JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While an opening-week loss often leaves the fans and media wondering whether an entire season might be about more of the same, the Seattle Seahawks’ 26-14 setback at the hands of Jacksonville left a few reasons for optimism.
Seattle’s revamped receiving corps provided a balanced attack, the coverage units sparked the special teams, and starting middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu showed no signs of rookie jitters.
But above all else, the most encouraging silver lining may have come from a pass rush that looks resurrected from the dead.
The same Seattle defense that rarely pressured opposing quarterbacks in 2004 had a solid start this time around. The Seahawks had three sacks and forced Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich into several hurried throws.
“I think we’ve picked it up,” said defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, who followed up his second-quarter sack with his signature shoulder-shake dance. “But we’ve got to be able to do that all year long. We didn’t win the game, so obviously we didn’t do enough. Overall, as a group, if we just keep working together, good things will happen for us.”
Bernard, defensive end Bryce Fisher and cornerback Marcus Trufant all had sacks, but there were plenty of other opportunities. Defensive end Grant Wistrom was in Leftwich’s personal space for most of the afternoon, directly causing three incomplete passes in the first half alone. Reserve Joe Tafoya, the only active end behind starters Wistrom and Fisher, also hurried Leftwich into an incomplete pass.
“We did all right,” Wistrom said, shrugging off the performance because of the final result. “… It doesn’t matter. We got some pressure, but not enough, obviously.”
As a point of reference, the Seattle defense had three or more sacks in only half of their 2004 games. But that defense rarely got as much consistent pressure on an opposing quarterback.
The 2005 defensive line is almost entirely new. Wistrom missed eight games with injuries in 2004, while Fisher was playing for the St. Louis Rams. Starting defensive tackles Chartric Darby and Marcus Tubbs are also new to the lineup.
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