Seahawks desperately need to fix these problems before Week 9

Boy, was I a sap or what? Last week, I wrote that the Seahawks faced familiar problems vs the Falcons, but seemed to take big steps toward solving them in the second half. In hindsight, that seems pretty funny. Or it would be if I were a Rams fan. And speaking of Los Angeles...

Sorry to disappoint you, 12s, but there just isn't much new here to say. You know what the problems are. By now even casual NFL fans know. Heck, I'd bet the average toddler in the Pacific Northwest knows what the problems with this team are. The biggest issue right now is that the Rams know, too, and will take full advantage of them this Sunday.

There is certainly no shortage of problems on the Seahawks, as we all know. Discipline and tackling are relative latecomers to the party. The Hawks looked very good in both areas in their first few games, although the tackling was a little suspect in the season opener versus the Broncos. But blocking on the run and pass were both pretty solid in that game. Sadly, none of those trends have continued.

The Seattle Seahawks make the same mistakes week after week

There doesn't seem to be any end in sight. The run-blocking was bad against Atlanta. In fact, it was their fourth straight week grading in the 50s per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That extended into five weeks when Buffalo came to town. Seattle's offensive line has only graded higher than 70 once this year, and that was in Week 1. It doesn't do much good to have one of the best backs in the league in Kenneth Walker III if he can't get past the line of scrimmage.

Overall the pass blocking has been better. All that means is that it hasn't been atrocious in every game, just in some of them. The Hawks O-line allowed 10 pressures to the Bills, a dozen versus the Falcons. But they allowed 23 to the Niners and 27 to the Lions. I swear, sometimes it's a miracle that Geno Smith gets off any passes at all sometimes. As Stacy Rost wrote for Seattle Sports, the problem with the line is that it affects everything else.

So the offensive line remains a train wreck. Yes, Mike Jerrell has allowed four pressures in each of his two starts, but he's hardly the only problem. The fact that his performance is a vast improvement over Stone Forsythe's can't be overlooked. But Charles Cross, Seattle's most consistent O-lineman by far, gave up 10 pressures himself to Detroit. There is no easy fix for the problems on this line, especially in the running game.

As for the defense - yikes. Where do we start? According to Pro Football Focus, the Hawks rank 24th in run defense so far this season. That's simply inexcusable on a team that has brought in players specifically to stop the run. The big trade for Leonard Williams last year and the draft of Byron Murphy II this year are paying dividends, true. But they can't play four or five positions at once. Other players need to step up.

It's ridiculous to suggest that Ernest Jones IV was a bad addition to the Hawks. Yes, I included him in my list of losers for the Week 8 loss to the Bills, despite the fact he easily led the team in tackles with 15. He was out of position on too many plays and notably got trucked on a touchdown run by James Cook. I think Jones will be an exceptional addition to the Hawks. One game doesn't mean that much. He had one less-than-stellar performance after being in practice for three days.

Michael Bumpus of the Bump and Stacy Show brought up a very good point a few weeks ago. As quoted by Cameron Van Til for Seattle Sports, Bumpus said that the expectations for Mike Macdonald and the 12s might simply be unrealistic. Speaking about Macdonald's reputation as a defensive genius, he said, “If you think you can recreate the Baltimore Ravens’ roster in one offseason, one draft, one season, then you’re not living in reality."

True enough. As most 12 remember, Pete Carroll opened his career as the Seahawks head coach with back-to-back 7-9 campaigns. I still think Macdonald needs to focus on being the head coach during the game and turn over play-calling on defense. Robert Saleh got himself a new gig, so so much for all the stories he'd sit out a year. But surely Leslie Frasier couldn't do worse than the defense we're seeing now.