Riq Woolen's lack of words speaks volumes about current state of the Seahawks

Riq Woolen made the kind of play that few cornerbacks can in the second quarter of the Seattle Seahawks Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a fade to wide receiver Puka Nacua who was covered by Woolen. Woolen used his 6'4" frame and elite athletic ability to outjump Nacua and Seattle's corner came down with the interception.

The play was brilliant. The play that allowed the Rams to win the game in overtime was not. Woolen was beaten deep - something that should never happen with his type of speed - by receiver Demarcus Robinson, and Stafford placed the ball exactly where it needed to be. Woolen closed the gap just before Robinson made the catch, but the initial separation was enough for Robinson.

Woolen has not had a bad year. He is certainly having a better season than he did in 2023, though not as good as he did in his rookie season of 2022 when he had six interceptions. His tackling is better, and his run support is as well. He is not an elite cornerback, however.

Riq Woolen's silence after the Seahawks loss to the Rams speaks volumes

After the game, Woolen refused to talk to reporters in the Seattle locker room. One cannot really blame him. He is a bit of a talker on the field, but honest enough off of it to know that when he gives up a walk-off touchdown, part of that is his fault. He cares about winning and losing, and he could have simply been a jerk when answering reporters questions. He wasn't; he just didn't want to talk.

What was he going to say anyway? Likely, the same kind of things head coach Mike Macdonald has said after most of Seattle's last six games. The Seahawks have won just once in that time. After every loss, Macdonald names a few things the team needs to fix (these are mostly the same problems: Poor run defense, poor execution, and too many penalties) and that the team will work hard to resolve them.

Instead, the penalties have been even worse over the last two games. Run defense was fine against the Rams, but that feels more like an outlier. The team is seemingly even more undisciplined under Macdonald than they were under Pete Carroll. Yet, there are almost always flashes of brilliance paired with long stretches of inefficiency. Macdonald doesn't know how to fix the problems yet, or they would be getting better.

Quarterback Geno Smith began his part of the Seahawks post-game press conference by apologizing for his play in Week 9 and saying he would be better in the future. Will he? Instead of apologizing, he just needs to be better.

Woolen didn't say anything. There were no words to express how frustrated he was, but at least he didn't offer some half-hearted words of a dreamy future. Silence is sometimes better.

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