Seahawks waive Freeney from depleted defense

The surprising move comes on the heels of a loss where poor pass rush was an issue for Seattle.

By Gregg Bell

The News Tribune

The Seahawks released a future Hall-of-Fame defensive end and pass rusher just when it was becoming obvious they were relying on their defensive front to provide more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

After the last two, upside-down weeks Seattle’s had, that figures.

Dwight Freeney’s short time with Seattle is over. The Seahawks announced Tuesday they waived one of this era’s preeminent pass rushers, a three-time All-Pro defensive end and seven-time Pro Bowl selection, less than a month after they had signed him.

The move came a day after the 37-year-old Freeney played 17 of 62 defensive snaps in the 34-31 loss to Atlanta. That was down from 41 of 80 plays he had in the previous game, the win at Arizona on Nov. 9.

Freeney’s reduced playing time Monday night was curious. Seattle usually dropped seven defenders into pass coverage to help its depleted secondary. That left the onus on the front four linemen to pressure Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. That’s Freeney’s forte.

But the Seahawks sacked Ryan just once in his 28 dropbacks, on his final one, and hit him four times.

Freeney leaves with 125 1⁄2 sacks in his 16-year career that began with him starring for and winning a Super Bowl with Indianapolis from 2002-12. His is 17th on the NFL’s all-time sack list.

He had three sacks in his first two games with the Seahawks, using his famous spin move and moving like he was 27.

He had no sacks in his last two games.

The need for pressure from the defensive line relates to Seattle’s depleted secondary — and to how the Seahawks (6-4) may be forced to play the rest of this season, which continues Sunday at 1-9 San Francisco.

Monday night in the locker room following the loss to Atlanta, Richard Sherman wheeled himself and his repaired Achilles tendon out of the locker room on his knee scooter. He said he will be off the scooter by mid-December.

Kam Chancellor watched the loss with Sherman from the sidelines. After it, he was nowhere visible in the locker room. He is figuring out what to do about his neck injury he got the game before at Arizona, the same night Sherman went down.

Shaquill Griffin was absent, too. The rookie starting right cornerback lasted just two plays then got what may be a concussion tackling Atlanta running back Tevin Coleman on a sweep. Griffin was one of six starters on defense missing because of injuries.

But Earl Thomas was there. He is the last standing member of the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” secondary that’s gone bust.

The three-time All-Pro safety felt right away in Monday’s loss how different it was for Seattle’s depleted defense. And obviously not for the better.

“Early on, we were trying to get things together,” Thomas said. “But we settled down. We really didn’t have a chance to really see ourselves in live action as far as everybody; the whole new group. All we can do is just get better.”

That is as accurate as anything said following Seattle’s second consecutive home loss. It left the NFL’s best team in November and December since 2012 at 1-2 this month.

So how did the Seahawks play the Falcons without having Sherman for the first time since 2010? Without having Chancellor, and then Griffin?

Seattle blitzed less. It became obvious that was to protect the depleted secondary. Linebacker Bobby Wagner played short zone instead of blitzing. The Seahawks mostly relied on their four defensive linemen to get a pass rush on Ryan. That mostly failed. Seattle’s only sack came on Atlanta’s last offensive play, by Sheldon Richardson with 1:44 left. The Seahawks hit Ryan four times on his 28 drop backs to throw.

The one sack tied Seattle’s season low from the week-three loss at Tennessee and the win at the New York Giants late last month.

Instead of pressuring, the Seahawks mostly dropped into maximum coverages. As they often do, they mixed in man coverage with zone, with Thomas lurking behind as a roving center fielder. Linebackers Wagner and outside guys K.J. Wright and Terence Garvin mostly had the underneath zones.

The Seahawks spent the majority of time in base defense, Garvin in along with four defensive backs. They went to a nickel defense 39 percent of the time with fifth defensive back Justin Coleman in the slot.

