12th Man Rising
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Seahawks defensive grades for their mid-term report card

By Todd Vandenberg

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 13: Shaquill Griffin #26 and Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks force Jarvis Landry #80 of the Cleveland Browns to fumble the ball on the goal line after a fourth quarter catch at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Seattle defeated Cleveland 32-28. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 13: Shaquill Griffin #26 and Bobby Wagner #54 of the Seattle Seahawks force Jarvis Landry #80 of the Cleveland Browns to fumble the ball on the goal line after a fourth quarter catch at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Seattle defeated Cleveland 32-28. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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Ezekiel Ansah of the Seahawks
CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 13: Ezekiel Ansah #94 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates his third quarter fumble recovery with teammates in front of Odell Beckham #13 of the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Seahawks D-line has been a huge disappointment

That may be a bit harsh, but let’s face it: 13 sacks in eight games is terrible. The Seahawks rank 27th in the NFL in sacks. They rank 26th in total pressures. We had high hopes when the Hawks signed Ezekiel Ansah and Jadeveon Clowney, but we’ve gotten little return from one of those deals. Spoiler alert: Clowney has been pretty good. He may not have the best stats of his career, but he’s been very, very good for Seattle. I can’t say the same for Ansah.

We all knew Ziggy Ansah would be an ongoing injury risk when Seattle brought him in. He’s missed three games so far and only started in one. At the halfway point of the season, Ansah has nine combined tackles with one of those for a loss. He’s added one sack and three quarterback hits. On the plus side, he has forced a fumble and recovered two. I liked the signing at the time, but Ansah hasn’t come within a light-year of replacing Frank Clark. The Hawks first-round pick, defensive end L.J. Collier, barely rates an afterthought. Yes, he had a late start with injuries, but we’re eight games into the season, and he’s done almost nothing.

On to the prodigal son, Jarran Reed. Yes, he’s only been back for two games. I don’t care. So far, he has three assists and one quarterback hit. Bryan Mone had three assists, and he’s on the practice squad now. Not that I always agree with Pro Football Focus, but they rate Reed the fourth-best tackle in Seattle, and it isn’t close. If Reed is even considering holding out, I hope it’s for a couple of hot dogs.

Now that I have that out of my system, Quinton Jefferson, Poona Ford, and Al Woods have all played pretty well. Jefferson got off to a great start. While he hasn’t had a sack since the first game, he’s tied with Clowney for the team lead in quarterback hits with seven. All three are solid against the run. There are issues with the run defense, but we’ll get to that next. Clowney gets an A- and the three tackles above get a B. The rest of the line…. Overall, I give the defensive line a C.

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