With the regular season winding down with just six games left, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is looking for continual growth and a finishing mindset from his players. To have a finishing mindset, the players, as individuals and as a unit, have to generate power. The power to finish plays going forward on offense and the power to knock defenders and runners backwards.
“Our guys are powerful in their own right, but I think it’s going to come from multiple people at the point of attack. I can be the strongest man in the world, but if I’m one-on-one with you in the open field, it’s going to be hard for me to knock you backwards and get you on the ground. Guys in this league are too talented and it’s really a team game, said Macdonald.
“You’ve got to make every tackle a vice tackle. You’ve got to restrict space in the box. Offensively, you have to be able to sustain blocks, use the proper angles, and really just have the resolve to keep moving forward. It’s simple and not easy. It’s not easy to do that on a down-in-down-out basis, and I think that’s what separates the great teams in our League.”
Power and finishing are fundamental to how Macdonald expects the team to play on offense and defense. The Seahawks offense is ranked seventh overall, averaging 354.6 yards per game, and the unit is ranked 11th overall. In the 30-24 win over the Titans, the Seahawks scored three touchdowns and three field goals, which was a marked improvement from the previous week. In Week Ten, a 21-19 loss to the LA Rams, the Seahawks scored one touchdown and settled for four field goals.
“Yeah, well, we need to improve in both phases, offense and defense. It’s the same thing, you’ve got to keep the ball moving forward, you can’t go backwards. When we’ve done that as an offense, we’ve scored touchdowns, saw that with Zach’s (Charbonnet) touchdown there on the left side in the second half, said Macdonald.
“ That’s positive and defensively, you’ve got to be able to stop the run and then when they’re forced to throw it, you can’t let them scramble, extend plays, and throw it past the sticks. It’s really the same formula, like a 4-yard play on the 10-yard line is 40% of the distance to the end zone. If you get a 4-yard play on the -40, you’re looking at it, and it’s no big deal, yards are at a premium down there.”
PERSONNEL CHANGES HAVE CAUSED A LACK OF COHESION
Both sides of the ball have seen significant personnel changes over the last several games, resulting in inconsistent play due to a lack of cohesion. Olu Oluwatimi has started at center in the last two games after Jalen Sundell was sidelined and ultimately put on the injured reserve list due to a knee issue. Rookie Gray Zabel has started all 11 games and is playing through a knee issue.
On defense ,middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV has missed two of the last three games. Jones was inactive against the Cardinals in Week Ten, started and finished the Rams game in Week 11, and was inactive for the Titans game. Tyrice Knight missed the Titans game due to a concussion. Patrick O’Connell saw significant time at linebacker during the Titans game after he was elevated from the practice squad. Drake Thomas has been the one constant at linebacker. He has started the last eight games.
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