New York Giants Week 8: First Look at Seattle Seahawks’ Offense
For those Giants fans who thought the level of drama that characterized the team’s previous two games wasn’t insane enough, they surely got their pre-Halloween scare down in Jacksonville.
Guarding the end zone with a 23-17 advantage and north of one minute left in regulation, the Giants' defense found their backs against the wall on the final play after numerous penalties carried the Jaguars' offense to their own 17-yard line. However, as Christian Kick caught the ball within an arm's length of the goal line, the secondary's resiliency held Jacksonville away from the plane and gave New York their first 6-1 start since 2008.
With Week 7 in the rearview, the Giants now head west to Lumen Field to face the NFC West leading Seattle Seahawks (4-3).
The latest matchup in the Evergreen State marks the 20th all-time meeting between the two franchises, with the visiting Giants holding a 10-9 advantage in the series. Seattle has won four of the last five games dating back to 2011, but it was the Giants that took the most recent contest, 17-12, during the 2020 season.
Like the Giants, the Seahawks underwent some big changes at the end of their 2021 season, a 7-10 affair that saw them finish at the bottom of the NFC West for the first time since 2000. The most notable change was at the quarterback position, where in March, nine-year starter Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos in exchange for several picks and players.
While Wilson received the trade outcome he wanted after internal disagreements with the organization, Seattle received quarterback Drew Lock as part of their return compensation from Denver. They also had the beleaguered Geno Smith on their roster at the time, and after competition in training camp, the team decided to roll with the veteran Smith as their starter.
Spending time with the Jets, Giants, and Chargers before arriving in Seattle in 2020, Smith has been a fixture NFL backup since his sophomore season in 2014. After appearing in 30 games and throwing over 5,500 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with the Jets, the West Virginia alum only played in 14 games over six seasons and had one season with more than 500 passing yards.
Giants fans may remember Smith for his Week 12 start during the 2017 season when then-head coach Ben McAdoo benched starter Eli Manning in favor of the more mobile Smith.
With how dramatic his tenure in New York were, Smith hoped to wipe the slate clean and repaint his image as a quarterback under Pete Caroll’s system.
So ar, so good. Helping the quarterback in that mission is a serviceable Seattle offense with a group of playmakers in both the backfield and out wide.
Running backs Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker III make up the Seahawks’ production on the ground with 757 yards and six touchdowns between them. Penny went down with a fibula injury in Week 6, forcing him into the IR and Walker III in the forefront.
For their receiving targets, the Seahawks rely on two receivers and a trio of tight ends to move the envelope. Wide receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf lead the unit with 829 yards and four touchdowns of offense in the first six games. Behind them, it’s a guessing game of which player between Noah Dant, Will Dissly, and Colby Parkinson will make the largest contributions to the given Sunday.
Through the first seven weeks of the season, the Seahawks’ offensive production has ranked in the middle of the league for most major categories. Overall, the team ranks fifth in total points (146) and 12th in total yards (2,136), while their passing attack has fared better with the 16th-best passing yards, 10th-best passing touchdowns, sixth-best interception total, and seventh-best average yards.
On the ground, Seattle is top-15 in rushing yards and touchdowns, and they sit in first for average yards per rush (5.5).
With the injuries to their backfield, the Giants’ defensive focus may shift towards slowing the deep-field threats within the Seahawks’ offense in Lockett and Metcalf if they want to leave victorious. Let’s look at those players and others from the Seattle offense and what to watch on Sunday.
Oct 23, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Morgan Fox (56) in the second half at SoFi Stadium.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback
Geno Smith could best be characterized as a pariah during his five NFL seasons in the Big Apple.
Beginning in Florham Park with the Jets in 2013, Smith struggled behind inefficient offenses, earning a 12-20 starting record and the ire of the fanbase. Off the field, the beleaguered quarterback was also embroiled in some locker-room drama that ultimately made it hard to stick around and find success.
