Why can’t the Seattle Seahawks cover anyone?
Tired of watching the Seattle Seahawks defensive backs screaming at each other after busted coverages? So are we at Pacificnwsports.com. Our Andrew Elderbaum tries to figure out what the problem is.
Pete Carroll is a defensive coach who theoretically specializes in defensive backs. The Seattle Seahawks championship team he led had one of the greatest secondaries in NFL history. The famed Legion Of Boom was a special group of unheralded young players who became All-Pros and put the fear of God into opposing receivers. However, since that group broke up, it’s been all downhill for Seattle’s defensive backs.
Problem 1
The first issue is that Pete is a system coach. He has a specific style of defense he wants to play, and that’s the only way the Seahawks will scheme. It’s a pretty vanilla cover-3 that needs corners of a specific type. They must be big and physical, with the ability to cover in both man and zone concepts.
These types of players aren’t the easiest to find. In addition, the NFL is constantly evolving, and if a team can’t adjust to the changes, they get left behind.
Problem #2
The second issue has been a total inability to draft or find quality starters at these positions. Pete and GM John Schneider struck gold with Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, and even Byron Maxwell in the mid-2010s. Since then, it’s been miss after miss trying to replace them. There was the Cary Williams experience, Jeremy Lane, and the recently departed Tre Flowers.
Neiko Thorpe, Marquise Blair, Justin Coleman, and a host of others also got snaps. The lone starting-caliber player drafted was Shaquill Griffin, and he was probably overrated but still a serviceable starter. The rest ranged from solid special teams players to completely inept.
They’ve been more successful replacing Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, but at a huge cost. First, there are the wasted picks of Delano Hill (third), Mike Tyson (sixth), Marquise Blair (second), Ugo Amadi (fourth), and Tedric Thompson (fifth).
The Seahawks followed that up with the two first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a fifth-rounder combined to acquire Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams (they did get a fourth back in the Adams deal). Granted, they are one of the best safety duos in the league, but Seattle spent nine draft picks to fill two spots on their defense, and neither player is one they drafted. That’s not a good record of success.