On Moving Pockets and Stagnant Drives

by John Morgan on Sep 27, 2010 2:08 PM PDT

One play worked. One play worked, and it only sort of worked. I welcome interpretations on how the third and final play of this drive was supposed to work, because it looked hopelessly botched in design.

Antonio Garay knocks back Chris Spencer and tackles Justin Forsett.
Screen attempt to Golden Tate that doesn't work and yet still succeeds. Tyler Polumbus is not fast enough into the left flat and Tate has to dodge Kevin Burnett almost immediately after receiving the pass. That slows everything down and allows the Chargers to rally and tackle. Apart from Polumbus, this could have been a solid play. At one point, Tate has four blockers, including an ardent John Carlson.
Strange play call. Both Deion Branch and Mike Williams quick curl, but Matt Hasselbeck never looks in their direction. Justin Forsett has motioned into the right flat and he is single covered by Burnett. The pocket slides right. The Chargers have overloaded the left. One would think this is the perfect play call, with the Chargers committing six pass rushers but not generating any pressure, but the culmination of good blocking, no pressure, a moving pocket and two decoy curls on the left, is a pass at Forsett's feet that is essentially a throw away.

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Nobody near me in my section

knew what the hell that last play was supposed to be. I thought there might have been some confusion about the routes by our guys because it looked so bad.

by tehbagel on Sep 27, 2010 2:42 PM PDT reply actions

Has anyone else thought Hasselback has looked not confident??

It looks like he doesn’t have confidence in his protection, receivers or himself to me. He still looks as strong and mobile as he has been before but not confident enough to consistently step up and deliver an accurate pass.

by nated on Sep 27, 2010 3:00 PM PDT reply actions

Hasselbeck is tough

But he’s no longer physically capable of delivering even a semi-accurate pass consistently.

I could’ve handled him overthrowing Carlson in the 3rd quarter by a yard, but to miss him by 5-7 yards is freaking terrible.

Bandwagon leader for Michael Robinson as Seattle Seahawks starting QB.

by SSreporters on Sep 27, 2010 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions

A one yard miss wouldn't have been much consolation.

On the TV screen it looked like Matt got antsy and hurried the throw.

by broadbill birdwatcher on Sep 27, 2010 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Which throw was that?

Was that the ad-libbed broken play overthrow?

by chrees on Sep 27, 2010 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't know

No person on earth would call me a football expert but I didn’t think age alone could affect your accuracy. On the first drive in Denver he looked very accurate. Even the pick that ended it looked like a good ball that was just played very well. Then it seemed like his confidence was gone and he couldn’t hit anything. Maybe last seasons showing and a slow start this year has really gotten in his head??

by nated on Sep 28, 2010 7:17 AM PDT up reply actions

What do you think about these late-breaking offensive formations out of the huddle?

They tried it with the “just-add-water” Branch bubble screen as the 4 WRs slit wide right in diamond shape, and then a couple times, yesterday, the linemen go up and set, and the weapons kind of just chill, in the backfield, in a mess, until they break fast to their positions, trying to wring a little more surprise out of the play.

I like it, but it strangely doesn’t seem to have made much impact so far. Maybe we just have to wait for a Seattle-like defense that is unprepared for trickery and doesn’t respond well, for it to break a big one, I dunno. I also wonder if defenses aren’t designed to often inherently account for most conceivable tricks that it just doesn’t matter if they break late.

by jacobstevens on Sep 27, 2010 3:09 PM PDT reply actions

It's a good idea that Seattle is not yet executing very well.

by John Morgan on Sep 27, 2010 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Reminds me of the early-Holmgren special teams, where they broke late before every kick.

Perfect for hiding an onside kick. Was that Bobby April?

by jacobstevens on Sep 27, 2010 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions

One thing I was wondering if anyone knew

A friend of mine who’s attending the games says Curry is having more impact than is showing on the screen. Says he did a great job of helping blanket Antonio Gates in the first half, and they really missed him during the second half.

Any substance to this from what anyone else was seeing?

by Brandon8 on Sep 27, 2010 5:07 PM PDT reply actions

I'm there every Sunday in section 336

And I can tell you that I notice Curry making plays or at least making me notice him (in a good way) this year a lot more than I did last year.

by tehbagel on Sep 27, 2010 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions

I think Curry leaving was part of what let Gates get open a lot more later in the game

This is just my recollection and extrapolation, but he put a body on Gates at the line several times in the first and second quarters that appeared to knock Gates off his routes a bit.

by Kingdomer on Sep 27, 2010 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions

Really hope that's the case.

Did he cover Vernon Davis week one?

inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

by shams on Sep 27, 2010 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions

It was a bizarre play

I think the point was for Forsett to lose his man and be open. That didn’t happen. Butler was on that side as well and went long somewhere, but I think he had a DB and a safety on him.

Butler was supposed to take his man and the safety out of the play, and if Forsett loses his man he’s open somewhere in the flats. Forsett didn’t lose him, and Matt had to throw it away.

by lordtd on Sep 27, 2010 7:35 PM PDT reply actions

Hass looked scared

on a closeup during the game, and confused.

by canter on Sep 27, 2010 9:43 PM PDT reply actions

Stagnant drives

It seems to be related to confusion by wr and qb and route running. I have never seen Matt raising his hands up more than any year I have watched him play. The stagnant drives will hopefully go away.

I think we should see a much improved and in sync offense by week 4. A combination of loosing a oc at the beginning of season. Injuries, new players, new play calling?, new head coach, new etc has contributed to a slowly emerging offense.

On a lighter note has anyone noticed the stellar passing protection by our offensive line and the quantity of wide open receivers in all three games that would have turned out to be huge plays? It’s just a matter of time before Matt hits his wr’s I say.

by genax on Sep 27, 2010 9:46 PM PDT reply actions

One of announcers, on Sunday, said that

the team doesn’t practice the game plan until Thursday or Friday before a game. In a new system, with a new OC, where the game plan and personnel change every week, it may a question of Hasselbeck not having his “sea legs” yet.

by Greetings from the Lord Humongous! on Sep 28, 2010 9:51 AM PDT up reply actions