Seattle went to dime, six defensive backs, four times on Monday, with usual special-teams player Neiko Thorpe as the sixth DB.

Jeremy Lane, whom Seattle benched and then traded away to Houston last month only to have him returned by the Texans because of a failed physical, started for Sherman at left cornerback. Bradley McDougald, signed in the spring as a free agent from Tampa Bay, started for Chancellor at strong safety. And 29-year-old Byron Maxwell replaced Griffin at right corner. Maxwell was the Seahawks’ starting right cornerback in 2013-14 whom the team brought back as a street free agent last week after Sherman went on injured reserve. He played 59 of 62 snaps Monday.

The Seahawks had their sixth, seventh and eighth defensive backs — Lane, McDougald and Maxwell — combining to be in for all but three snaps Monday. That was definitely not in the team’s plans for this season.

How did this change how the secondary defended Atlanta’s All-Pro receiver Julio Jones?

As expected, and unlike when they had Sherman in the two games with Atlanta in the previous 13 months, the Seahawks didn’t have anyone shadowing Jones this time.

Jones played 50 snaps. Lane lined up opposite him 28 times on the Atlanta offense’s right side. Jones caught three passes on six targets versus Lane for 52 yards. One of those receptions went for 16 yards to the Seattle 19-yard line to set up Atlanta’s second touchdown of the opening quarter. Another was for 29 yards to the Seattle 29 on a third and 6 in the fourth quarter. That set up the Falcons’ clinching field goal for their 34-23 lead with 3:49 remaining.

Maxwell lined up against Jones 18 times on the offense’s left side. Jones caught one pass on Maxwell in two targets, for 13 yards in the third quarter. That set up Matt Ryan’s touchdown pass to tight end Levine Toilolo, who got behind Garvin in a blown coverage. Garvin was playing because Michael Wilhoite was one of the six defensive starters out injured.

Coleman, who took Lane’s job in the slot last month, lined up on Jones inside three times. Griffin covered Jones once in the two plays before he got hurt.

Though Jones got his — five catches on 10 targets for 71 yards — it’s what happened when Lane, Maxwell and Coleman tried covering Mohamed Sanu that really hurt Seattle.

Ryan threw for just 195 yards, ending his NFL-record streak of 64 games in a row with at least 200 yards passing. But his throws also drew two big pass-interference penalties on the Seahawks’ secondary, totaling 41 yards.

“I mean, how many passing yards he have? 200?” Thomas said. “And couple times the referees bailed them out because we play physical on the outside.”

Ryan went after Lane on the game’s opening series, on his first pass into the end zone. That was to Sanu. When he got behind Lane, Lane grabbed the receiver’s arm as the ball arrived in the end zone. That 25-yard pass-interference penalty is a flag eight days a week in this league. It put the ball on the 1-yard line. Atlanta scored the game’s first touchdown on the next play.

On the Falcons’ next drive Lane had a deflected pass inside go off his chest in traffic while he was falling on his back in the end zone. Instead of a Seahawks interception that would have kept the score 7-0, the Falcons scored two plays later, on a 2-yard pass outside to Sanu. Sanu, from the right slot, made a brilliant catch with one hand after he got past Coleman on an out-and-up move. Jones ran a rub route on the play to pick off Lane on the right edge.

That touchdown came on third down. Atlanta converted nine of its first 12 third downs into first downs. That ultimately is what ensured the Seahawks’ defeat.

In the second quarter Maxwell’s interference penalty for pushing Sanu off a go route down the left sideline moved Atlanta 16 yards out of its own end. That drive ended with a Falcons field goal.

“He didn’t have to (commit the penalty),” Carroll told Seattle’s KIRO-AM radio on Tuesday during his weekly day-after show. “He had him covered up.”

Lane’s and Maxwell’s penalties trying to stay with Sanu — two of nine more flags for 109 yards against the league’s most penalized team — set up 10 of Atlanta’s points in a game Seattle lost by three.