In March 2017, Smith signed with the rival Giants, where he once again walked right into unintended controversy. That season, then-head coach Ben McAdoo elected to start Smith after benching two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. The move lasted one game after Smith struggled to command a red-zone offense and the backlash over how Manning's consecutive starts streak ended. McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were fired after the team returned from Oakland, leaving the organization in further disarray.
After the debacles in New York and a brief stint as the backup for the Chargers, Smith took his career to Seattle in 2019 with the hopes of a clean slate and making a name for himself. However, he spent most of the first three seasons as Russell Wilson’s backup, making just three starts, with a chunk of his snaps coming in garbage time and blowout affairs.
Now, with Wilson departed from the franchise in an offseason trade with the Broncos, Smith fought his way through training camp competition with Drew Lock and has found himself back at the top of an NFL depth chart. Smith has taken the team to a 4-3 start in the NFC West and has his best start since 2014, throwing 158 completions for 1,712 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Ranking among the top-10 quarterbacks in those latter two categories and sixth-best in interception total, Smith has commanded the Seahawks offense to mid-league rankings in total points and passing metrics. In seven games, Seattle has averaged 26.1 points per contest and is rising in their average production per play (6.8 yards per passing attempt).
Going back to the 2013 draft, Smith was often criticized for having flashy collegiate statistics but lacking the more important intangibles that allow quarterbacks to succeed at the NFL level. Compared to Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, it’s fair to argue Smith doesn’t have the same franchise quarterback potential that those two had. That said, the Giants would be foolish to downplay the slightest talents the 32-year-old has at his disposal, most notably, the ability to be versatile when handling the football in the pocket.
As he did during his time in West Virginia, Smith can get the ball out of the backfield in the face of pressure with a compact, fast release, and he knows how to change his arm slot to get a pass over the top of rushing defenders. He can raise his release point to dodge defensive linemen’s hands or move to the outside and sling a side-arm throw to the short-range receiver to ensure the ball advances upfield.
When the pressure isn’t tearing down his front wall, Smith has respectable strength in his arm to make all different throws down the field. On throws towards the middle and in tight windows, he shows great anticipation of where the receiver’s routes will break off, zipping the ball in stride and placing it into the perfect spot for run-after-catch opportunities.
Smith seems more comfortable making the shorter throws and pushing the offense downfield at a pace but is willing to take the deep shot when called upon. Inside the pocket, he excels at remaining calm and keeping his eyes locked downfield through the progressions, resulting from his trust in his ability to escape and be elusive in the open field.
Smith boasts great field vision and decent speed when running the football, holding a 4.59 40-yard dash back at the combine in 2013. However, he has been known as a run-happy quarterback, instead electing to let his big-time playmakers in the backfield and out wide make the impactful plays with the ball in their hands.
In these ways, Smith could also be described as a game manager, something Seattle hasn’t faced since they drafted Wilson in 2012. Yet, the Giants shouldn’t discount what the quarterback has been doing in Seattle because, like the Giants, the Seahawks under Smith have been doing enough to win games and remain competitive in a weary NFC West.
Oct 23, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Running Backs
Through the seven-game stretch of the 2022 season, the Seattle rushing department has been one of the strongest elements of their offense, but that has not come without some bouts of inconsistency due to injuries.
In their first few contests, the Seahawks relied heavily on fifth-year back Rashaad Penny to carry the load, fresh off his career-best 2021 campaign where that saw him rush for 749 yards and six touchdowns to lead all team rushers.
However, in Week 5 against the Saints, the 26-year-old veteran suffered an ankle injury after rushing for just 54 yards in the team’s loss and was subsequently placed on injured reserve for the near future.
With Penny now sidelined, Seattle has since turned towards the next promising talent on their depth chart, rookie ball carrier Kenneth Walker III. A Michigan State alum, Walker was selected 41st overall by the Seahawks in April’s draft and has become one of the best running backs in the league over the last couple of weeks since Penny’s exit.
