Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks Q&A: How far can improved defense take them?
Seattle Seahawks training camp is less than a month away. Before we jump back into the NFL season – something I know many of you can’t wait to do – let’s first take a look at where this team stands this summer.
Here are a few of your top listener questions submitted via Twitter. This is the second of two Q&As, so make sure you check out the first (link below) if you haven’t already done so.
Rost’s Seahawks Q&A Part 1: Adams’ impact, Eagles comparison
Seattle Seahawks Q&A
• Question: If the Seahawks’ defense finishes in the top 15, can the offense carry Seattle to a championship?
I like this question because the late-season struggles from Seattle often have me forgetting just how great they were offensively for the first chunk of the 2022 season. Even with another new face at center, two rookie tackles and a rookie running back, the Seahawks still found ways to succeed, with an exception being an ugly loss to the 49ers in Week 2.
Seattle wa better on third down than in 2021 and averaged more points in the first quarter than any other team in football through the first half of the season, which was an ironic twist given Russell Wilson previously lamenting that they didn’t play aggressively earlier in games. He wasn’t necessarily wrong; the Seahawks often turned to Wilson and the offense to come up clutch in the fourth. But Geno Smith’s style of play and a surprise season from their rookies led to efficiency early.
The offense wasn’t without its struggles, and that became especially evident when running back Kenneth Walker III was out of the lineup. A Seahawks offense with little run game from Weeks 10-15 resulting in a 1-4 stretch and saw a third down conversion rate hovering around 32%. Still, they finished as a top-10 scoring offense and Smith finished with a franchise high in passing yards. The Seahawks have a chance to improve this year with another young halfback (second-round pick Zach Charbonnet) and the best wide receiver from the 2023 class (first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba).
To answer the question: a drastically improved defense would certainly give this team a better chance to advance through the playoffs. Take their Week 5 loss to New Orleans as an admittedly limited example. Smith threw for three touchdowns and finished with a 139.7 rating, wide receiver Tyler Lockett racked up 104 yards, and the team put 32 points on the board. But against an Andy Dalton-led Saints team, Seattle’s defense allowed 100-yard rushing performances to both Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill.
There are two reasons I hesitate to claim they’ll be a favorite for a championship even with an improved defense. First, the offense was the better half of the ball for a good chunk of the season but isn’t without its flaws. Smith will need to cut those turnovers, for one, and their young tackles will need a stronger finish to the season in 2023. Secondly, they’ll also need to get past two of the best defenses in football in NFC favorites Philadelphia and San Francisco, both of whom they’ll face in the regular season.
I’m especially turning to Wagner for this one. Seattle didn’t stumble against the run solely because they lost Wagner, but he was an exceptional anchor in the middle of the defense for a decade. He continued to do so for the Rams last year, where Pro Football Focus raved about his run defense in particular.
• Question: Who do you predict at starting cornerback and nose tackle?
No surprise but I’m sure we’re looking at Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon as your outside corners and hoping that rookie Cam Young takes off at nose tackle, where the Seahawks truly don’t have many other options. Cornerback Michael Jackson has been the star of the offseason so far but I don’t think any expect him to win a starting job over a fifth overall pick (Witherspoon). That said, my Bump and Stacy co-host Michael Bumpus also doesn’t think Jackson will be traded for defensive line help. The Seahawks love depth and flexibility on defense, especially with the secondary.
More on the Seahawks
• Bumpus: How 2023 will be different for Seahawks’ Geno, 49ers’ Purdy
• Huard: Who’s the most likely breakout player for Seattle Seahawks?
• Rost: What will it take for Pete Carroll to win Coach of the Year?
• Huard: What’s ‘the bar’ for Seattle Seahawks rookie Smith-Njigba?
• Huard: Why is O-line the Seattle Seahawks position with most upside?
Seattle – A busy weekend around Puget Sound with Kendrick Lamar and Sza also taking the stage Saturday night at Lumen Field. Rain is forecast at times during the concert with cool temperatures dropping into the 40s.
Chance of rain continues through the night.
A convergence zone will settle in tonight around the King and Snohomish County area. Rain may be heavy at times with some thunder possible. Another weak disturbance will swing through tomorrow with scattered showers.
Another weak disturbance swings through on Sunday with additional scattered showers.
Onshore flow will keep our temperatures cooler than average through the weekend, but a warm-up is expected by next weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day.
Onshore flow continues on Sunday with afternoon temperatures still cooler than normal.
Along with the cooler-than-normal weather in Seattle this week, there’s an almost daily chance of showers as well. We are still looking drier, though in time for Memorial Day weekend next weekend.
Along with the cooler-than-normal weather in Seattle this week, there’s an almost daily chance of showers as well.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — J.P. Crawford homered on Stephen Kolek’s first pitch and Rowdy Tellez and Cal Raleigh each added a two-run shot for the Seattle Mariners, who beat the San Diego Padres 5-1 Friday night in the opening game of the inaugural Vedder Cup.
Seattle Mariners 5, San Diego Padres 1: Box score
Rookie Logan Evans (2-1) pitched six strong innings for the Mariners, who took a 1 1/2-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The Padres came in trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by one game in the NL West.
