The 2014 Seattle Seahawks, Then and Now
By Colin Floyd
Heading into week eight, the Seattle Seahawks are 3-3; not exactly in prime position to make their way back to the Lombardi Trophy. With six games under their belt, the Hawks have already matched their loss total from a season ago, giving them even less room for error if they hope to become the first team since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots to win two Super Bowls in two years.
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While there has been some early disappointment for the 12th Man, the next stretch of games (Panthers, Raiders, Giants and Chiefs) looks to be somewhat easier than the competition they have faced thus far.
Many have pegged the early season woes on the lack of dominance from the Legion of Boom and entire Seattle defense in general. Here is a comparison of the 2013 squad’s numbers and the current numbers for the 2014 squad through 6 games.
| Pts/gm | Yds/gm | Pass yds | Rush yds | Sacks | Int | |
| 2013 | 14.4 | 273.6 | 2,752 | 1,626 | 44 | 28 |
| 2014 | 23.5 | 324 | 1,431 | 513 | 7 | 2 |
Just about every statistic jumps out as an area of need. The defense is on pace to give up over 3,800 passing yards and 1,368 rushing yards. While the rushing numbers are a pleasant surprise, this team’s lifeblood has been the lights-out play of the secondary, something severely lacking so far as they’ve given up passing games of 284 yards, 303, 283, and 250. As you can see from the chart, the Hawks also need to drastically pick up their sacks and interceptions as they are on pace for just over 18 and 5 for the entire season. Looking even deeper here’s where the Legion of Boom stands in 2014 compared to the Legion of Boom from 2013.
| Completion pct | Avg yds/ pass | Yds/gm | TD | Plays of 20+ yds | Plays of 40+ yds | QB rating | |
| 2013 | 59 | 5.8 | 172 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 63.4 |
| 2014 | 68.4 | 7.1 | 238.5 | 12 | 16 | 4 | 103.7 |
First off, the Seattle defensive unit last year was really good, as in historically good. In 2014, they’ve certainly come back down to earth; having already surpassed the total of plays of 40 or more yards, as well as being on pace to reach last year’s total of passing TD’s conceded, at exactly midseason.
These numbers as whole do not look promising, and while the defensive identity of this team may be changing (into that of a run stopping defense), the secondary needs to find ways to improve. With Lane still out, Maxwell out at least another week, Simon getting re-injured, and the rest of the Legion of Boom (except Sherman) playing subpar, Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn must find a solution.
Since the pass rush has not been as effective this season, having only one more sack than games played, it has given the opposing quarterback more time in the pocket to pick apart the secondary and find open receivers; defensive backs can’t cover forever, no matter how good they are.
If the Seattle defense wants to regain the bully mentality and come out hitting every Sunday, they must do three things:
- Rush the passer more effectively.
- Increase turnovers through interceptions and forced fumbles.
- Stop missing tackles.
Later this week I will compare the 2013 offense to how the offense is doing so far this season.