Scouting Report: Seattle Seahawks - Q&A: Jamal Adams, Bobby Wagner, John Schneider, and more.

A Q&A with r/seahawks, discussing everything from Metcalf, to Ken Norton Jr, to... Aldon Smith?

Nov 01, 2020

Episode 8 of our Q&A series for all of the 49ers opponents - this time, it is fanbase of the Seattle Seahawks that we get feedback from. Hearing other fans perspectives is humbling and also the most accurate way to get a perspective on the team we face tomorrow. Our questions are answered from the r/seahawks subreddit. Thank you to everyone who participated, and to readers: trust me, these guys are nice! I know! Good Seahawks fans?! Who would have thought?! All in fun, but again, thank you to all that participated.

Check out the original post here.

Who’s one player flying under the radar that’s having a breakout season? Similarly, who is the most overrated player?

u/PostMilanlol

Ugo Amadi, our nickel corner, has been playing very well. Throughout his first few games, he's consistently made great tackles, had a few PBUs, and overall was a solid player. He did get injured though, and he will probably be out for this game, which is huge for the 49ers. For overrated, as much as I hate to say it, Bobby. Bobby Wagner has not looked like his dominant self of past years. He had a great game one, but since then has stayed very quiet.

u/haovha42

The player that comes to mind for me is Ryan Neal. He was on the practice squad not too long ago, but since he's been promoted to the active roster he's made some big plays for us. He caught the game ending INT against Dallas and has made some really big hits for nice TFL's (tackles for loss).
With our defense playing as bad as it has, he's been one of the few bright spots. Don't get me wrong, he's made his share of mistakes as well but he warrants more play time when Jamal gets back.

u/RustyCoal950212

Basically pick an O-lineman not named Duane Brown (who is playing well but that's expected). Simmons is finally healthy, Pocic is at least average, and Shell is at least average. Not flashy but a welcome surprise.

There are quite a few underrated players on Seattle, but it’s still shocking to see Bobby Wagner and overrated in the same sentence. One commenter (u/joydivision1234) remarked, “I mean to be fair, Bobby becomes overrated the moment he isn't a top 5 defensive player in the league because that's usually how he's rated.” And he’s right. Wagner is still an incredible player but he is showing signs of slowing down. The Seattle OL, as covered earlier this week, has quietly been a very good unit this season.

Are the travails of the defense more on the DC Ken Norton or can they be traced directly to Pete Carroll, given that he has his hands on the tiller, as far as the defense is concerned?

u/AdamHoleBayBay

The struggles on the defense lie on both Norton and Carroll. Norton is AWFUL, but Carroll is the reason Norton still has a job. So the direct blame is on Norton, who calls the most vanilla coverages even a HS quarterback can beat. But the overall blame goes to Carroll, who only keeps Norton around because they’re buddies.
You could blame the injuries on the defense for the sluggish start, but if you look closely — it’s on the defensive coordinator.

u/qwertyqyle

According to this [subreddit], it is all Ken Norton's fault.
But truth be told, we are just dealing with injuries in the secondary. And a lack of pass rush. We have 5 safeties on the injury report. So opposing QBs are having all day to sit back and find whoever is most open and chucking it.
[With regards to how the 49ers offense uses screens and YAC in the short passing game]
Good luck. Bobby and KJ have that area pretty locked down.

While u/qwertyqyle thinks that Seattle’s defense can handle the YAC attack that Kyle Shanahan brings, another commentator (u/Tekkzy) had this to say: “Our tackling has been pretty suspect this year. We're letting up a ton of YAC.” Who to believe, we don’t know - but if Jamal Adams return, most of the tackling issues should ease up. Either way, the 49ers offense needs to take advantage of a weakened Seattle defense for the first time in years. No matter what - the DC is at fault to some degree, and clearly Norton is not helping out his players, especially his talented secondary which has no pass rush help.

