Richard Sherman: Points more important than interceptions for Seahawks’ defense

RENTON – It must be killing cornerback Richard Sherman that Seattle’s defense has only picked off three passes through eight games, tied for fewest in the NFL. Sherman has more interceptions than any player in the league since 2011 yet he has none since the NFC Championship Game, the longest stretch of his career. That’s got to be eating at him, right?

“Not really. It’s not something we think about,” Sherman said Wednesday. “We keep points off the board. We keep people from getting yards. I think we’re top two or three in most categories.”

Indeed, Seattle ranks near the top in some of the main defensive metrics despite ranking near the bottom in takeaways. The Seahawks have only nine of them, fewer than all but five teams. Yet they’re second in yards allowed at 284.9 per game and have allowed only one more point all season than the league-leading Broncos, averaging 17.5 per game.

“That’s really all the game comes down to,” Sherman said. “I mean, if you get a lot of turnovers and you’re giving up a bunch of points, it’s not really worth it, is it? You’ve got to keep the points off the board, and that’s what we’re focused on.”

The Seahawks led the league in interceptions in 2013 with 28, they were tied for 18th last season with 13 and are only on pace for six this season.

For his part, coach Pete Carroll called that “really frustrating.”

It was somewhat understandable earlier in the year. Seattle was without strong safety Kam Chancellor for the first two games. One of those games was against the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, who at that point hadn’t been intercepted at home since 2012. Chicago’s game-plan almost exclusively featured underneath throws, which are typically easier to complete and harder to intercept.

It doesn’t make as much sense at the mid-point of the season. Chancellor is back and the Seahawks have faced more aggressive offenses. Their pass rush has also been heating up, which in theory should lead to more hurried and off-target throws.

Seattle is at home for five of its remaining eight regular-season games starting Sunday against Arizona. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer was injured for both meetings with Seattle last season, but the Seahawks picked him off a combined six times the year before. There have been plenty of personnel changes with both Seattle’s defense and Arizona’s offense since then, but what hasn’t changed is the Cardinals’ propensity to throw deep. They have completed 19 passes of more than 25 yards this season, which is four off the league lead, and they rank first by a wide margin in yards per attempt at 9.1.

That means the Seahawks should have a few chances Sunday to improve on their interception total.

“I can’t imagine that it can continue to happen because the rush is effective, and we are getting the kind of speed rush that we want in effect,” Carroll said. “Let’s get some games at home, see what happens here, see if we can’t get it cranked up a little bit.”

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