Appearing in six games this season, Walker leads the team with 67 carries for 411 rushing yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 6.1 yards on average, the latter markings ranking him seventh and third among running backs, respectively. His numbers have improved dramatically in Seattle’s last three games, most recently logging 168 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 7 win over the Chargers.
In terms of his abilities, Walker is a compact back with a sturdy base at 5-foot-9 and 211 pounds, and a determined runner who knows how to make something out of nothing. Moreover, he’s a running back that excels at playing with a reactive rather than instinctive style, a feature of his game that empowers him to earn increased production and wear out opposing defenses.
Coming off the handoff, Walker knows how to read his blockers' progression, scanning the scrimmage line for any run lanes to bust through. Once he finds his lane, the running back will drop his pads, batter into the tight quarters, and use his fast and agile feet to keep angled tacklers moving backward and earn forward progress.
If the running lanes occasionally close down on him or the run protection starts to crumble, Walker boasts great directional change, including a twitchy vertical cut, to shift towards the outside and find available yards that way. Get him to the edge with lead blockers and open space, and Walker will unload an incredible burst to the corner, followed by an accelerated motor down the sideline.
The Seahawks don’t have to worry too much about losing the football in Walker’s hands, as the Tennessee native only lost one fumble on 276 snaps during his 2021 collegiate campaign. He uses sharp downfield instincts to brace for oncoming angle tacklers and excellent contact balance to absorb hits and drive through them for yards after contact.
Walker has all the potential to handle the Seahawks’ No. 1 back workload in Penny’s absence. Add some improvements to his work out of the passing on third downs, and he could become an extra versatile problem for opposing defenses in zone coverage.
Beyond Walker’s contributions, the Seahawks have mixed in a pair of third-down option backs in DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer. None of the two has accumulated more than 12 carries and 61 yards rushing thus far this season.
Oct 23, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) is unable to hold onto a pass against the defense of Los Angeles Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson (27) during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Wide Receivers
For possibly the first time in his career, quarterback Geno Smith has a few dangerous weapons to pass the football to every week. DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Marquise Goodwin are the trio composing the wide receivers in his huddle.
The three pass catchers combine for 975 yards and six touchdowns through the first seven games, with the distance between the second and third-best receivers’ production being defined by the contributions of the team’s three tight ends. Lockett leads the Seahawks offense with 41 receptions for 468 yards and two touchdowns, followed by Metcalf in second with 31, 418, and two, respectively, and Goodwin rounds out the third receiver spot.
At 24 years old out of Ole Miss, Metcalf is the scariest prospect in the Seahawks’ wide receiver room, boasting impressive tight end size—he stands at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds—and all the explosive, open field intangibles of a traditional wide receiver.
Lining up outside the hash marks on the left side for nearly all his snaps, Metcalf unloads a blend of physical tools that allow him to combat the tightest of press coverage and create separation at all three levels of the field. For example, at the line of scrimmage, he has the upper body strength and fighter’s hands to ward off pesky corners in his initial route progression.
If he can create some space between himself and the defender, Metcalf will use his twitchy hips and light football to stutter and deceive the defender in one direction before triggering an explosive release the other way, often vertically when there’s no back-end safety net to help with the press coverage. He can also bring back those intangibles to guide him in sudden breaks toward open space in medium and deep crossing routes downfield.
Metcalf deploys his body composition to his advantage in catching the biggest throws in his direction. With his top-end speed, 34⅞” arms, and 40.5” vertical jump, Metcalf isn’t afraid to track down the football and extend his body for the big-time catch. He can use his size and athletic legs to get up over the top of the defender for circus-type catches that have been seen on numerous occasions in his playing career.
Despite all this, Metcalf’s status for Sunday’s game is up in the air. The former 2019 second-round pick suffered a patella injury in the team’s win over the Chargers, but head coach Pete Caroll said the ailment would not require surgery. If he can play against the Giants, get ready to see the makings of a big, explosive home run threat at the WR1 spot.
