Wyman: ‘Amazing’ how Seahawks’ Ernest Jones IV has ‘elevated’ play at LB

Nov 19, 2024, 11:02 AM | Updated: 11:05 am

Seattle Sports

Over the past month, the Seattle Seahawks made the highly unusual move of completely revamping their inside linebacking corps in the middle of a season.

‘We could be something special’: Seahawks’ defense finding identity

Gone are season-opening starters Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson. In are Ernest Jones IV and rookie fourth-round draft pick Tyrice Knight.

So far, the Jones-Knight combo has made a strong impression.

In Jones’ second game with the Seahawks (coming after his first full week of practice), Seattle had a strong defensive performance in a 26-20 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 3. The Seahawks held the Rams’ offense to just 13 points in regulation and 283 total yards prior to overtime.

Then after a bye week, Knight made his first start alongside Jones in Seattle’s dramatic 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. It was another impressive performance by the Seahawks’ defense, which held San Francisco to a season-low 277 total yards. The 49ers’ 17 points matched their fewest over the past two seasons.

Former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman likes what he’s seen from the new linebacker pairing, especially Jones. During Monday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, Wyman had some lofty praise for the 24-year-old Jones, comparing his play to former Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner.

“I haven’t seen this kind of play at inside linebacker since Bobby in Year 8 or 9 (2019 or 2020) around here,” Wyman said. “It’s amazing how he’s elevated the play here. When Ernest Jones got here, I was like, ‘Maybe he’ll make taking on guards cool again.’ And I was making that as kind of a joke, but it’s a culture shift. It’s like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing in this room. We’re not going around blocks. We’re not going underneath blocks.’

“He’s just bringing a culture of taking on blockers,” he added. “And you saw Tyrice Knight take on a blocker really nicely. And not only take on the blocker, but get off the blocker. … The shedding part of it is really what matters.”

The Seahawks’ past two defensive performances are a stark contrast from their first eight games, when they ranked near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories.

At the center of the improvement has been Seattle’s run defense.

Over their first eight games, the Seahawks allowed 5.3 yards per carry and 130.4 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs. Over the past two games, those numbers have dropped to just 3.6 yards per carry and 80 rushing yards per game from opposing running backs.

Seattle held Rams running backs to just 68 yards on 23 carries. And then on Sunday, the Seahawks limited the 49ers’ backs to just 92 yards on 21 carries, including just 79 yards on 19 carries from reigning NFL rushing leader Christian McCaffrey.

“With Dodson, I don’t want to sit here and dog him, because I thought he made some plays and everything,” Wyman said. “But there were some times where he was kind of like a pinball. He’s a littler guy. And now you’ve got two big guys that are gonna take on blocks and make tackles. There’s a lot of violence going on with the way they’re attacking the ball carriers and the blockers. And I’m just loving what I’m seeing right now.”

Brock and Salk on Jones’ impact

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard is equally enthralled by Jones’ play. During Monday’s edition of Brock and Salk, he heaped praise on the 6-foot-2, 233-pound Jones.

“It’s been less than a month, but when you know, you also know,” Huard said. “There can be an it factor with quarterbacks. And when the quarterbacks have an it factor, you’re like, ‘Yep, I know it.’ We’ve seen this now with enough defensive players over 15 years. (We know) when a defensive player has got a little extra juice, … and I’m talking about Ernest.

“I’m talking about 13 tackles yesterday, six of them solo. I’m talking about a stopping power that when he hits you, you stop. … When Dodson hit you, (Dodson) got carried for a lot of yards. You made tackles, but you got carried. When Ernest hit you, you stopped 13 times. … You did see a stopping power from Ernest that you’ve not seen in a while.”

Co-host Mike Salk shared a similar sentiment.

“To my eyes, I thought he had maybe the best game an inside linebacker has had in Seattle in years,” Salk said. “The violence, the stopping power. … Diagnosing and then being in the right place at the right time and not a split-second late. Anticipation, accuracy, but also willingness to fire once you get the anticipation. Like, to be there and beat the block with speed.

“Again, probably the best play we’ve seen at inside linebacker since Bobby’s first stint in Seattle. And I think that’s huge. Gotta assume he’s gonna be a long-term solution.”

Listen to the full conversation on Wyman and Bob at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Hear the full conversation on Brock and Salk at this link or in the audio player near the bottom of this story.