“It was unfortunate,” Carroll said Monday night. “We needed to get through those plays without fouling, and just let our good coverage play, because we made those plays. The guys were in great position on them. So, it was unfortunate.”

This is the way it is likely to be for the final six games of the regular season. Sherman is out for the year. Signs are ominous that Chancellor will be joining him. Griffin being in concussion protocol on a shorter week doesn’t bode well for him returning to start Sunday at San Francisco. That would mean Lane and Maxwell starting on the corners again.

The 49ers may be debuting former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo against them. If not, it will be rookie C.J. Beathard’s sixth career start, and first against Seattle.

“I thought those guys did a nice job, other than getting off the field on third down,” Carroll said of this new secondary of substitutes against Atlanta. “That was really the Achilles heel tonight.”

MORE INJURIES

Carroll told KIRO-AM starting right guard Oday Aboushi won’t play Sunday because of a separated shoulder. The Seahawks are hoping left guard Luke Joeckel can play coming back from knee surgery last month. He can also play tackle.

Mike Davis will not be the team’s lead running back for a second consecutive game. Carroll said Davis, promoted from the practice squad last week into a surprise start against Atlanta, won’t play at San Francisco because of a strained groin. So it’s back to Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls, whom the Seahawks left in street clothes Monday as a healthy inactive for the second time in his three-year career. Both of those times are in the last two months.

Lacy had just six plays, three carries and 2 yards against the Falcons. He has 130 yards rushing this season. He remains on the roster perhaps because he is guaranteed $2,865,000 from the Seahawks no matter what this season.

EXTRA POINTS: The Seahawks did not make a corresponding move to the active roster after waiving Freeney, so they have an opening on it for now. … Seattle also released safety Alex Carter from its practice squad

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for March 8-17

The Athlete of the Week nominees for March 8-17. Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
Silvertips’ playoff picture coming together as season hits final week

Everett is officially the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and is likely heading into a matchup with Kelowna or Vancouver.

X
Prep roundup for Monday, March 18

Prep roundup for Monday, March 18: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Los Angeles Rams offensive guard Tremayne Anchrum (72) against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Seahawks add to position of need, sign guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr.

The 25-year-old has played in 31 games, starting once, since being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.

Everett Community College head coach Chet Hovde watches as the women's team practices on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
EvCC coach Chet Hovde, who ‘lived for’ basketball, dies at 77

Coach Hovde graduated from Everett High School in 1965. He spent 33 years as the women’s basketball coach at the community college.

Jackson’s Ian Friedrichsen celebrates his goal with his teammates during the game against Bothell on Thursday, May 11, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep boys soccer: 5 things to watch for the 2024 season in Snohomish County

A look at the top local storylines for this high school boys soccer season

Jackson’s Rachel Sysum is hugged by Leneyah Mitchell after hitting a home run during the game against Bothell on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep softball: 5 things to watch for the 2024 season in Snohomish County

A look at the top local storylines to keep an eye on this high school softball season.

X
Prep roundup for Friday, March 15

Prep roundup for Friday, March 15: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Glacier Peak’s Samantha Christensen runs to home plate to celebrate her home run with her teammates during the game against Snohomish on Friday, March 15, 2024 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
GALLERY: Glacier Peak softball tops rival Snohomish

The Grizzlies prevail 9-5 in a clash of area powers.

X
Prep roundup for Thursday, March 14

Prep roundup for Thursday, March 14: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

The Washington Wolfpack logo is revealed during the Everett AFL team unveiling at Tony V's Garage in Everett, Washington onThursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett’s new arena football team to have 4 televised games

The NFL Network will broadcast 30 AFL games this season, including two Wolfpack home games.

Washington coach Mike Hopkins yells to the team during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against California, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Seattle. California won 82-80. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Looking back at Mike Hopkins’ turbulent tenure as UW men’s basketball coach

The departing Huskies coach had highs early, but the good times didn’t last long.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.