Wyman details fixes for Seahawks’ run defense after Week 2 struggles

Sep 19, 2024, 3:19 PM

Seattle Seahawks Julian Love tackle New England Patriots 2024...

Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love makes a tackle against the Patriots on Sunday. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

(Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks’ run defense got off to a stifling start in the season opener, holding the Denver Broncos’ running backs to just 64 yards on 20 carries.

Salk: There’s a lot to like already about Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald

But it was a different story in Week 2. Seattle gave up 185 yards on the ground in its overtime win over the New England Patriots this past Sunday, including 177 yards and 5.5 yards per carry to the backfield duo of Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson.

Stevenson, who ran for 120 yards in the Patriots’ opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries against the Seahawks. Gibson added 96 yards on 11 carries, including a 45-yard run.

“Scheme-wise, (there were) some things that, without getting into all the details, I’m putting that on my shoulders on how we prepare, how we call it, situations we’re putting guys in,” first-year Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said during his press conference on Monday. “We can be better on that front, me in particular.

“And then on the other hand, there’s just old-school football fundamentals that we need to be better at in our front seven, our edge mechanics, how we’re taking on blocks, some of our run fits at the second level. Those things need to be improved.”

Former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman agreed with that assessment. During Tuesday’s edition of Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports, Wyman detailed how the Seahawks can do a better job of positioning themselves within their gaps.

“Guys were in their gaps, but if you look like depth-wise, they were like five yards apart,” Wyman said. “If you look at it like a picket fence from the end zone, everybody’s in their gap. But if you look at it from the sidelines, one guy’s at the 40 (yard-line) and another guy’s at like the 45.

“And Stevenson is a brilliant runner as far as that goes. I don’t know that he’s one of the best running backs, but he’s super patient. And so he was just kind of slithering through the line, waiting for those blocks to set up, very patiently. … So I think that’s what Mike Macdonald’s talking about.”

Wyman said he thought Seattle’s inside linebacker play took a step back from Week 1. A big factor in that was a hamstring injury that forced starter Jerome Baker to exit early in the second quarter. He was replaced by rookie fourth-round pick Tyrice Knight, who played the rest of the way in his NFL linebacking debut.

“I thought the linebacker play in general dropped off quite a bit,” Wyman said. “Tyrice Knight made a couple of good plays, but there was a lot of times where he was either going under a block or trying to olé the guy to the gap side. All that does is stretch you, so now it’s a bigger hole there than it was originally. And then a couple of times, they were put in bad positions as far as how the gaps played out.”

Going forward, Wyman also said there are instances when the defensive line may need to help the inside linebackers by ensuring a guard can’t get a full head of steam while blocking them. That’s because Seattle’s two starting inside linebackers are both a bit undersized, with Tyrel Dodson at 237 pounds and Baker at 232 pounds.

“If (a guard) is just taking off and coming out and blasting your linebacker, you probably don’t have a chance,” Wyman said. “But if you can get a D-tackle in there to kind of slow him down and grab a little bit, … there’s some little tricks and things that they can do.”

Listen to the full conversation on Wyman and Bob at this link or in the audio player near the middle of the story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.