The Seattle Seahawks are 5-2 on the season, with their two losses coming to the NFC South leading New Orleans Saints and the AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens.
All told it hasn’t been a bad start to the season for Pete Carroll’s squad, although they’ve certainly had their fair share of too-close-for-comfort games – particularly against opponents they shouldn’t be having issues with.
The offense, led by MVP candidate Russell Wilson, has been excellent this season while the defense has been a bit disappointing, particularly in the pass rush.
Bobby Wagner, Seattle’s star middle linebacker and captain of the defense, feels the primary issue with his unit is simple: consistency.
“We have had some good games, we’ve had some not so great games,” Wagner said on Wednesday. “I think the consistency is where I would love to see us improve. Where week in, week out, you know what you’re getting, everybody’s on the same page, and that’s what I feel the great defenses are. They are consistent, and I think what we need to improve on is getting a little bit more sacks, and having more game changing plays or turnovers from the D Line, to the linebackers, to the secondary. We all need to do a better job of making those plays, helping the offense out, and giving the ball back to the offense.”
The Seahawks acquired Jadeveon Clowney just before the start of the season, adding him to a budding pass rush unit that also included newcomers Ziggy Ansah and rookie L.J. Collier.
Seattle also added new starters on the interior in Al Woods, and Jamar Taylor at the nickel spot.
The amount of work it takes for a defense to gel and trust each other is contributing to the team’s slow start as a unit as well, at least according to Wagner.
“I think maybe having a bunch of guys that are new to playing with each other,” Wagner continued. “You’ve got to build that trust. There’s a lot of different things, you have to have a group of guys buy in on the style of defense you play, and the standard that you set. I think sometimes when guys don’t buy in or it takes a while to buy in, it halts the defense’s growth. But I don’t feel like we have that problem.”
Wagner clearly feels Seattle’s defense has bought into the system, meaning improvements on that side should be coming soon as the unit continues to gel.
That gelling process will include Seattle’s newest acquisition – defensive back Quandre Diggs.
“He’s just a guy that loves to play football,” Wagner continued. “You can see the passion jump off from the tape. I definitely feel that him coming to the team is definitely going to help us.”
Wagner, Diggs and the rest of Seattle’s defense will take on a 1-6 Falcons team in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 10:00 a.m. PT.
