We now see the gap the Seattle Seahawks are trying to close

If you thought at the start of the season that the Seattle Seahawks were a Super Bowl contender, then it’s clear that they have a massive coaching problem.

But I don’t think many of you did. At least that’s not the opinion I heard from fans in the weeks and months leading up to the season. So if you were hoping for a team that could surprise the analysts and make the playoffs, then it would be premature to point the finger at Mike Macdonald.

This is not an attempt to curb the responsibilities of a head coach. He has big problems. First, there are very real concerns about this team on the field (the return of the run defense problems!) and second, the challenge every unestablished leader faces: keeping culture and buy-in alive during a losing streak.

Breaking down where the Seahawks stand in key areas

More than any insight into Macdonald, this has been clear in the first six weeks of the season: The Seahawks are still rebuilding, and the head coach was just part of the process.

The first four weeks reflected positive changes, with the caveat that three games were played against teams with quarterbacks who were either rookies (Denver’s Bo Nix) or now benched (New England’s Jacoby Brissett and Miami’s Skylar Thompson ). But we still saw the best of Geno Smith, three straight 100-yard games for DK Metcalf, one of the league’s better defenses against the pass, and solid tackling (before their game against the Detroit Lions, who have looked dominant ever since). Then). Derick Hall has emerged as one of this team’s most promising young defenders, already leading in sacks, and Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen are still one of the better young cornerback duos in the league.

I mention this to make it clear that this isn’t a bad squad…

But did anyone watch the Seahawks lose to the 49ers last Thursday night and not see a personnel gap between these two teams?

These gaps cannot be completely filled by coaching, even if the league’s best coaches do more with less. Still, Macdonald would never transform this group into the Baltimore Ravens defense without several key Baltimore Ravens players.

The Seahawks got here instead with draft failures, few shots at top-10 talent and salary cap bets. This is partly a question of roster creation. And I say that because I know that this team has gems here.

Seattle has had an interesting experience with this. About a decade ago, Seattle’s front office found superstar talent in later rounds three years in a row. They found a Hall of Fame linebacker from Utah State (Bobby Wagner) in the second round, a 10-year starting quarterback (Russell Wilson) in the third, an All-Pro cornerback (Richard Sherman) in the fifth and fifth round a 10-year starting quarterback. Long starting linebacker in the fourth round (KJ Wright), a key safety in the fifth round (Kam Chancellor) and they sent a fourth-round pick to Buffalo for one of the league’s most iconic running backs (Marshawn Lynch). ).

But by far the best teams are comprised of some blue-chip talent, and many teams have found that talent earlier in the draft.

Myles Garrett, Aiden Hutchinson and Nick Bosa were the top five picks. Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Sauce Gardner, Patrick Surtain, Penei Sewell, Ja’Marr Chase and Roquan Smith are all top-10 picks. There’s a cost to getting those picks (it’s losing, and it’s no fun) and it doesn’t always pay off (we’ve all experienced first-round losses). But it’s easier to hit first-rounders than not; There’s a reason any fan can tell you where Tom Brady, Brock Purdy, Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott were drafted, and that’s because finding superstars in late rounds is less likely, although far from impossible.

Seattle has had problems here in recent seasons. Not only have late first-rounders not paid off (LJ Collier, Rashaad Penny), but the Seahawks haven’t found any All-Pro or Pro Bowl talent in recent years as Day 2 and 3 draft picks took place at almost the same level. And if you want to win more often, you need to find these gems.

But who really wants to wait through multiple seasons of underperformance to acquire top-10 talent?

Macdonald needs to help bridge the gap with great coaching and planning, but Seattle also needs a few players to exceed expectations. And They need general manager John Schneider & Co. to find talent or draft picks elsewhere in the meantime. Schneider has used midseason trades before to acquire long-term starters (Duane Brown, Quandre Diggs) and impact talent (Carlos Dunlap). He has previously traded young, successful players (Frank Clark) for first-round picks, which remains an option this season – although there is always a delicate balance of limiting the talent you trade if the goal is to to put together an elite squad.

In the meantime, this season is not lost. A three-game losing streak feels terrible (Seahawks fans will remember they lost four games in a row last season), but with 11 weeks left to play, there’s still room for Macdonald – and this squad – to do so Surprises.

But for a city looking for something to cheer on, victory couldn’t come soon enough.

More about the Seattle Seahawks

• Which Seahawks will benefit most from additional days of rest?
• A look at how the Seattle Seahawks’ rookie class performed
• Brock: The word that sums up the Seahawks’ loss to the 49ers
• What is the Seahawks’ biggest problem right now? Bump weighs
• Turnovers and lack of takeaways are a glaring problem for the Seattle Seahawks

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