What weakness on your defense concerns you most when playing the Niners? Similarly, what weakness on the offense concerns you when playing the Niners?

u/AdamHoleBayBay

My biggest concern for the defense against the Niners offense is the pass rush. Personally, I think Garoppolo is at his best when he can get through his progressions and feel comfortable in the pocket. We have absolutely zero pass rush. That’s not even a hyperbole. The defense registered zero QB hits last Sunday night vs Arizona. Garoppolo should feel quite comfortable tomorrow, which is the best case scenario for you guys.
Conversely, I worry about your front seven. In the first half when Russ had time, he carved up the Arizona secondary last week. In the second half when they started blitzing, we couldn’t get ANYTHING going on offense. I am scared to death of Fred Warner — he’s a monster on your defense.

u/RustyCoal950212

Speed and tackling. Last year it was super easy to turn the corner against this defense for an easy 15 yards. Fly sweeps, reverses, slide routes (so basically the 49ers offense), anything at the LOS going horizontal and guys like Ansah and McDougald were just bad at containing it. The guys they got to improve it (Taylor, Irvin, Adams) are all out this game, or have a long shot at making it (Adams).
Nothing about the 49ers defense concerns me a ton [to be honest]. If Saleh can do his best Zimmer impression with MOFO, scheme pressure, and let Warner make Wilson hesitate like Kendricks does there might be some awkward drives. And we also don't have any running backs so that's cool

While our front seven is not even close to the level of last year, it’s still dangerous - but Seattle’s OL is massively improved as well. This is likely going to be a shootout, but which defense will prevail - likely the 49ers, if the past is any indicator. Brandon Aiyuk should be a lock to start, with Deebo Samuel out.

If you could pick one player from the 49ers to “steal”, who would it be and why? Factor in team needs.

u/ImABsian1

Bosa for team success. Kittle for the memes.

u/AdamHoleBayBay

If we could steal one player from your defense, I think the obvious pick is Nick Bosa. Not because we like him — we don’t. We simply just need a pass rusher. Period.
If we’re only talking about active players (Bosa on IR), I’d really love to have Fred Warner. He’s the best linebacker in football right now.

u/haovha42

Do injured players count? With the way our pass rush has been the last few years I'd take Nick Bosa in an instant.

u/qwertyqyle

I'll take 1 Richard Sherman, please. Although I am pretty sure when his contract is up this year he is going to come back home anyway.

Not much of a question here: Nick Bosa takes the prize. The first Richard Sherman mention in this series, although not unexpected from Seahawks fans! Fred Warner beginning to find some recognition…

Regarding the approach John Schneider has been using to acquire talent through trades over the draft. Do you think that will pay off or end up hurting the team mid to long term?

u/AdamHoleBayBay

Schneider is good with going into drafts with little draft capital and wheeling & dealing his way to having a nice draft. In 2019, we went in with 4 picks and left the draft with 12 picks.
I’m okay with giving up early round picks — we usually pick duds. Schneider works his magic with day 2-3 picks. So I’m okay with giving up draft capital to try and win now — we don’t know how long our super bowl window will be open.

u/qwertyqyle

In PCJS we trust.

u/gryfter_13

All of the stats say the draft is a cr*pshoot. JS, I feel is one of the guys that understands this and will always take 3 lower draft picks over 1 high one. That's led to their philosophy of not overvaluing 1st rounders. Trading them. But also trading back for more picks.

Seattle clearly wants to maximize the window they have with Russell Wilson - arguably the best QB in football, and trading for Jamal Adams only reaffirmed that. The question is: is that enough? Because if it ends as the Jalen Ramsey trade did for the Rams, where they did not get far with him and are going through a mini-rebuild, that would waste the ending years of Russell Wilson’s prime, who is 31 already.

How do you feel about the Adams trade? He has barely played but has made a big difference in his few games. Do you think his eventual extension and cap hit was worth losing quality draft picks? And do you think his return, whether it’s this week or not, will help compensate for a weak pass rush?

u/RussellMVP

Yes, I felt great. The picks are gonna be late first, and the 2021 draft is gonna be weird cus of covid, prospects will be much harder to scout. Jamal just turned 25, and remember he was 6th overall in the 2017 draft. Trading up to 6 would have taken 2 firsts + [then]some, and then there’s the possibility that he’s a bust. He's been all over the field, cant wait until he's back.

u/AdamHoleBayBay

My view on the trade hasn’t really changed because of the injury. I liked it then and I like it now. Giving up two first round picks for an elite 25 year old safety is well worth it in my opinion. Of course we’d like to see him on the field, but he’s got a lot of football left in him, so no need to rush him through an injury.
Like I said previously, I don’t like our first round picks. Why not trade a couple of them for a generational safety who’s only 25?

u/qwertyqyle

[We are] asking too much of him. But I can't wait to see him down the stretch. We will need him if we want to make a deep post-season run.

Adams regardless of the price is likely the best defensive player on the Seahawks. There is no understating what he can do on the field - and despite the popular narrative of him being bad in coverage, he is average to above average in that category based upon the past couple seasons, both from PFF and other advanced stats - and that ignores the impact he has as a pass-rusher and run defender. If he returns, watch out.

