There's no disputing that the Seattle Seahawks defense is a mess so far this year. While many are calling the departures of Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks a big part of that problem, it simply isn't true.
No less an authority on the Seattle Seahawks than Richard Sherman called out the team for what he sees as a lack of leadership. As quoted by Mike Salk, Sherm said, “The Seattle Seahawks look like they need leadership on defense. They need a veteran presence to stabilize this defense. Maybe a Pro Bowler, maybe an All-Pro linebacker who’s just played a lot of football. Just somebody that’s been there, that knows the team, that knows the city … Don’t get me started on the idiocracy that it is to watch Bobby Wagner walk away for the second time. Not the first time – second time!”
But as Salk then pointed out, Sherman's comments turned from a possible issue - a lack of leadership - to a sales pitch for his former teammate. Obviously, Bobby Wagner was phenomenal with Seattle. He's going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he ever retires. But Wagner wasn't the answer for this edition of the Seahawks. Neither was Jordyn Brooks.
The Seattle Seahawks needed linebackers that fit their scheme
Some 12s might comment that the Hawks still need linebackers that fit Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme. The recent trade of Jerome Baker for Ernest Jones IV certainly backs up that opinion. Jones didn't play his best in his first outing with the Hawks. But considering that he had three days of practice, I think we can expect much better performances from him moving forward.
Yes, the Seahawks' run defense has often looked more like a colander than a brick wall this year. At first glance, you might think that Seattle was crazy to let Wagner and Brooks go. After all, run defense has been their calling card throughout their careers. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grades Wagner at 91.5 in run defense through eight games this season. That's identical to his 2023 grade with the Seahawks.
Jordyn Brooks is currently graded at 67.8. That's not exactly Wagnerian, but it's above Tyrel Dodson's 52.5 and Ernest Jones' 64.5. Brooks was much worse in his last year with the Hawks, grading out at 49.3, but he'd been quite good in his first two seasons. Of course, the reason bot Wagner and Brooks were allowed to walk was that Macdonald wanted his inside linebackers to have better coverage skills. As great as BWagz is, that's one area in which he's human. Or at least close to it.
Both Wagner and Brooks are again vulnerable in the passing game so far this year. Brooks has a coverage grade of 59.5, while Wagner's is 56.3. Dodson's coverage grade is 75.9, well ahead of the former Hawks backers. Jones only grades out at 55.2 and, frankly, has never been good in coverage. But he's better than Baker at everything else, so I can see why they made the move.
Here's the thing about those who insist Seattle should have kept Wagner and Brooks. Seattle's run defense was terrible with them on the team last year. PFF has them graded at 58.1 overall this season, 24th in the league. Last year, they graded out at 59.7, 23rd overall. This year, the Hawks are allowing 4.9 yards per carry, which is 28th in the league. In 2023, Seattle allowed 4.6 yards per carry and was ranked 27th. The Hawks allowed 24 rushing TDs in 2023, which is 30th in the league. This year, they've allowed six and rank 20th. Last year Seattle ranked 25th in points allowed. To this point in 2024, they rank 19th.
Some may still insist the team would be better with their two former linebackers. Let's ignore that Seattle is paying Dodson $4.3 million and Jones $1.9 this year, while the combined salaries of Wagner and Brooks is $9.3 million. It isn't a huge difference, especially when you're talking about the Monopoly money of the NFL. But that $3,1 million is a third of the $9.3 million in cap space the Seahawks have right now.
The biggest flaw in the argument for Wagner and Brooks is that this team has only had eight games to sort things out. Yes, we were spoiled a bit by that 3-0 start, even though all three wins were over bad teams (the Patriots) or teams with serious QB issues (the Broncos' first career start for Nix and the Dolphins missing Tua).
I know all good 12sd know that Pete Carroll was 7-9 in each of his first two seasons Anyone care to guess what their record was in his first eight games? Ding ding ding, 4-4. They gave up over 500 yards in two of those games and 487 in another. Yes, they pulled off the miraculous win over the Saints in the Wild Card game but allowed 474 yards. So, relax, fellow12s. It's early.