Bumpus: How Seahawks must get return on investment on defense
Aug 10, 2023, 9:09 AM
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll talks to safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams. (Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
(Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks will look much different on defense this year.
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After struggling in the second half of the season, primarily against the run, Seattle overhauled that side of the ball, particularly up front. That also meant spending a considerable amount of money on the defense, including extending a key part of last year’s squad.
So what needs to be different for the defense this year? Former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus broke down the return on investment that the Seahawks needs to see from that side of the ball during Tuesday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports.
“Big investments made … You’ve got Dre Jones coming over (as) the biggest offseason acquisition (this regime) have made. You’ve got (Jarran) Reed, (Uchenna Nwosu) who got paid … and you’ve got Bobby (Wagner) coming back for what, $5.5 million a year? They invested in this defense,” Bumpus said.
So what does Bump want to see from that side of the ball in 2023?
“You need to see technically-sound defense,” Bumpus said. “You need to see the gaps filled, you need to see the edges set, you need to see limitations in these big run games, you need to see limitation the big pass plays. When you look at this defense, what’s missing? There’s nothing missing – Jamal Adams, obviously he’s not healthy – but you look at the personnel, they have everything that they need, and they invested a lot of money in this defense. So I just see sound football and I need to see confident football. I need to see better tackling – last year, they weren’t a great tackling team.”
With so many eyes on the defense, Bumpus says that means more pressure for one Seahawks coach in particular.
“I’m rooting for this defense so bad because you know if it does not go down, (defensive coordinator) Clint Hurtt is gonna in trouble,” Bumpus said. “… I’m kind of nervous for him because if you don’t see instant satisfaction, people are going to be yelling and screaming and saying, ‘What are they doing? They need to change things’ … I just want to see it sound.”
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