Broncos K.O. Seahawks in Second Quarter

That kind of optimism should have been crucible’d out of you by now.

Brooks Reed/Nathan Williams/Broderick Binns/Cordarro Law.

and could be good enough to make enough plays. In this configuration, Seattle has two extreme types: a former situational pass rusher playing end and a former defensive tackle playing end, so it’s especially predictable and unbalanced.

I don’t like the scheme, but talent has a way of fixing almost anything. Ideally, if Seattle wants a 3-4 style line, it would run a 3-4 style system, maybe a gapping, attacking system like Wade Philips runs that decentralizes the pass rush.

Utter domination is my only expectation.

Raheem Brock is their only standard end.

that’s PI.

The officials probably justified it as a striking a defenseless receiver.

A scheme!

If anything, they didn’t foresee how easily the defense might fall apart.

The problem is, as I see it, the Seahawks are balancing two aspects of their defense: a desire to limit long gains and a desire to force turnovers. The method seems to be, the only sure way to force turnovers is by forcing an offense to pick down the field, with lots of plays and few big plays. The ancillary methods are, forcing bad down and distance and forcing quarterbacks into mistakes through pressure.

The bend but don’t break aspect is mostly working. Seattle has not allowed a lot of long gains, and opponents are picking their way down the field instead of popping off with long runs and long throws.

The cashing in aspect, that which is reliant on bad down and distance and pressure, is not working, or did not against the Broncos. Seattle did force unfavorable down and distance through stuffing the run, but on obvious passing downs, the Seahawks could not generate pressure and the zones broke down.

Now, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Seattle is very dependent on Chris Clemons for pressure, and at the same time, they often willingly reduced their potential for pressure by dropping extra players. So, between a defense that is willing to allow completions, and a defense that could not cash in when it does force poor down and distance, the Seahawks were worked over.

How is that fixed? Well, upgrading personnel is an obvious possibility, but that’s not possible now, and, of course, every team tries to upgrade personnel, it’s not as easy as wanting to. The other way, the way Dick Lebeau does and Jim Johnson, RIP, did, is disguise the pass rush so that a team can create pressure without the very best possible personnel.

I am not a defensive coordinator and I do not pretend that accomplishing what the very best of their generation accomplished is as easy as saying it or wanting it, but at the same time, figuring out what most definitely doesn’t work, like the two man rush with Mebane spying or whatever, is the only way the Seahawks are going to improve.

It uses 4-3 concepts and, typically, four down linemen and three linebackers. Clemons rarely drops into coverage.

The alternative to the Leo is to dedicate fewer players to stuffing the run and emphasize personnel that can rush the passer. Really, if Seattle was running something like a 3-4, that would be a boost, because someone other than Clemons/Brock/Davis would be entrusted to rush the passer.

The great thing about it though, is that fourth guy can be anybody and strike from any of the other positions, any linebacker, safety, or cornerback, though mostly that extra guy will be the rush linebacker (like DeMarcus Ware is for the Cowboys).