Tag: boye mafe

7 bold predictions for the Seahawks going into the 2023 NFL season

Here are seven of our boldest takes about this team going into the 2023 season.

The Seattle Seahawks will be kicking off their new season on Sunday at home against the Los Angeles Rams. While anything can happen once the games begin, Seattle fans have every right to feel excited about this coming campaign. Last year the team out-paced nearly every analyst’s predictions, producing a winning record and a wild card berth despite some serious handicaps on defense.

During the offseason the Seahawks added some special new talents at critical positions and found ways to plug their most-pressing roster needs. That’s why we’re ready to predict an 11-6 record for Seattle during the season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game in the playoffs.

Here are seven more of our boldest takes for this team going into the new season.

5 takeaways from Seahawks 22-14 preseason win over Cowboys

For the first time since 2017 the Seattle Seahawks have opened the preseason with a 2-0 record.

For the first time since 2017 the Seattle Seahawks have opened the preseason with a 2-0 record. Seattle continued their winning ways with a 22-14 win over the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

The Seahawks have treated the 12th Man to two more-thrilling-than-expected exhibition games. Despite the limited appearance from the stars, the Seahawks rookies and reserves gave the Seattle faithful more than enough fireworks.

As we inch closer to the regular season, we begin to learn more about the team, and we’re definitely seeing some early standouts this August. Here are 5 takeaways from the second preseason game.

Devin Bush posts highest PFF grade for Seahawks in Preseason Week 1

Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week according to PFF.

A lot may be riding on how Devin Bush performs for the Seattle Seahawks early on during the 2023 season. With Jordyn Brooks still on the PUP list with an ACL injury, odds are Bush will wind up starting next to Bobby Wagner at inside linebacker when Week 1 comes around.

Seattle got good news from its first preseason game of the year on this score, as Bush balled out in the Seahawks’ 24-13 win over the Vikings on Thursday night. On film Bush was stout against the run and it seems the analysts at Pro Football Focus agree. Bush posted the highest overall grade on the team this week, aided by a high mark in run defense.

Here are the best and worst performers on both sides of the ball this week according to PFF, plus some special teams grades to boot.

Seahawks 2023 training camp: Sights and sounds from practice No. 14

Here are some videos from the beat reporters who were at Sunday’s practice at the team facility.

Practice No. 14 on the Seattle Seahawks’ 2023 training camp schedule is in the books. As is appropriate, wide receiver DK Metcalf had a strong day working with starting quarterback Geno Smith, according to observers.

Here are some videos from the beat reporters who were at Sunday’s practice at the team facility.

12 standout PFF grades for the Seahawks from Preseason Week 1

Here are 12 standout grades that Seattle players earned from Pro Football Focus for this week’s game.

The Seattle Seahawks started their 2023 NFL preseason schedule with a win over the Minnesota Vikings at home on Thursday night. Each week we’ll be reviewing some of the team’s top PFF grades.

Here are 12 standout grades that Seattle players earned from Pro Football Focus for this week’s game.

8 things we learned from the Seahawks’ first unofficial depth chart of 2023

While it’s unofficial, it’s still illuminating.

The Seattle Seahawks have released their first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 season ahead of Thursday night’s preseason debut against the Minnesota Vikings.

While it’s only an unofficial depth chart, it’s still illuminating regarding their plans. Here are eight things we learned from Seattle’s first depth chart of the year.

40 Seahawks players who should make the initial 53-man roster

Pete Carroll says Boye Mafe ‘probably’ most improved player from last year

Looking ahead, Mafe should be seeing the field a lot more in 2023.

The Seahawks defense was atrocious last year in a lot of ways. While their secondary did a solid job locking down the back end, Seattle’s defensive front-seven struggled against the run, could not get pressure and only had one consistent high performer throughout the season.

Good news: Bobby Wagner is back in the center of the defense, and the entire interior defensive line has been turned over with an eye on improving against the run. If they can get a couple of their younger edge rushers to step up, it’ll go a long way towards boosting the pass rush, as well.

