Defense rules the day as Seahawks don pads for first time this season

RENTON, Wash. – Maybe appropriately, the first day of rain in roughly a month in Seattle fell on the first day the Seahawks put on pads since training camp began last Wednesday – football weather for what finally felt like some real football at their practice facility .

“The first day of padded practice is like the first day of school,” said the team’s longest-tenured player, receiver Tyler Lockett, after the fifth practice of camp. “Everybody is excited.”

While there was some inevitable back and forth, when it ended there was a clear winner – the defense.

The defense displayed the kind of diversity of alignments that is a trademark of new coach Mike Macdonald’s schemes to keep the offense off guard.

Maybe more critically, the defense shifted seamlessly from one look to the next with few hitches in communication, always a worry when a new playbook is being installed.

“I think the defense did a great job today,” Lockett said. “I think that the defense showed a lot of variety in their coverages and the blitzes and I think for us (on offense) we’ve got to just continue to be able to communicate to pick those things up. But I think the defense got after us a bit today.”

That “getting after it” included an interception by safety Julian Love, who made a leaping, twisting grab of a pass over the middle by Geno Smith intended for DK Metcalf. The pick was Smith’s second interception of camp, both by Love.

Just as indicative of the defense’s dominance was a four-play stretch during an early 11-on-11 session that began when Uchenna Nwosu – who has illustrated how much the team missed him during the final 11 games last season – broke through to stop running back Kenneth Walker III for a loss.

On the next play, Leonard Williams collapsed the middle of the line and Boye Mafe raced around for what could have been a strip sack if defenders could hit quarterbacks. On the next play, a Smith pass went off the hands of receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the flat on a play in which the defense’s heavy rush seemed to disrupt the timing. And on the next play, Smith dropped back and found no one open and pulled the ball down and scrambled.

Mafe felt playing well in a padded practice – in which the speed of everything ratchets up – showed that the defense is beginning to grasp the on-field communication that is vital in making Macdonald’s defense work.

“It’s one thing to go out there and walk through the defense,” Mafe said. “It’s one thing to, (go) fast, get through it with no pads and everything. But now, when the pads are on, that’s the next step. Understanding that we can understand each other as players, understand who we can rely on, how everyone’s play style is, will definitely help us in the long run. So now that you know what the guy to your left and the guy to your right is going to do, then you know how to play your own game.”

On another play, Smith tried to hit Metcalf in the end zone. But Metcalf was so well covered by Riq Woolen that Smith just threw the ball away, firing it through the corner of the end zone on the field closest to the lake.

The ball skidded off the wet grass and down a little cliff, where it appeared to stop just short of the lake (some personnel were dispatched to try to find it).

On this day, the lake was often about the only open target Smith could find.

Woolen earlier deflected a pass away from Metcalf and let him know about.

Metcalf later in practice appeared to take offense to some of Woolen’s jawing, raising a hand to his helmet and the two doing some, uh, talking back and forth before teammates intervened. It’s the closest to a scuffle the team has had so far in training camp, and it’s something that often happens once the pads go on .

Nwosu at one point also lowered a shoulder into Smith-Njigba, knocking him to the turf.

Officials threw a flag, likely for a personal foul. But it seemed pretty fitting of the attitude the defense played with throughout.

Here are a few other impressions of Monday’s practice:

Bobo diving catch provides offensive highlight

While the defense won the day, the offense did have some moments.

One may live in everyone’s memory for a while – a diving catch by Jake Bobo in the front of the end zone of a Sam Howell pass for a touchdown during a red-zone session.

Backup cornerback Lance Boykin matched up with Bobo at the line in press coverage and stayed with him down the sidelines on a fade route.

As the ball and the goal line neared, Bobo used all his listed 6-foot-4 to dive and lay out and snare the pass just as he hit the ground, with Boykin hanging on to his legs.

Asked to rank where that catch stood among those he’s seen in his 10 training camps with the Seahawks, Lockett said: “I think that was at least top five. I thought it was a great catch. That was a tremendous catch.”

The pass was one of several good plays by Howell, who has come on the past two practices after struggling the first three. There remains a clear pecking order at QB as Smith takes all the snaps with the first team offense while Howell runs the second unit. Third-teamer P.J. Walker appeared to get only one snap, a handoff.

Offensive line alignment consistent

The offense’s struggles Monday will make for interesting film study for new offensive line coach Scott Huff, who spent the last seven years at the University of Washington.

Through five practices, the makeup of the first offensive line was consistent. The first unit on Monday featured Charles Cross at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Olu Oluwatimi at center, Anthony Bradford at right guard and George Fant at right tackle, with McClendon Curtis getting some snaps (each filling in for injured Abraham Lucas, who remains out while recovering from knee surgery ).

Cross had some impressive moments when the offensive line and defensive line held their first one-on-one pass rush drills of camp, notably walling off Nwosu on one snap to get the win.

Murphy’s tests continuing

Pads going on gives the Seahawks a much clearer sense of where first-round pick Byron Murphy II is in his progression.

Macdonald gave this assessment of Murphy on Saturday: “I think Murph had probably a slower couple days than he wanted to to start out, but he’s bounced back and he’s making a lot of plays out there. Initially you think (he’s) more maybe (a) B-gap type player, being able to move inside and out; A-gap all the way out. I think if he keeps staying on this progression, then you could see him at any of those spots.”

Murphy has been working regularly in the rotation with the first-team defensive line, and specifically in passing situations, and did so again Monday.

Murphy also had some interesting moments in the one-on-ones. He slipped while trying to gain some traction against Bradford during an early rep, with Bradford appearing set to get the win anyway. Murphy later got two reps against undrafted rookie Jalen Sundell, getting a clear win on one, the other appearing closer to a draw.