Macdonald Preview: ‘Sense of urgency’ high for Seahawks

After five losses in their past six games, the Seattle Seahawks had a chance to regroup during their bye this past week.

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For first-year head coach Mike Macdonald and his staff, that meant doing some self-scouting in the wake of an up-and-down first half of the season.

The Seahawks have shown flashes of promise during their 4-5 start, but too often those have been overshadowed by their struggling run defense, shaky offensive line and sputtering rushing attack.

“There’s things that we’re falling short on and (it was) trying to identify those things – not just the symptoms of it, but the root of it, what’s all the science behind it and how do we attack that,” Macdonald told Steve Raible during Friday morning’s Mike Macdonald Preview on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM.

“And I think we’re taking a jump this week,” he added. “You’re not gonna figure out everything in one fell swoop, but I think (we’ve) got a really crystalized vision of, ‘Hey, this is where we need to go.’ And I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

The Seahawks are currently in last place in the NFC West, but they sit just 1.5 games behind the first-place Arizona Cardinals in the wide-open division. Seattle’s next two games are pivotal, with both being NFC West matchups. The Seahawks travel to face the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on Sunday and then host Arizona the following week.

“All the things that we still want to do are still ahead of us,” Macdonald said. “And we’ve put ourselves in a situation where the sense of urgency is incredibly high at this point. But the guys see it on tape on the stuff that we have to improve. They know where we stand with the stats and all that type of stuff.

“And you’ve gotta confront (it) head on,” he added. “I mean, we always say, ‘Tell each other the truth. Tell them with love.’ There’s an urgency behind it as well, and onward we go.”

The 49ers present a major challenge on Sunday with their wealth of offensive playmaking talent, highlighted by running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and quarterback Brock Purdy.

McCaffrey, the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year, made his season debut this past Sunday after missing the first half of the season with Achilles tendonitis. Even though McCaffrey was sidelined for San Francisco’s 36-24 win over Seattle on Oct. 10, the 49ers still racked up 228 rushing yards and 483 total yards on the Seahawks’ defense.

“They do a great job of mixing it up and putting guys in different spots,” Macdonald said. “They know the issues that they present, so they also try to stay ahead of the solutions that you’re trying to create too. So it’s kind of this back and forth of who’s going to have the upper hand on a play-to-play basis.

“And it’s a fun challenge. They’ve got a heck of a squad and they design it really well. But our guys have had a great week of prep so far, and we’ve got a couple more days here to get ready to roll.”

Macdonald said he’s confident in his team’s mindset and approach, despite the recent struggles.

“I’m just really encouraged by our conversations with the players this week (and) their attitude,” Macdonald said. “I’m just really proud of how they attack every day. All I know is if we just keep doing this, we’re going to break through.”

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