How Seahawks will use safeties, Tampa-2, LBs in Mike Macdonald's defense
Ravens film analyst gives insight into what Mike Macdonald will do with Seahawks defense: Seaside Joe 1852
Teams can switch on a dime for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the most common catalysts for redirection are changes at quarterback, head coach, general manager, and ownership.
For example, Terry Pegula bought the Buffalo Bills in 2014 at a time when the franchise hadn’t been to the playoffs in 15 years. He hired Sean McDermott and general manager in Brandon Beane in 2017, then drafted Josh Allen in 2018, and now we think of the Bills much differently than we did in the first decade of the century.
The Seattle Seahawks are undergoing their own set of monumental changes, but some of these have flown under the radar compared to Buffalo: Paul Allen’s death in 2018 led to a change in ownership and technically the franchise could go on the market at any time; the Seahawks made a change at quarterback two years ago, but another shift could happen at any time and be as sudden and unexpected as it was from Russ to Geno; even John Schneider was sort of promoted from GM-in-title to real-GM with Pete Carroll’s firing.
However, the change at head coach is not so subtle: For the first time in 15 years, the Seahawks are not the Pete Carroll team. Like the hirings made by the 49ers and Rams in 2017 that turned those franchises into the “Kyle Shanahan” and “Sean McVay” teams, Seattle’s hope is that they will soon be known as “The Mike Macdonald team”.
If his teams are anywhere near as good as his recent defenses, the Seahawks are in great hands.
From Tuesday: Check out these 10 draft prospects who I’m circling for the Seahawks in the first round, as well as 10 alternates
I recently did a mailbag (upgrade to Super Joes if you want to submit questions in the future) and one of the responses was from a reader who wanted more information from “the Ravens guy who does all-22 videos” as I’ve been sharing those clips for almost a year due to the fact that they’re so damn good.
All-22-film-cuts on Twitter, All-22 films on YouTube, plus I see some recent 2024 draft prospect breakdowns on his All-22 Patreon, this guy is a real man-of-mystery to me as I don’t even know his name. I just call him “All-y” (sounds like “Ollie”) and watch his videos and that’s good enough for me.
I asked readers for a few questions to send his way and he was gracious enough to send back these well-explained, in-depth answers about Macdonald’s defense with the Ravens. “Ollie” is a Ravens fan who mostly does content for that team and the Detroit Lions, but sometimes veers into Seahawks territory and regardless of which team it is I know I’ll learn something every time.
In addition to his answers, I included links on some of the terms that go to videos or websites explaining what those terms mean. Don’t feel ashamed if you don’t know, as I created many of the links so that I would know! This process is that we can ALL get better informed on the game we love so much.
Follow his pages, watch his videos, and read this:
"Mac's specific use and want from his MLB would be great to understand- I personally have never liked the Mike backer being 11 or 12 yards in a drop, The D should be using the SS and the Nickel for those deeper middle areas IMHO"
All-22: Thank you for your question. Macdonald’s Defense will use some Tampa 2, with the MLB dropping quite deep to match a vertical in the middle of the field. You will not see it a ton unless the Seahawks face the Bengals. Since 2022, Macdonald (and much of the league) utilized Tampa 2 concepts often to neutralize or slow down the Bengals Passing attack.
More often, the ILB’s (Mike or Will) will either be responsible for matching routes from a Zone or Match/Split Field platform. It will become difficult for opposing team’s QB’s to process coverages quickly with so much variability from a coverage standpoint. Even the Zone coverages in Macdonald’s Defense end up with second-level players simply matching routes. They rarely just cover an area of the field.
In most cases, the boundary side ILB, or Will (Patrick Queen for the Ravens in 22-23) will be playing Man on the RB or some type of Zone coverage in combination with the boundary CB and Safety. The field side ILB (the MLB in 95% of cases with the ball on the Hash) will often be involved in some type of Zone or Match/Split Field coverage to that side.
The use of Man concepts with the MLB, again set to the field 95% of the time, is quite rare.