Perhaps the biggest x-factor on that score is second-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe. One of the most athletic players on the team, Mafe showed a ton of promise in his preseason debut last year but didn’t see many snaps during the regular season. Looking ahead, Mafe should be seeing the field a lot more in 2023.

For one thing, Alton Robinson is now out of the picture, having been waived just before training camp began. The Seahawks have added another second-round pick in Derick Hall, However, Mafe has a full year’s worth of experience on him and should be higher on the depth chart – at least at the start of the regular season.

Mafe has a fan in head coach Pete Carroll, who says he’s probably the most-improved player on the team from last year.

Mafe will likely not be part of the starting defense Week 1. Uchenna Nwosu is locked in as a starter on the other side, and for now Darrell Taylor is still ahead of Mafe in the pecking order.

While Taylor posted 9.5 sacks last season he’s been a liability against the run and his pressure has been inconsistent. If Mafe can show he’s a better run stopper and match Taylor’s potential as a pass rusher he could surpass him sooner rather than later.

More Seahawks Wire stories

7 takeaways from Sunday’s training camp practice

Updated Seahawks 90-man roster going into Preseason

4 takeaways from the Seahawks’ Friday night mock game at Lumen Field

Who stood out on Friday night?

The Seattle Seahawks completed their annual mock game on Friday. It was a usual showdown before the preseason truly gets underway and the team will have to begin preparing for the Minnesota Vikings.

While there typically is not much to gleam from this sort of function, there are still takeaways of note. In fact, here are four of them:

Clint Hurtt defends what he sees as an underrated Seahawks pass rush

Of course, there’s more to pass rushing than sack totals, as Hurtt knows.

The Seattle Seahawks are either a fringe-playoff team that still has a long way to go before becoming a contender, or they’re on the cusp of having something special, depending on who you ask. Which way they go will largely depend on how well their remodeled defensive front-seven performs. Improving the run defense will be a significant part of that, but even more importantly they’ll have to produce pressure as a group more often and more consistently than they did last season.

Here’s what defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt had to say about how Seattle’s pass rushers performed last year, per Mike Dugar at the Athletic.

“Imagine if you get more opportunities to rush by defending the run game better… That’s the part nobody ever talks about. They act like we finished with three sacks in the season, but we finished tied for seventh. But, it’s always that nobody thinks Seattle can play.”

Hurtt is right about the sack numbers. The Seahawks posted 45 last season, tied with the Buccaneers and Jets for the seventh-most in the NFL.

Of course, there’s more to pass rushing than sack totals, as Hurtt knows. And unfortunately Seattle did poorly in just about every other way that there is to measure pressure on a quarterback.

To name a few, ESPN’s pass rush win rate had them at just 34%, which ranked No. 28 in the league. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus gave Seattle a 65.1 grade for team pass rushing, also ranking No. 28. Their hurry percentage was just 5.4%, also ranking… No. 28. You get the idea.

Turning those 3-28s around will require a total team effort. For one thing, Hurtt has to find more ways to manufacture pressure. The interior will have to produce much more in general, inexperienced edge rushers like Boye Mafe and Derick Hall will have to step up and it would help alot if Jamal Adams can stay healthy.

To be continued…

More Seahawks Wire stories

200 more photos from 2023 Seahawks training camp

Updated Seahawks 90-man roster going into August

JSN among four early standouts from training camp

5 important position battles to follow at Seahawks 2023 training camp

Here are five important position battles we will be keeping a close eye on throughout training camp and into the preseason.

The Seattle Seahawks are scheduled to begin their 2023 training camp practices about three weeks from now, on Wednesday July 26. This time of year is all about finding out which players are best-suited to start at positions with depth charts that have not yet been decided.

With that in mind, here are five important position battles we will be keeping a close eye on throughout training camp and into the preseason.