The Seahawks made a concerted effort over the offseason to improve the defense as a whole. Seattle added a number of new players to the mix, including safety Jamal Adams, cornerback Quinton Dunbar and former Seahawks Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa.
Coach Pete Carroll noticed an immediate difference in the unit during the team’s second mock game of the summer.
“I’m really excited about these guys,” Carroll said Wednesday after the scrimmage. “We’ve had an infusion of spirit and leadership and playmaking from Bruce and Jamal coming in, and I’m anxious to see the effect that Quinton Dunbar can have also just to add to what we already have. There’s an energy about this group, they’re really excited about playing together. We’ve got to get good. We’ve got to get our stuff right, get our assignments down, our calls and our adjustments down and all of that.
“So that’s what we’re racing for by the opener to get that done so we can play really good clean football and cut these guys loose and let them go.”
The star of the day was second-year player, Marquise Blair, who is battling for the nickel defensive back spot this season. He certainly made his case on the field with two interceptions on the day.
“Marquise has been a noticeable change – I mean look at the day he had today – but he has been a noticeable change playing the nickel spot,” Carroll continued. “So we really feel like we’ve boosted this group, as well as guys just getting a little better every year like they do. We have very high expectations that we’re going to play a lot of good football.”
