What Mark Schlereth says Seahawks are getting wrong on defense

The Seattle Seahawks’ defense is having a rough time.

In the team’s four losses, all of which have come in a five-week stretch, the Seahawks have allowed an average of 34.5 points per game. And looking at the entire season, Seattle is allowing the fifth-highest yards per carry (4.9) and 12th-most yards per play (5.6), a third-down conversion rate (39.1%) that is worse than all but 11 other teams, and they’re tied for 13th in points allowed per game (24.4).

It’s been a sharp decline since their three-game winning streak to start the season when the Hawks beat Denver 26-20, New England 23-20 (in overtime) and Miami 24-3, and especially so when you consider NFL on FOX analyst and former offensive lineman Mark Schlereth called their Week 1 win the best tackling performance he’d ever seen by an NFL team.

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Schlereth’s assessment of the Seahawks after their 31-10 loss in Week 8 to the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills sounds markedly different.

During Schlereth’s weekly Tuesday conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, co-host Bob Stelton posed a question regarding the Seahawks’ level of talent on defense.

“They just can’t make mistakes. They’ve got to play a really clean game in order to beat a good team. Am I wrong about that?” Stelton asked.

Responded Schlereth: “I think you’re 100% right. I think the other thing is just missed tackles and not getting off blocks. As I watch Seattle on the defensive side of the ball, that to me seems to be one of the biggest things that keeps kind of rearing its ugly head.”

First contact and ‘stacking’

Schlereth drew from his experience as a two-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion over 12 pro seasons on the O-lines with Denver and Washington to explain what he’s seeing in film of recent Seahawks games.

“Guys are getting on you and they’re staying on you, and you’re not defending or defeating the block,” he said of Seahawks defensive players on the line of scrimmage. “The game is played with your hands – hands and feet – and you’ve got to be able to shock people.

“I always said when I was playing (that) first contact wins. So the first guy who makes contact usually wins that battle, and then it’s about being physical at the point. But once you physically stun the offensive lineman, then you extend – what we call stacking a guy – and then you figure out where the ball is.”

That’s where the technique is going wrong for the Seahawks D-linemen, according to Schlereth.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to extend before they win that line of scrimmage, and they’re getting pushed and not getting off blocks. And then they missed a bunch of tackles last weekend… There’s nothing more humiliating – I get it when you give up a big play over the top and all that – but when they consistently are able to run the ball on you and control the line of scrimmage on you, and consistently being able to throw it to the tight ends and things like that. That’s just really frustrating for a defense.”

Hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with NFL on FOX analyst Mark Schlereth in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.

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