Seattle pass D is currently Bottom 10 in the NFL

[Falcons1stPanthers2nd]

I've always thought their front 7 was underrated while the secondary was overrated. I think Trufant with that front 7 would be as good as sherman .

[Mol3m4n]

former Panther LB Dan Morgan on Bobby Wagner vs. Luke Kuechly: “They’re both excellent football players. They’re both in the very top of their category. ... I’d say Bobby has a more all around game than Luke has ... That’s what makes Bobby special, he can do everything. He literally can do everything.”

Breaking news:

Dan Morgan injures neck from tripping over a ladybug after leaving interview.

Frigging traitor.

[Boltergeist]

So you're saying that Seattle's pass D isn't very good when they have to face good QBs, but is only good when they face weak QBs?

Seattle didn’t play Rivers or Rodgers last year, which artificially inflated Seattle's stats relative to teams that did

 

 

Nah it was more trying to give credit to those 3 QBs. Depending on your feelings about Brees, they may have faced 3 better than him this year so coming out that good is a decent mark

[gettlemanjack]

Nah it was more trying to give credit to those 3 QBs. Depending on your feelings about Brees, they may have faced 3 better than him this year so coming out that good is a decent mark

bottom ten in the NFL is "a decent mark" and "coming out good"? That's the Seattle pass D.

[Boltergeist]

bottom ten in the NFL is "a decent mark" and "coming out good"? That's the Seattle pass D.

 

again consider the caliber of QB/pass games they faced, it's a lot better than many other teams would have done in the same situation.

[gettlemanjack]

again consider the caliber of QB/pass games they faced, it's a lot better than many other teams would have done in the same situation.

on the road, the Seattle pass D did the same as the Jacksonville pass D on the road against the same QBs:

Kirk Cousins at FedEx Field

vs JAX - 22 of 33 for 250 yds (7.6 y/a) 2 TD 0 INT 109.4 rating

vs SEA - 21 of 36 for 283 yds (7.9 y/a) 2 TD 0 INT 102.0 rating

Rivers at Qualcomm Stadium

vs JAX - 29 of 39 for 377 yds (9.7 y/a) 3 TD 0 INT 130.0 rating

vs SEA - 28 of 37 for 284 yds (7.7 y/a) 3 TD 0 INT 124.2 rating

due to the enormous homefield advantage at SEA, they would make any secondary look better than they are, which is a plus

so at home, SEA did just as good as DET did at home vs Rodgers, and both did much better than CHI at home vs Rodgers

and at home, SEA did well against Peyton but Peyton hasn’t played any other road games. Also, SEA didn't do near as well at home vs Peyton this yr as they did last year at a neutral site in the Super Bowl, which is another sign of regression

[gettlemanjack]

Coming into 2014, there were several obvious reasons to expect the SEA secondary not to be as good as last year

First:

the Seahawks lost three members of the defensive line in Chris Clemons , Red Bryant and Clinton McDonald who got these contracts with their new teams:

Clemons: 4-year, $17.5M, $5.5M guaranteed

Bryant: 4-year, $19M, $5.3M guaranteed

McDonald: 4-year, $12M, ?M guaranteed

That is half of their sack leaders from last year GONE!

Sacks by SEA DL in 2013

8.5 - DE Michael Bennett

8.0 - DE Cliff Avril

4.5 - DE Chris Clemons - GONE!

1.5 - DE Red Bryant - GONE!

1.0 - DE O'Brien Schofield

------------------------------------

5.5 - DT Clinton McDonald - GONE!

2.0 - DT Tony McDaniel

none - DT Brandon Mebane (run stuffer)

And the Seahawks weren't able to do much to replace them due to cap restrictions and other needs: The Seahawks only brought in old man 34-year-old defensive tackle Kevin Williams in free agency, and didn’t address the d-line until the fourth round in the 2014 NFL Draft .

So it isn't surprising that:

Last year, SEA was 8th-best in the NFL with 44 sacks (2.8 per game)

This year, SEA is 8th-WORST in the NFL with only 6 sacks (1.5 per game)

Last year, the Seahawks sacked or put opposing quarterbacks under duress on 31 percent of dropbacks last season, best in the NFL

This year, not so much

a good pass rush makes a secondary look good. When you don't have that, not so much. For example, see Jairus Byrd, universally considered the best safety in the game along with Earl Thomas. Byrd leaves that great Buffalo D-line (#2 in NFL in sacks last year), goes to the Saints (tied with SEA for 8th-WORST in the NFL with only 6 sacks), and Byrd looks nowhere near as good. You are seeing the same thing with the SEA secondary

and that is just the first obvious reason the SEA secondary wouldn't be as good this year as last

[Ruff]

Bobby Wagner has always been awesome...

[gettlemanjack]

Washington Post:

"Richard Sherman is vulnerable... This season, opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 99.4 when they target Sherman in coverage...last season, Sherman held opposing quarterbacks to a league-low 47.3 rating on passes to receivers he was covering."

