Seahawks midterm grades, position by position

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DEFENSIVE LINE: C+

I wrestled with this one. The defense as a whole has been dominant the last two weeks, so much so that they’ve jumped up to 2nd in the NFL in total defense. But I expected this defensive front to really affect games by pressuring the QB, and that just hasn’t happened. They’ve been steller versus the run, but they’re tied for 23th in the league with only 6 sacks. Some of this can be attributed to opponents game plans, teams are clearly trying to get the ball out quicker against Seattle. But with the likes of Bennett, Avril, Hill, Clark, Marsh….. It should be better.

Oct 5, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) tackles Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick (25) during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

LINEBACKERS: B

Again, it’s hard to look at the overall defensive numbers the last couple of weeks and not just hand out A’s to everyone, but this group fails to get an A for one simple reason. Too many missed tackles. Bobby Wagner in particular has whiffed more in the first quarter of 2015 than he seemed to all of last year. I expect this grade to be higher at the halfway point.

LEGION OF BOOM: B+

Again, you ask, why not an A? Well the first game against St. Louis in which they gave up numerous big plays might be reason enough, but this grade is about about interceptions.

There haven’t been any.

Since the Rams game they’ve been terrific at limiting the big play, and Cary Williams has been as good, or better, than Byron Maxwell at RCB, but Pete Carroll preaches turnovers, and to this point the Seahawks have yet to come up with a pick. As the coach said in his press conference yesterday they come in bunches. This would be a great week for that to start happening.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Finally an A!!! Sure, they gave up a punt return TD in week #1, but rookie return ace Tyler Lockett has already taken back a punt and a kickoff of his own, and both were perfectly blocked. There was also the fake return that Richard Sherman almost took back for 6 that was executed to perfection. The coverage teams, other than the one miss against the Rams, have been stellar, and Jon Ryan and Steven Hauschka have simply been the best punter/kicker combination in the league.

The Seahawks special teams have truly been special in the first quarter of 2015.

Next: Seahawks All Time Top 40 Players, ranked 40-1

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