J.P. Crawford launches 1st-pitch leadoff HR in return to lineup
The annual interleague series between the teams that share a spring training complex was informally known since 2011 as the Vedder Cup, a reference to Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Vedder, who is actually a Chicago Cubs fan, spent some formative years in San Diego before moving to Seattle and joining the fledgling band in 1990. The two teams formalized the competition in March, with the winner getting a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
The teams play again in Seattle Aug. 25-27.
The Padres and Mariners will support EB Research Partnership, a charity co-founded by Eddie and Jill Vedder dedicated to funding research to discover treatments and cures for Epidermolysis Bullosa.
Crawford’s homer was his fourth. Tellez also connected to right with two outs in the fourth, with Raleigh aboard on a walk. It was his seventh. Raleigh homered to left, his 14th, after Julio Rodriguez singled leading off the sixth.
Evans, whose ERA was lowered by six runs on Thursday due to a scoring decision change, held the Padres to seven hits while striking out three and walking one. Only four Padres reached scoring position.
Kolek (2-1) was coming off his first career complete game in a 21-0 win at Colorado last Saturday. He allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.
Key moment
Crawford set the tone with his 357-foot homer over the home run porch in the right field corner.
Key Stat
Crawford’s 14 leadoff homers are second in Mariners history behind Ichiro Suzuki’s 37.
Up next
Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (1-2, 6.91 ERA) and Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (5-2, 3.05) are scheduled to start Saturday night.
Seattle Mariners news and analysis
• How concerning are Seattle Mariners’ pitching injuries? Expert weighs in
• Cal Raleigh shares the impact made by Seattle Mariners hitting coaches
• Why Seattle Mariners are a ‘more compelling’ team this season
• Seattle Mariners’ Dylan Moore shares key factors to career-best start
• Could Seattle Mariners swing an early trade? Morosi weighs in
Coming off a 1-5 homestand, the Seattle Mariners are set to embark on their most difficult stretch of season thus far.
After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and losing a three-game series against the New York Yankees, Seattle will play 10 straight road games from Friday through May 25. That road trip starts at 6:40 p.m. PT on Friday in Game 1 of a three-game set against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Mariners will follow that with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox from May 19-21 at Rate Field, and will conclude the trip with a four-game series against the Houston Astros from May 22-25 at Minute Maid Park.
Entering Friday, the Mariners are 23-19 and have a half-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the American League West. During their 1-5 home stretch, they were outscored 36-16 and scored more than three runs just once.
On top of that, pitcher Bryce Miller joined fellow starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.
It’s hard to have an optimistic outlook on Seattle, especially with the daunting road trip. But it’s not time to hit the panic button yet.
Firstly, the Mariners have already been here this season. They started the season 3-7 after splitting a series against the Athletics, losing a series to the Detroit Tigers and getting swept by the San Francisco Giants. Seattle ended up winning nine consecutive series for the first time since 2001 in the immediate aftermath.
“We already have experience feeling this way, kind of like nothing’s really going your way,” Julio Rodriguez said after a 3-2 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday. “But I think that this group does really well that. Just kind of finding a way, even if it’s hard. We’ve been here, we just got to continue to put one foot in front of the other and see what happens next game.”
Even if the Mariners offense doesn’t consistently return to the form they had during their series win streak, there’s hope the starting rotation can get back to the level it’s been accustomed to.
Kirby could be activated off the injured list during the road trip, and there’s optimism Miller’s stint on the IL will be minimal after he received a cortisone shot and an MRI revealed no structural damage.
Gilbert likely won’t be too far behind Kirby and Gilbert.
If the offense can weather the storm until the three make their return, then Seattle could be in a good position to go on a run for the rest of the first half. At that point, Luke Raley will likely be back in the mix from his strained oblique, and Victor Robles could be back around the All-Star break.
In the latest episode of “The Cal Raleigh Show” With Shannon Drayer, Raleigh reaffirmed the team’s mindset even with their recent struggles.
“We just got to keep hammering it home. … It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s not about trying to do more or trying to do something different. It’s just continuing to lean on what we’ve talked about and the identity of who we are and just trying to always, consistently be that. Especially when things aren’t going your way, or you start wavering a little bit, just always trying to go back to that identity.”
All the Mariners have to do is not fall apart. The AL West has been extremely competitive in the first quarter of the season. Every team, with the exception of the fifth-place Los Angeles Angels, has had solid stretches. A 4-6 or 5-5 road trip would be a success for Seattle. Anything else would be a bonus.
We’ll see how they respond beginning Friday. After all, they’ve been here before.
FORMER MARINERS BROADCASTER HIGHLIGHTS FORMER COLLEAGUES: Former Mariners and current New York Yankees broadcaster Dave Sims posted photos on “X” with his former co-workers after a series between the two teams. CLICK HERE
PITCHING MATCHUPS FOR SERIES BETWEEN MARINERS, PADRES: The two sides will play the first part of the Eddie Vedder Cup and the Mariners will have tough pitching matchups in front of them. CLICK HERE
J.P. CRAWFORD DAY-TO-DAY AFTER MISSING SERIES FINALE: The Mariners longest-tenured position player missed the team’s series finale against the New York Yankees on Wednesday with shoulder tightness. CLICK HERE
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.
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