Tag: Julian Love

Julian Love is the first Seahawks player since 2004 to accomplish this stat

Julian Love is the first Seahawks player since 2004 to have this stat

The Seattle Seahawks may not have earned a trip to the playoffs this year, but they still had several outstanding individual performances from key players this year. Among them was Pro Bowl safety Julian Love. Although Love was not named to the Pro Bowl starting roster this year, he is listed as an alternate and will likely qualify to attend once other players inevitably bow out.

Love’s status as a Pro Bowl alternate/outright Pro Bowler in 2024 is well deserved, as he was one of the best defenders on Seattle’s defense this past season. The Seahawks gifted Love a three-year extension this past July because the team viewed him as both a leader and cornerstone of their secondary. Their money was well spent, as Julian Love became the first Seahawks defensive back to lead the team in tackles since Marcus Trufant himself did it in the 2004 season.

When it comes to Seattle football, any time you as a player can find yourself in the same positive conversation as Marcus Trufant then you are clearly doing something exceptionally well!

Back in 2004, Trufant had 96 total tackles, 86 of which were solo. Love’s 109 total tackles obviously outpace Trufant in this category, but only (ha, “only”) 79 of which were solo. To me, that speaks to how great of a player Trufant was during the early days of the Seahawks’ rise into national relevancy.

Seattle is fortunate to have a player of Love’s caliber patrolling the secondary. He is a key reason why the 12th Man should continue to be encouraged about this team’s prospects headed into the 2025 season.

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3 Seahawks finish in Top 10 Pro Bowl voting among their positions

3 Seahawks finish in Top 10 Pro Bowl voting among their positions

The Seattle Seahawks have three players among the top 10 at their position in Pro Bowl voting by the fans. Voting for the 2025 Pro Bowl officially concluded on December 23. Mike Macdonald’s squad will conclude their campaign against the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday’s Week 18 finale.

The following Seahawks fared favorably in Pro Bowl voting:

Leonard Williams | 4th overall, 2nd in NFC

Defensive tackle Leonard Williams has been downright dominant this season. The veteran linemen has posted a team-leading 9.0 sacks and is one quarterback takedown away from breaking a five-year Seahawks drought of having a double-digit sack artist. Williams deserves his Pro Bowl nod.

Julian Love | 9th overall, 6th in NFC

Julian Love continued being a workhorse for the Seahawks defense this season. He’s posted a team-leading 103 tackles through Week 17, securing his third consecutive campaign with 100-plus tackles. Love finished sixth among safety voting in the NFC. The versatile defensive back deserves all of the accolades he receives.

Coby Bryant | 10th overall, 7th in NFC

Injuries catapulted Coby Bryant into a starting lineup role in Week 7. The former Cincinnati standout had been relegated to a deep rotational role before that. When Bryant’s opportunity arrived, he seized it with maximum effort. The corner-turned-safety recorded three interceptions, including a pick-six touchdown, and six total pass breakups.

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Coby Bryant continues to be key member of Seahawks defense

Coby Bryant continues to be key member of Seahawks defense

Seattle Seahawks third-year safety Coby Bryant entered the 2024 season as a back-half-of-roster rotational defender. In a Week 1 victory, Bryant played one snap. Fast forward to Week 14 and he’s established himself as a keynote member of Mike Macdonald’s defense.

An injury to veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins eventually catapulted Bryant to a starting role. He’s taken full advantage of that opportunity. Bryant has now played 100 percent of Seattle’s defensive snaps in six consecutive contests. Jenkins has been available for Seattle’s last three contests, but the younger safety has nonetheless remained an every-down defender for defensive coordinator Aden Durde.

Bryant has recorded 48 tackles this year, third-most among Seattle’s secondary defenders. Pro Football Focus has credited him with allowing just one touchdown catch in coverage all season long. He’s recorded three-times as many pass breakups (3).

More notably, Bryant has been a turnover generator in recent weeks. In a Week 12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle’s second victory in an ongoing four-game win streak, Bryant intercepted Kyler Murray and returned it for a 69 yard pick-six touchdown. In this past Sunday’s rematch with Arizona, he logged another interception. Arizona will be glad to not see him again this season.

Bryant has now recorded a team-high three interceptions. He’s under contract through 2025 on the final scheduled season of his team-friendly rookie contract. Bryant’s form has been a revelation for Seattle’s in-form defense in recent weeks.

