Rams face improved Seattle pass rush in rematch with Seahawks

Seattle's 21 sacks since Week 10 is tied for tops in the NFL

The Seattle Seahawks’ much maligned defense through the first half of the season has toughened up when things mattered most, at the end of the year.

With the return of healthy players like safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Shaquill Griffin, along with the addition of edge rusher Carlos Dunlap from the Cincinnati Bengals through trade, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. have heated up the pass rush.

Seattle’s is tied for the league lead with 21 sacks over the last six games. Dunlap has five sacks since joining the Seahawks and Adams leads the team with 9.5 sacks.

The Seahawks have held opponents to 16 points a contest over the last six games, posting a 4-2 record during the stretch.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said he’s noticed the upward tick for Seattle.

“They’re turning the ball over,” McVay said. “They’re playing really good defense. Since we’ve played them, they’ve played really well. I know the numbers were what they were early on, but all that matters is how you’re playing right now and they’re playing as well as any defense in the league.”

Carroll said his defense’s improvement is a combination of getting guys healthy and young players having a better understanding of what Seattle wants to do defensively due to more reps.

“Our group has just played better,” Carroll said. “We were banged up quite a bit in the middle and we just didn’t have the continuity that we needed to get going. Now, we feel it and we got a chance to play some pretty good ball.”

Rams quarterback Jared Goff will have to know where Adams is at pre-snap. The Seahawks do a good job of moving the playmaking safety around so he can make game-changing plays.

Along with the 9.5 sacks, Adams has 70 combined tackles and two pass breakups.

Adams finished with seven combined tackles, two sacks and forced fumble in his first game against the Rams, a 23-16 victory for L.A.

“He’s a tremendous player,” Goff said. “He’s been a tremendous player since he got into the league. He’s been a good addition to their defense this year. I think he’s just causing chaos, wherever he’s going. He’s trying to cause chaos and he does a good job with it. And so, we’ll be aware of him, be aware of where he’s at and handle it accordingly.”

Carroll said Adams reminds him of another talented safety he coached in the NFL, Lawyer Milloy. The University of Washington product played for Carroll in New England and his final season in the league in 2010 with the Seahawks, Carroll’s first season in Seattle.

“There has never been a guy that I’ve coached that had more attitude about blitzing and then Lawyer Milloy,” Carroll said. “I love what he brought and really Jamal has every bit of that.

“I mean, he’s got a mentality for it and a suddenness and an instinct about it that that allows him to separate. Lawyer was one of my all-time favorite guys in that regard. And Jamal really has just captured that attention there. He’s just getting warmed up, he’s got a lot out in front of him too as we continue to learn him and deploy him.”