Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was critical of his run defense following Sunday’s disappointing defeat to the New York Giants. Seattle allowed Giants rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. to rush for 129 yards in his first career start, giving up 7.2 yards per carry to the first-year ball carrier via 18 attempts. Macdonald discussed his second-level run defense following the lackluster performance.
“The second level run fits are falling short,” Macdonald told local media earlier this week.
That would presumably include starting off-ball linebacker Jerome Baker, who had 14 tackles and one sack versus the Giants. Baker met with the media following Tuesday’s practice session. Corbin Smith asked the veteran linebacker about Macdonald’s criticism of the run fits.
“I think we’re all just trying to make the play,” Baker said. “We kind of got out of position sometimes. I think that’s the main thing. The intent is there, but we all gotta do our one job, and that’s how our defense plays. If I do my job and T [Dodson] does his job, Hank does his job, and Leo does his job, we’d be a great defense. We all just gotta do our job, and we’ll be fine.”
Just spoke with #Seahawks linebacker Jerome Baker on run fit concerns in Sunday's game.
"I think we're all just trying to make the play. We kind of got out of position sometimes. I think that's the main thing. The intent is there, but we all gotta do our one job, and that's how…
— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 8, 2024
Baker appears to agree with Macdonald’s criticism, admitting that the defense has been lacking gap discipline on certain run fits. The Seahawks are taking the league’s 20th-ranked run defense (128/contest) in Thursday night’s primetime divisional showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. Baker and his teammates must showcase better discipline against the run to begin course-correcting.
