3 problems Seattle Seahawks need to fix ahead of Week 3

Seattle could still make a postseason run in 2023 but they need to address some glaring weaknesses.
Alika Jenner/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next

Seahawks must fix their pass rush

The Seahawks have had a weird pass rush for a number of years now. Last year the team finished tied for seventh in the NFL in sacks with 45, but Seattle was 19th in pressure percentage. Seattle was 28th in hurry percentage. This means that while the Seahawks were capable of getting home and sacking a quarterback, they very rarely, compared to the rest of the league, in a position to tackle the quarterback. Weird.

2023 is worse, though. Seattle has 2 sacks in two games (29th in the league), 20th in hurry percentage (better but still bad), and 24th in pressure percentage. The overall run defense but the pass rush hasn't improved. Plus, Seattle just doesn't seem to have a good plan for how to attack the opposing quarterback, so is the issue the talent or the coaching?

If the issue is the coaching, that's worse than not having talent. That's just wasting the talent that is there. Darrell Taylor, for example, has shown, inconsistently though it may be, that he can chase down quarterbacks as he has a combined 16 sacks in the last two seasons. So far this year he has no sacks and no QB hits. (That is unless you count Taylor hitting Lions QB Jared Goff about 3 seconds after he had handed the ball of in Week 2.)

There is potentially a positive on this front, however. Safety Jamal Adams is now practicing in full and could even play in Week 3. Even if he doesn't, he should definitely be back by Week 4 and he has the gift of knowing when to blitz and pressur quarterbacks. He alone can make a massive difference in the Seahawks pass rush. If the coaching staff uses him correctly, that is.

Other Seahawks news and analysis

manual