Getty Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner in 2021.
Play a word association game with Seattle Seahawks fans, and if you say “championship,” there’s a good chance they’ll come back with “Legion of Boom.” That moniker, given to the defensive unit that led the team to two straight Super Bowls in the early 2010s, still gets invoked today, especially now that linebacker Bobby Wagner is back in the saddle in Seattle doing his tackling machine thing.
But the numbers tell a different story. Based on last year’s defensive stats, the team’s playoff debacle against quarterback Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers, and the first three games of 2023, the 2020s version of the Seahawks defense has looked more like the “Legion of Gloom,” with stats ranging from dreary to downright awful.
Seattle Defense By the Numbers: Welcome to the Bottom 10
Let’s start with last year. The Seahawks were ranked 23rd to 26th in defense last year, depending on the metrics, despite the fact that they invested the fifth-most money in cornerbacks.
Could this year end up being worse? So far, Seattle has been the go-to opponent for quarterbacks looking to post 300-yard games and light up the scoreboard in the process. Getting torched by Matthew Stafford and maybe even Jared Goff is somewhat understandable, but Andy Dalton?
During his pregame presser before the Seahawks’ 37-27 win over the Carolina Panthers, head coach Pete Carroll said he expected the Carolina offense to be “a little different” with Dalton at quarterback after rookie Bryce Young was ruled out with an ankle sprain. But it’s fairly certain he wasn’t talking about turning Dalton, who’s now a backup, back into a gunslinger.
Point totals of 27, 31 and 27 are alarming, to say the least, and the defense’s inability to produce turnovers is just as concerning. So far the Seahawks have been able to produce just 1 interception and 2 fumbles. A total of 5.0 sacks in three games isn’t going to get it done, either.
If those numbers don’t change dramatically soon, Seattle is going to need all the production it can get from a certain veteran quarterback who’s been lighting up the scoreboard in his own right.
The Geno Smith Factor
So why hasn’t there been more focus on this? The answer is simple: Geno Smith.
Smith was one of the NFL’s best feel-good stories of 2022, and this season he’s picking up right where he left off. After a lackluster start against the Rams, Smith hung 37 on the Lions, then proceeded to do it again against Carolina.
Meanwhile, the running game has been in and out — out against the Lions, back against the Panthers. But Geno has been Johnny-on-the-spot. Smith is on the verge of thrusting himself into the MVP conversation, but he’ll need a lot of help from his defensive mates if he’s going to compete against the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and other top QBs.
The upcoming schedule suggests that the Seahawks may be able to keep winning track meet games for at least a week or two. They get the New York Giants at the Meadowlands on Monday Night Football, followed by a date with a wounded Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.
After that, the suddenly viable Arizona Cardinals come to town, so that’s three winnable games in which Smith will get more chances to shine.
But Carroll knows how risky track meet games can be, so he’ll likely be meeting with defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt to figure out how to fix all this. Hurtt was elevated to DC last year after four years as defensive line coach, and his defense needs to start putting a hurt on opposing offenses for Seattle to succeed this year.