San Francisco – Will the real Seattle Seahawks defense please stand up?
The Seahawks looked like one of the best defensive units in the league against St. Louis a week ago, holding the Rams to just 247 total yards in a 28-0 win.
But fast forward to a week later, and Seattle failed to get its hands around elusive running back Frank Gore in absorbing a 23-10 defeat to San Francisco on Sunday. The explosive engine of the 49ers offense ran wild on the neatly manicured Candlestick Park turf, breaking free for long touchdown runs of 79 and 80 yards and racking up 207 yards on 16 carries for a whopping 12.9-yards-per-carry average.
Offensively, San Francisco finished with 379 yards, averaging 6.3 yards a play. The 49ers also had possession of the ball nearly nine minutes more than Seattle.
Granted, Seattle played without several key starters, as defensive tackle Brandon Mebane (calf), linebackers Lofa Tatupu (hamstring) and Leroy Hill (groin) and cornerback Josh Wilson (ankle) all missed time on the defense, leaving Seattle a bit green at a couple of positions.
Still, Seattle had built defensive depth during the offseason with injuries in mind. According to safety Deon Grant, the defense just did not deliver on Sunday.
“We didn’t get it done today,” Grant said. “It is just that simple. San Fran brought their A game, and we brought our D or F game.”
Seahawks coach Jim Mora said his defense did not do a good job of maintaining gap control against the shifty Gore. On both long runs, Seattle had eight guys in the box, so theoretically the Seahawks were set up to contain Gore at the line of scrimmage. Both times Gore sprung free and outran the secondary to the end zone.
“We got out of whack with our gap control,” Mora said. “They blocked us up. You can make the argument that if we would have had more of a cup, that we would have been able to stop them for 15, 12 or 20 (yards) and not chase him into the end zone. But we felt like we needed to crowd the line of scrimmage against this runner.”
Defensive end Patrick Kerney, who got his first sack of the season, said on Gore’s 80-yard run run, he read bootleg and was fooled at the line of scrimmage, grasping at air as Gore motored by him. Kerney said the big plays by Gore highlight the importance of Seattle paying attention to details.
“One thing I’ve heard Coach Mora say in the past is there’s no such thing as little things in this business,” he said. “That’s two plays, and that’s what cost us the game. So again, that’s why when you’re in practice and your fit is a little off on the run that’s not acceptable. And myself and everyone else on the defense has to look at that and make sure we demand perfection on that all week.”
Rookie linebacker Aaron Curry said, much like the rest of his teammates, he was out of position at times. Curry finished with four tackles.
“I feel like I played a little sloppy today,” Curry said. “There were a few downs that I think really cost our team, that I just felt like I could have cleaned up my footwork and hand placement and stuff like that.”
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