The Seattle Seahawks looked and felt drastically different on Sunday from what we’ve been used to in recent years. From the vibrant green and blue of their throwback uniforms to the fresh faces on the sidelines and in the booth, almost everything about this team seemed radically altered, including the vibe.

On the field, we saw a big difference in the way the team tackled, especially compared to the season openers of previous seasons and other games that were scheduled in later years under former head coach Pete Carroll.

Seattle tackled flawlessly at all three levels of the defense, but the changes were most noticeable on the back end, where this was a problem for everyone last season. Third-year cornerback Riq Woolen, in particular, seemed much better in this area of ​​the game. Here’s what Woolen had to say about the change yesterday, per Mike Dugar of The Athletic.

Riq Woolen on Seahawks’ improved tackling

“We practice tackling every day… It’s a big emphasis here. You can just tell it’s natural for everyone. Everyone just gets into it and we try to get guys down. On Sunday, it reflected how much tackling we’ve had. We’re just going to build on that.”

There is no reason to assume that Woolen wanted to smear his former coach with this, but it is true and it is well deserved.

Remember, Carroll didn’t allow his players to really practice tackling during the offseason. While it was intended to reduce unnecessary injuries, the team consistently began the regular season with serious tackling issues. Ultimately, the tackling improved each year and was up to par by Week 5 at the latest, but the Seahawks’ ineptitude in this area was a major reason they so often had a slow start to the year after the core of the Legion of Boom defense departed.

Regardless, what matters is that the Seahawks were exceptional at tackling on Sunday, especially on open-field solo attempts when there was no help nearby. It’s a long season and we’re only one game into the season, but most advanced metrics point to this being the strongest defense in the NFL this year.