One thing that Macdonald will do out of a Nickel alignment is utilize a Safety to play the deeper MOF (middle of field) after initially lining up near the LOS (line of scrimmage). (Kyle Hamilton or Marcus Williams with the Ravens). Here is one play to illustrate that idea which is a way to absolve the MLB and Will from covering deeper areas of the field, but still playing a Tampa 2. One illustration of that idea is at this link:
On 3rd Downs, expect to see some version of Cover 3 at times with the MLB and Will playing at the sticks (the line to gain for a 1st Down) and coming forward to make the Tackle after a completed pass. Will there be times that Macondald plays Man and brings heavy pressure? Absolutely. But, his whole focus, or the way it works out on the field at least, is to be unpredictable and not let the QB or OC understand what is coming on each individual snap.
Overall, I would expect Macdonald to emphasize speed and awareness in the MLB and the Will. If you end up with a less athletic MLB, Macdonald will tailor his coverage calls to the personnel at his disposal. And, still install versatility in as many players as possible so that within each coverage (3, 2, Tampa 2, etc) there are multiple versions of each coverage that create added layers of unpredictability.
Here is a video that explains some of the coverage concepts Macdonald used against the Bengals, while rushing 4, to slow the processing of the QB post-snap. Time-stamped to begin with the film, in case you are interested in seeing the multitude of coverages that players will be expected to execute on a play-by-play basis:
Seaside Joe:
The Seahawks made the additions of Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker during the time that All-22 was writing these answers so he couldn’t have been able to go in-depth on those linebackers on such short notice. Really, we’re all going to find out together how Dodson and Baker fit into Macdonald’s scheme when the season starts and maybe not a minute sooner; I think we can all agree that Seattle would be very lucky if Baker and Dodson were in the same vicinity as Roquan Smith, and even Patrick Queen, as Baltimore paid a high price to get those linebackers for the last two seasons.
I suspect that a player like Michigan’s Junior Colson, who previously played for Macdonald, would be an ideal fit if the Seahawks managed some way to get him in the draft. I wrote about that here.
"We hear about simulated pressure often ... But what are some characteristics of his run defense that may be unique? What are some general characteristics of run defense and what should we expect to see?"
"Not to be negative but, what are the weaknesses in Mike Macdonald's approach to defense? He seems to be well-liked but he's a head coach now. Where would you attack him? Because as a first-year NFL head coach he'll be under severe attack. What are his weaknesses in leadership, communication and personality? What are his needed areas of growth as you see them? Where has he failed and how has that shaped where he is now? We hear about his positive traits, characteristics, and achievements but what has he had to overcome?"
All-22: I am going to combine these two questions, because for me they are related in terms of my answer. Forgive me for grouping these two seemingly disparate questions together. I will try to address the italicized portions of the two questions.
Mike Macdonald’s Defense is all about getting the Offense into 2nd and 8, or 3rd and 6. That is, creating as many known Passing situations such that the QB, no matter who it is, has to process information post-snap and adjust based on the coverage being played. With the sheer number of possible coverages that Macdonald is willing to play in those situations - Man Free, Cover 3, Tampa 2, Quarters/Split Field/Match (using those term synonymously here) - it can become overwhelming for the QB.
Even when only a 4-Man Rush is being deployed, taking that additional two-tenths of a second to process the coverage and determine who is open BEFORE even throwing the ball … is often the difference between a throw arriving on time, and a Sack or disruption of the pocket such that the play is essentially over. And you stack these situations on top of one another long enough, and QB’s, even OC’s, become incapable of solving that riddle enough.
In my opinion, when Macdonald’s Defense has had the most difficulty stopping people has been when the opposing Offense is able to create a consistent rushing attack. Looking at the Ravens losses in 2023, this can be confusing. The Colts (Wk 3), Browns (Wk 10) and then Steelers (Wk 18) were able to AVOID many of those known-passing situations by getting into 2nd and 5 or 6, as opposed to 2nd and 8.
The more a team is able to remain balanced and actually generate Rushing yards, the less dominant/confusing/daunting the Macdonald Defense can be. Avoiding those 2nd and 8/3rd and 6 situations is the Offense’s most important goal against a Macdonald Defense, in my observation.
