The why is self-explanatory, and you’re well-versed in the where and when at this point in time. With the NFL calendar engaged in rare doldrums and most moves made and archived, it’s time to consider the who from a New York Giants perspective.

New York Giants On SI continues its look at the Giants’ upcoming adversaries in the 2024 season. Catch up with each team’s moves, where they stand, and, most importantly, how to beat them.

Who: Seattle Seahawks
When: Week 5, Sunday, October 6, (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
Series History: SEA leads 11-10 (Last: 24-3 SEA, 10/2023)

Seattle deserves some credit: it could’ve completely collapsed in the wake of Russell Wilson’s departure (and a trade for Jamal Adams that failed to carry any lasting dividends) but has stabilized its Geno Smith-led future relatively well, making a surprise playoff appearance in 2022 before injuries ate away at a chance for a return trip.

This offseason, the Seahawks bid farewell to yet another mainstay, having head coach Pete Carroll step down in favor of Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. With the move, the Seahawks ironically went from the NFL’s oldest head coach to its youngest.

Despite Smith’s stabilization, there are fair questions over whether he’s suitable as a long-term starter. The Seahawks have prepared for all possibilities.

The process began by trading for would-be Washington Commanders savior Sam Howell, a backup that firmly cements Smith as the starter but provides just enough pressure for Smith to watch his back. Howell replaces Drew Lock, who came to the Giants to fulfill the same role behind Daniel Jones.

Mainstays D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are back, as is Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who provided strong early returns on first-round billing.

Seattle also tried to account for any further medical disasters on the offensive line, such as the ones that ate away at the seasons of Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas (the latter of whom is still on the physically unable to perform list); Nick Harris was brought in to compete with fifth-round sophomore Olu Olawatimi, while Laken Tomlinson and Christian Haynes, respectively, came over from the New York Jets and the draft.

There’s plenty of blue familiarity on the Seattle defense: Leonard Williams’ move out west was one of the headlining transactions of the trade deadline, and Seattle rewarded him with a long-term deal. Julian Love (and Devon Witherspoon’s development after he became the pick gleaned from Denver in the Wilson deal) also convinced Seattle to close the book on the Adams era.

The Seahawks also manned up the front seven, drafting Byron Murphy out of Texas with their premier pick and getting more AFC East reinforcements like Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson.

Who’s In: LB Jerome Baker (FA-MIA), LB Tyrel Dodson (FA-BUF), OT George Fant (FA-HOU), DT Jonathan Hankins (FA-DAL), OL Christian Haynes (D3-81) QB Sam Howell (Trade-WAS), DL Byron Murphy (D1-16), OG Laken Tomlinson (FA-NYJ)

Who’s Out: S Jamal Adams (FA-TEN), LB Jordyn Brooks (FA-MIA), RB DeeJay Dallas (FA-ARI), OG Damien Lewis (FA-CAR), QB Drew Lock (FA-NYG), LB Bobby Wagner (FA-WAS)

With last year’s 24-3 Monday night shellacking at MetLife Stadium, the Seahawks took the lead in the cross-coast showdown with the Giants. Seattle has won six of the last seven overall, dating back to 2011.

The Giants still own a positive point differential in the all-time series, as six of their 10 victories have come by at least two possessions. One of the most memorable was a 44-6 triumph in the penultimate season at Giants Stadium, a win that allowed the Giants to continue a perfect start to their Super Bowl defense.

Brandon Jacobs and Eli Manning each had two touchdowns for the Giants, while Sinorice Moss had a couple more, one from the arm of backup David Carr, who came in when things officially got out of hand. Defensively, the Giants let up only 187 yards, 13 first downs, and a single third-down conversion on 11 attempts.

Take Your Time

Seattle has tinkered with its defense a fair amount since the Legion of Boom days ended. Adding Murphy and raiding the AFC East’s depth cabinet makes a lot of sense after looking at last year’s ledgers, which saw them allow the third-most yards in the NFL and the most first downs.

One of the most damning parts was the fact that the average Seattle defensive drive lasted 3:06 of game time, once again the worst output in the NFL. That’s a death sentence in almost any divisional setting, but it’s outright asking for trouble when you’re in a division with Christian McCaffrey, Puca Nacua, and Deebo Samuel.

Seattle has revamped the top seven as a result and boosted the interior by bringing in yet another former Giant, Jonathan Hankins. This feels like a nice little opportunity for the Giants’ revamped rushing attack to eat away at the clock against a team eager to stack up early wins.

Ain’t That a Kick

Jason Myers has established some solid career longevity after bursting onto the scene with a Pro Bowl season with the Jets and has now earned a lasting home in the Pacific Northwest.

