It’s mid-October and here the Seahawks are — in first place in the NFC West.
OK, so it’s a three-way tie with the Rams and 49ers. And all at 3-3. But hey, first place is first place.
Seattle got there with a 19-9 win over Arizona on Sunday at Lumen Field that featured the team’s best defensive performance of the season.
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Seahawks 19, Cardinals 9
In this week’s Four Downs, Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta reviews the defense as well as a few other topics left over from the game.
What made the difference for the defense Sunday?
It can’t be ignored that Arizona is struggling some and was short-handed, without its starting running back and a key backup, and still without receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who comes off a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy this week.
But coach Pete Carroll hinted at some changes before the game, and a few seemed evident. Seattle appeared to play more four-man fronts, and Carroll noted on his radio show on Seattle Sports 710 that that seemed to particularly help tackle Poona Ford.
“Poona played on the edge a little more than he had been,” Carroll said. “He is a better edge player.”
Players said they were able to attack up front more instead of reading and reacting.
The Seahawks also played more varied looks in the back end. Seattle had three safeties on the field for 23 snaps, and nickel corner Coby Bryant played 75% of snaps, his second-highest percentage of the season.
That had the effect of having inside linebacker Cody Barton on the field for just 28 snaps, or 39%, after he’d played 62% or more in each of the first five games, and mostly in running situations.
How much of that was specific to an Arizona team that couldn’t run the ball with its backups and had a lot of long yardage situations, and also was playing with a deficit for most of the game, and how much of that represents a permanent shift in personnel usage will become clearer as we go.
But it all worked Sunday as a Seahawks team that entered the game allowing the second-most points in the NFL gave up a field goal on the first possession — and then nothing on Arizona’s final 10 drives.
Seattle will see a different-looking Arizona team in the rematch on Nov. 6 as Hopkins will be back and the Cardinals on Monday traded for veteran receiver Robbie Anderson, previously of Carolina, to help replace Marquise Brown, who reportedly suffered a season-ending foot injury in the fourth quarter on the play Tariq Woolen grabbed his fourth interception of the season.
Just how good is this rookie class, anyway?
Speaking of Woolen, his continued excellent play only puts more of a spotlight on a Seattle rookie class that may be emerging as the best in the NFL this season.
Certainly, the Seahawks are getting more out of their rookie class than anyone in the NFL.
According to Pro Football Focus, Seattle’s rookies have played 1,660 snaps this season, more than any team in the league — the Bears are second at 1,492.
And Seattle may keep that lead in snaps played all season as six rookies are now playing essentially starting roles — Woolen, Bryant, linebacker Boye Mafe, offensive tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas and running back Kenneth Walker III.
It’s a complete reversal from a year ago when the Seahawks had three draft picks and got just 862 snaps from its rookie class, with almost half of them coming from undrafted free agent lineman Jake Curhan.
The dominant storyline going into the 2022 draft was that the Seahawks needed to hit on it, especially after getting some extra selections in the Russell Wilson deal. There’s no longer any question that they did.
Are we finally seeing the emergence of Dee Eskridge?
And speaking of the 2021 draft, Sunday marked the best game for the first player Seattle selected that year — receiver Dee Eskridge.
Eskridge had three catches for 39 yards, tying a career high for catches and setting one for yards.
All came on drives on which Seattle eventually scored, including a 16-yarder on the final play of the third quarter that helped jump start the possession in which the Seahawks scored to take a 19-9 lead after Arizona had cut the lead to three.
More is needed from a player taken 56th overall. But the Seahawks need a legitimate long-term third option at receiver to emerge and have hoped it could be Eskridge, who will be on his rookie deal for two more years. Sunday showed maybe that can still happen.
“He showed up in some nice ways,” Carroll said. “That’s great. You know, he was sick earlier in the week, and he didn’t have a full week of preparation. We were a little bit concerned about that. But the last couple of weeks, he’s really cleaned things up. He really is on his assignments and all of that. And you can see how dynamic a player he has a chance to be too. We need to just keep going with him.”
What the heck is up with the special teams?
Another week, another special teams screw-up that gifted an opponent a touchdown, this time, a botched blocking assignment that led to punter Michael Dickson being hit in the end zone and then fumbling the ball away, with Arizona’s Chris Banjo falling on it for a score.
“We’ve got to get rid of it,” Carroll said on his radio show of the special teams mistakes.
None have been same.
In San Francisco, a collision between Tyler Lockett and Xavier Crawford led to a fumble, and a few plays later a 49ers TD. In Detroit, Lockett simply fumbled a punt, leading to a touchdown. In New Orleans, Dickson aborted a rugby style punt fearing it would be blocked and was stopped short of a first down after taking off (he also fumbled the ball but was ruled down first).
Fullback Nick Bellore took the blame for Sunday, telling the team’s website he was should have changed the protection after seeing how Arizona lined up.
Take out the 26 points scored off those four plays (opponents twice missed PATs) and the Seahawks would have an almost even point differential for the season of 127-128, instead of the 127-154 it does have.