Seahawks defense will be the reason Seattle shocks the NFL in 2022
By Boade Rowe
If the Seattle Seahawks are going to shock the league in 2022, the defense must set the tone and get back to its dominant LOB days.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has made a name for himself in the NFL for being a defensive guru. Even with that taken into consideration the Seahawks will do something this season they’ve never done under Pete Carroll: Change the defensive scheme. Seattle for the first time in over a decade will be implementing a 3-4 hybrid defensive scheme instead of Carroll’s classic 4-3 base.
This new system will make dramatic differences for this team in many different areas that needed improvement for the Seahawks in years past. Recent Seahawk defenses lacked in major areas such as consistency in zone coverage, creating turnovers and major pass rush issues. With a 3-4 defensive scheme the Seahawks have a chance to improve in those areas dramatically.
Let’s begin covering where it all starts on defense, the defensive front.
Seahawks could use a dominant defense to create chaos for opposing offenses in 2022
Last season the Seahawks finished with 34 team sacks which put them tied for 23rd in the National Football League. Their biggest struggle in that department is when playing base coverage (which the Seahawks deploy more than any team). A 4-3 scheme relies solely on four defensive linemen to dominate physically and create pressure consistently.
As opposed to a 4-3 scheme a 3-4 scheme can create a lot of defensive versatility for the Seahawks, essentially having three every down pass rushers and four linebackers with two being on the outside.
The Seahawks this year will be able to rush 3-5 pass rushers without compromising the integrity of base zone defense. This will leave offenses guessing where the pass rush will be charging in from and ideally be able to provide more confusion for opposing offenses.