There have been fleeting moments of greatness, like the first quarter of Super Bowl XL. Impressive games, like in 2004 when the San Francisco 49ers failed to score a point for the first time in 27 years. Dominating stretches, like the first month of the 2004 regular season, when the Seattle Seahawks led the NFL in defense through Week 4.
Seattle’s defense has shown enough over the years to get the fans excited. But one thing that has eluded this unit, year in and year out, is the kind of consistency that makes a top-5 defense.
“The difference between the very best defense and the worst in the NFL is probably three plays a game,” Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney said. “You either get the explosion or give up the explosion. That’s what makes or breaks it.”
This year’s defense has taken the fans through a familiar ebb and flow of emotion through five weeks.
The Seahawks dominated Tampa Bay in the season opener, holding the Buccaneers to 284 yards of total offense and a pair of field goals. Then Seattle gave up 843 combined yards to Arizona and Cincinnati the next two weeks.
A 23-3 win over San Francisco on Sept. 30 had the Seahawks hitting on all cylinders again, and then last Sunday the Seattle’s defense couldn’t get off the field in a 21-0 loss to Pittsburgh.
“We’ve been inconsistent,” said defensive coordinator John Marshall, whose unit currently ranks 19th in the league in yards allowed and seventh in points allowed. “We’re certainly addressing it, but it is one of the things that’s bothering us right now.
“You play the run real well, and all of a sudden one pops out. You do a great job of tackling, and then you miss a couple the next week. In any game, consistency of performance is one of the things you’ve got to have.”
Not only have the Seahawks been inconsistent from week to week, but also within the frames of a single game. Last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh was a good example in that Seattle held the Steelers to modest first-half totals of six first downs and seven points, only to give up 13 first downs and 14 points after halftime.
“There would be years in Atlanta where we would have great defense 98 percent of the time,” said Kerney, who spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Falcons, “and then the other two percent of the time would be when we’d give up the big plays that accounted for all the yards.
“That’s true of the entire NFL. Everybody in the NFL has played their position perfectly at one time or another. It’s just a matter of how often you can do it.”
Kerney went on to reference a recent interview with Tiger Woods on the television show 60 Minutes,’ during which the golfer was asked what makes him so successful.
“He said: ‘To be able to do it again. And again. And again. And again,’” Kerney said. “That’s the name of the game in any sport.”
Added middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu: “Consistency is everything. It’s just about doing the right thing. That’s the name of the ball game: who can do what they’re supposed to for the longer period of time?”
In some ways, being inconsistent is more damaging than just having a glaring weakness. If the Seahawks never covered receivers, for example, they could change personnel or modify their defensive scheme.
But when a part of the defense is dead-on most of the time and mistake-prone every once in awhile, it’s more difficult to pinpoint the solution.
“As long as you’re consistent, you can go about fixing the things that aren’t working well for you,” Marshall said. “But when you’re inconsistent, then you have a hard time having that reliability.”
If there’s one obvious area where Seattle’s defense has struggled, it has been on third downs. Opposing teams have converted 43.8 percent on third down this season, which puts the Seahawks at No. 23 in the NFL in that category.
Last Sunday, the Steelers went through one stretch where they converted six third downs in a row.
“No excuses,” Marshall said. “We didn’t get off the field. … That’s the name of the game, really.”
Seattle has also been inconsistent in its pass rush. Of the team’s 16 sacks this season, 11 came in the wins over Tampa Bay and San Francisco.
This week, the Seahawks have been working particularly hard on their tackling techniques because that part of their game struggled against Pittsburgh.
“We’re fighting to be a good defense — every down and every game,” safety Brian Russell said. “But you look at a game like (the loss to Pittsburgh), and we were frustrated by a few of the big plays that they got.”
Seattle’s defense has plenty of game film from Tampa Bay and San Francisco to encourage optimism. But the Seahawks have also had enough mistakes to raise some red flags.
“A 16-game season will get you a lot of time to improve or go the other way,” Russell said. “We need to keep improving.”
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