The Soaring Seahawks

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The Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 for the first time since 2020 and have done so with great defence and giving the ball to their star players which are things the Seahawks haven’t done in the last few seasons. A large part is to be credited to rookie head coach Mike Macdonald who has turned this Seattle defence into the fourth best defence to start the season. This shouldn’t come to much of a surprise as Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator and helped lead the Ravens to the top scoring defense in 2023. 

 

 

 For Macdonald in Seattle however, he has some pieces to work with. Seattle has 3 pro bowlers in the secondary in safety Julian Love and cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen. The defensive line has some amazing young pieces in 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy along with Derrick Hall and Boye Mafe. As well as a veteran presence in Leonard Williams. Macdonald looks to be the missing piece Seattle needs to turn these studs into an elite defence. 

 

 

As for Seattles’ offence, I think you know the weapons Seattle has. A superstar receiver in D.K. Metcalf, 2023 first round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Mr Reliable Tyler Lockett. Thats not all they got one of the leagues best running back duos in Kenneth Walker III and 2023 second round pick Zach Charbonnet. This offence is quarterbacked by Geno Smith who has been a pro bowler in back-to-back years since Russell Wilson departed for Denver in March of 2022. Tight end Noah Fant was acquired in the Russell Wilson trade and hasn’t had the most productive first two years in Seattle but he has the attributes with great speed and route running. He was brought back for a reason and I expect to see Fant involved a lot more this season in the offence. The offensive line is considered the weak point on the offence and rightfully so ( Did you see that game against the Broncos, Yikes) But there are a few bright spots. 2022 ninth-overall pick Charles Cross has been one of the best offensive tackles in football this year. Even though he’s currently hurt Abraham Lucas is one of the league’s best pass-protecting right tackles.

 

 

You’re probably thinking with all these studs this offence had to be good. But that’s where you’re wrong. Seattles’ offence was 22nd in total yards and 14th in passing yards per game last season.. Which for the talent Seattle has on offence is a major letdown. So what’s changed? Seattle finally moved on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldren and hired University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Waldren was in Since 2021 but it felt like an eternity to us Seahawks fans. Since the day Waldren was hired, Seahawks fans were a bit skeptical. He was coming from the Rams organization and a piece of Sean Mcvay’s coaching tree which seemed like a green flag. However, signs showed early on that Waldren was there to cater to Russell Wilson’s needs and fit his picture of an ideal offensive coordinator. One of Waldren’s flaws was his predictable playcalling. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times the Seahawks ran the ball on second and long which led to a third and long during Waldren’s tenure in Seattle. It drove me out of my mind and if you’re a Seahawks fan I’m sure it did to you too. 

 

 

Another massive flaw and this one is my personal biggest gripe with Waldren was his inability to get our Star players the ball and use them to their strengths. Unfortunately, this is nothing new to Seattle as when the Seahawks traded for superstar tight end Jimmy Graham in 2015 he was never used properly after being one of the top producing tight ends in the league when he was playing for the New Orleans Saints. This was one of the main reasons Darrell Beveall who was the offensive coordinator at the time got fired. So you would think Waldren would learn from his mistakes. You couldn’t be more wrong. Waldren single handedly ruined Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s rookie year. For the first half of the season, more than half of Smith-Njiba’s targets were at or behind the line of scrimmage. Not a great way to utilize your first round pick who was the first receiver off the board in the draft. Smith-Njiba finished last year with 63 catches 628 yards and 4 touchdowns. In my opinion, he could have a much bigger year. What do you think?

 

 

The best player on the Seahawks that Waldren didn’t utilize correctly was D.K. Metcalf. Metcalf is one of the best receivers in the N.F.L. He’s 6’4 and 235 pounds just an absolute specimen. Metcalf has never had less than 900 yards in a season in his career and never had fewer than 6 touchdowns. If you’re a Seahawks fan like myself you know Metcalf’s ceiling is extremely high. Waldren has held Metcalf back in so many ways by with playcalling and not throwing him the ball in the red zone. You can use A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles for an example. In 2023 Brown had 106 catches 1,456 yards and 7 touchdowns. Compared to Metcalf’s 66 catches 1,114 yards and 8 touchdowns. Brown is considered a top 7 receiver in the NFL and has a similar frame to Metcalf so what’s the difference? Brown gets put in a position to succeed and Metcalf hasn’t. 

 

However, things are going to be different this year in the Pacific Northwest. Bringing in Ryan Grubb should finally get this Seahawks offence to reach their full potential. Grubb was the offensive coordinator at the University of Washington and had an unbelievable year. Leading the nation in passing yards per game, first downs per game and third down percentage. Grubb led the Huskies to the seventh best scoring offence second in total offence and this took them to the National Championship game. 

 

 

Grubbs’ magic is already starting to pay off. I know it is only three games and that is a small sample size, but throughout the first three games of the season the Seahawks are 8th in yards per game and third in passing yards per game. Something that’s helped this is that we’ve seen Seattle go to an empty backfield a lot more this year. Especially in critical third downs like in overtime against New England. This has helped Geno (Smith) distribute the ball to his playmakers more effectively. Geno Smith is third in the NFL in passing yards and D.K. Metcalf is sixth in receiving yards. In their week two game against the New England Patriots Metcalf had 10 catches 129 yards and added a 56-yard touchdown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba didn’t do too shabby himself having 12 catches and 117 yards. That’s something you just love to see!

 

This season is just getting started but if this is a sign of things to come this is going to be an exciting year for us Seahawks fans. Seattle’s first big test of the season will be next Monday night in the Motor City against the Lions and I can’t wait and see what they have in store. But what I can say is that Macdonald and Grubb have the ‘Hawks soaring.

 

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