How may the Seattle Seahawks presumably get any worse?
Vegas appears to assume they may, as do a scattering of media personalities that bought all excited in regards to the Arizona Cardinals drafting 142 gamers in April.
The present Over/Beneath betting line for the Seahawks is 7.5 wins. They’re guaranteeing Seattle shall be worse than 2023, you might be simply meant to decide on by how a lot.
Even covert nationwide followers bailed on Seattle this Spring.
Colin Cowherd now says the Seahawks are “utterly below the radar” and will win 10 video games.
Per week into Seattle Seahawks coaching camp has given us continued intel on a number of parts of this 12 months’s roster, the teaching workers, and a few key indicators in regards to the 2024 squad’s outlook.
There’s far an excessive amount of unknown to say loopy issues like “Seattle will catch the San Francisco 49ers and I simply guess the automobile on it.”
However some issues might be stated, and I say regression is unlikely, nay, unfathomable, for 3 causes.
1) Consideration to element
It’s all the things from taking down the basketball hoop to his newest “begin quick” quote, Mike Macdonald is simply not like Pete Carroll.
Hypothesis was that Macdonald was the consummate trainer, and that a lot of his workers is as effectively. They had been rumored to be good, communication-oriented and detail-specific coaches, and that continues to be the studies popping out of camp.
This stands out as a result of for years and years we’ve spent our time discussing whether or not Pete Carroll’s motivation and vibes and perception in gamers – which appeared to steadily hold guys out of hassle or get probably the most out of them – outweighed the shortage of self-discipline and lack of in-game administration that unfolded on Sundays.
The Seahawks had been the fifth-most penalized workforce final season, almost equivalent in 2022. Pete Carroll’s current groups have typically been the most important offenders by way of missed tackles, and the 4th-down and timeout conversations on this website alone may fill a e book.
Now we are able to’t converse in any way as to whether Macdonald can minimize it by way of motivation and longevity of NFL athlete management, however once you hear him converse you possibly can inform that he’s not going to come back to the rostrum for the sixth consecutive week and say “we simply didn’t execute.” They’ll work on these items, they may handle these items.
Macdonald got here out in his second month and known as his star first-round select for needing to be in higher form to the general public. This isn’t a man who’s going to fiddle.
Jacson Bevens has an incredible clip from his podcast breaking down the advantage of being hyper-focused on the main points – particularly, it retains the gamers from “guessing.” Know your position; understand it effectively, understand it inside and outside. This appears to be Macdonald’s philosophy by rookie, OTA, and coaching camps, and because it performs out I anticipate a stage of intentionality totally different than current years.
2) The protection actually can’t be worse
Not hyperbole.
The workforce was already close to or the precise worst within the league at third down protection, 1st downs allowed, run protection, and purple zone protection.
And so they nonetheless completed 9-8.
Having now introduced in the most effective defensive thoughts that was accessible this offseason, who could find yourself proving to be among the finest defensive coaches interval, these three marks appear unlikely to be repeated.
There’s nowhere to go however up with the protection, and chances are high extra possible that they’ll go method up than merely go a workforce or two.
If we add the eye to element to the numerous stress fronts that Macdonald was recognized for in Baltimore and continues to impress with in camp, we’re left with the chance of a basically sound and well-disguised protection.
We….haven’t had that for some time.
It definitely wasn’t the case final season. An enchancment in these two areas appears inevitable, whereas the roster definitely isn’t worse on protection than 2023.
Write it in pen – Seattle is not going to surrender extra factors than final season.
3) Geno Smith
Smith is probably the most established “third-year starter” within the NFL. Just like the dialog in regards to the protection, it’s a close to impossibility that Smith would inexplicably worsen.
Right here’s why.
The re-branded Geno Smith had someplace across the worst offensive line in soccer final season, but nonetheless produced at a top-half price in a lot of the identical classes he did in 2022.
It’s onerous to oversell how dangerous the offensive line was final 12 months. Simply disasters in all places as soon as Abe Lucas went down. Sharp Soccer Analytics had them twenty ninth, Ben Baldwin twenty ninth in go safety, PFF twenty eighth, and our pricey buddy Mike Clay says they’re the worst group in soccer this 12 months as effectively.
Geno performed below a stress price of just about 41% final 12 months.
Anyone keep in mind that Week 4 recreation in opposition to the New York Giants after they had Daniel Jones working for his life the entire evening?
That stress price from Seattle was 46%.
How this performs: The Seahawks line had the particular privilege of being so dangerous it could have lowered the everyday ground of its beginning quarterback. We’ve gone in depth about how ridiculous Smith was at avoiding sacks final 12 months, however two factors to contemplate: (1) what if he didn’t have to try this? And (2) it (virtually) definitely can’t worsen.
Enter Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff, two coaches with O-line expertise and in addition respected for his or her skill to show. Enter the studies that Geno Smith has seemed higher than any Seattle QB has seemed in camp in a protracted, very long time.
And take into consideration the very worst of Geno Smith, how he’s stored Seattle in almost each recreation the protection didn’t sabotage, after which take into consideration the easiest of Geno Smith, who went to the Professional Bowl and led the league in completion proportion.
Clearly it’s a protracted season, and issues occur. However higher fundamentals (gamers and coaches), improved protection, and a steady quarterback are as near locks because it will get this season.
That may be a robust recipe for a workforce to be regression-proof.