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Seahawks have one active player in top 10 Pro Bowl voting

Seahawks have one active player in top 10 Pro Bowl voting

The Seattle Seahawks have won three consecutive contests and currently sit atop the NFC West. Naturally, several of Mike Macdonald’s players are earning Pro Bowl consideration. As of Monday, following one week of fan voting, the Seahawks had two players among the top 10 in their position. They are safety Julian Love (fifth overall, third in the NFC) and special teams returner Laviska Shenault Jr. (fourth overall, fourth in the NFC).

Well, awkwardly, the Seahawks released Shenault Jr. from his contract on Monday, making Love their only active player in the top 10 of Pro Bowl voting at his position.

Shenault Jr. put forth a truly disastrous performance against the New York Jets that easily could have swung the result the Jets’ way. After the other struggling returner Dee Williams fumbled a kick off, Shenault muffed a kick of his own. He was able to recover, but his error set the Seahawks’ offense back at their own 12 yard line.

Just minutes later, the Jets scored a special teams touchdown via a 99-yard kickoff return. Shenault had an opportunity to redeem himself. Instead, he muffed a second consecutive return, and this time the ball was recovered by the Jets at Seattle’s 38 yard line, ironically leading to Leonard Williams’ historic 92-yard pick six return TD.

Love has been outstanding for the Seahawks throughout 2024. The versatile safety has recorded 82 tackles and is en route to a third consecutive 100-tackle campaign. Love has also added two interceptions and seven pass breakups to his defensive totals. He deserves Pro Bowl consideration.

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Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks vs. Jets on defense in Week 13

Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks vs. Jets on defense in Week 13

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New York Jets 26-21 in Sunday’s rollercoaster of a Week 13 game. Mike Macdonald’s defense was downright dominant. Seattle limited the Jets to 258 total yards of offense, forced two turnovers, and four punts. Analyzing the advanced metrics, these were Seattle’s three highest-graded players on defense, according to Pro Football Focus.

Leonard Williams | 92.6

To nobody’s surprise, Leonard Williams was Seattle’s highest-graded defender for a second consecutive week. Williams maximized his revenge game opportunity versus the franchise that drafted him, sacking Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice. More historically, his 92-yard pick-six return touchdown was the longest by a defensive lineman in NFL history, according to ESPN Research. He also blocked a kick. The Jets had no absolutely no answer.

Julian Love | 86.1

Safety Julian Love made a big-time impact. The versatile safety recorded six total tackles and forced a fumble. Love also had a pass breakup. He was a critical part of a Seahawks secondary that limited Rodgers to 21 passing completions, 185 yards, and his aforementioned pick-six touchdown.

Tariq Woolen | 79.3

Tariq Woolen was a shutdown cornerback. Rodgers tested his coverage abilities on seven occasions, completing just one pass for a five-yard gain, according to PFF’s tracking data. Woolen forced an incompletion via a pass breakup. His average depth of target (aDoT) was 18.7, which means the Jets failed to complete multiple deep-ball attempts in his direction.

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Former New Yorkers-turned-Seahawks thrived in return to MetLife Stadium

Former New Yorkers-turned-Seahawks thrived in return to MetLife Stadium

Week 13 was a bit of a homecoming for four current Seattle Seahawks. Quarterback Geno Smith, safety Julian Love, and defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Jonathan Hankins all had one thing in common: all were former New York Giants. Three were also former New York Jets.

To them, they are intimately familiar with MetLife Stadium, which has become a true home away from home for the Seahawks.

Of course, the biggest name on the list is Geno Smith, who was selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Smith spent three seasons in the Big Apple before infamously flaming out, causing him to wander the desert of being an NFL journeyman backup. Smith spent a season with the Giants (starting one game on the road), then one with the Chargers before becoming a Seahawk starting in 2019 to present.

Leonard Williams was taken No. 6 overall by the Jets during the 2015 NFL draft and spent the first five years of his career with Gang Green, before being traded to the Giants. The first time he actually had to move in his career was to Seattle, when the Seahawks traded for him last season.

Julian Love became a Giant after being taken in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft and spent his rookie contract with Big Blue. Prior to the 2023 season, the Seahawks signed him to a two-year deal, but quickly outplayed it and earned a well-deserved three-year extension this past offseason.

Jonathan Hankins has moved around the most on this list. He originally was a second rounder for the Giants in 2013 where he played for three years. He then played with the Colts, Raiders and Cowboys before ultimately becoming a Seahawk this year.