It’s hard to argue with Myers’ reliability (87.3 percent on triples in the last two seasons, perfect on extra points last year). One can argue that Seattle fans have seen a little too much of the Marist alum: Myers has tried 79 field goals over the last two seasons, which is good for the second-most in the league, behind only the booters of Indianapolis and Baltimore.

The bittersweet correlation is that teams with plenty of kicks often struggle in the red zone, and Seattle fulfilled the trope by finishing 25th in touchdown percentage when entering the opponent’s 20. Missed opportunities are exactly what developing teams like the Giants need, and limiting damage is often the name of the game.

There will be a lot of firsts for new Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald over the next month or so.

Macdonald optimistic Seahawks QB Geno Smith will return next week

The 36-year-old Macdonald just checked another one off the list, coaching the Seahawks inside their home stadium for the first time.

The Seahawks departed from their training camp headquarters at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center to hold their annual “Football Fest” practice Saturday at Lumen Field. It was a festive atmosphere on a sun-soaked afternoon, with music blaring throughout practice and the occasional roar of Blue Angels soaring overhead.

“What an atmosphere, man,” Macdonald said. “It’s just really surreal being in the stadium, and then we’ve got the jets flying overhead. It’s just tough to beat.”

The event served as a way for players and coaches to replicate a gameday routine. But as Macdonald noted, it also added some extra buzz to help break up the day-to-day grind of training camp.

“It kind of kicks it up a notch,” Macdonald said. “I wouldn’t say the lights are on, but they kind of are, so it amplifies the intensity, for sure.”

Here are some observations from Saturday’s practice:

• Defense wins the day: With starting quarterback Geno Smith still sidelined after hurting his knee and hip in Tuesday’s practice, backup Sam Howell continued to work as the first-team quarterback and P.J. Walker took the second-team reps. Perhaps understandably, the defense held the upper hand for most of the day.

During a 15-minute scrimmage session, the first-team offense went three-and-out on its first two possessions and then drove into the red zone on its third possession before stalling in the closing seconds. Facing a fourth-and-2 from the 18-yard line, Howell couldn’t connect on an end-zone pass to receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who was covered by veteran cornerback Artie Burns. The second-team offense also went three-and-out on its first possession before Walker led the unit on a 60-yard TD march on its second drive.

The defense also had its way during a red-zone drill where the offense started on the 20-yard line. The first-team offense settled for a field goal after being set back by a holding penalty, while the second-team offense went three-and-out.

• Another Bobo highlight: The lone touchdown drive in the 15-minute scrimmage session was capped by another highlight-reel catch from second-year receiver Jake Bobo. The former undrafted free agent made a twisting, acrobatic 8-yard TD snag in the front corner of the end zone, using great body control to corral the pass inside the right boundary. It came after the 6-foot-4 Bobo made a spectacular diving TD catch in Tuesday’s practice.

“I don’t see him drop a lot of footballs,” Macdonald said. “It seems like he comes down with a bunch of them. I think he complements our receiving room well, and then we’re really excited in the (special) teams phase. I think he provides more than a normal receiver would provide in that phase too. It’ll be fun to see how he fits into the receiver room and how that thing all shakes out, because we’ve got a lot of talent.”

• Defensive highlights: On a day dominated by defense, Seattle’s talented pair of young cornerbacks came up with two of the most noteworthy plays. During the 15-minute scrimmage session, third-year cornerback Riq Woolen used his 6-foot-4 length to make a diving deflection over the middle on a third-down pass from Howell. And on the first-team offense’s ensuing possession, second-year corner Devon Witherspoon blitzed off the edge and deflected a first-down pass from Howell.

• Murphy continues to impress: Rookie defensive tackle and No. 16 overall pick Byron Murphy II, described by one draft analyst as a “muscular ball of explosiveness,” has the potential to be a big-time disruptor in the trenches. The 6-foot, 306-pound Murphy showed some of that horsepower on Saturday, as he appeared to get considerable push up front in pass-rush drills.

“Let’s not crown him yet, but he’s on the way,” Macdonald said. “He’s a force in there, and I think the guys see it. I’m just pleased with his effort. The guy brings it every day. … He’s a savvy football player. He knows what he’s doing out there. He’s not lost. He plays fast, plays rugged. So I think the future is bright for Mr. Murphy.”

• Kick return options: The Seahawks experimented with a handful of different returners while practicing kickoffs under the NFL’s new rules. Among the returners were Shenault, Dee Williams, Dee Eskridge, Tre Brown, Dareke Young and WSU Cougars product Eason Winston Jr. The Seahawks had two returners on the field for each kickoff, as teams across the league are widely expected to do with the new rules encouraging directional kicking.

