There’s been an excitement brewing in the Pacific Northwest as the Seattle Seahawks inch ever closer to the first regular season game of the Mike Macdonald era.
The Seahawks and their new head coach are just over a week away from their Week 1 matchup hosting the Denver Broncos. Expectations are somewhat high locally for a squad with a first-year head coach, but the national perception is a bit more tepid.
So, what exactly should Seahawks fans be expecting this season. Former NFL offensive lineman and longtime pro football analyst Mark Schlereth joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob recently to share his thoughts on the Seahawks.
Expectations for Geno Smith
One reason for trepidation about the Seahawks in 2024 could be the step back quarterback Geno Smith took last season. After a breakout campaign that netted NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2022, Smith’s numbers were down across the board in 2023.
“Listen, I think obviously Geno Smith kind of took a step back last year. He had some injury issues, had some things. Everybody gets injured, gets dinged up or whatever,” Schlereth said. “But I think he’s closer to the guy who went to the Pro Bowl and was absolutely awesome the year before than he was to the guy that we saw last year. I think he takes another step forward and kind of mimics or comes closer to what he was (two seasons ago).”
Mike Macdonald the defensive schemer
There are many question marks surrounding first-year head coaches, but there’s no questioning Macdonald’s ability to scheme a defense. The former Ravens coordinator ran the league’s best defense in Baltimore last season, and his cutting-edge system is the new craze in the copycat NFL.
“One thing I’ll tell you about Mike Macdonald after watching him in Baltimore and watching that defense play, I think he’s an outstanding teacher of the game, but (also) just a tactician, an X’s and O’s guy,” Schlereth said. “He’s one of those guys that really does a great job with pressure, where pressure is coming from, how to attack a protection. And the bottom line is you want to be good at pressuring the quarterback, you have to understand the protections, you have to have an understanding of what the offense is trying to do and where they are trying to get, who they’re trying to help and how they’re trying to actually get to you as a defense. So it really, truly becomes about, how many times can we get their weakest link or their weakest side matched up one-on-one? And how do we do that through bringing blitzes or through bringing fake blitzes and all those kind of things? He’s really good at that aspect of it.
So I would expect that defense to take a step forward just in the pressure aspect. … One great corner can take away one receiver. Anytime you have a great package for pressure, you can really eliminate all the receivers. And that’s really the key to me: How well can you pressure the opponent’s quarterback? So I think that’s to me the big-time aspect of what we’re looking at, and I think that defense will just be better because of it.”
Mike Macdonald the communicator
Former NFL linebacker and Seahawks Radio Network broadcaster Dave Wyman mentioned how he appreciates Macdonald’s straightforward communication style. Wyman and Schlereth agreed that’s the most effective way to teach and communicate as a football coach.
“I haven’t really talked to him, (but) I’ve heard him speak, I’ve talked to some of the people that he coached with, and that’s been kind of the rub on who he is,” Schlereth said. “And I think the other thing when it comes to directness, when you get somebody who’s really direct, they’re very honest usually as a coach. And I think as players we all want a level of honesty that we can really absorb. So if you think I stink, hey, man, that’s what I want to hear, and then I want to know how am I going to get better. So that to me is the big thing.
I don’t need a bunch of fluff … I want to know how I’m going to get better, and I want the guy that’s going to be honest with me, that’s going to be direct with me, that’s going to coach me up and help me to do exactly what I want to do, which is to go on the football field and dominate. That’s what I want. So those guys, to me, I always appreciated the guys that were just brutally honest, because there was no fluff. You’re either going to respond and get better, or you’re going to get gone. That’s the way that works.”
