98, 92, 79, 3 and 6

by John Morgan on Oct 12, 2009 5:53 PM PDT

All around Nick Reed were offensive linemen, smacking his shoulder pads, making him look small. Reed is small. Where you expect a second gear, you see his first gear petering out. But he's the Bruce Lee of defensive end. He picks the right pass-rush move and performs it excellently. On this play, he was in the right place at the right time. Some players seem to have a knack for that, whether that knack is real or imagined. Some players seem to turn the good into the great.

The good was Brandon Mebane. After going Zapruder Film on the replay, I am pretty sure Mebane stripped Garrard a split second before Lawrence Jackson. Jackson and Reed were single blocked on the outside and Cory Redding dropped into cover. Mebane navigated a triple team before twisting close enough to Garrard to drop a meat hook on the ball. Before he could slap it away, his indomitable bull rush freed Reed by briefly forcing a quadruple team. Reed disengaged from Tra Thomas and ran across the line. He shed the idle right guard, Uche Nwaneri, before breaking to scoop the ball and run 79 yards for the touchdown.

On second thought, maybe Reed had the good and Mebane the great.

Tweet Comment 20 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

It's Zapruder

Sorry, I’m a JFK aficionado. Well, a JFK assassination aficionado.

by purplepansy on Oct 12, 2009 6:01 PM PDT reply actions

Thanks

forgot to double check that.

by John Morgan on Oct 12, 2009 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions

Niners cut Allen Rossum earlier today

To make room for Crabtree.

I thought Jackson stripped the ball first but I’m watching the highlights on Youtube so maybe I can get a decent snapshot of it.

The end result was still epic.

The average human being supposedly eats 8 pounds of food per day. Aaron Curry eats 8 humans for breakfast.

by SSreporters on Oct 12, 2009 6:09 PM PDT reply actions

Mebane's hand falls a split-split-split-second before Jackson's

the very hard thing to do is know who actually knocked it out, because both strips occur almost simultaneously.

by John Morgan on Oct 12, 2009 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah it looks like it

Mebane was in much better position to slap it out anyway.

Steve Raible’s call is hilarious.

The average human being supposedly eats 8 pounds of food per day. Aaron Curry eats 8 humans for breakfast.

by SSreporters on Oct 12, 2009 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions

much may be an overstatement

But Mebane got virtually free of his blocker before Jackson did.

The average human being supposedly eats 8 pounds of food per day. Aaron Curry eats 8 humans for breakfast.

by SSreporters on Oct 12, 2009 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions

It's a good sign

when you have two players stripping the QB at the same time, and you don’t know which one actually did it. That’s a good indicator that your DL just destroyed the opponent’s OL.

Oh and Mebane forced a quadruple team (briefly)? Man…

by Fear on Oct 12, 2009 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions

The two things that stand out to me about that play,

is how Mebane, a moment after the right guard engages to complete the triple team, violently shoves the left guard and center straight backward. The display of strength is stunning. The other is how hard Reed is running toward the end zone and how easy Curry is jogging behind him, closing ground. Lol. God bless him, but Reed has not won many foot races in his life.

I'm gonna go calm submissive on your ass.

by Dukeshire on Oct 12, 2009 6:32 PM PDT reply actions

Is it just me or did Cole not get a lot of playing time?

There was a lot of subbing on the d-line and I’m not sure if I saw Red Bryant in a lot or maybe someone else.

"I wish the Seahawks were back in the AFCW so we didn’t have to face Willis and Gore twice a year."

by Fearless Frog on Oct 12, 2009 7:55 PM PDT reply actions

Earlier Reed Play

I was curious on any thoughts on the earlier Reed play where he pressured the QB (Garrard I think), who dumped it short, and then Reed ran and tackled the ball carrier from behind.

I found that somewhat impressive, though I think I’m easily impressed by things (and susceptible to announcer’s opinions on things).

by Kumar on Oct 12, 2009 9:44 PM PDT reply actions

The announcers gushed

but Reed’s play was a product of Seattle bottling the receiver up and forcing him to cut away from his blockers. A good play, but not an especially impressive showing of talent.

by John Morgan on Oct 12, 2009 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions

I love me some Mebane too

It’s nice when your defensive studs are making things easier for the other cogs.

Nick Reed makes plays. I don’t know how a guy that size who isn’t really super fast makes plays, but he does. That’s all I care about. I’m glad we kept him over Bennett and that other big DT we lost. Reed is the only guy we drafted in the 7th round that I feel will never slack, never give up. and never allow himself to become content.

It was great to see him once again doing what the scouts thought he couldn’t: make plays against NFL starters.

by ASeahawkfan on Oct 13, 2009 9:07 AM PDT reply actions

Reed makes plays, but

But the coaching staff says that Nick Reed is a second-half guy. They bring him in when the other team’s tired and use him in ways that make him successful. Two things to draw from that:

(1) Good coaching. Put a player in a spot to succeed and he will.

(2) Reed isn’t a top-flight talent. The ‘Hawks are getting contributions beyond his 7th round status, but I don’t ever expect him to be an NFL starter. As a rotational end, however, he can be productive and contributing.

by robbbbbb on Oct 13, 2009 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions

Beyond the D-Line

I’ve been paying special attention to him on special teams play as well. This kid’s going to block some punts this year. He’s consistently shedding blocks from the interior of the line on punts and getting to the second level with momentum. He’s not going to be making pro bowls any time soon, but if his body can grow with NFL level conditioning and strength training we’ve got ourselves a find.

by timlin45 on Oct 13, 2009 1:47 PM PDT up reply actions

After his punt-blocking performance in the preseason

I’ve been expecting to see something from him during the regular season, but haven’t been paying attention. Glad someone is.

by Groundhog on Oct 13, 2009 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions

The guy's a young rook 7th round pick

James Harrison took years to develop into the defensive player of the year. I’m not counting Reed out because some people say the guy is too small. He makes plays. He may continue that trend against all comers if given the chance.

I’ve seen guys with tons more physical talent bust because they can’t make plays or learn the NFL game. I’d put my money on Reed over alot of guys with more physical potential.

by ASeahawkfan on Oct 13, 2009 7:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Mebane's stat line of 1 total tackle

Is the perfect example of how stats for DTs are close to useless. He was the best defensive player on the field and is so most weeks.

A better stat for Mebane is that Jackson,Forte, Addai,Brown and MJD are all held under 100 yds with Mebane in the lineup. Without Mebane Gore went nuts on us.

Lofa got re-upped after 3 seasons, it’s time to start putting some money aside for this young man.

by puerto on Oct 13, 2009 8:30 PM PDT reply actions