Seahawks Coach Shares Thoughts on Evolving Defenses

The Seattle Seahawks are bobbing and weaving through the season as defenses get stronger.

Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was the defensive coordinator for the No. 1 unit last season in the Baltimore Ravens, making him one of the brightest minds in the game on the defensive side of the ball.

While Macdonald has put more focus and emphasis in leading his team, there has been a bit of a shift in regards to how defenses operate, and the Seahawks coach shared his thoughts on what he's been observing.

"I know this, there's a lot of great defensive coaches out there," Macdonald said. "There are a lot of problems that need to be solved defensively that offenses are creating. I think just by like the numbers that are going around right now and the players that are on offense, there's definitely some good stuff going on. These are more like offseason-type projects for some special projects we're doing throughout the building right now. But yeah, you have to stay ahead of the curve. You have to kind of keep innovating. Otherwise, offenses are allowed to study too, and they have computers, and they're going to find things to try to exploit you as well. So, defensively, it's more reactionary. You do actually stay ahead of the offense about their next move because they're the one kind of dictating terms to you."

The Seahawks have been doing a good job staying ahead of the curve, especially after their bye week. Seattle has won four straight games, finding itself atop the NFC West standings, giving up a league-best 13.7 points per game during that time.

However, there's four games left in the regular season, which means the Seahawks' spot in first place could be temporary if they don't continue to play the game one step ahead.

"We're always thinking through the lens of who we have, what they can do, things that we're trying to either exploit or through the lens of who we're playing and what it's going to take to win those specific situations," Macdonald said. "Throughout the course of the season, there are going to be times and areas where you feel like you're falling short or maybe you've got a little stagnant and you need some more ideas. Then you kind of source what's going on out there, what are the best teams doing at that point to try to inspire you on some ideas. Definitely, in the offseason, you're going to hit it head-on, bye weeks. When you have extra time to study, you're definitely going to do some things. But, it's more targeted, it's more situational. And I think as you get into the offseason, it's probably more broad about the direction you want to take your defense. A lot of it's around like language and how you build everything."

Macdonald's words show that he isn't exactly focused on the big picture as much as he is zoned in on playing the Green Bay Packers in Week 15.

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