“It’s eval phase,” Macdonald said. “When you see it in the preseason, hopefully we get a lot of reps of that and opportunities to see who can do something with the ball.”

• Things get chippy: As players battle for starting jobs and roster spots under the summer heat of training camp, there are times when tensions can boil over. That happened twice on Saturday. The first instance was a minor scuffle between an offensive lineman and edge rusher during one-on-one pass rush drills. The second came after Eskridge hauled in a reception over the middle and was taken to the ground hard by safety Marquise Blair. Other players quickly converged on the scene for a brief skirmish before things cooled down.

“I think today’s an opportunity to say, hey, we wanna push the envelope, we want to be on the line, but we also want to be smart within the situation as well,” Macdonald said. “It is a balance. … Things are gonna happen. It’s training camp. Tempers are gonna flare. But hey, how do we respond to it? Cooler heads will prevail and let’s keep it moving.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• What Seattle Seahawks players are saying about Macdonald’s defense
• Will Seattle Seahawks’ Boye Mafe reap rewards in Macdonald’s defense?
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba among top candidates for second-year surge
• Is Seattle Seahawks LT Charles Cross poised to take next step?
• How concerning is Abraham Lucas’ status for Seattle Seahawks?

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Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen doesn’t care what people think about his 2023 season.

After making the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2022, and tying for the NFL lead with six interceptions, Woolen took a step back production-wise last season. He dealt with a shoulder injury that seemingly hindered his physicality, and he was benched twice — once because of health and another time due to performance.

Woolen, when speaking to the reporters after practice on Friday, didn’t shy away from evaluating his season. He said he still had fun, and it was just another step in his career.

“I’ve been through ups and downs. I’ve been to the Pro Bowl, I’ve been on the bench before,” Woolen said. “It was just all part of the journey to me. I felt like as a young player I had to go through that just because it shows me that there’s some places that I don’t want to be and there’s places where I do want to be. That’s being a Pro Bowler, that’s to help my team get to the Super Bowl and just be a great player.”

Woolen finished last season with 10 fewer tackles (53), four fewer interceptions (2) and five fewer pass deflections (11) than he did as a rookie. He surrendered fewer receiving yards and yards per reception by a large margin but allowed a 62.1 percent completion percentage, per Pro Football Focus — about seven points higher than in 2022.

As the former Pro Bowler said himself, there were ups and downs.

“Honestly, I just felt like last year was a great year for me,” Woolen added. “To some people, they may have their own opinions but those [are] the same people that’s not playing the game. So, it’s okay with me. I feel great and I feel like this year will be even better.”

Entering this season, Woolen said he is trying to focus on learning the new scheme and adapting to the new system, coaches and teammates in general. In terms of improvement, Woolen said he emphasized getting stronger over the offseason.

Early in training camp, Woolen has already been battling with wide receiver DK Metcalf, with Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald calling the competition “iron sharpening iron.”

“With my reps and everything at camp, it has been showing that I put the work in … I do have faith in myself to continue to build off of it,” Woolen said.

Whether criticism of Woolen’s tackling ability is warranted or not, he has remained a plus starter in coverage. That’s already a strength of Woolen’s, and he believes he’s becoming a more complete cover corner heading into his third season.

Woolen wants to get better in off coverage (lining up off the line of scrimmage, instead of in press coverage), and that’s been a point of focus for him in camp, he said.

“I know that I’m a great press corner, but it’s a difference when you can play all two and you can change the game up,” Woolen said. “That’s something I feel like I got better at. Even at practice each day, I’ve been working on it. And certain days, I’ve been doing some days where I’m off and some days where I’m pressed up.”

For the first time in his NFL career, Woolen is also traveling in practice. Former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll always had his corners remain on the left or right side of the field. Macdonald, at least in practice, is switching that up.

Allowing corners to travel will benefit the disguised coverages in Macdonald’s scheme. Also, if they can play in different spots, you can match your best corner against the opposition’s top receiver on every down.

“When it comes down to it, it’s just football,” Woolen said. “Whenever you’re a great player like I am you’ve got to do certain things, and that’s one of the things I want to do. I want to play both sides. I want to travel. I want to do stuff like that. I don’t think it’s hard at all. I’m an athlete. I trust myself and I’m confident in what I do. So far, it’s been a breeze and I’m just getting better every day.”

Through nine training camp practices, Woolen is silencing any doubt that has carried over from the 2023 season. If he can put together all the tools he’s working to improve in camp, he could re-emerge as one of the top corners in the NFL in 2024.

More importantly, perhaps, he could be a key cog in Macdonald’s defense which looks to be one of the more innovative units in the league.