In the Week 13 homecoming game, these former New Yorkers thrived. Geno Smith had another solid performance, completing 64% of his passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, as he engineered his 11th game-winning drive since the start of the 2022 season – the most in the league during this span.

Leonard Williams was an absolute terror, and felt right at home back in his original stadium. Williams had two sacks, an interception and a touchdown. His effort on Sunday made history by becoming the first player since 1982 (when sacks became an official stat) to have multiple sacks, a pick-6, and a blocked kick in the same day. He also set the NFL record for longest pick-6 by a defensive lineman.

Julian Love had six total tackles, and forced a fumble from running back Breece Hall. The Seahawks had just been stopped on downs at the goal line in a disappointing sequence, but Love stole momentum right back to Seattle, as the fumble was recovered by rookie Tyrice Knight. The Seahawks were able to score a needed field goal after that turn of events. Love also created a stop on 2nd-and-10 with a tackle, keeping the Jets at 3rd-and-10, setting up Leonard Williams to get his second sack of the afternoon. This was on New York’s final drive of the game.

Jonathan Hankins may not have shown up on the score sheet, but he was still a member of a defense that pitched a shutout over three full quarters of football, fueling the comeback for Seattle. Had the defense shown any cracks after going down 21-7, the Seahawks would be sitting at 6-6 right now.

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Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks vs. Cardinals on defense in Week 12

Pro Football Focus’ 3 highest-graded Seahawks vs. Cardinals on defense in Week 12

The Seattle Seahawks moved into first place in the NFC West by beating the Arizona Cardinals 16-6 in Week 12. It represented a dominant defensive performance by Mike Macdonald and Co., who held the Cardinals to six points and 3-of-13 on third and fourth down attempts. The Seahawks managed five sacks and limited Arizona to under 300 yards of offense. Analyzing the advanced metrics, these were Seattle’s three highest-graded players on offense, according to Pro Football Focus.

Leonard Williams | 87.0

Leonard Williams was downright dominant against an outmatched Cardinals offensive line. Williams was credited with generating seven quarterback pressures and two sacks. It was arguably the best performance of his Seahawks tenure to date, and his highest individually-graded game of the season.

Ernest Jones IV | 73.5

Linebacker Ernest Jones IV has completely transformed this run defense since his arrival via trade with the Tennessee Titans. Jones once again led the Seahawks in tackles with 10 takedowns. He helped limit Cardinals running backs Trey Benson and James Conner to 26 rushing yards via 11 carries, allowing just 2.36 YPC. Dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray scampered for just nine yards via two scrambles.

Julian Love | 71.1

Safety Julian Love played 100 percent of defensive snaps (58). Love accumulated four tackles and two pass breakups in a stellar defensive performance. He played a keynote role in a Seahawks secondary that scored a pick-six return touchdown via safety Coby Bryant. Seattle held the Cardinals to 249 net passing yards and zero touchdowns.

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John Mara’s nightmare: Giants flounder as ex-players thrive

The New York Giants are in complete disarray while the team leaders they’ve let walk in recent years are dominating with their new clubs.

The New York Giants (2-9) are hard to watch these days. From top to bottom, they seem like a rudderless franchise with no known direction.

No one is happy right now and almost every decision the team makes seems to backfire on them in an almost comical fashion.

The Saquon Barkley situation is just one of the personnel decisions that have come back to haunt the team. After the Giants were flattened by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Sunday, Barkley had a record-setting game on national television on Sunday night, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a convincing 37-20 road win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Barkley racked up 302 yards of offense on Sunday, 57 more than the entire Giants offense could muster against Tampa’s 30th-ranked defense.

It was the latest dagger to the heart of Giants co-owner John Mara, who lobbied general manager Joe Schoen to try to find a way to keep Barkley in the fold.

Instead, the Giants let Barkley test the free-agent waters. He signed with the Eagles on the first day of free agency.

Ever since then, Barkley has played at an All-Pro level, leading the NFL in rushing, and could be on his way to not only another 2,000-total-yard season but a possible Super Bowl appearance as well.

The reality is, Barkley isn’t really missed that much by the Giants. They have proven that they can run the ball without him and have a glut of young offensive talent on their roster.  They just don’t know how to use them.

Barkley was adroitly signed by the Eagles as the last piece to their puzzle. With the Giants, Barkley would have been the first piece of the puzzle. Big difference. Schoen is trying to build from the inside out, not the other way around.

