Dabs’ Digest: Week 5 conversation with Coach Brian Daboll

Q: (Kicker Greg) Joseph missed his first field goal attempt, the 48-yarder in Cleveland, and some people probably said, “uh-oh.” Then he made all five of his attempts last week and kept all six of his kickoffs away from (KaVontae) Turpin (Dallas’ dangerous return specialist).

Daboll: “I thought we did well in that regard, relative to the specialists. (Punter) Jamie (Gillan) only punted one time, which was good, where we wanted him to punt it so Turpin couldn’t get a return and put it in the end zone. Turpin is obviously a big weapon for them. And then, obviously, took advantage of all the scoring opportunities. I thought he did a great job.”

Q: Let’s talk about the Seahawks. Ryan Grubb, their first-year offensive coordinator, hasn’t coached in the league before. How do you prepare for him? Did you go back and look at his University of Washington offense?

Daboll: “You’re getting into October here and people are kind of settling in in terms of some of the things that they do. Obviously, you put a high premium on the games with Seattle. You do some offseason work as an early opponent on some of the places he’s been, particularly Washington. They have a lot of weapons. The quarterback has done a really nice job. Their skill players are as good as anybody in all spots. Those three receivers (TK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett) are, I would say, exceptional. (Wide receiver Laviska) Shenault, when they put him in the game, they find ways to use him, whether it’s screens, reverses, things like that. (Noah) Fant, fast tight end. And then these two backs, I’d say (running back Kenneth) Walker is one of the better backs in the league. I’ve really got a lot of respect for him. He’s a heck of a player.”

Q: I think when we practiced with Detroit, you were pretty impressed with their defense, and then you see Seattle, 516 yards, 38 first downs, 38 completions.

Daboll: “I’d just say that goes to the players. You’ve got three really good receivers, two really good running backs, and a quarterback (Geno Smith) that’s operating at a high level. So, they can spread you out and cause problems in a hurry.”

Q: And defensively, by the end of the game, they were down six core guys.

Daboll: “Yeah, more than half their defense. Starting defense wasn’t out there.”

Q: You were with (Seahawks linebacker Tyrel) Dodson in Buffalo. He was a sub there, but now he’s the Seahawks’ leading tackler.

Daboll: “We’ve liked him since we were at Buffalo. We liked him in this free agency process. I have a good relationship with him. He’s fast. He’s instinctive. He’s a good tackler. He’s got his opportunity, and he’s showing what he can do with it.”

Q: It seems a little weird to say this after they did not force an incompletion against Detroit, but their secondary, talent-wise, seems to be one of the best in the league with those two corners.

Daboll: “Yeah, (Riq) Woolen and (Devon) Witherspoon. Pretty good corners. They don’t give up a lot of big ones. I know they did (Monday night). The play they gave up the 40-yarder to (Lions running back David) Montgomery, Witherspoon had him, went up there, had a huge hit. Montgomery made a sensational play, and then they went to (wide receiver) Jameson (Williams). I’m not sure they played the coverage the exact way they wanted to, and he broke free for a 70-yarder, and then they hit a screen to (Sam) Laporta, a tight end screen that went for 30. So those were three explosive plays there, and usually when you can get explosive plays like that, that leads to points. Then the other thing was Detroit was never really put in unfavorable situations. They only had six third downs in the game. They ran the ball very efficiently and stayed on track, skipped third downs, and created some explosives. They had 220 yards after the catch, which was about 75% of their yards in the passing game. They’re good players in the back end. I thought they obviously competed. They missed four D-Linemen.”

Q: They have a lot of experience in the kicking game with (kicker Jason) Myers and (punter Michael) Dickson.

Daboll: “It’s a good, complete team. It’s a good football team, all three phases.”

Q: You spoke about the challenges of playing in Seattle because the crowd is so loud. You’ve been on hundreds of NFL sidelines. Is there a different noise level, a different feel there? If I plopped you down there and made you close your eyes, could you tell you were in Seattle?

Daboll: “It’s one of the loudest places, loudest environments, that you play in. The fans know when to make it noisy and when not to. It’s an advantage for them, obviously, when they play at home. It’s a great loud environment.”