How Seahawks 'Lawn Mowing' Has Helped Improve Run Defense

The Seattle Seahawks have made considerable progress defending the run over the past few weeks ... in part because of a cliche from defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt centered around lawn care.

It's been just under four weeks since safety Ryan Neal demanded that the Seattle Seahawks "fix this s***!" when speaking on the team's run defense.

Seattle had allowed at least 220 rushing yards in two of its previous three games, with the other still netting some 171 yards, and the defense was poised to face the San Francisco 49ers' stout rushing attack on a short turnaround ahead of a Thursday night game. The 49ers, expectedly, ran all over the Seahawks, finishing with 170 yards and averaging five yards per carry.

By all accounts, hope looked lost in Seattle - but it's quickly been found. Over the last two games, the Seahawks have held opponents to 77 and 75 rushing yards, respectively, which marked two of the defense's three fewest rushing yards allowed to date.

But how?

According to Seahawks defensive end Darrell Taylor, the answer links back to a saying from defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, stressing the importance of gap discipline ... and not mowing a neighbor's yard.

“I think guys are just staying consistent and are staying in their gaps," Taylor said. "Everybody is not trying to mow anybody else’s lawn and we are all doing our own jobs first before we try to help correct anybody else. I think that is the most important part about that. Everybody is doing their own job and not trying to mow anybody else’s lawn.”

Hurtt and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll often said the defense simply needed to become more fundamentally sound - and it appears they resorted to the landscape business to get the message across.

Apart from the fact that both activities are normally done on weekends, there's little in common between football and lawn care ... but as long as Seattle's run defense keeps mowing up opposing ballcarriers, there's no reason to turn down the engine.

The Seahawks will look to keep cutting grass Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, with kickoff at Lumen Field scheduled for 1:25 p.m. Pacific - and could be staring down an extended offseason of lawn mowing with a loss or Green Bay Packers.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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