Returning for his eighth season with the organization, Lockett serves as the Seahawks top-slot receiver threat, bringing a mix of experience in the offensive system, competitiveness, and high-scale production. Over the past three years, he’s finished north of 70 receptions, 1,000 yards, and eight touchdowns in each campaign, including a career-high 1,175 yards last fall that led all Seattle receivers.
At his core, the 30-year-old Lockett is a football lifer who holds high expectations for himself and embraces the enemy by matching up their best coverage defenders against him. Whether blocking, serving as a decoy, or getting open for the catch, he plays with consistent speed, intelligence, and effort, which forces the opposition to respect his presence and enables him to find open space and create big plays for the offense at any moment.
Coming off the line of scrimmage, he immediately engages the corner in a battle for space at the first level of his route. Using varying speed and football intellect at the deeper levels, he figures out how to deceive the corner and then unloads top-notch twitches at the top of his progression to shed the defender and break his route for the open catch.
Insert Lockett into the offense against zone coverage schemes, and the receiver brings out a more nuanced route tree that allows him to be explosive all over the field. His proficient switches and double moves can tire out defenders, leaving Lockett alone on an island until the quarterback launches a deep dart toward him that he takes with ease into the endzone.
Goodwin, a familiar face in the NFC West division from his days with the San Francisco 49ers, joined the rival Seahawks after spending the 2021 season with the Chicago Bears. He posted 20 receptions for 313 yards and a touchdown in 14 starts for the Windy City, the second-worst receiving campaign of his last five seasons.
Another shifty, deep-speed route runner in the slot or the outside, his numbers haven't been so impressive in six appearances with Seattle. Goodwin has ten receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an average catch of 14.6 yards, but he does have his first year with at least two scores since 2018.
The reality is the season is still young for the 31-year-old veteran, and with Metcalf potentially sidelined for some time, expect the Seahawks to work Goodwin into the offense more as a WR2 who can take even the shortest passes and convert them into game-altering plays down the sideline.
Oct 23, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Will Dissly (89) runs the ball after a catch against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Tight Ends
Compared to other teams they’ve faced, the Giants defense will need to brace for a multiple tight end offense when they take the field against Seattle on Sunday. The bigger concern: all three players have solid pass-catching abilities.
Headlining the group that makes up three of the Seahawks’ top six receivers are tight ends Will Dissly and Noah Fant. A fifth-year player, Dissly is the team’s most productive in his position, holding 19 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns. A few yards shy of his fourth consecutive season with at least 200 yards, he is followed by Fant (20 receptions for 157 yards and 1 TD), who comes to Seattle after three years in Denver as their No. 1 option.
Agreeing to a multi-year extension with the team in March, Dissly brings top-15 tight end talent mixed with solid wide receiver hands to a Seahawks’ offense in need of playmakers after the losses of Rashaad Penny and DK Metcalf. Along with accumulating 116 catches for 1,094 yards and 12 touchdowns in Seattle, the 26-year-old from Washington has finished with at least an 80% catch rate in his last three seasons and only allowed ten passes to fall out of his grasp.
With the ball in his hands, Dissly, a former defensive lineman converted into a tight end, has great size and athleticism to make plays at the point and earn extra yardage along the way. In much of his film dating back to college, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound player is deployed either along the edge of the offensive line in 11-personnel or occasionally in the slot, where he sheds into short go, dig and cross routes for short passes and drags defenders along with him after the catch.
Given his freakish size for a tight end, the Seahawks find great value in pairing Dissly with Fant in 12-man personnel formations and using the two of them as traditional inline blockers. Serving as the team’s Y-tight end in 2021, the former was graded as the ninth-best run blocker among 37 qualified tight ends by Pro Football Focus and finished 15th-best among 46 players the year prior.
Essentially a sixth offensive lineman in this scenario, Dissly plays with toughness and a grinder’s mentality when deployed as an inline blocker. He gives a good pop off the snap into initial contact and quickly fits into run blocks, locking into defender’s frames with his strong hands and pushing forward with sturdy feet.
