Clayton: What Seahawks need to fix before season slips away from them

When it rains, it pours. And as the rain comes down in western Washington, the Seahawks are finding out things are pouring against them.

Huard: Every phase of Hawks’ D ‘not good enough right now’

After Sunday’s 30-17 loss in Minnesota, the defense is giving up 440.3 yards a game, worst in the league. The Seahawks are having problems at cornerback, and the cornerbacks themselves are saying it’s a scheme thing. And communication was bad along the offensive line in the second half against the Vikings.

Then to make matters worse, the Seahawks were all set to sign wide receiver Josh Gordon to the practice squad once he came off the suspension list, but he ended up going to Kansas City instead.

The big thing coach Pete Carroll has to figure out is what to do with the defense. In the past six quarters, it has been terrible. You would have to think there are going to be some changes. At some point, they’ve got to look at Sidney Jones or Bless Austin at cornerback. Fourth-round pick Tre Brown comes off the injured list this week and could be an option, as well.

Carroll didn’t think it was a scheme issue for the cornerbacks in Minnesota. He said the corners played a solid, conservative game but didn’t make the plays that could have changed the fate of the game. Not good.

The Seahawks also need to see about the rotation at defensive end. Pressure on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in the first half wasn’t there. Cousins normally struggles against the Seahawks but had his best game against them Sunday. He had only a handful of pass attempts that weren’t good.

The big problem for the Seahawks is that the pass defense is struggling in the middle of the field. The Vikings got away from play-action passes at the beginning of the season, and Cousins had no problem connecting with midfield passes. Seattle’s linebackers don’t seem to be in-sync with the secondary. That has to get fixed fast.

On top of that, the Seahawks couldn’t stop the run for the second consecutive week. Nothing is going right.

Injuries are also a problem. Carroll isn’t sure if defensive end Benson Mayowa (neck), offensive tackle Brandon Shell (ankle) and running back Rashaad Penny (calf) will be able to play Sunday against San Francisco. He did say second-round pick D’Wayne Eskridge will be back after the rookie wide receiver missed two games because of a concussion, though.

The Seahawks are 1-2 and in last place in the NFC West. They are two games behind the Los Angeles Rams (3-0) and Arizona Cardinals (3-0) and one game behind the 49ers (2-1). Even though it’s only three weeks in, the season is slipping away from them.

Pete Carroll Show: Addressing Seahawks’ woes on both sides of the ball

Follow @JohnClaytonNFL