2008 Season Retrospective: Baraka Atkins

by John Morgan on Jul 15, 2009 12:09 PM PDT Comment 25 comments

Overview: Baraka Atkins played in nine games, starting zero. He had two sacks, two tackles for a loss and 18 total tackles. It was his second season in the league. He is signed through 2010.

What went right: Atkins didn't play until Patrick Kerney was lost to injury, but he stepped in and immediately stepped up. In his first game against Philadelphia, Atkins held against the run, shed a tight end, tackled Brian Westbrook twice after one yard and once for a loss of one yard, and got a hit on Donovan McNabb. He had another tackle for a loss and another quarterback hit against the Cowboys, and then exploded against the Patriots. He got two quick pressures in the first, assisted on a forced fumble and then earned a couple sacks. Not cheapy sacks like Lawrence Jackson got against San Francisco, but beat his man and broke to the quarterback sacks.

Quintessential game: Patriots at Seahawks

Blade Fury: Atkins was really active, cutting across and laying a shoulder after Josh Wilson sent Lamont Jordan airborne (the two forcing a fumble), coming down hard behind the line and tackling Sammy Morris after two, and, for his first sack, hand fighting Matt Light into a stick-`em-up pose before disengaging and wrapping Matt Cassell. Actually, if you take your eyes away from the misdirection (Cassell did), you can see it right here:

What went wrong: That about ended Atkins' brief run of success. Maybe opponents adjusted, or maybe he matched particularly well against Matt Light, or maybe that was Atkins big moment, the moment he peaked, and the particular set of internal and external conditions that created it can never fully be known, but after week 14, Atkins was very much again as he had been before: a talented but unaccomplished player noteworthy only to the hardcore.

Outlook: Sleep-deprived revery aside, Atkins is cheap, young, athletic, capable against the pass and run, and if 2008 be any indication, developing. The big addition in 2008 was better snap anticipation and that led to a better first step. He has a good bull rush and is active if not yet skilled with his hand-fighting. He's strong enough to hold the edge and has a lean, muscular frame to grow into. His potential is as it's ever been: very good, but 2008 proved his floor isn't so low anymore. He looks destined to be at least a part-time contributor, good depth in case of injury and a possible starter that won't kill you if it comes to that. Atkins turns 25 this September. In spring of 2011, Seattle should know what kind of player he is.

Poll

Baraka Atkins will have x sacks in 2009:

0-1

40 votes

2-4

335 votes

5-7

129 votes

8-10+

16 votes

520 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

On a retrospective roll, John?

Keep ’em coming, good as always.

by Vasilii on Jul 15, 2009 12:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Guys like Atkins

give me hope for the future of our DL, despite our tendency to never be able to quite bring everything together. Some day, hopefully, enough players on that line will grow into their potential at the same time for us to have a dominant DL. Someday….

by Fear on Jul 15, 2009 12:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I really wanted to say 5-7, because I think he's capable, but there are just too many people in front of him.

by Nate Dogg on Jul 15, 2009 12:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Kerney's shoulder

may give Atkins hope again this year.

by Hancock.Brett on Jul 15, 2009 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kerney, Redding, Tapp, Jackson, teases of Curry at end

I’m not sure how all that will sort out but thats a lot of cash and draft picks for a 4th rounder to fight through.

by Nate Dogg on Jul 15, 2009 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wonder if what the team sees in Atkins...

is partially to blame for Redding’s one-year deal?

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

by Misfit74 on Jul 16, 2009 10:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm hoping that Kerney plays more than he sits

…which is why I voted 2-4. If Kerney’s out for a chunk of the season I could see Atkins getting 5-7.

BTW, did the Gritmaster actually help make that sack happen?!? (And then excessively celebrate his non-tackle….)

by thebyron on Jul 15, 2009 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I watched the clip of Gritmaster

…and immediately plunged my face directly into my palm. Sigh

by Airborne Hawk Guy on Jul 15, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haha I saw that too

I cringe (or laugh) when someone gets past the line, has a clean look, and lets the QB (hopefully Matt) sidestep him. If it’s the QB’s blind side then go for it but coming from the front side they should know to slow down and keep the QB in front of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHbLyjFnuU
Josh Wilson does it perfectly at the 4:48 mark when he sacked Brett Favre. He used his speed to get close, let Brett do his move, then pounced on him for the sack.

Good work Josh.

Brian!… I hate you.

by Hawkhammer19 on Jul 15, 2009 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Where's his head

Because it’s not in the game. It bothers me that he whiffs so bad after a clean, unobstructed shot at the QB. It bothers me that the QB barely lost his rhythm with a simple sidestep. It bothers me that he celebrates as if the passing of his air somehow led to the sack. But the thing that really grinds my potatoes is that after he whiffs he actually shoves his own teamate in the back in frustration! I just don’t get it with his wild, hyped up out-of-body play. Is he so frustrated or so out of his mind that he can’t reason even for a moment that shoving Lawrence Jackson in the back is not exactly the “teamwork” thing to do. It wasn’t LoJacks fault he whiffed, and it’s not like he didn’t have enough time to mentally process, he was staring right at Jackson for almost a full second before shoving him in frustration.

It’s just weird to me. I know football is about flying around and processing at full speed, but this guy is supposed to be the “cerebral” one in the secondary. For a guy who’s only advantage is supposed to be out-thinking the offense I would like to see him think a little better on the fly…especially since his flying doesn’t seem to accomplish anything.

by scratchandsniff on Jul 15, 2009 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

jeez...

