hole but Patriots tight end Hunter Henry blocked him. Dodson took a shallow angle and get caught up in blockers. He had to chase down the 227-pound Stevenson from behind after the 18 yards.
That play sent New England on an 11-play drive to a Stevenson touchdown run of 1 yard and a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
With Seattle still trailing by that score and 7 minutes left, Gibson ran through four missed tackles for 45 yards. The outside linebacker ran into the play unblocked and had both hands on Gibson for what should have been a 5-yard loss.
That drive ended with a timely sack on third down shared by defensive linemen Leonard Williams and rookie Byron Murphy, for Murphy’s first of his career. The sack made New England’s field-goal try 48 yards.
Seahawks safety Julian Love blocked the low live-drive kick to spark Geno Smith and Seattle’s offense to the drive to Jason Myers’ tying field goal on the final play of regulation.
Macdonald sees that as 99 yards that led directly to 17 of New England’s 20 points, on four mistake plays by his defense.
Seahawks defense’s progress
Through two games, Macdonald’s Seahawks defense is seventh in the NFL in total yards allowed (270.5 per game) and 23rd in rushing defense at 142 yards per game.
Seattle finished 30th overall and 31st against the run last season. That is why the team fired Pete Carroll after 15 seasons as coach and hired Macdonald from Baltimore.
Macdonald was the coordinator of the Ravens 2023 defense that became the first in league history to lead it in fewest points allowed, turnovers and sacks.
His Baltimore defenses the last two years changed at the snap. It disguised coverages and blitzes and moved players to different positions to confuse offenses.
Sunday in New England, the Patriots multiple times caught the Seahawks changing spots at the snap, often by going on a quick count.
On a third and 9 on New England’s 15-play drive to the go-ahead field goal and 10-7 lead in the first quarter, Dodson crowded the line as if he was blitzing. At the snap, the middle linebacker raced back to his hook-curl zone coverage spot about 8 yards back. Henry, the tight end, beat him to that spot for an easy completion by Brissett for the first down.
It’s those nuances of timing their changes and multiplicity the Seahawks don’t yet have two games into Macdonald’s schemes.
How far is his Seattle defense from the changing and disguising Macdonald used best when his Ravens’ unit was rolling most last season?
“I’m not sure,” Macdonald said Monday. “I’m not sure.
“We’re in chase mode.”
New England’s wide receivers had just 19 yards receiving. Twelve of those were by former Washington Husky Ja’Lynn Polk for the game’s first score.
“I mean, we were doing a lot of good things defensively,” Macdonald said. “I thought we covered our butts off (Sunday). The corners, in particular, (Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen, plus Tre Brown for 39 of 68 defensive snaps in nickel) deserve a ton of credit on how sticky they were on their wide outs.”
In the middle of the field, though, Henry had eight catches on 12 targets for 109 yards. He had seven catches for 98 yards in the first half.
“We have to improve our man coverage in the middle of the field and out of the backfield,” Macdonald said.
“But it’s this constant chasing of this alignment of what the expectation is. All times. All 11 working together.
“This is a different crew (than Baltimore), personnel-wise. We have different personnel variations we can get to. So I think we’re also trying to find what the best combination of guys on the field given who’s available at a certain time.
“I think we’re in that phase right now, but there’s a lot of good on tape.”
Miami quarterback status for Seattle
In South Florida, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday the Dolphins didn’t have enough information yet to determine if starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was going on injured reserve.
He sustained yet another concussion in a career with multiple ones Thursday in Miami’s 31-10 home loss to Buffalo. Tagovailoa was on the ground with his arms and hands in a “fencing” position common with brain trauma.
Backup Skylar Thompson replaced Tagovailoa for the final 1 1/2 quarters of that game. It’s been assumed Tagovailoa will be out and Thompson will play Sunday in Seattle.
The Dolphins signed quarterback Tyler Huntley off the Ravens practice squad Monday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
