Seattle is still listed as above average despite losing two games. The Seahawks rank 13th overall, 12th in DAVE, 22nd on offense and 9th on defense. That confirms what I touched on in my last post, that Seattle has the same record, but is outperforming the 2008 Seahawks. The pass defense is powering this team, a pass defense that has played games without many of its best pass defenders. Marcus Trufant has missed the entire season. Lofa Tatupu has missed two games. Josh Wilson has missed a game and a half. Brandon Mebane has missed one game.
I am not going to pretend the difference between this season's pass defense and last season's pass defense is Brian Russell, but another much reviled figure has left Seattle in better hands: John Marshall. Seattle is blitzing less and blitzing more effectively this season and Jim Mora and Gus Bradley deserve credit for that. The Seahawks have been a good pass defense with upside, and close to average at most other things. It's a pass defense and Seahawks team with upside, but downside too. The Colts are by far the best pass offense Seattle has faced. They are first in the NFL in VOA. If Seattle steps up, next week, when VOA becomes DVOA, the Seahawks defense could look like a defining unit. If Seattle crumbles, DVOA will coldly adjust backwards, informing us that San Francisco and St. Louis were worse than we thought, and the Seahawks and the Seahawks pass defense, worse than we think.