[gettlemanjack]

Deion Sanders on the Seattle Seahawks: "This is not the same team from a year ago. Some of the same personnel but this is clearly not the same team...It’s so hard to repeat because everyone becomes somewhat of a star – of a celebrity, and they start smelling themselves…It’s so hard to keep that level of intensity up week in and week out and understand that you’re the hunted – you’re not hunting anymore."

The Chargers were 5-for-5 passing for 60 yards while throwing to receivers Sherman was covering. "Keenan (Allen) was lighting up Sherman,'' said Chargers receiver Malcom Floyd.

"He's just a normal guy," (Keenan) Allen said of Sherman. "We took some shots at him. We are not going to shy away from him. He's not really a shutdown corner."

Sherman responded with a tweet that said: "Lmao .... These guys make me laugh."

then Kirk Cousins and the Redskins also went after Sherman. DeSean Jackson roasted him for a TD and Pierre Garcon caught 66.7% of his targets for 7.7 yards/attempt and a QB rating allowed of 89.6 when Sherman was covering him.

yesterday on Yahoo Sports Radio, Pierre Garcon was asked "Is Sherman more talk than he is competitive? What’s your stance on him?"

Garcon replied: "He’s just another player...He’s not anything special."

then, before the DAL vs SEA game, Sherman posted a tweet that said: "Cowboys coming to town this Sunday, they will want to make a statement. So will we..."

And the Cowboys, whose coaches told players Sherman was overrated and whose owner (Jerry Jones), told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas/Fort Worth that the Cowboys won't run from Sherman and will challenge him, went after Sherman as well. Dez Bryant 's 23-yard reception against Sherman set up a touchdown and left Sherman desperately flailing on the ground badly beaten. Bryant later caught a 16-yard completion on a jump ball over Sherman on 3rd-and-5 in the fourth quarter. Sherman needed pass interference to stop him on another series.

after the game, Sherman said of Dez: "He's a great receiver."

today, PFF published an article saying Revis, Patrick Peterson, Haden, and Sherman are "the generally accepted best players at the position...but these four are not among the best corners so far in 2014... it is other players that are setting the pace this year," and named the following as the current best CBs this season:

age 25 Chris Harris Jr., Denver - #1 in NFL with passer rating of 31.9 allowed, #1 in NFL with 37% completion rate allowed. On pace for 26 passes defended this season

age 28 Brandon Flowers, San Diego (2013 Pro Bowler) - 62.6 passer rating allowed. On pace for 23 passes defended this season. There are other corners with slightly better raw numbers, but his PFF grade – a play by play analysis of his play – is clear of the pack at +12.1, almost 150% that of the next best mark (Harris).

age 23 Jason Verrett, San Diego: Our 3rd graded CB in the league so far, is allowing a passer rating of just 54.4.

age 26 Jimmy Smith (6-2/201), Ravens - has allowed a passer rating of just 50.5

age 23 Josh Robinson, Minnesota: Is allowing a passer rating of just 53.3

age 27 Perrish Cox, San Francisco: more combined interceptions and passes defensed than any other corner. On pace for 8 INTs and 32 passes defended this season. Currently #1 in NFL in INTs

age 29 Corey Graham, Buffalo (2011 Pro Bowler): Has allowed only 40% of the passes thrown his way to be caught. On pace for 19 passes defended this season

[*FreeFua*]

Bobby Wagner has always been awesome...

@Seahawks: Carroll said MLB Bobby Wagner not expected back for a few weeks but CB Byron Maxwell recovering faster than expected.

I'll take anything that helps our chances against them next week. Although I can't see it happening, we need to atleast split our next 2

[gettlemanjack]

Washington Post:

"It is becoming more and more evident that self-proclaimed best corner in the league Richard Sherman is not to be feared as much as previously thought."

[gettlemanjack]

Rams QB Austin Davis just torched the SEA secondary for a 128.6 QB rating, 85.7% completion pct, 2 TD, 0 INT

SEA loses to THE RAMS despite a 419-yd/3 TD/0 INT performance by Russell Wilson (313, 2 TD passing/106, 1 TD rushing)

[gettlemanjack]

Nathan Kearns @ nkearns12

Richard Sherman surprisingly humble and complimentary in post-game presser.

Marc Grandi @ MarcGrandi

I don't hear Richard Sherman talking now...

Bay Area Sports Guy @ BASportsGuy

-Who'd have thought that Richard "Ballhawk" Sherman would have such a tough time "holding" onto something

-The ball was between Richard Sherman 's legs, then under his gut, and he still couldn't come up with it.

Clay Matthews' Ego @ClayMatthewsEgo

That's the results you get when you let a sorry CB like Richard Sherman fall on a fumble!

Erickson @ 49erholics

Nice recovery on that fumble Richard Sherman you coulda been the hero. But you're not.

Fun Skip Bayless @ FunSkipBayless

Richard Sherman was on top of the football and couldn't get it. Yea, he's the best corner in the game.

Ape-O'-Lantern @xmasape

Fumble was sitting directly under Richard Sherman

Chris Hegge @ Heggs55

Legion of whom!!!