Tag Archives: Byron Murphy

#SEAvsJAX

The formula for winning: Darnold, JSN and D-line

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The Seahawks’ most reliable factors so far this season have been their QB1-WR1 connection, their defensive front and their special teams. They lost to the Bucs last week largely due to a rare bad game by the defensive line.

They won 20-12 in Jacksonville today because that unit returned to dominance and helped out Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who continued to play as well as any QB-WR duo in the NFL.

Last week, Mike Macdonald said Baker Mayfield had too many “Mississippis” (a reference to the old backyard football pass rush rule). Well, the Seahawks got to Trevor Lawrence after one “Miss” on half of his dropbacks today.

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#SEAvsARI, State of the team

Hawks ‘knocking on the door’ of becoming a contender

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As the Seahawks prepare for a big division game against Arizona on Thursday night, they are “knocking on the door” of becoming a complete team.

They have scored 75 points over the past two weeks, second only to Detroit’s 90 – but more than Baltimore (71), Buffalo (61) and surprising Indianapolis (70). The Hawks are still middling in most of the subjective power rankings, but they have the No. 1 team in the league, based on DVOA.

Special teams have been huge in bolstering that point total. The Hawks have the best special teams in the league (by DVOA), having scored in consecutive games and also blocked a kick vs. the Saints to set up another quick TD.

The defense ranks fifth – thanks to stellar play by the top three defensive linemen and by corners Josh Jobe and Derion Kendrick.  

The offense ranks sixth, thanks to Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Darnold said the offense is “knocking on the door of becoming what we want to be.” Once that happens, the Hawks will be a complete team and true contender.

The NFC West is the best division in the league, with nine wins among the four teams. So the pressure is on the Hawks to beat Arizona on Thursday and keep up with the undefeated 49ers, who have been winning with Mac Jones at QB (but also just lost Nick Bosa for the season).

Let’s look at the contributions of each of the three squads that have made the Hawks one of the league’s best teams over the past couple of weeks.

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Week 3: Miami

At 3-0, Hawks are on a playoff pace despite more injuries and struggling O-line

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The NFL has been totally unpredictable early this season (our Survivor pool is already down from 150 entries to a handful), so it is notable that the Seahawks are one of the only teams that have not stumbled.

Before the season, we projected a 2-1 start, with a loss to Miami. But, after Tua Tagovailoa went on IR with another concussion, the Hawks became the obvious favorites in Week 3. They then handled the Dolphins 24-3 to become one of only four teams that are 3-0 (pending Buffalo’s result Monday night).

Yeah, the Hawks are 3-0 against teams that are a combined 3-6. But, you can only play the schedule you are dealt. The Hawks can’t help that they have faced a rookie QB (Broncos), a journeyman with no receivers (Patriots) and backup QBs (Dolphins).

Their defense has put the clamps on, allowing just 249 yards (second in NFL) and 14.3 points per game (fourth). We’ll see whether they can keep that up against a couple of top-four offenses over the next three games: Detroit on Monday night and San Francisco in a Thursday night game in Week 6. (The middling Giants are the Week 5 opponent.)

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NFL draft, The roster

Yes, the Hawks look more like a playoff team now

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A Seattle Times headline asked: With roster shuffling mostly done, are Seahawks closer to being a playoff team?

The answer to that question is “yes” – because John Schneider found an innovative new coach, improved the defensive line and secondary and seems to have made the offensive line and linebacker spots better, too.

Schneider hit what we consider to be home runs with the hiring of Mike Macdonald as coach, the re-signing of Leonard Williams and the drafting of Byron Murphy II in the first round. Macdonald wanted to “build a wall” — and those two guys should help do it.

In the draft, the Hawks also focused on adding blockers – three linemen and a tight end. And they added a much-needed linebacker and Auburn’s starting cornerbacks as well.

Here’s a positional rundown after the draft (RB not mentioned as nothing to note there).

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Franchise history, NFL draft, The roster

Is a new homegrown defense in the offing?

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Byron Murphy said he loved watching the Legion of Boom Seahawks when he was a kid. (For some of us a decade is not that long ago, but for a 21-year-old it was half his lifetime ago.)

The LOB was a dominant defense with a core that John Schneider put together mostly through the 2010-12 drafts: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, K.J. Wright, Richard Sherman, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett (Murphy’s favorite player on that defense) were the only core outside additions. And that group of stars dominated the NFL from 2012 to 2016.

Schneider has not been able to replicate that magic over the past decade. He had the perfect chance to do it again in 2016 and 2017, but he absolutely whiffed on most of his 11 picks on Days 1 and 2. Ever since those failures, he has been patching together his defense with trades for veterans.

But, thanks to three straight years with high picks in the draft, maybe he finally is building another core – this time for Mike Macdonald.

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NFL draft

Hawks stick and pick Byron Murphy II

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With almost every defensive player still available to them after 14 of the first 15 picks were offensive players, the Seahawks stayed at 16 and took the best interior defensive lineman, Byron Murphy II of Texas.

He was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year after notching five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. He also scored two TDs on offense.

Murphy is a 6-1, 297-pound D-tackle who should jump into the D-line rotation with the Seahawks, playing end in their 3-4 looks.

Here is what top analysts said about Murphy.

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