Seahawks Confident in ‘Prepared’ LB Tanner Muse in First Start vs. Rams

RENTON, Wash. – Searching for the NFC’s ultimate Wild Card spot with the spoiler-motivated Los Angeles Rams coming to city, the Seattle Seahawks must end robust with out standout linebacker Jordyn Brooks, leaving a large gap in the midst of their protection.

In his absence, Seattle shall be lacking one of many NFL’s high tacklers from every of the previous two seasons. Earlier than Brooks suffered a torn ACL final weekend in a win over the New York Jets, he emerged as a high quality chief taking the torch from Bobby Wagner because the staff’s on-field play caller and shouldering larger duty within the locker room, additional magnifying the importance of his loss.

With Wagner set to face his former staff at Lumen Area for the primary time on Sunday and Brooks formally on injured reserve, the Seahawks must flip to an untested, unproven alternative in Tanner Muse with the playoffs hanging within the steadiness.

However whereas the third-year linebacker has solely logged 42 common season defensive snaps in his profession so far, coach Pete Carroll is not involved about him being outfitted bodily or mentally to deal with the job. The truth is, coming off a stellar outing subbing in for Brooks final weekend, he expects him to fill in seamlessly.

“He’s really actually dealt with it effectively,” Carroll mentioned of Muse taking over an expanded position changing Brooks. “He didn’t present us any indicators that he wasn’t ready for his assignments and duty. He did effectively within the sport and he had a very good week.”

Beforehand starring as a security at Clemson, the place he was a two-time All-ACC choice and Third-Staff All-American in 2019, Muse is not a stranger to enjoying in excessive stakes conditions. Throughout his 5 years on campus, he performed in three nationwide championship video games and the Tigers received two of these contests, beating Alabama each occasions to hoist the School Soccer Playoff Nationwide Championship Trophy.

Having such intensive expertise enjoying beneath the lights with championships on the road, Muse should not have any points coping with the immense stress of leaping into Seattle’s beginning lineup for a de facto playoff sport in opposition to Los Angeles.

In fact, enjoying unfastened solely will go to date for Muse as he attracts his first profession begin in opposition to Rams offensive mastermind Sean McVay, who has had nice success selecting on Seahawks linebackers through the years. Even with Wagner on the sector for many of these video games, he schemed up deep crossers to show the group in protection and compelled them to cowl sideline-to-sideline in opposition to jet sweeps and screens.

If there is a cause for optimism on that entrance, nonetheless, Muse’s prior background as a security coupled together with his elite athletic profile ought to go well with him effectively to have the ability to drop again and defend crossing patterns. At Clemson, he picked off seven passes and registered seven cross breakups in protection, placing his 4.41 pace on show matched up in opposition to tight ends and slot receivers.

Even final week in opposition to the Jets filling in for Brooks, Muse narrowly missed out on his first profession interception, leaping a throw by Mike White from his zone drop that grazed off of his fingertips. If he would have been a break up second faster, he doubtless would have been celebrating in the long run zone with a choose six. In a restricted pattern dimension, he is allowed one catch on three targets for 4 yards on 20 protection snaps.

As for his tackling, Muse has been dependable when given an opportunity to play on protection for the Seahawks at a place that’s nonetheless comparatively new to him. On his 42 defensive snaps, he is made six tackles and per Professional Soccer Focus, his solely missed sort out got here on particular groups again in Week 8 in a win over the Giants.

Since Seattle took a flier on him off waivers from Las Vegas final season, Carroll has been impressed by Muse’s potential to chase down performs everywhere in the discipline and end as soon as he will get to ball carriers. Now with extra seasoning on the linebacker place, he is trying ahead to seeing how he performs with an prolonged alternative after enjoying effectively in reserve responsibility in two of the previous three video games.

“He has actually good pace and it exhibits up,” Carroll assessed. “You see him in pursuit and his tackling is basically sharp. He had a very good week and we be ok with him enjoying.”

As is the case any time a star participant goes down, Muse cannot strive too onerous trying to fill Brooks’ big footwear. He wants to remain inside himself and play to his strengths, utilizing his elite athleticism and pure protection abilities to make performs everywhere in the discipline as he has over the previous few weeks. There isn’t any query McVay and quarterback Baker Mayfield will check him early and see if they will reap the benefits of his lack of expertise.

Properly ready after studying for the previous two years behind the likes of Wagner, Brooks, and Cody Barton, Carroll has no doubts Muse shall be able to rock and rise to the event for the Seahawks. If he can, with Brooks doubtless out for the beginning of subsequent season and Barton heading in direction of free company, a powerful efficiency on Sunday may influence the staff’s offseason plans and put him able to vie for enjoying time on protection in 2023.

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