Schoen was right to pass on McKinney, who was signed to a four-year, $67 million deal by the Green Bay Packers. Many believed that was way too rich for a player who almost blew up his career with a foolish off-field injury several years ago.

The fact that McKinney leads the NFL in interceptions (7) while the Giants have just one as a team this season is irrelevant. The Giants replaced McKinney in the second round of the draft this year with Tyler Nubin.

As for Leonard Williams and Julian Love, I would say I was disappointed they let Love walk. He was a versatile and productive player that they probably should have kept.

Williams was also a productive player but the Giants paid a king’s ransom to both get — and keep — him. They had to shed themselves of his contract.

So, Schoen, in an effort to undo all of the damage his predecessor Dave Gettleman did, is getting pounded for doing what the fans hoped he would do.

It’s just not working out for him right now, that’s all. And the optics are quite poor, especially if Barkley and McKinney end up wining the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Awars.

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Seahawks to release starting LB Tyrel Dodson

Seahawks to release starting LB Tyrel Dodson

The United States may be enjoying a holiday today, but time does not stop for the NFL, or the Seattle Seahawks. On Monday, some major news was broken by ESPN’s Brady Henderson.

Henderson dropped an unexpected bombshell that the Seahawks were releasing linebacker Tyrel Dodson. This comes as a massive change to Seattle’s struggling defense, as Dodson had started all nine games for the Hawks.

Seattle brought Dodson over this offseason from Buffalo on a one-year deal. Paired alongside Jerome Baker from Miami on a similar one-year contract, Dodson and Baker represented an interesting decision from the Seahawks to replace Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks with less expensive options.

Nine games into the season, it is safe to say this strategy has failed to a spectacular degree. Baker was traded to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Ernest Jones IV, who was an immediate upgrade at the position right from the get-go. Now, they have moved on from their other offseason acquisition midway through the season. Both players were only contracted for a single season in Seattle, and neither made it through the year.

Dodson finished his stint with the Seahawks with 41 solo tackles (second most on the team, behind Pro Bowl safety Julian Love), two pass defenses, two sacks and one forced fumble. Presumably, Dodson’s departure opens up an opportunity for rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight, who has 23 total tackles on the year.

At 4-5, Seattle is looking for answers to right the ship. Especially since they are in last place, and their division rivals created separation this weekend.

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Causes for concern as the Bills face the Seahawks in Week 8

Causes for concern as the Bills face the Seahawks in Week 8

The Buffalo Bills take to the road in Week 8 to face the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

The Bills (5-2) and Seahawks (4-3) clash as a couple of the better teams in the NFL through seven weeks.

The Bills are favored by just a field goal in the game, as the Seahawks have shown they can compete on both sides of the ball under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald.

Macdonald’s last two seasons were spent as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. The defensive-minded head coach also has an explosive offense led by veteran gunslinger Geno Smith. To improve to 6-2 on the year, the Bills will need to execute.

There are always a few things that make executing difficult each week, and the Bills will need to be wary of them. Here are three causes for concern for the Bills in Week 8:

Seattle’s air attack

USA TODAY Sports

The Seahawks pass the ball at the highest rate in the NFL. Not only does Geno Smith lead the league in attempts with 279, but he also leads the NFL in attempts of ten or more yards downfield.

Not having DK Metcalf due to his knee injury would hurt what the Seahawks can do downfield, but Smith will most likely still be willing to sling it. The secondary and linebackers for the Bills will be tested in coverage.

No Terrel Bernard

Getty Images

The Bills announced on Friday that linebacker and captain Terrel Bernard will miss the game at Seattle on Sunday. A big blow to the defense.

Any game that Terrel Bernard can’t play for the Bills is a concern, but this particular matchup especially hurts the Bills. The Seahawks love to throw it around the yard and Bernard is the best cover linebacker the Bills have. Not only that but he is the one communicating the defense pre-snap. With Bernard not in the middle of the field, it will make for an easier day for Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense.

Playmakers on defense

Getty Images

The Seahawks aren’t among the league leaders in any defensive categories but they are solid across the board.

They have a couple of standout players in the secondary with safety Julian Love and cornerback Tariq Woolen. And opposite of Woolen is Devon Witherspoon who is solid on the outside too. Love is the eighth-highest-graded safety in the NFL per Pro Football Focus, and Woolen is the 11th-highest-graded corner.

Their defensive line is also a problem. They have one of the better defensive tackle duos in Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed. Josh Allen and Joe Brady need to be aware of where a lot of these guys are on every play.

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