Charting The Defensive Personnel

Hey Folks. In case you have been napping, or just haven't quite put it all together yet, it appears that Tim Ruskell and the Seahawks have put together quite a formidable defense. Not only that, but they are locking up the key cogs for years to come.

I thought that maybe it would be informative to chart this out, so that we could look at maybe what could still be done, say....in the upcoming draft.

To see the chart and discuss.....




As you can see in the chart, not only is this a really good defense, but it is young and will be around for quite a while. To begin, lets look at age.

While age does not effect all positions equally, the four clear spots of note here are Patrick Kerney, Brian Russel, Deon Grant and Julian Peterson. Each player declines at their own rate. Two of those guys are pro bowlers. The other two are safeties. This supports my theory that the team should be looking at a young safety in this draft. Grooming them now would be a smart move. Also, arguably, Kerney and Peterson are the two best pass rushers, albiet from different spots. Since the team needs a reserve linebacker anyway, look for a young guy who could fit the JP mold to be drafted as well. Kerney, who has crazy methods for keeping himself feeling good, is likely to end his career here, signed till 2012 and already 31, the oldest member of this unit. Getting depth behind him can be done now, but the same could be said about adding a QB behind the 32 yr old Hasselbeck, and I am not ready to do that yet.

The other spot of note is DT. The team is going to have Rocky Bernard be a free agent after this year. Also, he will be 29. Being that the one area this defense has struggled is stopping the run against mammoth offensive lines, it would make sense to get a DT too. If you try to fill Rocky's mold, it will be important to get a disrupter. As reader S.T.T.B.M. pointed out earlier, Bernard's game is more about wreaking havoc and allowing others to collect the stats. This could be hard to find. I think it is important the team take one early, but you all know I a have a man crush on a certain DT from a roman catholic school near Chicago. He would fit the mold, but I am sure a number of players do.

I think the most important thing to note, is that overall, the Defense averages 26.3 years of age, and average being signed for 3 more years. This is one way to keep a "Superbowl Window" open. By the way, that is a concept I believe in about as much as Santa Claus. By planning and drafting smart, and then locking up guys like Lofa and Marcus, this team could become the Atlanta Braves of the NFL. Lets just hope they get a few more world championships out of it.