'We're Almost There': Seattle Seahawks Defenders Not Sweating Recent Run Fit Issues

With poor run defense being a major factor in back-to-back losses, Seahawks veterans aren't overly concerned and think they are on the cusp of turning the corner.

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) carries the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Amid a two-game losing streak, the Seattle Seahawks have reverted to their previous form struggling to slow down opposing ground games, allowing nearly 300 total rushing yards and three touchdowns to the Detroit Lions and New York Giants.

Assessing his team's run defense woes on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports on Monday after they let rookie Tyrone Tracy bust out with 129 rushing yards one day earlier, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald acknowledged that the team's defensive tackles and EDGE defenders had played well for the most part. However, he said "second level run fits are falling short," calling out linebackers, corners, and safeties as culprits for the issues giving up chunk plays on the ground in recent weeks.

Whether between the tackles or off the edge, these run fit issues have cropped up regardless of run direction or scheme, especially in Sunday's defeat. At times, multiple defenders have wound up in the same gap, creating gaping creases for backs to accelerate through, while other times the Seahawks have simply been out-gapped in two-high schemes.

Despite those concerns, however, veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed isn't fretting recent results, believing Seattle's defense is closer to getting right in Macdonald's scheme than the on-field numbers over the past couple of weeks may suggest.

"We're almost there," Reed told reporters prior to Tuesday's walkthrough. "Everybody's still fresh and new and, well, five games in right now, going on six, but nobody's panicking. We're going back to the table, working on fixing the things we need to fix. And I got full faith in this team. We practice hard and we work hard."

Dealing with injuries up front during their two-game losing streak, the Seahawks played without Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Boye Mafe, and Uchenna Nwosu in a Week 4 loss in Detroit. Last week, though Williams and Nwosu returned, the latter only lasted 20 plays before suffering a new thigh injury and outside linebacker Derick Hall exited late in regulation with a foot issue, once again leaving the team short-handed in the trenches.

Missing so many key pieces on the front line could create an easy excuse for Seattle's problems stopping the run, especially with seldom-used backups such as Myles Adams and Mike Morris thrust into extensive roles. But Reed isn't buying that, expressing confidence in his teammates to be able to pick up the slack with a "next man up mentality," primarily through improved communication preparing for the game as well as on the field on game day.

That includes communicating with linebackers and other defenders at the second level, where Reed says the Seahawks have to put more of an emphasis on pre-snap keys to ensure that everyone is on the same page to prevent multiple players from ending up in the same gap and eliminate the big creases that have been opening up regularly against their defense.

"Personally, when I see them, I talk to them to make sure that I grab the pad, I'll see if I see a look and I see where they can fit," Reed said of his discussions with second-level defenders. "I can tell them, look, if this person is doing this thing where you can fit right here and it will eliminate a bunch of space and eliminate some of the things that they can take away so they can also get in coverage as well."

Echoing Reed's sentiments, seventh-year linebacker Jerome Baker agrees that Seattle's run defense woes can be corrected simply by addressing the little details and isn't overreacting to the past two games, highlighting fundamentals and playing together as the biggest issues up to this point.

Returning from a hamstring injury that cost him two games, Baker led the Seahawks with 12 combined tackles and forced a fumble at the goal line that safety Rayshawn Jenkins returned 102 yards for a touchdown on Sunday. Whether watching from the sideline or playing every snap on the field, he hasn't felt like the effort has been a problem, but communication remains an area that has to be shored up to ensure everyone can play fast and attack the right gap without multiple defenders winding up in the same spot.

"I think we're all just trying to make the play. We kind of got out of position sometimes," Baker said prior to Tuesday's practice. "I think that's the main thing. The intent is there, but we all gotta do our one job, and that's how our defense plays. If I do my job and T [Tyrel Dodson] does his job, Hank [Johnathan Hankins] does his job, and Leo [Williams] does his job, we'd be a great defense. We all just gotta do our job, and we'll be fine."

In Macdonald's defense, which relies heavily on two-high safety sets, the onus falls on the front seven to be able to make plays without an extra defender down in the box. This places stress not only on defensive linemen who may have to take on two-gapping responsibilities, but it also puts more on the plate for Baker and his fellow linebackers, who have to be able to quickly adjust to how blocks unfold in front of them.

With that said, Baker has played a ton of football since coming out of Ohio State as a third-round pick back in 2018, and nothing is being asked of him or Dodson that they haven't done in the past playing against NFL competition. For the Seahawks to turn the corner starting on Thursday night against a talented 49ers squad that loves to run the football, he and his teammates need to get back to the basics with everyone doing their responsibility and playing fast flying to the ball as a unit.

"For me, I just want to see guys just play with great technique. At the end of the day, if they go left, we go right. If they backdoor, we play front door. Whatever it is, we just play off of them. So as a whole, we just got to play together, play technique, run to the ball. It's the same game we've been playing for years, so we just gotta just hone in on that."