Bumpus: What stands out about Seahawks’ secondary in recent weeks
Oct 28, 2022, 4:20 PM
Ryan Neal of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates an interception against the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 23, 2022. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
(Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
The Seahawks started the season very slow defensively, but as was the case the last few seasons, that group has started to turn it around.
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It started in a Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, where the Hawks held their offense to just a field goal. The Chargers scored 23 points last week in a loss to Seattle, but the Seahawks shut down the run game and regularly pressured quarterback Justin Herbert.
A big reason for the improvement on defense? The play of the Seahawks’ defensive front, or “the box.”
Former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus said that the Seahawks’ defensive front has been getting a lot of love the last two weeks, which is understandable.
“They’ve been causing havoc, they’ve been getting after the quarterback, they’ve been stopping the run,” he said during Friday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports 710 AM.
But the Seahawks’ secondary has also impressed Bumpus a lot.
The secondary has gotten attention largely because rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen has shined, recording four interceptions and two fumble recovering over his first seven NFL games. But Bumpus thinks the back end as a whole has really played well in recent weeks.
“I’m watching film on these guys and this zone-match concept and this man concept that we’re seeing is looking beautiful right now,” he said. “The way they are attaching to receivers and tight ends and running backs as they get out the backfield, the way they are rotating the safeties last second to confuse the quarterback. The way they are disguising their man coverages and making it look like zone and zone looking like man. It’s beautiful.”
For those watching closely during games or even watching film after the fact, Bumpus had a recommendation for what to look for from the Seahawks’ secondary.
“I really want you to watch how these guys are being sticky to receivers and tight ends, and how they are confusing these quarterbacks when it comes to their coverages,” he said. “It seems like they’re finally starting to get exactly what (defensive passing game coordinator) Karl Scott and (associate head coach) Sean Desai are trying to teach them. It looks fluid, it looks confident and it looks like they can count on each other now on the back end.
Listen to the second hour of Friday’s Bump and Stacy at this link or in the player below.
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