The Veteran Jog that Sealed Seattle's Fate

by John Morgan on Nov 3, 2009 7:04 PM PST

There were two major turning points in Sunday's contest. They happened in short succession and turned a close game into the beginning of a blowout. The second was a questionable defensive pass interference penalty called on Marcus Trufant after Miles Austin initiated contact. That cost Seattle 10-12% of win probability. The first made the second possible.

I have nailed Nate Burleson for not finishing routes and I have criticized several Seahawks receivers for not finishing blocks. Missed blocks and dropped routes are easy to ignore. If a receiver does not finish his route, the quarterback usually does not target him and the sin stays within the family, known only to players and coaches. If a receiver does not block, walks over and says "what's up" as I've seen T.J. Houshmandzadeh do, it does not usually lead to much. Maybe another body hits the pile. Often the play is over before it matters.

Seattle splits three wide in an unbalanced formation. Deion Branch is split wide left, Housh is in the left-slot, John Carlson is tight left and Justin Forsett is aside Hasselbeck's left hip. Burleson is alone on the right. Matt Hasselbeck is in shotgun.

The Dallas Cowboys are in a 3-3 nickel with the right outside linebacker walked up to line, showing pass rush. The left corners are walked off, but Terence Newman is opposite Burleson, straddling the first down marker.

It's third and three and Seattle is down by four.

Seattle runs an inside draw. It gets good push from Chris Spencer and Rob Sims. Forsett slips through a seam and streams out the other side behind the pulling Spencer. He has the first.

Before he's blindsided and the ball pops from his grasp, let's rewind and look around. It's a shotgun snap and the handoff to Forsett is quick and definitive, so the wide receivers have to hustle to influence the play. They're not going to run off their guys, but they could put a body on them. Burleson inches up towards Newman and when it's clear he's beat, stops, stands and spectates. Houshmandzadeh starts quicker but slows and instead of engaging nickelback Orlando Scandrick, he jogs up and behind the referee. Newman forces the fumble and Scandrick recovers for 15 yards.

The Seahawks chances of winning drop from 43% to 23%.

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Comments

It's maddening...

Attention to details is critical, and I am glad you brought this up John.

By contrast (and I’ll admit I didn’t scout the whole game), Williams at LT DID do those little things at the ends of plays. In the …. oh… roughly 8-9 plays I decided to focus on him, I saw him maintaining contact and fighting for leverage well into the whistle.

Bring Your Game, Leave Your Name.

by iverson2169 on Nov 3, 2009 7:55 PM PST reply actions

Opps... I meant McIntosh (LT)

Bring Your Game, Leave Your Name.

by iverson2169 on Nov 3, 2009 8:05 PM PST up reply actions

I updated this with a link to the highlight

It’s pretty disgusting.

by John Morgan on Nov 3, 2009 8:42 PM PST reply actions

I noticed this while watching the game

and I was absolutely livid….the word ‘disgusting’ as you said fits the bill perfectly. Sad to see professionals execute like that…

I Bleed Blue and Green

by DSAhawker on Nov 3, 2009 9:29 PM PST up reply actions

Would we cut Burly or Housh?

It is what it is...

by kidder95 on Nov 3, 2009 8:45 PM PST reply actions

Depends on when. This season? 3 years from now?

by redwolf75 on Nov 3, 2009 9:11 PM PST up reply actions

Maybe the real question is

Does it even matter?

It is what it is...

by kidder95 on Nov 3, 2009 9:37 PM PST up reply actions

Maybe in a few years when they're getting washed up, but certainly not now.

SEA!

by MFAN on Nov 4, 2009 10:03 AM PST up reply actions

Ugh

by Hawkhammer19 on Nov 3, 2009 8:57 PM PST reply actions

PATHETIC!

Aside from Austin bulldozing into Tru to draw that PATHETIC def pass int penalty i am absolutely disgusted about that unseen hold on Dallas’s left tackle on that TD play to Hurd… Just had to get that off my mind..

A week ago, such an assertion would seem absurd. But as of Saturday evening, it's not ridiculous to now call Oregon the Pac-10's new frontrunner.

by NW_BRED on Nov 3, 2009 9:30 PM PST reply actions

the question in my mind

is are these guys held accountable for this. Mora, show us you mean what you say!

by m_b on Nov 3, 2009 10:09 PM PST reply actions

Im not surprised

Seattle has never stricken me as a team where every player just hits people through the whistle. This is a prime example of how consistently playing that way is pivotal.

