Did Seahawks surrender an excessive amount of for Leonard Williams?

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They discovered a strategy to win once more Sunday, and that has been a prevailing theme for the Seahawks of their charmed begin to the 2023 season — simply discover a strategy to recover from the end line.

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And with their 24-20 victory over the Browns on Sunday, the Seahawks improved to 5-2 to set the tempo within the NFC West, transferring a half-game forward of the San Francisco 49ers atop the division. In our weekly 4 Downs section, Seattle Occasions beat writers Bob Condotta and Adam Jude deal with the Seahawks’ newest win and break down their large commerce Monday:

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1. The Seahawks are surging. The 49ers are slumping. Too early for the Seahawks to begin dreaming large?

Condotta: Nope, in no way. And the Seahawks gave their reply to that query Monday after they traded for Giants defensive deal with Leonard Williams. The Eagles are unquestionably the favorite within the NFC. However additionally they have 4 wins by a landing or much less, a loss to the Jets, and needed to mount a livid fourth-quarter rally Sunday to beat Washington. It simply looks like a type of years when there is no such thing as a overly dominant workforce, and on the proverbial “Any Given Sunday,” something can occur. Seattle’s strikes all through this offseason have painted the workforce in largely a win-now mode — hey, Pete Carroll appears perpetually younger, however he is also 72. And attending to 5-2 exhibits there is no such thing as a motive to not assume that perhaps they actually can hold profitable now.

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Jude: Dream large. Why not? It’s been a bizarre season across the NFL — there’s a large cluster of excellent to excellent groups, however few elite groups. That’s very true within the NFC. The Eagles, at 7-1, are the NFC favourites, and the Cowboys (5-2) are loaded with expertise, however as issues stand, the Seahawks ought to see themselves as legit NFC contenders. They’ve already crushed the Lions in Detroit, and the 49ers are going through some critical questions after their third-straight loss. And the Seahawks have received 5 of six regardless of their offence sputtering for a lot of the previous month — which is to say there may be loads of room for development there, and motive to be optimistic their finest is but to come back.

2. What’s your preliminary response to the Leonard Williams commerce? Did the Seahawks surrender an excessive amount of?

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Condotta: Nope. Not for those who’re actually in win-now mode, which the Seahawks appear to assume they’re — though they might by no means actually admit in any other case in the event that they weren’t. If Seattle hadn’t pulled out the Detroit and Cleveland video games and was 3-4 proper now, you may assume otherwise. However Seattle has reloaded its roster with various younger gamers the previous few years. Seattle entered Week 8 with 29 gamers on its roster who’re 25 or youthful, the seventh most within the NFL. So Seattle can afford to surrender a little bit of its future for the current, particularly with the Giants taking over many of the monetary hit of Williams’ contract.

Jude: Yeah, it’s quite a bit to surrender for what proper now’s a rental participant … however you must admire the Seahawks’ go-for-it mentality right here. Once more, you look across the NFC panorama, and the Seahawks are proper there — and Williams is the type of participant who may take Seattle’s defence from that excellent cluster and elevate it into elite territory.

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3. What’s working for the Seahawks defence proper now?

Jude: Nearly every thing however their screen-pass protection. The Seahawks have an attention-grabbing mixture of youth and expertise on defence, and every week, they’re arising with performs after they want them most. They haven’t allowed a second-half landing since Week 3 vs. Carolina, they usually proceed to rank within the prime 5 in run defence (3.6 yards per carry). The secondary, specifically, continues to lift its stage of play, with three younger corners (Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon and Tre Brown) discovering their footing, and the three veteran safeties (Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams and Julian Love) including some vital expertise. It’s a defence on the rise, little doubt.

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Condotta: As Adam famous, all of it begins with the run defence. Even Sunday, when the Seahawks allowed a season-high 155 dashing yards, they gave up simply 3.9 yards per carry. And on Cleveland’s first two drives of the fourth quarter, when the Browns had probabilities to place the sport away, the Seahawks put simply sufficient doubt within the minds of the Browns to make them cross on third downs of 4 yards and three yards — the primary going incomplete and forcing the Browns to accept a brief subject purpose, and the opposite ensuing within the Jamal Adams header heard around the world. It’s a far cry from final 12 months when Seattle allowed 4.9 yards per carry. That defence would have misplaced Sunday’s recreation. And whereas everybody Adam talked about is a worthy motive for Seattle’s improved defence, the management of Bobby Wagner within the center can also’t be ignored. It looks like there are quite a bit fewer missed assignments this season, and Wagner’s presence is undoubtedly a giant motive why.

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4. The offence has been spotty the previous few weeks. What’s the answer?

Jude: Geno Smith must take higher care of the soccer. He’s dedicated six turnovers previously three video games — two in every recreation — and he may have thrown two extra interceptions Sunday. Late within the third quarter, Browns cornerback Cameron Mitchell dropped what would have been a positive pick-six late within the third quarter. After which on the ultimate drive, Smith’s solely incompletion got here on a harmful cross supposed for D.Ok. Metcalf within the again proper nook of the tip zone. Smith had scrambled away from strain, and tried to present Metcalf an opportunity to make a play. However the ball was underthrown and will have simply been intercepted by Denzel Ward, the Browns’ finest cornerback. It was Smith’s worst determination of the sport, and he’s had far too lots of these sorts of go-for-broke performs currently.

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Condotta: Quarterbacks are all the time the plain focus. However perhaps the Seahawks may help him out by committing a bit extra to the run. That’s a humorous factor to say a few Carroll workforce, isn’t it? And to be honest, the Seahawks are passing the ball at a decrease share than final season — 58.6 per cent in comparison with 59.3 per cent. However Sunday it felt like perhaps attempting to lean a bit extra on the duo of Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet would have eased a few of the mid-game struggles. Contemplate that within the second and third quarters Sunday — when Seattle’s six drives went punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, punt — the Seahawks gained 51 yards on 16 cross makes an attempt and 34 yards on six rushes. Carroll defined later that the Seahawks have been having extra success cross blocking than that they had thought they may, which compelled them to maintain throwing after the 17-point first-quarter outburst. That’s an affordable sufficient clarification. However for the lengthy haul, you’d assume the Seahawks are going to must be slightly extra dedicated and environment friendly with their operating recreation to get the place they wish to go.

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