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Addressing injuries on the Seattle offensive line

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Continuity is an important factor of any successful offensive line in the National Football League. Resulting from an absurd number of defensive looks and blitzes, communication is also integral to the success of the offensive line. In order to achieve efficient communication, continuity in the form of a consistently healthy offensive line that is able to produce a steady starting lineup each week is an essential piece to the puzzle.

However, in the Pete Carroll era, the Seahawks' offensive line has struggled to stay healthy. Starting left tackle, and Pro Bowl talent, Russell Okung has sustained several injuries in his professional career, limiting his playing time and proficiency on the field. Last year's starting left guard James Carpenter has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. The recently-traded captain of the line and center, Max Unger, has also spent significant time in the past few years on the injured list. The Seahawks have regularly been treated to an original offensive line group weekly over the past few seasons, which has resulted in an alarmingly high sack percentage and a demand for broken tackles by Seattle's star running back.

While injuries are an inevitable and inconvenient truth (cue Al Gore), they are a part of the game. Due to Seattle's zone blocking scheme, there is an increased potential for injuries among the Seattle offensive line. Coupled with a focus on running the football, the movement of offensive linemen in Tom Cable's scheme creates an inherent risk. We have seen this risk impact Seattle with injuries to key players on the offensive line, hurting continuity among the offensive protectors.

Importantly, there are measures that can be taken in order to minimize the potential for the disheartening part of football.

Looking at the trends of health on the Seattle offensive line, J.R. Sweezy and Justin Britt provide insight to what may be the answer for Seattle moving forward. With Sweezy and Britt starting in every game of 2014, their athleticism stands out as a key factor in providing them with this continued health and ability to stay on the field. Being elite athletes, Sweezy and Britt are able to move quickly, effectively avoiding injuries like rolled ankles and being rolled up on.

Drafting James Carpenter and John Moffitt in 2011, the Seahawks have moved away from drafting these larger, less mobile linemen in favor of drafting supremely athletic and nimble big men like Sweezy and Britt.

While athleticism is important in the zone blocking scheme by allowing linemen better mobility to reach blocks, its most significant contribution the the success of an offensive line may come in its inherent ability to keep players healthy. In fact, depth players in the likes of Alvin Bailey and Gary Gilliam have stayed healthy and contributed heavily for Seattle in important moments. Their versatility on the line has also been a product of their superior athleticism.

Having an rSPARQ over 100, players like Sweezy, Britt, Bailey, and Gilliam all show what is necessary to be a productive linemen for Seattle. That answer is athleticism. Beyond providing linemen with the ability to block in a variety of different manners, athleticism often equates to healthiness, meaning that the continuity Seattle is so desperately seeking is given a greater possibility when Seattle rolls out a SPARQ filled offensive line.

As previously mentioned, it appears that in recent years, Seattle has been actively moving toward a more athletic line. If Seattle rolled out a starting line of Okung, Bailey, Jeanpierre, Sweezy, and Britt next year, the entirety of the line would feature 100+ rSPARQ athletes. Aside from Okung, who has had a strangely injury plagued career, it comes as no surprise that this group of players have had relatively healthy careers.

Seattle has showed this desire to acquire athletic linemen throughout the Pete Carroll-John Schneider era by drafting late round athletes on the line, but the reach to acquire Britt in the 2nd round last year signifies that Seattle may be willing to reach higher to snag athletic linemen who are fundamentally polished; in comparison to the uncut gems of the late rounds.

In essence, in order for the Seahawks to move away from the injury plagued offensive lines that have become a normalcy, the team must move toward a more athletic group that can avoid injury.