Behind Enemy Lines: Insider Analysis on the Seattle Seahawks

All Seahawks reporter Corbin Smith answers five burning questions about the Seattle Seahawks.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Oct 28, 2022 2:58 PM EDT

In this story:

The New York Giants are looking to roll into their Week 9 bye with a 7-1 record by virtue of a win over the Seattle Seahawks Sunday at Lumen Field. If the Giants do with the game, that will be their fifth straight win, the first time they have accomplished that feat since they won six in a row from October 16, 2016, to November 27, 2016, the last season they earned a postseason berth.

The Giants are also looking to improve their 3-0 record on the road before going into the bye week. While optimism is riding high in New York, the Giants' opponent this week, the Seattle Seahawks, have also been riding high. The Seahawks, winners of their last two games, currently sit atop the NFC West with a 4-3 record and a 2-1 mark at home.

Let's check in with All Seahawks reporter Corbin Smith to learn more about the Seattle Seahawks, the Giants' next opponent.

Let’s start with Geno Smith. How have the Seahawks unlocked all this production that the Jets, Giants, and Chargers Giants couldn’t?

First and foremost, Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron deserve a ton of credit for helping Smith finally reach his potential.

Coming out of West Virginia, he had all the physical tools to be a quality NFL quarterback with plus arm talent, decent mobility, and good accuracy/touch. But he landed in a tough situation in New York without many weapons and didn't receive the coaching support needed for a young signal caller to succeed.

After bouncing around with several teams, Carroll provided that support system Smith lacked earlier in his career. Waldron's system with extensive multi-tight end sets and an emphasis on play action has played into his strengths, helping build his confidence back up.

The results have been evident on the field, and as he has grown even more comfortable with the scheme, Waldron has shown no hesitancy in letting him make downfield throws and attacking through the air to a talented receiving corps.

Learning under the likes of Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, and Russell Wilson also worked wonders. He has credited his extended tenure as a backup underneath Hall of Fame quarterbacks for his turnaround.

The Seahawks have won three of their last four when the underdogs. On what have they been hanging their hats on to get it done?

Up until two weeks ago, much to the surprise of everyone, the Seahawks were leaning heavily on their top-10 scoring offense, finding themselves in shootouts each week with Smith competing passes at a historical rate and Rashaad Penny and Ken Walker III dicing up opponents on the ground.

Over the past two weeks, a once-struggling defense has found its groove with a few schematic switch-ups that have allowed an athletic defensive line to play to their strengths as aggressive, disruptive one-gap penetrators.

With the group up front stuffing the run and turning up the heat on quarterbacks, a young secondary led by Rookie of the Year candidate Tariq Woolen has been stifling passing games as well, helping them hold the Cardinals and Chargers to 25 total points.

At this point, this team has proven it can win by passing the football or running the ball with a balanced offensive attack, and the defense has also started to find an identity. However, the Giants will be a stiff test to see if their recent success is sustainable or a fluke.

Give me one player on either side of the ball that isn’t being talked about enough but should be.

Several players could be mentioned here who have been integral to a surprising 4-3 start, but veteran safety Ryan Neal deserves a shout-out more than anyone.

After losing Jamal Adams for the season in Week 1, Josh Jones initially took over for him. He struggled as the starter, opening the door for Neal to return to the starting lineup after filling in for Adams each of the previous two seasons.

The tall, physical, rangy defender played the best game of his career last weekend, battling the flu, registering seven tackles, an interception, and four passes defensed, the second-most in a game by a defender in the NFL this year.

He's an effective blitzer, plays the run well like a linebacker in dime sets, and can also cover tight ends and big, athletic receivers, making him an exciting, often overlooked standout on this defense.

Where do you see the most concerning matchup for the Seahawks versus the Giants?

For all the talent Seattle has at receiver--even with DK Metcalf potentially out this week--all eyes will be on the interior offensive line trying to deal with Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence. Those two players dominated when the Giants came to the Pacific Northwest, upsetting the NFC West champion Seahawks two years ago. They can destroy game plans as run defenders and pass rushers.

Center Austin Blythe has been playing better as of late, but he's under 300 pounds, and it's worth wondering if he can hold up physically against those two behemoths inside. Meanwhile, veteran guard Gabe Jackson will return after a two-game absence with a hip injury and has been inconsistent at best this year when healthy.

If that group can find a way to neutralize Williams and Lawrence, the offense should find some traction. But if not, it could be a long afternoon trying to accomplish anything against the sixth-ranked scoring defense.

The defense looks like it got off to a shaky start to the season. To what do you attribute that, and what has been the turning point for the unit?

The recent transformation from cupcake to top-10 defense has been spearheaded by better play along the defensive line. The Seahawks have a seasoned group at defensive tackle with Poona Ford, Shelby Harris, Al Woods, and Quinton Jefferson offering multiple years of starting experience and great positional versatility. But trying to play a read-and-react 3-4 defense wasn't playing to their skill sets.

Luckily, defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt realized this after five games and gave the keys back to the tackles to be more aggressive shooting gaps and let them go into attack mode. Improved results up front have paid dividends for the rest of the defense, and they have seen immediate improvements rushing the passer as well as slowing down the run.