'We've Cleaned It Up': Pete Carroll Believes Seahawks Have Closed Gap With 49ers

Just one game behind the San Francisco 49ers in the standings, after dedicating their offseason blue print to catching up with the NFC West powerhouse, the Seattle Seahawks hope to see those changes manifest into success on the field as the two rivals meet up on Thanksgiving night.

Just one day after losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild card round back in January, coach Pete Carroll didn't mince words on the primary goal for the Seattle Seahawks heading into a critical offseason.

After being a surprise playoff team in the first season following a blockbuster trade that sent Russell Wilson to Denver, if the Seahawks were to re-emerge as a viable contender, the team would need to dedicate free agency and the draft towards closing the gap with their NFC West rival, who beat them three times in the regular season and playoffs. Specifically, Carroll identified the trenches as a clear area of improvement to make up ground not just in the division, but the NFC as a whole.

"We are going to have to become more dynamic up front, we have to," Carroll said in his end-of-season press conference. "We’ve kind of been in the same mode, we have to get more production out of the guys, they have to be more of a factor. We need to make the position really competitive, if we can. We will see what we can do.”

Putting words into action, Seattle shook up its defensive line, first aggressively pursuing Dre'Mont Jones and reuniting with former second-round pick Jarran Reed in the early stages of free agency to replace departed starters Al Woods, Quinton Jefferson, and Poona Ford. In the draft, the team invested a second-round pick in edge rusher Derick Hall and a pair of day three selections in defensive tackles Cameron Young and Mike Morris.

Along with adding veteran Mario Edwards into the mix after the draft, general manager John Schneider further solidified the front line before the trade deadline by shipping a second and fifth-round pick to the Giants for Leonard Williams, bringing the former Pro Bowler into the fold.

Fast forwarding to the first meeting between the Seahawks and 49ers this season on Thanksgiving night, even on the heels of a disappointing road loss to the Rams last Sunday, Carroll earnestly believes his team stacks up better against their rival than they did when they were swept a year ago.

“I like where we are and what we’ve done coverage wise and system wise," Carroll said on Monday. "This team really does check you out and they’ll check out your scheme. We give them a lot of credit and have a lot of respect for them. But I feel like we’re much farther along than we were.”

Statistically, Seattle has made notable strides on defense at all three levels, starting with defending the run. After finishing 30th stopping the run last season, thanks to an improved defensive line anchored by Jones and Reed and the return of Bobby Wagner at linebacker, they currently rank 19th in rushing yards allowed and 17th in yards per attempt, numbers that have been skewed by one dreadful performance in a 37-3 loss at Baltimore earlier this month.

Pete Carroll had to shake hands with Kyle Shanahan three times last year after his Seahawks lost to the 49ers and will be hoping offseason changes lead to a different result on Thanksgiving night / © Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Personnel changes along the defensive line have also helped the Seahawks pass rush. Last season, per Pro Football Focus charting, only two players eclipsed 30 quarterback pressures. Through 10 games this season, three players are already on pace for 50 pressures, including Reed and Jones in the interior with 28 and 26 apiece respectively. As a team, they currently rank 10th in ESPN's Pass Rush Win Rate metric.

In coordination with the pass rush coming to life, Seattle's secondary has also taken significant steps forward behind rising rookie star cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Selected fifth overall out of Illinois in April's draft, he has lived up to his top-five billing, allowing under a 50 percent completion rate when targeted with an interception, eight pass breakups, and three sacks as a blitzer.

Next to him, Riq Woolen has started to play to his potential after the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist got off to a somewhat slow start. Third-year cornerback Tre Brown has also played at a high level on the left side, producing two interceptions and five pass breakups for a defense that has only allowed more than 250 passing yards once since Week 4.

“We're much cleaner coverage wise and were much more consistent at the line of scrimmage than we were in our fits and all of that," Carroll remarked. "We’ve cleaned it up and very demanding of how precise we need to be in it, and it’s worked out. We’ve had pretty good results.”

As much as the Seahawks have improved defensively even compared to the first month of the season, however, the 49ers will present the ultimate barometer for how far they have come. Currently ranked third in points per game and total yards per game with top-10 passing and rushing attacks, coach Kyle Shanahan has built a juggernaut led by second-year quarterback Brock Purdy with a bevy of weapons around him.

Still a run-first team, do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey has led the charge for San Francisco with an MVP-caliber season, leading the league with 825 rushing yards while adding 364 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns. On the outside, Brandon Aiyuk has enjoyed a breakout fourth season with 831 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while tight end George Kittle has quietly amassed 648 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

With Deebo Samuel now back healthy after missing a pair of games with an injury to go with McCaffrey, Aiyuk, and Kittle, Purdy will have his full arsenal of skill players at his disposal on Thursday night, providing a major challenge for Jones, Wagner, Witherspoon, and company.

But while Carroll holds the utmost respect for the job Shanahan has done building a perennial contender and the immense talent on the 49ers roster, the chronic optimist in him doesn't view them as an unbeatable foe either. In position to jump right back to the top of the NFC West with a huge win at home, he's eager to see how the Seahawks respond after a difficult defeat and how much the changes made this offseason have truly closed the gap on the field.

"It’s just a really difficult team to deal with, but teams have figured it out. They have found them out. They were able to get them. We understand that; they’ve got three losses and we’ve got four losses. This is a huge opportunity for us.”

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