Seahawks News: Devon Witherspoon, Shane Waldron, Jody Allen and Bobby Wagner

Shane Waldron's struggles

Maybe offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is just at a bit of a loss because the offensive line has been so banged up or simply ineffective. He is limited on his play calls because he isn't sure how the offensive line will hold up. That is my hope anyway because otherwise, I am not smart enough to know what the issue is. The Seahawks are 19th in points per game (20.8), 16th in yards per carry (4.1), and 19th in quarterback rating (86.0). Seattle was in the top nine in all those categories in 2022.

Seattle has most of the same personnel back, and has added receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running back Zach Charbonnet. It has hurt that right tackle Abe Lucas has been out since Week 1, but center Evan Brown was supposed to be an upgrade over 2022 starter Austin Blythe. Still, five times this season Seattle has failed to get more than 291 total yards in a game. And five times the team has scored 16 points or fewer. The offense is a mess and I am unsure if Waldron can fix it.

Bobby Wagner's issues

Bobby Wagner is one of the best Seahawks players I have seen in my many decades of watching the team. He should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as well. But while Wagner still tackles well, and though he started the season aggressively, he is wretched in pass coverage and only has 2 tackles for loss in the last seven games. This year he has allowed 11.7 yards per completion, a 111.6 passer rating when targeted, and already a career-worst 339 yards receiving.

Taking Wagner out on obvious passing situations on third down is not going to be an option, but should it be? The problem is that Seattle does not have another linebacker who appears to be able to cover well, either. Watching Seattle give up chunk pass plays over the middle of the field while the linebackers are in zone will very likely keep happening.

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