Strongest and weakest position group on the team?

u/RussellMVP

Us, Weakest is obviously DL, but our secondary is criminally underrated. We have Shaquil Griffin, a young corner who is doing well, Quinton Dunbar, who finished with the second highest PFF grade for a corner last year, Jamal, who’s well, Jamal. And Quandre Diggs, A FS who is a ball hawk.

u/ReparH-Nai

I would say our strongest position group at the moment is our Receivers. You have DK, quickly becoming one of the most dominant vertical threats in the league. Lockett, a good route runner with some of the best hands among WRs. David Moore is a decent WR3 who's capable of making plays and big catches. Greg Olsen and Will Dissly are good and consistent TEs as well.
Our weakest has to be the DL. Jarran Reed is the only guy that's consistently good. But the issue is that we have backup-rotational guys being put in as starters, so the production has been terrible. Moore, Robinson, Mayowa, Collier, are all good rotational guys that have had flashes of brilliance, but could never seem to suffice starting all game. Hopefully Dunlap changes things, but right now DL is our worst position group.

u/RCarson88

Strongest: WR or LB. Our WR group is nuts this year. DK and Tyler are both playing lights out (Lockett last week had the 2nd most receiving yards in a game in franchise history) David Moore is a good deep ball guy, and even our 7th rounder, Freddie Swain, has played well in the snaps he's taken. LBs go without saying, although KJ Wright is so far playing better than Wagner. Our 1st round pick Jordyn Brooks is also playing well.
Weakest: DL and, for this week anyway, RB. DL is the obvious issue. We've got Carlos Dunlap for practically nothing, and he'll be a big help (though he's not playing this week due to COVID protocols). We were also rumored to be in talks about trading for Aldon Smith, so don't be surprised if our pass rush is decent next time we meet. RB meanwhile, is a good group for us, but all of them are injured except our 4th rounder DeeJay Dallas. While most people might be most concerned about Carson being out (no RBs have been ruled out yet) I'm more concerned about Travis Homer. While he's just a so so runner, he's AMAZING at pass blocking. On one of the final drives vs Arizona, Homer was out and Dallas was assigned to block, but he whiffed hard. If Homer was out there, mark my words that game would've ended differently.

Clearly the WRs have the upper edge here, and of course they do - DK Metcalf is the best deep threat in the league at the moment, and Tyler Lockett leads the league in receiving TDs. Add Philip Dorsett and eventually Josh Gordon, the Seahawks are cooking with gas on offense. DL was pretty obvious, but as mentioned, Carlos Dunlap is expected to improve that. A trade for our old friend, Aldon Smith, could be in the cards too.

What should people expect from the Hawks on Sunday, and for the rest of the season?

u/AdamHoleBayBay

People should expect a lot of Russell Wilson on Sunday. The Seahawks only have one healthy running back going into tomorrow — rookie Deejay Dallas. I can’t imagine he gets a ton of carries because they need him to play the entire game. So Russ should throw the ball a lot.
I would also expect the defense to struggle again. Missing defensive starters include Adams, Griffin, Amadi, and possibly Mayowa. Expect the defense to give up a lot of yards.
For the rest of the season, let’s hope we have more than one healthy RB and the offense can stay balanced. Also hopefully the defense can get healthy and get on track. I truthfully don’t believe the defense will stay this bad.

u/troubled_double

Jimmy G is holding your team back, [in my opinion]. The rest of the team is definitely a contender.
We should win this game. Even if we don’t, it’s not the end of the world.
Season wise, I have complete confidence that Seahawks will figure things out. Not having pre seasons, injuries to expected contributors (Irvin, Adams, Blair, Taylor, and RBs) means it takes longer for the team to gel and find its identity. I expect at least 12 wins this season. 10 wins is a worst case scenario.

u/qwertykyle

16 regular season games decided by 7 points or less.
A crazy NFC championship games with all sorts of "What the heck"s "How did he do that"s and a unforgivable dumb play by the opposing team that causes the game.
And lastly, a romping of the Steelers in the SB.

Seahawks fans are clearly confident for this game, and rightfully so. This team is 5-1, and regardless of their close games and defensive issues, they have the leading MVP candidate through the first 7 weeks. The 49ers should be expecting to see a lot of Russell Wilson, which could be a blessing and curse - easier to predict, but Wilson is so good that it could hurt us. As always, Garoppolo’s play will be the X-Factor tomorrow.

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