And all the land was in ruin, and burnination had forsaken the countryside.

by Cheddar28 on Nov 3, 2009 10:13 PM PST reply actions

Nice breakdown John

That’s something I would not have noticed in the video you linked if you had not pointed it out.

by Brendan Scolari on Nov 3, 2009 11:18 PM PST reply actions

The description of Burleson was accurate, but I never saw Housh truly give up on the play the way Nate did.

I don’t understand how Nate could just stand there: ‘you guys got this’ … ‘do de do’ … ’why’s everybody coming this way now?’ ‘run away!’ ‘Ahh shiest.’

This is my play off mentality sucks balls. You are getting paid over $200,000* per game you fucknut..

*Based on 2008 salary information – usatoday.com
.
.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer, Sam Bradford*.

by Misfit74 on Nov 4, 2009 12:02 AM PST reply actions

Kinda looks like

Housh did not give up but rather kept his eyes on the ball rather than looking to make a block.

by Thomas Beekers on Nov 4, 2009 5:13 AM PST up reply actions

I just don't understand how two players apparently so competitive can just stop like that.

Mora and the coaches need to fix this now. This is a good test to see how good our coaching is.

I actually bought a Betancourt t-shirt.

by Hopefulmsfan on Nov 4, 2009 1:09 AM PST reply actions

fear of injury?

One obviously explanation for why a player doesn’t fully engage in a play, particularly a peripheral responsibility like blocking for a WR, is lack of discipline and/or work ethic.

Giving a player like Burleson the benefit of the doubt though, could it be fear of injury? The guys missed all of last season to a, iirc, torn ACL. Does an injury like that make a player more tentative the following year?

by Keasley on Nov 4, 2009 8:32 AM PST reply actions

I think guys should be aware of injury concerns.

But if you’re unwilling to sell a route or block a DB from fear of injury, you’re really leaving your RB a blocker short, and sometimes it just takes one more block to hit a HR. Again, I think it’s smart to be aware of injury, but if you’re scared of being injured on 1/3 of the plays you’re in, then you’re not helping your team much.

by LantermanC on Nov 4, 2009 8:46 AM PST up reply actions

Well,

You don’t see offensive linemen not blocking due to fear of injury…

David Garrard running 60 yards downfield to escort MJD into the end-zone during the Jags-Titans game was playing football. That’s what these guys are here for and paid to do.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer, Sam Bradford*.

by Misfit74 on Nov 4, 2009 9:56 AM PST up reply actions

To counter that

Look what happened to Locker last year. You don’t necessarily want your skill players throwing their bodies around like linemen on every play. Not saying this excuses TJ/Burl, but there’s a risk/reward balance to think about.

by cyberwulf on Nov 4, 2009 11:07 AM PST up reply actions

Hass vs. Willis...

But I’d say WR blocking is crucial enough to where the WR should not be concerned about injury.

by MontanaHawk05 on Nov 4, 2009 11:45 AM PST up reply actions

I agree, QBs shouldn't block, or block excessively.

But RBs and WRs have to block on certain plays and it’s something they should make a effort in. Maybe not be 100% gung ho and aggressive about it, but certain level of effort should be required.

by LantermanC on Nov 4, 2009 10:48 AM PST reply actions

Supposed to be a reply to Misfit.

by LantermanC on Nov 4, 2009 10:48 AM PST up reply actions

No, I agree about the QBs.

That was a good example of player-effort, magnified by the fact he is the teams starting quarterback. He would be given a pass if he just hung back and watched. He’s not really supposed to block. I can’t say the same for his wide receivers.

Players like Hines Ward, who is often regarded as a premier WR in terms of his blocking skills are the reason the Steelers are the Steelers and the Seahawk are the Seahawks.

I expect Mora to change and impact what has been a winning culture here during most of Holmgren’s tenure. I hope that happens.

Early prospect watch: RB C.J. Spiller, OT Ciron Black, DT Gerald McCoy, S Eric Berry, DT Ndamukong Suh, CB Ras-I Dowling 6'2, 200, RB Jonathan Dwyer, Sam Bradford*.

by Misfit74 on Nov 4, 2009 11:32 AM PST up reply actions

Is this a Seahawk thing?

I don’t typically look for this type of effort from other teams, and don’t read blogs giving me such a great breakdown of other teams plays. So my question – is this a Seahawk problem, or does this stuff happen all the time and drive coaches/fans nuts everywhere? Goes a long way to answering whether this can be ‘fixed’.

by maimster on Nov 4, 2009 11:19 AM PST reply actions