Trust the process: Mike Macdonald's revelation about Seahawks defense is a concern

The Seattle Seahawks are entering a new era.

After firing Pete Carroll, Seattle hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach. From tearing down all remaining remnants of Carroll's legacy to cleaning out large contracts, Macdonald's Seahawks are set to look much different than past Seattle teams.

The Seahawks opened up their second day of organized team activities to the media on Wednesday. While practice is gradually beginning to ramp up, Macdonald has taken a slow and steady approach as players acclimate to new systems on both sides of the ball.

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald installed only 20 percent of his defense

The offense and defense began to face each other in non-contact scenarios, but some defensive players were having trouble with checks during practice, according to Seahawks reporter Gregg Bell.

Macdonald, however, doesn't seem concerned. Macdonald has placed an emphasis on the fundamentals rather than focusing on the intricacies of his scheme. The idea may concern skeptics and critics, but Macdonald's approach to focus on fundamentals early has been used by many of the league's best coaches.

The 36-year-old head coach told reporters that he has only implemented 20 percent of his defense so far. The goal is to build a baseline of fundamentals before attempting to install specific plays.

"We're chasing the baseline, base fundamentals," Macdonald said. "It's not a huge install, it's concepts. We'll get the base concepts in, then we'll go from there."

Over the past two seasons, Macdonald led a top-five defense in Baltimore. Macdonald's defense used pre-snap disguises and rolled coverages to confuse opposing offenses. For an amorphous defense, communication is vital. Disguising coverages comes with the risk of blown assignments if the players are uncertain of their role. It takes time to master the defense and have all 11 players working in harmony. Instead of overwhelming the defense with the entire system, Macdonald is taking things at the players' pace.

"We're still installing," Macdonald said. "We're going to be installing defensively throughout. Install two was today, and we'll evaluate it as we go. If the guys are slow to make some checks, anticipating things, we'll make some decisions so it doesn't pile on, so we don't get too far behind. I'm not really worried about the pace of how fast we get everything in. We want a really good foundation for when we get into camp. So we have a schedule, but we'll adjust as we go. If you go in with an open mind of, 'Hey, let's do what makes sense for this group,' that's where you end up in the right spot."

Despite any potential struggles, Macdonald praised his secondary.

"We're really excited about our secondary," Macdonald said. "I think there's some flexibility there, we can get to some personnel groups where guys are moving around, playing matchup ball a little bit. They're in a good spot."

Macdonald expects "big things" from cornerback Tariq Woolen and believes that second-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon has the versatility and speed to "do all things," from covering deep to blitzing from the nickel corner spot.