Dissly also boasts good football intelligence and downfield awareness with his eyes, knowing when and how to adjust his blocking, get up to the next level and provide secondary blocks against the linebackers. If he sheds off the defender into the passing game, don’t sleep on his capability to acclimate into his route and adjust them to create space, particularly against linebackers on crossing patterns.
While Dissly leans toward being a dual-threat tight end, Fant is another supersized counterpart focusing more on impacting the Seahawks’ passing attack. In his first three seasons with the Broncos, the 24-year-old Fant compiled three straight seasons with at least 40 receptions, 562 yards, and three touchdowns. He was always a deep-range threat for Denver, posting three years with an average play of 9.9 yards and a career-high of 14.1 yards in 2019.
Showcasing a 4.5 40-yard dash and 39.5 vertical jump at his NFL combine workout, Fant is one of the more speedy and athletic tight ends in the league. Coming off the snap, he accelerates and gets over the top of the defender with a strong burst that creates huge separation on seam and vertical routes.
Once in the open field, he has the flexibility and motor to run with long, loose strides and work across the zone to gain the quarterback's attention in sudden play-action looks. If the ball is launched high in his direction, Fant has basketball-like springs in his legs to get up and make an overhead catch in loose or tight windows.
Add in an ability to sink down, secure the low throws, and quickly recover to speed upfield after the catch. Fant has all the potential to be a defensive nightmare in zone coverage, especially closer to the endzone, where his targets tend to increase with his size and athleticism. When not involved in the passing attack, Fant is inserted into 12-personnel formations on the right side, where he thrives as an inside move blocker with well-placed hands.
On occasion, the Seahawks have also deployed third-year tight end Colby Parkinson in their offensive game plan. After seeing just ten targets and 49 yards receiving in his 2020 and 2021, the Stanford product and 2020 fourth-round selection has nine catches for 154 yards and a touchdown, with the latter happening back in Week 1 against the Broncos.
September 18, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Charles Cross (67) during the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Offensive Line
Going back to the start of the 2021 season, the Seahawks’ offensive line has been the most inconsistent piece of their entire operation.
After a 2020 campaign where they blocked well to help the Seahawks’ average unit win 12 games, many of the team’s starters returned last fall with small but effective upgrades at the guard position. Only two of their starters remained relatively healthy, and the rest could not play at the highest level amid injuries and bouts with COVID-19.
Seattle’s front line rediscovered its promise at times, but ultimately the product couldn’t achieve desired results every week. The Seahawks allowed 46 sacks last season, ranking eighth most in the league and slowing down the efficiency of the running game that stood at 5.0 yards per carry (third-best) in 2021.
The offensive line is coming off a massive offseason overhaul that saw three starting blockers depart the organization and the same number of young players take their place. With rookies on both ends of their starting front and the longest-tenured player holding three years of experience in Seattle’s system, uncertainties linger on whether the last-ranked group by PFF is good enough to compete at the NFL level.
Starting at the left tackle position is rookie Charles Cross. At 6-foot-5 and 311 pounds, Cross was selected No. 9 overall by the Seahawks in April’s draft and was the third-best offensive tackle prospect behind Evan Neal and Ikem Okonwu, both of whom went earlier to the Giants and Panthers, respectively.
The Mississippi State product didn’t just walk into the starting role with Seattle, especially given his rawness as a run blocker resulting from a collegiate system that was all about the Air-Raid offense. He earned it through the coaching staff appreciating the stalwart pass blocking he’s provided teams since he played as one of the top pass protectors in college football last year.
