Bruce Irvin drops brutal truth on Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks defense

The Seattle Seahawks' defense is currently terrible. First-year head coach Mike Macdonald was tasked with fixing all of the issues the unit had in recent seasons under Pete Carroll, but that has not happened yet. While 12s have to have faith that Macdonald will make the defense much better, we do not yet know for sure if he can.

In the last three games, all Seattle losses, the defense has allowed an average of 473 total yards and 36 points per game. Sure, the team has had some injuries, especially against the Detroit Lions in Week 4 when six starters were out of the game, but against the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, the injury excuse was less viable.

Seattle next plays an Atlanta Falcons team that is eighth in yards per play (6.0) and 13th in yards per rush (4.5). The Falcons have also allowed the ninth-fewest sacks in the league so far so they don't struggle to protect quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins is just the kind of veteran who could further expose the Seahawks' porous defense.

Bruce Irvin calls out Seattle Seahawks defense for being terrible

The issues have been the same as in recent years. Seattle does not tackle well, is horrible at stopping the run, and seems not to play with an attacking type of style. These are the complete opposite traits that the Seahawks had during the Legion of Boom years. Bruce Irvin, a first-round pick for Seattle in 2012, was a part of those teams.

Irvin also played twice more with the Seahawks - 2020 and 2022 - and brought an aggressive style that much of the rest of the defense did not seem to have. He understands that the right mental approach is as important as being physically efficient. And he is tired of seeing the Seahawks defense struggle in both of those aspects.

Irvin posted on X/Twitter that he does not see Seattle playing the way they should, and he recalled the LOB days in reference. Irvin wrote, "It was a STANDARD back in LOB days. That’s just not the case anymore." He followed that with a weary emoji as well as a facepalm emoji.

The truth is that Irvin is not wrong. Expecting any defense to live up to a Legion of Boom standard - the LOB being arguably the greatest defense in the history of the NFL - is impossible, but perfecting the fundamentals that are required to create a good defense should be expected. The Seahawks are failing in that.

They also, as opposed to earlier in the season, appear to be suffering from a lack of good communication and are playing more timidly. Macdonald was supposed to correct all that. He hasn't, at least not yet. But beyond the coaching issues, the players simply need to change their mentality and take as an offense any team attempting to drive down the field on them.

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