Bears vs Seahawks: Previewing Week Two with 12th Man Rising

1. What’s left of the Legion of Boom?  Is the Seahawks defense still one to be feared?  What do they have in store for Mitch Trubisky and Company?

Basically the only thing left of the Legion of Boom is Earl Thomas. And he is still really good. But Seattle’s defense seems to have transitioned from an attacking one to a reactionary one. Seattle can be beaten with a short passing game. The Seahawks also lack a solid pass rush. The best thing about Seattle’s defense is the safeties and linebackers. But against the Bears, Seattle will be without K.J. Wright again most likely, so even the linebackers are not the unit they should be.

The way I see Seattle playing Chicago is to let the underneath passing happen and hopefully making sure tackles after completions. Pete Carroll will take a player out if that player gets beat deep. But Chicago should be able to work its way downfield.

2. I’m sure everyone saw what Khalil Mack did to the Packers in the first half on Sunday night.   How do the Seahawks stop him or at least try to slow him down?  

I am not sure Seattle has an answer to stopping Mack. Right tackle Germain Ifedi isn’t really very good. The other issue, though, is that Russell Wilson simply holds on to the ball too long many times. So even on some sacks where Ifedi has done OK it looks like he hasn’t because Wilson hasn’t gotten rid of the ball. To stop Mack, Seattle might try having a fullback on the field more. But the best way to avoid Mack getting to Wilson is to try the run the ball. Seattle made an effort to get back to a much more run-oriented offense this offseason supposedly, but then Seattle ran the ball only 16 times in week one.