Seahawks’ Leonard Williams Sends ‘Tip of the Spear’ Warning to Rams

Leonard Williams made it clear he wants the Seattle Seahawks defensive line to set the tone against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Pro Bowl lineman said in a recent press conference that the group’s goal is to be “the tip of the spear” for the team as they prepare for Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and a Rams offense that tests defenses with tempo and quick throws.

“We want to be the best group on the defense and we want to be the best group on the team,” Williams said, adding that when the Seahawks stop the run and can rush the passer, “things turn out well.”

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Leonard Williams: Seahawks Want to Be the ‘Tip of the Spear’ vs. Rams

Williams said players absolutely get up for certain matchups, and Rams week is one of them.

“We definitely get intrigued by matchups,” he said. “It shows me what type of team we have, when I see guys get excited when we’re playing against a good team.”

Still, he kept bringing the conversation back to the process. There’s “a lot of outside noise,” he acknowledged, but for Seattle, it’s about becoming a better team and not getting lost in the stakes of a division game.

Up front, Williams said the defensive line has talked since OTAs about carrying the load.

He repeated that they want to be the group that “puts the team on our back.” That includes owning early downs in the run game and earning chances to rush the passer instead of reacting to the Rams’ preferred script.

Williams also embraced the internal competition that’s grown inside Seattle’s locker room. Other position groups have said they want to be the “tip of the spear” too, and he loves it.

“It’s good to have that type of competition in the building,” he said. If the defensive backs are the best group in a practice, for example, the linemen will “hear a lot about it in the locker room” and in meetings. That daily back-and-forth pushes everyone.

Reporters noted the Seahawks are the only team in the league with six different players posting at least 20 quarterback pressures this season. Williams said that stat shows they’re “living what we say,” emphasizing it takes all 11 on defense — rush, coverage and communication — to get to the quarterback.

He also shouted out Uchenna Nwosu as the leader of that rush. Despite missing Week 1 and being limited early, Nwosu leads the way in pressures, and Williams said the veteran edge rusher’s confidence and leadership have been obvious.

“He’s played the Rams so many times now,” Williams said, noting that in practice Nwosu is calling out plays and tendencies before the snap, which “makes my job easier” lining up next to him.

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How Seahawks Plan to Handle Matthew Stafford & the Rams’ Tempo

Asked about the biggest challenge in defending a McVay offense, Williams didn’t hesitate: Stafford’s release and the Rams’ pace.

“To me it’s just how fast Matt Stafford gets the ball out,” Williams said. The Rams mix in “attack plays” and hurry-up looks that can catch defenses flat-footed if they’re not dialed in.

He broke down what those “attack plays” look like: most of the offense is already set, with linemen in their stances, and the center is the last player to arrive. The center walks up, puts the ball down and snaps it quickly, hoping the defense is still standing or misaligned.

Williams called some of Stafford’s throws against pressure “freakish,” pointing to plays on film where the quarterback has his back turned, is getting hit and still somehow flicks the ball downfield for a completion.

But he stressed that, like every quarterback, Stafford is affected when defenders get in his face. The goal is to hit him as often as possible, even if blitzing hasn’t worked for other teams.

For Williams, it all starts with first and second down.

He said what makes the Rams dangerous is keeping “the sticks at a manageable distance at all times,” adding he believes they’re near the top of the league in shortest third-down yardage. If Seattle can force stops for no gain or negative yards early, they can put Los Angeles in “get back on track” situations and unlock more of Mike Macdonald’s playbook.

The Rams’ three tight end “giant personnel” packages add another wrinkle. Williams said that look has changed how Los Angeles operates, but the Seahawks have studied it and “know how to attack it.”

Seattle’s defense is also built on communication and checks, but Williams admitted this is one of those games where when the Rams start to hurry up, the Seahawks may just have to “line up and go” instead of trying to adjust everything on the fly.

 

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