Translating that to the professional level, Cross has done a serviceable job at protecting Geno Smith’s left blindside, playing a total of 264 passing snaps (433 combined) and allowing just three sacks which stands tied for 14th-best in the league. He’s played very clean football blocking up front, being penalized just four times in his first seven starts while minimizing quarterback hits and pressure on his side to 17
As the season has worn on, Cross appears to be improving his efficiency up front, raising his percentage from 90.3 to as high as 98 percent, with his recent outing posting a 96.7 blocking score. It seems like signs of promise that Cross is learning to adjust his skills for the Seahawks’ offensive system, which could make the difference Sunday against the Giants’ pressure-heavy defense.
Following Cross at the left guard position is third-year player Damien Lewis, the Seahawks’ third-round pick in the 2020 draft out of LSU. A starter throughout his time in Seattle, Lewis was one of two players brought back to maintain the status quo at the guard spot and provide much-needed continuity and mentorship in the trenches.
Lewis, ranked 31st overall and 25th in pass blocking grade among guards by PFF, played his first season as the left guard for Seattle in 2021 after the team brought over fellow guard Gabe Jackson from the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason. Despite some early struggles on that side and falling from the top-10 qualified position players in run-blocking efficiency, the 25-year-old saw improvements in his pass protection that have translated well into 2022.
Playing in over 696 total snaps last year, including 431 in the passing game, Lewis succumbed to only one sack and cut his penalties from 12 to five. His hits allowed also took a minor increase from three to seven, but the overall pressures through his gap were also cut to 21 for the season. As it stands through seven games this year, Lewis has 348 total snaps with only two sacks, and no quarterback hits allowed.
Filling in the middle of the starting line is center Austin Blythe, one of the Seahawks’ three new additions to their offensive front. Blythe is playing in his seventh NFL campaign and joins the team after being drafted by the Colts in 2016 and spending the preceding four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, including their 2021 Super Bowl run.
While he only appeared in four games last year due to injuries, Blythe is reuniting with offensive line coach Andy Dickerson in Seattle and has returned healthy to contribute to a scheme that fits all his strengths. He also provides the center position the most stability since the departure of former starter Justin Britt.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and 298 pounds, Blythe is far from a mauler in the eyes of opposing defensive line coaches, and he can be overwhelmed when pressured with multiple strong, interior defenders. His ability as a pass blocker has been tested, allowing seven sacks in consecutive seasons with the Rams. Still, both that and his run-blocking efficiency have rounded into form in 2022, with just one sack allowed and an overall efficiency in the upper 90s in 433 snaps.
The greater hope for the Seahawks is that Blythe can at least offer tutelage to the team’s rookie tackles to strengthen their confidence against professional rushers and weather in-game storms to become a cohesive unit.
Shifting to the right side of the offensive line, nine-year veteran Gabe Jackson continues to fill in the right guard slot. Jackson was acquired in a March 2021 trade with the Raiders to offer a quality veteran presence for the opposite edge.
Making all 16 starts last season, Jackson made himself known as the Seahawks’ mauling run blocker that excels at pushing interior defenders downfield and opening up gaping holes for the backfield. He played a huge role in Rashaad Penny’s ascension to the starting role with a 749-yard and six-touchdown outing in 2021 and helped the Seahawks finish in the top 10 in rushing yards, touchdowns, and average yards per rush.
Jackson’s run-blocking prowess has continued into this season, but there are concerns about his vulnerability in the passing game. In 2021, he allowed 37 pressures, three sacks, and four hits in pass protection, the former being the highest total of his established career.
Rounding out the offensive line is another rookie tackle in Abraham Lucas. Hailing from Washington State as the Seahawks’ third-round pick this past spring, the 24-year-old Lucas takes over the starting spot after beating out teammate Jake Curhan in training camp with his significant athletic advantages.
After only allowing one sack throughout his senior season, Lucas has seen some early struggles protecting the right blindside. In his seven starts, he’s given three sacks and 12 pressures while being penalized five times, ranking him at the top among offensive tackles for those categories.
Lucas is another novice with a need for development in the run-blocking department, meaning it could be a difficult afternoon for the Seahawks to accomplish the big runs on the outside against the stiff Giants interior defense.
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