Kirk Cousins details how Seahawks’ L.O.B. and ‘Dark Side’ defenses differ

There are lots of similarities between the Seattle Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” and “Dark Side” defenses.

Kirk Cousins: What makes Seahawks’ defense so hard to face

Both propelled the Seahawks to the NFL mountaintop, with the L.O.B. hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February 2014 and the Dark Side doing the same this past February.

And both stamped themselves as the NFL’s premier defense, with the L.O.B. boasting the league’s top-ranked scoring defense for four straight seasons from 2012-15 and the Dark Side following suit with the league’s top-ranked scoring defense this past season.

But from a schematic perspective, the two defenses were starkly different.

Few know that better than four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cousins faced the Pete Carroll-era Seahawks a combined six times between 2014 and 2021 with Washington and the Minnesota Vikings, and then faced the Mike Macdonald-era Hawks each of the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.

Cousins, who’s now with the Las Vegas Raiders, detailed the differences between the two Seahawks defenses during a wide-ranging conversation last week on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

The L.O.B. defense

As Cousins explained, the Legion of Boom-era Seahawks ran a relatively simple scheme. But even though opposing offenses knew what to predict, it usually didn’t matter, as the L.O.B.’s otherworldly collection of talent was simply that superior.

“You knew the call before you broke the huddle,” Cousins said. “It was gonna be spot drop, 3-4 under, with a carry side and a spot drop side. It was gonna be five guys on the line of scrimmage. You’re gonna get Kam Chancellor usually down in the box, Earl Thomas in the post. Sherman was gonna play on top and outside at corner. … And you knew Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett were gonna be screaming off the edge when you got in pass down situations.

“It was very straightforward,” he added. “It was just hard to attack. … I’ve always said the biggest flex is to to say, here we are, do your best. When everybody knows where you’re going to be and you still can’t beat it, that’s pretty tough. That’s pretty humbling.”

The Dark Side defense

Meanwhile, Seattle’s current defense features a cutting-edge scheme under Macdonald that’s difficult for opposing quarterbacks to decipher.

“I think it starts certainly with reading coverage, and they make it muddy,” Cousins said. “Late in the play, it can still look very similar, one coverage to another. If I know it’s gonna be single-high man, that may dictate that I work a certain place on the field. But if it’s a different coverage – quarters let’s say – then I may work a totally different place on the field.

“So if you can make single-high man and quarters – which are reasonably different coverages – look the same as long as possible in the down, the quarterback doesn’t know whether he should be going left or should be going right. And if you can create that unsettledness in the quarterback’s eyes and mind, then advantage defense.

“So I think Mike just has done a good job coaching his safeties, coaching his secondary, to maintain that unsettledness for the quarterback throughout the game and marrying different coverages. … Even after snapping the ball, (you’re like), I still don’t really know what you’re going to do here.”

Which is tougher to face?

So, which Seahawks defense was harder to face? The L.O.B. or the Dark Side?

Cousins sidestepped answering that question, and instead pointed to one of the commonalities between the two iconic units.

“I’ve always said, if you can take away explosives and make offenses earn it on the short gains over and over and over – and there really are no freebies, no easy plays throughout the game – those are the hardest defenses to go against, where it’s going to be hard-earned for four quarters,” Cousins said.

“And I think in both cases, those defenses took away the explosives.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation with Kirk Cousins in the video at the top of this post. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Salk: National media sleeping on Seahawks is a big mistake
• Brock’s 3 non-negotiables for next Seattle Seahawks owner
• Stacy Rost: Why are Rams favored over Seahawks for 2026?

Related

Brock: ‘Hard Knocks’ showing why Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp is ‘uncommon’New Seahawks CB Trevon Diggs ‘looking to show that I’m still the best’Bump: ‘There’s some concern’ with Seahawks’ CB situationReport: Seahawks signing CB Trevon Diggs amid Terrion Arnold uncertaintyBrock: Where Seahawks QB Jalen Milroe needs to improveSeahawks on ‘Hard Knocks’: What stood out from episode 3