3 problems the Seahawks must fix before Week 5 game versus the Giants

The Seattle Seahawks fell to 3-1 Monday night. Injuries certainly played into the loss, but a year-long issue cropped up again against the Lions. Happily, a solution is on the horizon - somewhere.

The one aspect of the Seahawks that we knew we could depend on fell flat Monday night. I'm talking about the defense, of course. Coming into the game against the Lions, the Hawks' defense ranked near the top in both yards and points allowed. As you might guess, those rankings plummeted after Detroit chewed up Ford Field. Seattle still ranks a respectable eighth in yardage but dropped to 14th in points allowed.

The good news is, that isn't exactly a problem. Not as long as the Seahawks get at least half of the players who missed Monday night's contest back. Coach Mike Macdonald may refuse to use their absence as an excuse, but I'm more than happy to do so. I doubt any team would be able to beat a quality opponent on the road while missing five key players - then six when Julian Love was lost in the first half. So the defense, despite giving up 42 points, isn't the issue. Mostly.

The Seattle Seahawks still have glaring problems to fix

Let's tackle the little stuff first. Even though Seattle set an NFL record with 38 first downs in a loss, it came in a loss. No, the offense didn't surrender 42 points; I'm well aware of that. But if you rack up 38 first downs and 516 total yards, you better score more than four touchdowns. Seattle's offense has been pretty efficient so far, measured by points per 100 yards gained.

Compared to the Broncos, the Hawks scored 26 points in 304 total yards. That results in 8.55 points per 100 yards. The same numbers versus the Pats and Phins were 6.42 and 6.49, respectively. Against the Lions, that number dropped to 5.62. That's not terrible, but when the defense needed every bit of help it could get, it wasn't the optimal time to waste opportunities, either.

Yes, Metcalf's fumble accounts for the discrepancy (yay, I got to get mathy!) Had the Hawks scored on that drive, that would have added 37 yards and seven points to their totals, resulting in a 6.51 points per 100-yard average. So the real culprit - don't turn the ball over.

Actually, the real culprit here was giving Kenneth Walker five carries in the first half. Yes, the Hawks were trailing, but it was still the first half. Seattle trailed the entire second half too, but didn't have any problems giving him the ball then. I mena, other than that series early in the fourth quarter when it was the Zach Charbonnet show. Site expert Lee Vowell and I were talking during the game, and I asked, "What's up with Walker? Is he hurt?" Lee wisely and correctly said, "It looks like it's just a Charbonnet series." Mr. Vowell was correct, it was simply a Charbonnet series.

I'm all for spelling your lead runner, absolutely. We don't want to return to the days of Shaun Alexander carrying the ball 30 times a game. But when the game is on the line, are you really going to run an entire series with him on the bench and put the game on Maurice Morris? Are you going to bench Marshawn Lynch and wait until Robert Turbin can't get the first down?

I'm not knocking Morris or Turbin, but those guys weren't starting for a reason. Charbonnet is good, but he is not Kenneth Walker. It made zero sense to give Walker so few carries in the first half and then keep him on the sidelines for an entire series. Rest him for a set of downs, sure, but at key moments, your best player has to be on the field. That's one issue that should have a very easy fix. Coach Grubb, please, let's not see that again.

Let's talk about that Seahawks defense. Even though Uchenna Nwosu missed his fourth straight game of the new season and Boye Mafe was out, the Hawks still managed to get decent pressure on Lions QB Jared Goff. Clearly, it wasn't enough, as his 18-18 performance set an NFL record. But if you knew in advance that Seattle would get three sacks and four quarterback hits with seven more hurries, you'd feel pretty comfortable about the outcome.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. The pressure was inconsistent, and the Lions' receivers got open far too often. As Bob Condotta wrote in his grades for The Seattle Times, the defensive backfield had a bad night. Despite the pressure the Hawks front seven applied to Goff, it simply wasn't enough.

Compare that to what Geno Smith faced. Like Goff, Smith was sacked three times. The only problem for the Hawks was that Smith was hit nine additional times and was hurried a total of 29 times. Those stats are from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so take them with several grains of salt. Regardless of the exact numbers, Smith was pressured much more than Goff.

Surprise surprise. That's the biggest issue by far. Stone Forsythe took off his Abe Lucas mask and played like a third-string tackle. Then again, he was tasked with stopping Aidan Hutchinson, so it wasn't the easiest assignment. Anthony Bradford played like - well, the same as he has all season. Christian Haynes finally got meaningful snaps - 36 to Bradford's 54 - and acquitted himself. Hopefully, there's a bright shiny rainbow coming on the right side of the Seahawks offensive line.

So the defense was bad, but getting some players back should be the solution. The offense underperformed on the scoreboard compared to the yardage gained, but a few adjustments should take care of that issue. And as for the offensive line - well, I have a bad feeling I can cut and paste part of this article next week.

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