On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks have their chance to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history against the New England Patriots. Their Super Bowl in the 2013 season was carried by the “The Legion Boom” defense, one of the best defensive units in NFL history.
Coming into Super Bowl 60, the Seahawks are once again coming in with a top-of-the-line defense. Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has left his imprint on the team. Just as he did with the Baltimore Ravens, Macdonald has turned the Seahawks into one of the best defenses in the NFL.
According to Drake Bentley of The Sporting News, the Seahawks are the sixth-greatest defensive unit of all time, according to DVOA, or “Defense-adjusted Value Over Average.” One of the main catalysts for the Seahawks success is defensive back Nick Emmanwori.
What Makes the Defense Work
When Seattle drafted Nick Emmanwori in the second round out of the University of South Carolina last April, they knew they were getting a talented player, but they could not have predicted the impact Emmanwori would have immediately. In Mike Macdonald’s defense, Emmanwori has become a jack-of-all-trades type of player. In his February 5 Super Bowl preview article, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell went into detail about the impact Emmanwori has had on Seattle’s defense.
“Emmanwori has instead been the team’s nickel defender and jack-of-all-trades player near the line of scrimmage,” Barnwell wrote. “During the regular season, NFL Next Gen Stats listed Emmanwori for 326 snaps as a slot cornerback, eight snaps as an outside cornerback, 12 snaps as a safety, 250 snaps as an outside linebacker, 34 snaps as an inside linebacker, 77 snaps as an edge rusher, and nine snaps as a defensive tackle. Emmanwori is not necessarily taking on the responsibilities of a defensive tackle when the automated methodology records him as lining up in that role, but that range gives you an idea of how comfortable Macdonald has become with moving his rookie defender around the lineup.”
Barnwell then wrote about how Emmnawori is the piece that makes Macdonald’s defense work.
“There are better players on this defense, but Emmanwori is the piece that really makes so many other things fall into place,” Barwell wrote. “His presence in the lineup allows the Seahawks to stay in those subpackages regardless of what the opposing team sends out in terms of offensive personnel.”
Emmanwori is a special player, which made his injury this week all the more concerning.
Good To Go
On Wednesday, Nick Emmanwori injured his ankle in practice, and nearly all of Seattle was sent into a panic. Head coach Mike Macdonald calmed fans during his press conference on Thursday. John Boyle of Seahawks.com wrote about Macdonald’s assessment of Emmanwori’s health.
“He rolled his ankle yesterday, and he’s got a low ankle sprain,” Macdonald said. “He’s going to do the walkthrough today, not sure how extensive, if at all, he’s going to practice. But he’s confident, we’ve got a great plan, fully expect him to play… He’s doing great and moving around. We’ve just got to make sure we handle it the right way. We’re probably going to be overly careful and over cautious at this point to make sure we’re rolling going into the weekend.”
Emmanwori will be a significant contributor to the success or failure of the Seahawks defense, and it’s imperative for everything the Seahawks do on defense that he can make it through the whole game.
ESPN Analyst Says Seahawks Star Rookie Makes the Defense Work