Look no further than the Ravens 37-31 win over the Rams in Wk 14 for how the dynamic can be altered, quickly, if Macdonald’s Defense is not able to create known-passing situations. The Rams 11 Personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) Run game was a bad matchup for the Ravens Defense, which out of a Nickel look had difficulty at times stopping/slowing down the Run game in 2022 and 2023. The compressed formations from 11 Personnel have often given Macdonald’s Defense trouble, this pattern held true against the Rams.
Against McVay and the Rams, who were trying to keep the clock running to shorten the game, 2nd and 6 was a loss for the Ravens Defense. McVay and the Rams were able to really take advantage of Macdonald’s Defense in the 1st Half, particularly on the opening possession. I covered that in this video specifically focused on the Rams first possession:
Is the 11 Personnel Run game an absolute “weakness” in Macdonald’s scheme? While I cannot put it that way, there is significant film of his Defense being less dominant against plays that follow this flow chart:
11 Personnel —--> Compressed formation —----> Run play
One added layer to that path would an 11 Pers Run play into the boundary from a compressed formation.
Macdonald’s Defense has been incredibly successful when teams become more one-dimensional in terms of the Run/Pass balance. When an Offense sways into the 70/30 ratio of Pass-to-Run balance against Mike Macdonald, either by their own choosing (teams like the Bengals) or when the Run game is stopped (Seattle in Wk 9), they will struggle to move the football and avoid turnovers. If Macdonald is able to get all the DB’s, ILB’s, and Nickel defenders to execute his coverages.
One interesting aspect to Macdonald’s tenure in Baltimore as a DC was initially, in 2022, he was extremely aggressive. We gave up leads on risky/aggressive blitzes against the Bills and Dolphins in early 2022, his first year as the DC.
By Wk 5 against the Bengals (again, 2022), however, Macdonald had morphed into this 2-High Safety Defense that would change post-snap and interrupt even the processing of the most talented QB’s. That remained the paradigm throughout 2023, in my opinion only short-circuited by the teams who were willing, and able, to run the ball most successfully.
With the Rams and 49ers on the schedule for a combined 4 games in 2024, I am interested to see how often those Offenses can remain in Run/Pass situations and thereby limiting their QB’s exposure to unpredictable coverage calls.
Macdonald has shown the ability to adjust quickly mid-game, and play to the strengths of his secondary players. With guys like Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, and Tre Brown at CB, I expect to see the Seahawks thrive under his Defensive leadership. The more the front 6/7 (DL/LB) can stop or slow down the Run game, the better the DB’s will perform in this Defense.
I am not able to address elements of his relationship with the players or leadership skills from an organizational standpoint. He appeared to be very connected to the players and capable of “plug-and-play” in terms of using backup DB’s, with very little drop off in overall Defensive production.
Seaside Joe:
Again, the Seahawks signed Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace during this time and we’ll see in the fall how those safeties mesh with the ones that Seattle already has on the roster. Whether the Seahwks make an early-ish pick on a cornerback in the draft will be interesting to watch; Seattle doesn’t have any more cap space to work with in free agency. We’re getting close to the time when this+rookies will be the 2024 Seattle Seahawks. Can the change from Pete’s team to Mike’s team be what gets the Seahawks over the hump of not advancing in the playoffs lately?
Explanations like this definitely make me even more optimistic that Macdonald was the right hire for right now.
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Man, All-y is a true believer -- in the sense that he gave you thoughtful answers and the reasoning behind them, for essentially nothing as I understand it. Maybe he's a SSJ admirer? Regardless, thx for sending those great questions, we def got the answers we were hoping for!
BTW on NFL.com's draft profile page, both Dodson and Baker's highest scores were for Athleticism at >70% vs the database.
And Jenkins and Wallace's highest scores were also for Athleticism at >80% vs the database
Amending my comment from the previous draft thread, after watching some but not all of the videos above (and, again, proving I know nothing about football), is it reasonable to think of Cooper DeJean as a fit for this scheme? Most mocks have him going to Green Bay at 25. Schneider comes from GB, and so might not mind stealing their player (if DeJean is their player), and that might be a player we could plausibly trade down to get. I realize there's an injury history we're in no position to judge. But the podcaster/experts I follow seem to think he's a tweener who could be CB or S. So that's valuable in this scheme, right?