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Seahawks will be better with L.J. Collier (and others) than with Frank Clark

By Todd Vandenberg

FORT WORTH, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: L.J. Collier #91 of the TCU Horned Frogs celebrates after sacking Jacob Park #10 of the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU won 41-20. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - SEPTEMBER 17: L.J. Collier #91 of the TCU Horned Frogs celebrates after sacking Jacob Park #10 of the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU won 41-20. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /
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Ezekiel Ansah of the Seahawks devours a RB
DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 27: Running back C.J. Anderson #22 of the Denver Broncos carries the ball and is tackled by defensive end Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on September 27, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The Broncos defeated the Lions 24-12. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

Seahawks need more than sacks to win

Collier and Ansah are obvious mentions, as the Seahawks expected starters at defensive end. I added Marsh as he’s counted on to bolster the pass rush this year. His 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits in 2018 would have been the third and fourth highest totals in Seattle. The inclusion of Woods isn’t so obvious. In nine seasons he has amassed a grand total of 4.5 sacks. That’s could be a good two weeks for Clark. So why mention Woods at all?

Here’s the thing: football games aren’t won only by sacking the quarterback. Yes, it’s a passing league, blah blah blah. If sacks are so important, explain why only four of the top ten teams in sacks even made the playoffs? Why did the two teams that met in the title game rank 15th and 30th in sacks? Yeah, I know the Rams shouldn’t have been there, but they were. Sacks are great, but they aren’t everything.

Just as important to the Seahawks is stopping the run. Now, the smart folks reading this already know, or perused those links thoroughly and are about to scream at me. Two of the three worst teams in the league at stopping the run happened to be the Rams and Patriots. The Chiefs were sandwiched between them. Clearly, stopping the run has no importance in today’s game.

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