What We Learned: Seahawks’ defense is getting the third-degree
Nov 9, 2016, 6:12 AM | Updated: Nov 10, 2016, 10:27 am
Seattle's last two opponents have converted a combined 21 of 32 third-down opportunities. (AP)
(AP)
The Seahawks won a game in which the opponent held the ball for nearly twice as long. That’s not necessarily a new phenomenon.
Seattle’s offense did score four touchdowns, though, which was a decided uptick from the previous two games. Then again, the Seahawks gained only 41 yards and scored only a field goal in the second half.
The fact that Seattle won Monday night’s game over Buffalo shouldn’t entirely overshadow some of the long-term trends – and perhaps even bigger questions – about the direction of this season:
Three things we learned:
1. Seattle’s defense is suddenly a concern. The Saints notched 25 points against Seattle and scored on every one of their final six possessions, but that came with an asterisk.* Well, the Bills scored the first two times they had the ball and the Seahawks forced just one punt in the second half Monday night. Buffalo finished with 425 yards against Seattle and was 10 yards short of scoring what could have been the game-winning touchdown in the final minute. Seattle’s defense has been left exposed over the past three games, opponents holding a combined time-of-possession advantage of 122:50 to 72:10. Seattle is undoubtedly missing strong safety Kam Chancellor, who has been out the past four games, and defensive end Michael Bennett, who has been out the past two. The reality is that Seattle’s defense is nowhere near as formidable as it looked back in September.
*Four of the Saints’ six scoring drives were aided by a third-down conversion via penalty.
2. Jimmy Graham is worth every penny he’s being paid this season. The Seahawks’ tight end is earning $8.9 million this year, the third-highest annual salary of any player on their roster. Considering the severity of the knee injury Graham suffered last November against Pittsburgh, there was a huge question of what he would be able to contribute this tear. Not only that, there was the puzzling reality that Seattle’s offense took off in the very game where Graham went down with the injury. Halfway through this season, Graham has three different games with more than 100 yards receiving and is No. 2 among all NFL tight ends with 545 yards, behind only Carolina’s Greg Olsen. Graham’s showcase on Monday night shows that he’s not just back this season, but better than he has ever been for the Seahawks.
3. Russell Wilson is – in fact – getting better. His 3-yard touchdown run Monday night was a sign of that, especially as Seattle used a little bit of misdirection, taking advantage of how Buffalo’s Jerry Hughes did not respect the threat of Wilson to run. Wilson also scrambled successfully on third-and-4, though he notably decided to slide after earning the first down as Hughes chased him from behind. The question with Wilson wasn’t whether he was compromised the past two months. He obviously was. The question was whether playing each week would slow his recovery, but it appears that Seattle’s quarterback is on the upswing. The Seahawks are going to go as far as Wilson will take them. The question is how much of that burden he’ll be able to shoulder with his legs in addition to his arm.
Three things we’re still trying to figure out:
1. Do the Seahawks need to be able to run the ball? We know that they want to run the ball. Coach Pete Carroll reiterated that after Monday night’s game: “We need to run the football better to make a run of this season.” We also know the Seahawks can’t run the ball. Christine Michael carried the ball five times against Buffalo, and the only rush that gained positive yards was his 3-yard touchdown run. Rookie C.J. Prosise had three carries. Yet Seattle still won the game behind the strength of four first-half touchdown drives, three of which consumed less than 2 minutes off the clock. Can the Seahawks win with that kind of quick-strike offense? They did Monday night, and they might have to if we don’t see significant improvement on the ground.
2. Why is Seattle’s defense struggling so much on third down? Buffalo converted 12 of 17 third-down chances Monday night, which comes on the heels of a game in which New Orleans converted nine of 15 third-down plays against Seattle. Let’s put that in perspective. The last time the Seahawks allowed back-to-back opponents to convert more than 50 percent of their third-down opportunities was November of 2010, Carroll’s first season in Seattle. Usually the explanation is that third-down struggles correlate with a lack of pass-rush. But Seattle had five sacks of Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor. The Seahawks have 27 sacks this season, which is third-most in the NFL. So why is Seattle struggling to get off the field? Is the absence of Bennett and Chancellor enough to explain that lack of effectiveness on third down?
3. Are the Seahawks going to have two 1,000-yard receivers? Doug Baldwin had 1,069 receiving yards in 2015, the first time a Seahawks receiver surpassed 1,000 yards in a season since Bobby Engram in 2007. Well, right now both Baldwin and Graham are on pace to finish with more than 1,000 yards receiving. The Seahawks haven’t had two players surpass that plateau in the same season since Brian Blades and Joey Galloway did it in 1995. That’s the only season in franchise history in which Seattle has had two players with more than 1,000 yards receiving. That could very well change given how potent Baldwin and Graham have been this season.
