Seattle Seahawks fans learned just how bad things could be without cornerback Riq Woolen. He might have been playing well this season, but there is a precipitous drop-off behind him on the depth chart if he misses much time. That was a brutal lesson in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Woolen suffered a concussion early in the third quarter. At the time, Seattle's defense had allowed 13 points. After he left and Nehemiah Pritchett took his place, the Seahawks surrendered 25 points. Pritchett was a big reason for it.
The second-year player was immediately targeted by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense. He allowed a 20-yard touchdown catch two plays after replacing Woolen. Overall, he was targeted three times officially, gave up completions on all of them, and two were for touchdowns.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett gives the worst answers
It was an awful performance by a player who has turned in nothing but terrible performances every chance he has had. Thankfully, he hasn't had many chances yet.
To compound the issue, after the game, Pritchett was asked by reporters what happened on the two plays he allowed touchdowns. He could have (and should have) simply said he didn't play the pass well enough and will do better in the future. He didn't.
Instead, his answer to what went wrong on the first touchdown pass, a 20-yard strike to Emeka Egbuka, was, "I was playing outside leverage, and that’s vulnerable on the inside. He just made a play on the ball."
On the play, it is clear that Pritchett was just embarrassingly beaten. Egbuka didn't need to do anything incredible other than to keep running his route. If Pritchett is actually unaware of that, he should be released immediately.
But his answer about the second touchdown was even worse. Mayfield threw an 11-yard touchdown to Sterling Shepard, and while the Seahawks corner was somewhat with Shepard on the play, he also got turned around easily, and then the Bucs receiver created easy separation.
The pass rush wasn't getting close to Mayfield before the throw, but every other receiver was covered. Prtichett was actually beaten twice on the throw. Still, the second-year player appeared to blame the pass rush.
He said, "He ran a fade ball; we’ve just got to plaster better and not let Baker be able to get out of the pocket and make those kind of throws."
Did the Seattle Seahawks need to get better pressure on Baker Mayfield on the pass? Sure, but the issue was Nehemiah Pritchett's coverage skills, which appear to be zero. He has atrocious form, a lack of speed, and seemingly a low football IQ. Seattle cannot keep giving him opportunities to play because he keeps hurting his team. Not that he would ever take the blame for it.