Brock: The crux of how Seahawks’ new defense is different

New head coach Mike Macdonald is bringing a cutting-edge defense to the Seattle Seahawks that centers on using positional versatility to generate a constantly shifting array of pressures and looks.

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That flexibility is expected to be a focal point up front, with defensive linemen moving around to a variety of different spots. During minicamp in June, defensive lineman Leonard Williams said he was lining up at six different positions along the line.

Could that positional movement also extend to cornerbacks? Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll typically kept his outside cornerbacks stationed on one side of the field, rather than moving them around to follow a specific receiver. After the team’s first training camp practice Wednesday, Macdonald was asked about his philosophy on the matter.

“We’ve done several things,” Macdonald said, in reference to his past stops as the defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens and the Michigan Wolverines. “We’ve matched guys, we’ve played field and boundary, we’ve played right and left. I think it depends a lot on who you’re playing and their operation. If they’re gonna be hiding guys and moving a lot and you’re matching, that’s a little bit tougher. If one guy’s on one side, it’s a little bit easier to match the skill set of the guys on your team. So those are things that we’ll consider as we go.

“Right now, the guys are playing right and left. And we do the same thing with safeties. And as camp starts to declare and the roster starts to declare, then we start to kind of move them around and get a little more specialized.”

The defensive version of Sean McVay?

During the Blue 88 segment of Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard gave his reaction to the possibility of Macdonald moving around his corners from week to week.

Huard thinks it’s yet another example of how Macdonald could end up being the defensive version of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who are both considered among the brightest offensive minds in the game. This offseason, multiple NFL insiders have made comparisons between Macdonald and McVay, given Macdonald’s fast-rising reputation as a defensive mastermind following his immense success in Baltimore.

“Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, what is their whole scheme week to week? What is their very premise?” Huard said. “It is to take apart their opponent. It is to find their weak link in the herd. It is to isolate and get matchups on their biggest weaknesses. And we watched that an awful lot, especially in the middle of the fields with the with the Shanahans and the McVays in the last four, five, six years in particular.

“What is the defense’s response to that? Well, you know what? We’re going to find their weak link. We’re going to take apart their protection. We’re going to move all of our pieces around. We’re going to put our good on good. We’re going to travel with guys. This week is going to be better to be field boundary than it is.”

Huard also pointed to six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick, who excelled at mixing up his defensive strategies from opponent to opponent.

“It is totally, totally taking apart that opponent by scheme week to week. New England’s done it,” Huard said. “Belichick’s done it. I think for years, Pete marveled at the way they were able to do it. And Mike Macdonald and (defensive coordinator) Aden Durde and this staff are going to attempt to do much the same thing that New England has done for a lot of years.

“And that’s week to week, you really look at your opponent and you match up with them, more so than (just) fine-tuning your own defense principles and fundamentals.”

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