Offseason positional breakdown: defense

Here’s a look at what’s in store on the defensive side of the ball.

DE: No major issues here. Patrick Kerney was a monster this season. Darryl Tapp was largely inconsistent this year, with 4 of his 7 sacks coming in a rout of the Rams. Still, this is not a position of great priority, so I imagine he will enter next season as the starter. Baraka Atkins and Jason Babin will be in the fold, but neither will likely challenge the incumbent Tapp.

DT: The Seahawks need a major overhaul at the tackle position. It should be about time to cut ties with former 1st round pick Marcus Tubbs, who has only played a total of 29 games in 4 years. Even when he managed to stay on the field for more than a week, Tubbs was never the big run stuffer he was projected to be. Chuck Darby will be a free agent, and I don’t see him returning. That leaves a dearth of talent at the position, with only Rocky Bernard, Brandon Mebane, Craig Terrill, and Howard Green left. None of those players has the ability to clog up the middle and give the undersized linebackers a break. Hopefully the staff will address this position in free agency or on day 1 of the draft.

LB: Nothing to report here. I couldn’t be happier with the trio of Julian Peterson, Lofa Tatupu, and Leroy Hill. Peterson and Tatupu will start together in the Pro Bowl, which is Lofa’s 3rd selection in as many years in the league. Both players are also quick to praise Hill, who is very solid. Backups Niko Koutovides and Kevin Bentley will be free agents, but they can be easily replaced should they sign elsewhere. Koutovides is a solid special teamer.

CB: Marcus Trufant will be one of the hottest commodities this offseason if he is allowed to test the open market. After recording 7 INTs and his first career Pro Bowl selection, Trufant could look to garner a similar deal to what Asante Samuel will get, or the deal Nate Clements received last year. It will take some very creative cap management to be able to afford a long term deal for Trufant, after giving out big deals to Peterson, Kerney, and Alexander over the last 3 years. I imagine he will get the franchise tag (for the love of god, don’t play the “transition tag” game again) and be allowed to walk after next season, hopefully giving Kelly Jennings enough time to develop into a #1 corner.

The rest of the CBs are questionable. Jennings was praised a lot for his strong play this season, but I felt that he was only average. He will have to improve a great deal if he is to fill Trufant’s shoes in the long term. Josh Wilson was seemingly absent in the mix, playing only sparingly in 6 DB packages, and missing 4 games because of a badly pulled hamstring. He recorded only 12 tackles in his rookie season, with no picks. Jordan Babineaux, an extremely versatile and clutch performer, will return to the secondary next year.

S: It’s hard to speak ill of the savvy veterans signed to fix the secondary last season, Deon Grant and Brian Russell. Grant apparently instilled a lot of confidence in Marcus Trufant, who responded with a breakout season. He is a vocal leader on the defense, and is a pretty good player too. Brian Russell was unspectacular this year, but his intelligence and play recognition are a key part of the secondary. While I think the Seahawks would do well to look at a more athletic safety, it would be hard to justify replacing Russell. I think they will look at a developmental guy in the later rounds of the draft. Mike Green is a decent backup, but will not challenge for the starting job. C.J. Wallace will return next year after finishing this season on IR. He is a solid special teams player.

Don’t forget to check back for my special teams review!

~ by theseahawksblog on January 17, 2008.