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Seahawks Mailbag: Bouncing Back On Defense, DK The New Age Megatron? & More

You had Seahawks questions; guest host Michael Bumpus has answers.

The Seahawks are hitting the road for another tough division match-up at the Rams this Sunday. While the team gears up for their first-ever visit to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, it's time once again to answer questions from you, the fans. Thank you as always to those who submitted questions on Twitter or Seahawks.com. This week, former Seahawks wide receiver and 710 ESPN Radio Analyst Michael Bumpus talks through the team's path to improvement on defense, the DK Metcalf and Calvin Johnson comparison, and more. Watch Seahawks Mailbag or check out his answers below:

Long-time fan Kathy Irish is wondering "Can the defense put it together? We support you, and want to see this through. Keeping the Faith, in it to win it."

A: "Kathy, one, I'm sure the Hawks appreciate you keeping the faith and being supportive. And honestly, I think this defense can turn it around. It's all about getting healthy at this point. If you look at last week's game, Quinton Dunbar was not at his healthiest. Also, Shaquill Griffin wasn't in there. And then you have the additions of Carlos Dunlap; you still haven't seen Damon "Snacks" Harrison. Schematically, there are some things they need to do, some things they need to tweak. But I feel like if the coaches and players can get on the same page, they can turn this thing around.

Now what does turning it around look like? They're not going to be a top 10 defense. They're too far in the hole right now. Turning it around would be having those big moments we're used to seeing the defense have. We didn't see that last week. So they have to get healthy, the players have to get on the same page with the coaches, and the coaches got to tweak some things. If all those things happen, I think they have a chance."

@tompage asks "Seahawks have mixed and matched blitzing in different games, what is the right balance?"

A: "It's hard to say what the right balance is Tom. Every game is different, week to week is different, tendencies are different. The defense, when they see an offense line up, there are things going on in their heads like 'we expect to do this in this situation, we expect them to do that in that situation.' So your players, your coaches, and the guy upstairs all have to be on the same page. Now there's a fine line. You don't want to be a team that just sends the house every single play and I don't think the Hawks will ever be there. So what's the right balance? Hard to say. Week by week, breaking down tendencies. We will see the right flow. We saw that it could happen against the 49ers. It was perfect balance, everything felt right. Last week it just didn't feel right, but that's the NFL. You're going to play against guys who have ballers on their side of the field too and can get it done. What's the perfect balance? Not sure, but we do know it's attainable."

Next question: "Is DK the new age Megatron?"

A: "I would say he is. I don't see anyone else that can really compare to what Calvin Johnson was. There are no bigger wide receivers in the game. DK Metcalf is his own beast. He's his own monster. There are some things that Calvin Johnson did better than DK. There are some things that DK does better than Calvin Johnson. But when you look at their size and speed, it's natural to be like 'Alright these guys are comparable, is he going to be the next?' So far so good. DK is second in the league when it comes to receiving yards, first in the league when it comes to touchdowns. That does remind me of 'Megatron' Calvin Johnson, but too early to really call at this point. Lots of potential though."

@ThatWiiMaster asks "Is the preparation for Sunday's game any different knowing that it'll be a short week afterwards with the Thursday night game?"

A: "I think the preparation is a bit different. I think they're going to put in all their resources and really prepare for the Rams, but I also know that at some point they're going to shift gears and give the Cardinals some attention. Thankfully they played these guys already, but like I mentioned before, the NFL is week by week. So, I don't think their week is going to change a bit, but I think the turnaround is going to happen a lot faster. They're not going to have the full day on Sunday to really just relax and take in a win. I don't think that's going to happen. As soon as that game is over, they might go right back to VMAC and get things going. So during the week, I'm sure they have their resources, they have scouts, they have guys below these position coaches who can start the game planning, but when it comes down to it, it's going to be a quick turnaround and they just have to get it going. They will have an idea going into Monday what they're going to do, rather than getting together on Monday and figuring it out."

@KerrsSteve asks "How is @gregolsen88 doing this season?"

A: "I think Greg Olsen's doing okay for his first-year in the offense, I think he's doing exactly what I thought he was going to do. If you assumed that Greg Olsen was going to come over here and be the Pro Bowler you saw in Carolina, I think your expectations were too high. I think his role is going to really shine later in the season. When they get into the playoffs, those clutch moments, and then teaching these young guys. You still have Jacob Hollister, you got Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson just got activated. His job is not only to perform in these clutch moments, but to help these young guys out. So I think he's done okay. There's a couple games where he's had five targets, no receptions, but that's okay. Things like that are going to happen. But what have we seen? We saw last game Jacob Hollister had the game of the year for him. We saw Will Dissly with the catch. So he might not show up on the stat sheet, but I feel like he is showing up in different areas with this football team."

Practice photos from the Seahawks' Thursday workout at Virginia Mason Athletic Center in preparation for Week 10 vs. the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

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