Seattle Seahawks Contain the Stretch Right

by John Morgan on Sep 28, 2009 5:10 PM PDT

Possession	Bears
Game Clock	14:15
Field Position	Sea 38
Quarter	1
Down and Distance	2nd and 8

We take a new direction this week. It was important to create a blueprint of the Seattle Seahawks, especially its personnel strengths and weaknesses. We used the preseason and beginning of the regular season to accomplish that. After a blueprint has been established, further microanalysis becomes tedious and unnecessary. I don't need to describe every snap Darryl Tapp pressured the quarterback or Will Herring was lost in the pile, it's enough to know that Tapp is a good pass rusher that breaks contain and Herring a good pass defender that doesn't shed blocks.

The next step is to understand how Seattle can maximize its talent to beat its opponent. Instead of providing a spare account of every play, I will go quarter by quarter, describing in depth select plays and at the end of the day provide a notes piece. On Friday I will combine Seahawks analysis with analysis of their opponent to create a fan's game plan for winning.

The first play is a run stuff in the first drive of the first quarter.

Indianapolis led the NFL in single back sets. It ran 62%* of the time when it aligned with two tight ends and a single back, third in the NFL. The Colts run stretch plays and this play was a stretch right by the Bears.

Patrick Kerney is controlling the left "C" and "B" gaps. Colin Cole is at the one tech, controlling the left "A" gap. Brandon Mebane is over the right "B" gap and Cory Redding is controlling the right "C" and "D" gaps. Middle linebacker David Hawthorne is controlling the right "A" gap.

Chicago will move its offensive line right. It wants to create a run lane where Seattle is weakest. That is the right "A" gap, controlled by a linebacker, the outside right and the cutback lane, the left "D" gap. The center is able to pull into the second level.

Ken Lucas reads run and sprints down to contain the left "D" gap. Will Herring raps around right end and contains the right "D" gap. Hawthorne hits the center in the hole and stops his lead block. Forte picks the right "A" gap. Curry has a direct line to Forte and tackles him after three.

tackleforte

*Source: FOA 2009

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Comments

I'm digging the info box, it's nice and handy.

I see Ken Lucas running in, but not Jennings, is that his assignment to read the run (protect the D gap) quickly or is he just that much better then Jennings?

Although I’m more worried about our cornerbacks (or lack of) and Peyton Manning’s arm.

by B.B.Finnegan on Sep 28, 2009 5:50 PM PDT reply actions

The run goes right

Lucas gets the cutback lane. If it went left, Jennings would get the cutback lane.

by John Morgan on Sep 28, 2009 6:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Getting ahead of the week

but I’ve been thinking about Indy, this morning, and it feels pretty simple, our chances. We’ll live or die by our pass rush.

Indy truly uses the same personnel and same formations more than anyone. There is little variety. It’s the 3 plays called, the no huddle and inability to substitute on defense at will, and the chicken dance that the game within the game plays out, the elements to figure out when playing the Colts.

So I really hope there’s some special, yet unseen wrinkles of the WCD they’d been saving for this game. New wrinkles are probably more valuable against the Colts than any other team in the first half of our schedule.

by jacobstevens on Sep 29, 2009 9:26 AM PDT reply actions