In hindsight, the seeds for Ernest Jones IV’s arrival in the Pacific Northwest were probably planted during a four-game stretch early in Mike Macdonald’s first season with the Seattle Seahawks. After getting off to a 3-0 start, Macdonald’s team proceeded to drop three out of their next four contests.
They had surrendered more than 30 points per game in that run of games. And worst of all for a coach who values tough defenses, after seven games, Seattle’s defense was allowing almost 150 yards per game on the ground.
The low point came in a drubbing by divisional rival San Francisco. Kyle Shanahan’s troops amassed 228 yards rushing. That effort was sandwiched between games in which Seattle’s once-vaunted defense gave up 175 and 155 yards rushing.
Ernest Jones shows once again why he is so essential to the Seattle Seahawks’ defense
Something had to be done, and it seems the first agenda item for Macdonald and general manager John Schneider was toughening up the run defense. Ernest Jones IV was already on his way.
Jones arrived in a trade from Tennessee. He played his first game with less than one week’s worth of practice. Seattle lost again and gave up a lot of rushing yards. But a few weeks later, after the bye, the Seahawks began playing better. Especially the Seahawks’ defense. When the dust settled at the end of the season, the numbers were undeniable.
In seven games without Ernest Jones, Seattle gave up 146.1 rushing yards-per-game.
In ten games with Jones, that number dropped to 103 yards-per-game.
The defense was still a work in progress, but things were getting better quickly, and the new interior linebacker was a major reason.
With reinforcements like Demarcus Lawrence and Nick Emmanwori and with a full offseason under his belt, Jones helped Seattle lower that rushing number to 91.9, third best in the league. Jones led the team in tackles and interceptions. He was chosen Second-Team All-Pro,
And if you listen to Mike Macdonald, all those stats only hint at Jones’ value to the Seahawks. Macdonald called Jones “the alpha in the middle of the whole defense. He sets the tone for the whole operation.”
Of course, Jones proved last season that he wasn’t just a leader on defense. His fierce, unabashed support for quarterback Sam Darnold in the wake of the QB’s four-interception game against the Rams opened a lot of eyes and shut a lot of mouths. Darnold had been prone to big mistakes at crucial times, and the naysayers pounced on his most recent failure.
But Jones wouldn’t hear any of it, and his passion seemed to will Darnold and the entire team through potential trouble. Lest you forget, Seattle did not lose another game all season.
In the first week of training camp, Jones has been a popular interview and he has delivered upbeat but honest opinions on where the team stands and what it must do to get better. When asked his impression of first-round pick Jadarian Price, Jones’ answer was spot on.
“Mature for his age. You don’t get many words out of him, but he’s working.” Then Jones laughed as he admitted that the rookie beat him cleanly on a pass route in practice earlier in the day. And then he delivered the best part.
“He’s got a great group of backs in front of him … teaching him the way.”
Those backs are the likes of George Holani and Emanuel Wilson. They aren’t exactly at the top of the national media’s list of great backs, but Jones was going to make sure they got the appropriate credit. And he seemed to speak very deliberately when he said, “group of backs in front of him…”
It is very likely that come opening day, Jadarian Price will be starting against the New England Patriots. But right now, he’s just another rookie. Ernest Jones IV, a team leader, is making sure he pumps the rookie up while also reminding him of how much work is still to be done.
That attitude is a major reason why Seattle is the defending Super Bowl champion and why they will make a very strong run at repeating, regardless of how many future Hall of Famers the Rams assemble to the south.
And it is one of the main reasons John Schneider and Mike Macdonald wanted Ernest Jones IV on their team.
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