2. The defense finished strong after some early struggles.
Perhaps it was the time difference, with Thursday’s practice began at 8:30 a.m. PT, or maybe it was a lack of traction—several players changed cleats after slipping early in practice—but the day didn’t get off to the best start for the Seahawks defense.
“We did some good stuff. You’re going against a team that you haven’t seen and haven’t really prepared for, so our guys reacted to their formations and movements well,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “Took us a couple of plays to get our feet settled, get used to the surface. Situational football did some positive things. There’ll be more that comes up when we watch the tape.”
Said defensive lineman Leonard Williams, “I’m going to have to watch the tape to know for sure, but we started off a bit sluggish. We’re going to have to get used to traveling and starting fast. We picked it up towards the end and finished pretty strong.”
But as the practice went along, Seattle’s defense stepped it up, including a great session of seven-on-sevens in the red zone that featured multiple pass breakups from Riq Woolen, one from Shaquill Griffin and another from Nehemiah Pritchett.
“Red zone skelly, the guys were on it,” Macdonald said. “That was a great period for us, but you’re running your stuff and seeing how you guys execute and make calls in real time, which is great to see.”
The secondary also produced multiple pass breakups during a two-minute drill late in practice, with Woolen, Griffin, Pritchett and Josh Jobe all getting in on the action.
“In that two-minute drive, without watching film, towards the end of practice, I think they didn’t catch a ball for the first five or six plays,” Williams said. “That was all secondary. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they did on film.”
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