Seahawks new DC Clint Hurtt says defense is going to be ‘aggressive’
By Lee Vowell
New Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt gave his first press conference on Wednesday and had some exciting things to say. One, in particular, should make 12s very happy.
For the last several seasons – OK, since Ken Norton, Jr. was hired to be the DC – the Seahawks have been more and more a defense that let opposing offenses dictate the pace of play. This eventually turned out to mean the defense giving up too many easy throws over the middle and other teams sustaining drives and Seattle’s offense having the ball just over a third of the game.
Norton, Jr. seemed to have less of an idea of how to design a defense with every season he gained more experience. He was bad at his job. Last offseason the Seahawks appeared to load up on edge rushers and then Norton, Jr. found a way to misuse those players.
New Seahawks DC Clint Hurtt said many things on Wednesday that should make 12s happy
In his press conference, Hurtt actually addressed the issue of dropping Carlos Dunlap and others into coverage at times they needed to try to get to the quarterback. Hurtt was asked about this issue and said, “I don’t want to see guys going backwards.” Perfect response. 12s don’t want to see that either.
Asked whether the defense was going to be more aggressive, Hurtt said, “One thing that is going to be significantly different this year, we are going to be aggressive. We want that. The aggressiveness is going to have to come from our guys up front getting after the passer…” and, “Obviously, that comes down to one, how you coach it, and two, how you call it.”
That might not be a diss directly at Norton, Jr. but it might as well be. Clearly, Hurtt wants to coach the defense differently, especially call in-game plays differently, than Norton, Jr. did and the Seahawks need that.
Every Seattle game last year felt the same way: The game would start off well enough but by the second quarter time of possession was getting out of hand in favor of the other team and by the end of the game the defense was so tired the other team would control the fourth quarter (see: loss to Bears in Week 16). Seattle’s offense wasn’t great but it also had less time to be great as the defense couldn’t get the opposing team off the field. It was a vicious cycle.
Being more aggressive is a mentality that the Seahawks defense needs. Seattle played with a chip on its shoulder in the early 2010s and that helped Seattle be extremely physical. Seattle overall doesn’t play that way anymore. A lot of that is due to coaching.
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If Hurtt proves his words to be true on the field, the Seahawks defense should be much better as players will be used the right way. This should equate to more victories for the Seahawks and getting back to the playoffs in 2022.