If you are just waking up and have not done anything but roll over and look to see what 12th Man Rising has posted about the Seattle Seahawks Week 15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, a couple of things. First, thank you and we are not worthy. Secondly, you are likely late for work.
You might also think judging from the headline of this article that even though Seattle won to keep their playoff hopes alive that this article is negative in scope. But that would be wrong. This is really about getting rid of some negativity and replace that with positivity. In other words, much like Seattle did before the game against the Eagles.
If Seattle goes on to make the playoffs, maybe they will lose in their first game. But they proved in Week 15 that they might have a puncher's chance against anyone. Plus, how many of us thought for much of the second half Seattle was going to find a way to win, saving their season and maybe even Pete Carroll's job? But three players' jobs should now be in jeopardy because of what happened on Monday Night Football.
Seattle Seahawks should bench safety Jamal Adams
For weeks now, Jamal Adams has been a siphon for the Seahawks' defense. He is atrocious in coverage and somehow seemingly getting worse in that area. He also seems to gum up the works on the back end of the defense as his fellow safeties have to try to make up for his coverage deficiencies. Adams wants to bite hard and attack the line of scrimmage on run plays and on blitzes, and that is great for a player who isn't truly a strong safety and one who hasn't lost the explosiveness Adams once had.
But against a good Eagles offense, and one that is excellent in completing passes over the middle or getting quarterback Jalen Hurts out running in space, Seattle's safeties simply seemed more understanding of how to play. Julian Love and Quandre Diggs got to cut out some of the extra thinking they have to do when Adams is in the game because Love and Diggs better understood that the other players in the secondary would actually stick to their assignments.
Do we really think Julian Love gets those 2 interceptions if Adams is playing? Love is probably looking around the field wondering what Adams is doing instead of being able to focus on the receiver. The on-field communication appeared much better between Love and Diggs, too. Cutting out the Adams chaos and simplifying the defense worked well in Week 15 and should continue the rest of the season.
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Seahawks should bench Darrell Taylor
Uchenna Nwosu is a fantastic edge rusher and he has been missed since he left Week 7 with a pec injury that ended his season. Perhaps the worst part about Nwosu being hurt is that it meant Seattle was forced to play Darrell Taylor more. Through Week 15, Taylor is graded by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as the 11th-worst edge rusher in the NFL. Plus, Taylor has only ever been good at rushing the passer and now he doesn't even do that well.
Through his first three seasons, Taylor has never graded better than 84 among edge rushers. But his pass rush grade is 59.9 this season which ranks 81st. He is trending toward a career low in sacks (he has 4.5 in 2023) and quarterback hits (13). This is true even though his snap count percentage is the same as 2022 when he had 9.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hits.
The Seahawks completely benching Taylor means giving his snaps to rookie Derick Hall. Hall has not exactly been great this year either, but he should be able to help Seattle more in the future. Taylor is a restricted free agent this coming offseason, and he should not be retained though likely Seattle will place some kind of tender on him. But at least Hall would get more experience to help him be ready for a bigger year in 2024.
Seattle should bench cornerback Riq Woolen
What happened to the Tariq Woolen of 2022? He changed the way he wanted his name listed on the roster to Riq - nothing wrong with that and he has that right - but along with the name change his play has changed as well. Last year, he got 6 interceptions and made the Pro Bowl as an overperforming 2022 fifth-round draft pick. But then he hurt his knee in training camp and hasn't been the same since.
Maybe that is part of the problem and part of what has gotten Woolen mostly benched the last few weeks. Possibly Woolen got injured and is playing a little scared now. Last season, Woolen was not only excellent in coverage, but he was mostly a very good tackler who didn't mind handing out some punishment when he did tackle someone. That kind of physicality has not existed this year.
Woolen has also dealt with a shoulder injury this year too. He is a tall corner but doesn't have much girth. Once a player has any fear of injury, that player shouldn't be on the field. That is a bit like a Formula 1 driver who suddenly has a fear of speed. I don't know that Woolen has a current fear of injury, but he plays as if he is.
Plus, the players taking his reps - Mike Jackson and Tre Brown, and even Artie Burns in Week 15 - act as if they want to be on the field and even though none of those guys will ever be mistaken for Richard Sherman, you wouldn't know it from how hard they play. Jackson and Brown want to prove they deserve the roster spots on an NFL roster and Woolen doesn't seem to have the same drive right now.