What we learned from the Seahawks Week 2 bludgeoning to 49ers

The Seahawks run fits still look terrible.

One thing that stood out in a negative sense in the season opener was just how bad Seattle looked against the run. Seattle’s defensive front had more holes than a doughnut shop, and they showed off just how porous they were again on Sunday.

Even without Trey Lance giving the 49ers yet another running option, the Seahawks still allowed almost 190 rushing yards, many of which came from being unable to wrap up or close the key gaps, despite running, for the most part, a larger front than they have under Carroll’s prior 4-3 scheme.

In particular, Poona Ford has completely disappeared as a difference-maker, and regular rotational pieces like Bryan Mone and Quinton Jefferson aren’t affecting the point of attack at all. Shelby Harris was one of the key pieces Seattle got back in the Wilson trade, and he didn’t show up on the stat sheet anywhere — not even a single shared tackle from him.

When nose tackle Al Woods is third on the team in tackles, and a significant portion of them are as close to the line to gain as they are to the line of scrimmage, something isn’t working.

Cody Barton and Jordyn Brooks shared the game lead in tackles, but when three different 49ers are ripping off runs of 15+ yards, it’s a little tougher to see that as a positive thing.

Granted, this is a brand-new scheme the Seahawks are running, many of the players veteran to Carroll’s defense have never run out of a 3-4 base before, and the linchpin of the defense, Jamal Adams, perhaps the reason they switched to a 3-4 in the first place, is once again hurt and done for the year.

There are plenty of reasons they might still be piecing the scheme together. But it’s hard not to think of the last few years of waiting for Ken Norton’s defenses to finally start gelling at season’s end when any hope of being a serious contender was already well off the table.