This 2023 NFL season was a critical year for the Seattle Seahawks due to the incredible and dynamic talent on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Seahawks had a chance to create one of the most dynamic and reliable units in the league. There are however signs of inconsistency and bad play calling on top of injuries from the offense. Most people are quick to point out quarterback Geno Smith or head coach Pete Carroll, but there is no doubt that the Seahawks have regressed significantly due to the poor development of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. With the Seahawks looking out of the potential wild card spot, it might be time to make the change away from Waldron as the leader of the offense.
Time for the Seattle Seahawks to Move On From Shane Waldron
The Pass Protection has Regressed Geno Smith and the Offense
The Seahawks thought they had assembled a young, but reliable set of offensive linemen to help establish a good run game and keep the pocket clean. The inconsistencies of the offensive line were highlighted in the week one home loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It didn’t help that second-year right tackle Abraham Lucas was out over this significant injury for multiple weeks, but the interior of the line played inconsistent throughout the season. According to Pro Football Focus, all four of the interior starting offensive line had an overall grade of below 63. Only Damian Lewis had an overall grade above 60.
Ben Baldwin, who takes multiple stats, took the pass protection ratings from ESPN’s pass block win rate, SIS blown block percentage, and PFF’s overall pass protection grade. The overall scores of Seattle had the team with the third-worst overall pass protection grade, just ahead of the New York Jets and the New York Giants. Seattle had the seventh-worst PFF pass protection grade. It also had the fourth-worst blown block percentage in the league. The worst attribute of the pass protection was in the interior offensive line and the right tackle without Lucas. Jake Curhan and 41-year-old Jason Peters were terrible options filling for Lucas. While the offensive line coach Andy Dickerson hasn’t trained his line properly, Waldron hasn’t developed and adjusted well.
Official Objective Pass Protection Ratings
Aw man Seahawks
(I think Dak's surroundings are a little overrated in an attempt to tear down his MVP candidacy. His OL has been decent but not great) pic.twitter.com/Bmn5NmC1XI
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) December 6, 2023
Shane Waldron’s Problematic Playcalling
One of the biggest reasons Seattle had a successful offense with Shane Waldron last season was the surprise run of veteran quarterback Geno Smith and a solid rookie class. They made Waldron’s job a lot easier as a result of their efficient play. This season, there is a lack of confidence in the interior offensive line and it shows with the playcalling. Even though the Seahawks have been better at run-blocking, the offense has run nearly 67% of plays coming from the passing game. The biggest problem with the playcalling from Waldron is the consistency of calling passes from third and short. There have been no signs of development with the offense from last year to this season.
There have also been issues with the lack D.K. Metcalf in the gameplan. After Week 14, Metcalf has been targeted 93 times, the same number of times as Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks have failed to utilize the superior physicality of Metcalf than Lockett, who is slowing down due to age and has issues with drops. There have been more issues with the lack of communication with Smith and the pass-catchers. It has been a continuing issue and has never addressed.
The Loss to San Francisco Is Another Example of Shane Waldron’s Problems for the Seahawks
This past Sunday’s loss to San Francisco was the sixth time this season that the offense was held to under 17 points. The Seahawks failed to score more than 16 in three of the last four games.
In the 28-16 loss at San Francisco, Seattle accumulated 324 total yards but were 2-of-11 on third downs. The Seahawks also turned the ball over two times. The most effective receiver was Lockett, who caught all six targeted passes for 89 yards. Metcalf only caught two of his five targets for 52 yards and a touchdown. Rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba only caught four of his seven targets for 25 targets. The secondary was the least effective unit of the 49ers as it looked like there was no gameplan.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
