If you’re looking for a culprit to blame for the Seahawks’ recent run of failures and don’t feel like pinning any individual, you could try pointing your finger at stagnation. Specifically, Seattle’s defensive philosophy may be suffering from a lack of development and a resistance to change. Every season the competition in the NFL evolves, and it’s been almost a decade since this team had the best defense in the sport.
While finding a front-four that could rival their awesome Red Bryant/Michael Bennett/Cliff Avril/Chris Clemons days would go a long way towards changing things, the truth is Pete Carroll has to catch up with the times if this defense is ever going to get back on top of the game.
Carroll’s stubborn insistence on playing a zone-heavy scheme is the biggest problem. Without a reliable pass rush, even very mediocre quarterbacks have consistently dinked and dunked this defense into winning in matchups that should have rightfully gone to Seattle. They have also refused to embrace a critical new element that the best modern defenses all have: they almost never disguise coverages.
Those are just a couple of the reasons why this team has been mediocre defensively ever since the 2017 season, their last before they inexplicably traded Michael Bennett to the Eagles for a Day 3 pick. In terms of DVOA, they’re currently at No. 22 and they haven’t cracked the top 10 in six years.
Pete Carroll's defense is currently 22nd in DVOA. It has been below average in 5 of the last 6 years and not once in the top 10.
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) November 29, 2023
Carroll is good at what he does – at least compared to most head coaches around the NFL. His team’s sustained success over the last 13 years is proof enough of that.
However, the chances of Carroll ever having a roster as strong as he did from 2012-2015 are slim to none. Carroll and his run of defensive coordinators ever since Dan Quinn left have to accept that and change their approach to match. Otherwise, an embarrassing exit in the Divisional round of the NFC playoffs will remain their ceiling.
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