You guys, I looked at the same clip you did, and I just don’t see the same thing at all. First of all, it was Russell that forced the QB to dodge and move up into the pocket, which then collapsed. Had he not done that, the pressure wouldn’t have gotten there nearly as quickly, and the end result of the play could well have been a completed pass. Did Russell whiff? Yes. Would it have been better for him if he had made that tackle? Yes. But it’s sheer nonsense to pretend Russell didn’t have a key role in the way that play turned out. Second, that shove was not a shove of frustration, and it wasn’t even really a shove. He was trying to pursue the play, which effectively ended right at that instant when the QB got wrapped up, and he immediately stopped. (I don’t know if the push was because he was trying to get to the play, or because he was trying to stop, or because LoJack spit in his cheerios, so go ahead and think all the evil thoughts you want to about that one.) Third, that celebration was not his own personal celebration, he was jazzed because his teammates dropped the QB for a loss. Seriously, does that look anything like a personal celebration? Think of Rocky’s shimmy, Terrill’s guitar strum, the sprinkler, or anything SA ever did, and what Russell did looks nothing like that — it looks like what other recivers do when one of them scores. Saying Russell was celebrating his own contribution is every bit as silly as saying that those recievers were celebrating their own downfield blocking.

Look, I understand that some of you hate Russell, and I’m sure some of that is justified. I’m not here as a Russell defender — I don’t have an agenda either way — but with some of these complaints, it seems to me some of you are just looking for things about him to complain about.

by BlueTalon on Jul 16, 2009 2:37 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Russell missing a tackle does not count as making his team mates better.

by Nate Dogg on Jul 16, 2009 9:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zing!

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

by Misfit74 on Jul 16, 2009 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You don't give a player credit for whiffing on a gimme sack even though the play ends with a positive result.

Atkins gets credit for staying with the play, disengaging, and taking down the QB. Russell gets criticized for botching what should have been a fairly easy play. You could say that the positive result occurred in spite of Russell, not because of him.

Since this post is about Baraka Atkins and not Brian Russell, we’ll leave it at that.

by BrianL on Jul 16, 2009 9:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't see him giving Russell credit

so much as it sounds like he’s claiming the criticisms of Russell about that play are off base.

by jacobstevens on Jul 16, 2009 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

Please, for the LOVE OF GOD, stop suggesting next year's 1st round pick (or picks) be used for Taylor Mays and or a QB of the future. Let's just let the season unfold, people, and evaluate much deeper in the process!!!

by whiskey chainsaw on Jul 16, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's not a terrible play by Russell.

It’s a bad play, especially since Rusher McFumbles is a sack machine, and a reasonable excuse for venting our frustration.

by John Morgan on Jul 17, 2009 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I kind of agree.

Players whiff on sacks all the time. The QB in this instance isn’t Roethlisberger, but tackling a guy with 3 or 4 yards of open space is VERY hard. If Russell really wanted the sack, he could have slowed down, but he rushed to make the play because he was worried that the QB would throw the ball before he got to him. Yeah, the tackle whiffed big time but it’s not so embarrassing that it’s not the kind of play that happens every game.

by LantermanC on Jul 16, 2009 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

QB whiffs probably do happen every game

but they shouldn’t. If the defender’s coming from the front side and has a clear path to the QB, you can bet the QB sees him coming. The QB can either make a snap throw and take a hit or try to side-step the defender. There’s something to be said for punishing a QB who will stand and throw but not at the expense of assuring the hit. Do you really think Cassel could have completed a pass if Russell had slowed down to keep the play in front of him? Not a chance. Russell certainly has uglier offenses but this play kinda chaps my @$$ because it should have highlighted his football savvy (whatever that means) and instead he goes at it like a rookie trying to make a play in the pre-season. I don’t expect Russell to force many plays but I do expect him to make the play in front of him.

by Hawkhammer19 on Jul 16, 2009 12:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Kerney is healthy,

and if Redding actually plays some DE, and if LoJack improves and gets the time he deserves, I’m not sure how many opportunities Atkins will get.

by LantermanC on Jul 15, 2009 12:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I voted 2-4.

Assuming someone gets injured and whoever’s in charge of defensive playcalling is good with rotation, and some progress from Atkins.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jul 15, 2009 1:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I like Baraka

This will be another developmental year for him and won’t see much time unless there are injuries. Next year might be a different story…

by Hawkhammer19 on Jul 15, 2009 1:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

2-4 sacks.

Much of how Baraka goes is locked into how well Patrick comes back from his injury. If Kerney can play say 65-70% of the snaps durring the season, then Baraka will have a hard time getting much more than 2-4 sacks and maybe 15-30 tackles. If Kerney can only go for 45-50% of the snaps, then I could see over 5 sacks and 30+ tackles for Baraka.

The guy looks to have some skill and he now has two season under his belt of minimal playing time, but two years of learning as well from some good coaches and watching Patrick Kerney (not to bad). Year three could be breakout year for Baraka, but he will have some work to do to beat out Redding, Tapp, Jackson, and maybe Reed (good pure pass rusher) for playing time. Also he will have to fight with Hill and Curry as well for pass rushing duties (a major uphill battle).

by JustinWF on Jul 15, 2009 7:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

5-7

I think if he garners requisite playing time, he’ll manage around 5 sacks.

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

by Misfit74 on Jul 16, 2009 10:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs