Leonard Weaver versus Takeo Spikes

Not pictured: Blocking.

On August 10^th, days before the start of the preseason, the San Francisco 49ers signed Takeo Spikes out of semi-retirement to play their Ted linebacker. The Ted linebacker, plainly, is the inside linebacker within a two-gap 3-4 that attacks blockers and opens lanes for the playmaking Mike linebacker. The Mike linebacker is the other inside linebacker and not unlike a traditional 4-3 middle linebacker. Spikes makes for a curious signing at Ted. Spikes, nearing 32, is just 6'2", 240 and known, when he was known, as a playmaker. A Ted is anything but, playing a support role as grueling and unrewarding as its closest offensive equivalent: fullback.

Coincidentally, Leonard Weaver is also a playmaker less known for the actual priority of his position, blocking, and more for the ancillaries of his position, rushing and receiving. These two mismatched misfits square off in an important matchup neither surely has the advantage in.

As a run blocker, Weaver still shows little ability to deliver a block on the run. That's problematic facing a Ted linebacker as intent at making the tackle himself as neutralizing the lead blocker. One game caveats apply, but San Francisco's week one contest against the Cardinals involved the second lowest single game tackle total of Patrick Willis' career. Nearly matching his five, Spikes tackled four. Weaver's odd pick and push is sometimes effective at confusing would-be tacklers, giving a rusher time to evade a defender if never really effectively blowing open a hole. But as Ted linebackers go, Spikes is agile and a decent tackler. Spikes might simply avoid Weaver, undercut his block and attack the rusher himself. It's one of the more frustrating elements of a strict depth chart. Seattle would benefit from looks by Owen Schmitt, who would destroy Spikes and blot out the sun with the bodies of his defeated. Schmitt is versatile enough that he wouldn't sell the play call, and using Schmitt on the occasional series wouldn't cut greatly into Weaver's touches. Instead, this is a pick`em. Weaver could show and help power a much needed Seahawks rushing attack, or he could flounder, miss Spikes and allow easy tackles while Seattle's rushing attack founders.

The other half of this matchup is pass blocking. Weaver should have it all over Spikes as a pass blocker. That matchup, with Weaver knocking Spikes back and into the hole Spikes is meant to create, should help contain the Niners blitzing linebackers. It helps, greatly in fact, that Maurice Morris is out with injury. Julius Jones is a very good pass blocker and the two, Jones and Weaver, showed good chemistry picking up blitzes against the Bills. They'll need it, because after last week, every future opponent won't stop blitzing until Seattle forces them to.

Courtney Taylor versus Nate Clements

I hear you. "What matchup? Clements a rock star and Taylor dropped drawers." Well, this certainly won't be the matchup that revives fans trust in Taylor. Clements is faster than Taylor, more skilled than Taylor and likely even stronger than Taylor. This matchup isn't about winning, though, but challenging and staying viable. Even after dropping two early passes, Matt Hasselbeck clearly trusted Taylor, targeting him nine times total. That trust must carry over, because keeping Taylor involved forces San Francisco from blanketing Billy McMullen and Logan Payne. Neither receiver can survive such attention. It will also keep Clements from playing "off" Taylor. If Clements feels confident he can defend/contain Taylor while playing off coverage, he becomes a dangerous interception threat and a potential game altering force. Game planning matters, drawing Clements deep(er) with John Carlson and Sammie Parker will open space for Taylor to work underneath, but execution is decisive. Taylor cannot quit a single route. Taylor cannot drop easy passes or allow a charging Clement to knock nearly-caught passes out. Taylor must show his potential for run after the catch or risk becoming irrelevant. Essentially, Taylor must stay involved, stay active, be viable and be valuable. Do all that and it won't get the box score skimmers off your back, but it will do wonders for Seattle's passing offense.

Lofa Tatupu versus Frank Gore

Best of five? We're just getting started.

Frank Gore made his name against the Seahawks, but those were different times. Gore thrived behind Moran Norris in Norv Turner's power rushing attack and though Mike Martz shares Turner's Air Coryell roots, the two couldn't be more different calling the run. Norris didn't survive San Francisco' final wave of cuts, partly because he might be washed up and partly because Martz has little use for a back that blocks and little else. Enter Ivy Leaguer (a phrase coined specifically to insult a college's football program) Zak Keasey. As a blocker, the change from Norris to Keasy is a bit like going from prime rib to weird brother of prime rib, but it doesn't much matter. The Lions ran 64% of all plays from a single back set, and the 49ers will do likewise.

So ladies and germs, I'll let you figure this one out yourself. Seattle's fleet linebackers do almost everything well, but still sometimes struggle shedding blockers. Unlike former Gorings, Gore won't be entering the second level with a man-battering-ram at his hest. Instead, he'll survive on skills, surprise and favorable matchups. But one Hawk never leaves the field, Lofa Tatupu, and the two should square off in an entertaining, essential matchup that will impact field position, San Francisco's play calling, Seattle's formations and, should it stay close, very possibly the game. I couldn't place my confidence in better hands. 49ers fans feel exactly the same way.

Defense/Offense

Free Safety	Strong Safety
Brian Russell C.J. Wallace Jordan Babineaux	Deon Grant Jordan Babineaux

Right Cornerback	Dime Back	SLB	MLB	WLB	Nickelback	Left Cornerback
Kelly Jennings Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux	Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs	Julian Peterson D.D.Lewis LeroyHill	Lofa Tatupu DDLewis DavidHawthorne	Leroy Hill Lance Laury D.D.Lewis	Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs	Marcus Trufant KevinHobbs KellyJennings

Right DE	Right DT	Left DT	Left DE
LawrenceJackson Darryl Tapp JasonBabin	Brandon Mebane Howard Green Red Bryant	Rocky Bernard Craig Terrill Red Bryant	Patrick Kerney Darryl Tapp Baraka Atkins

"Perhaps all pleasure is only relief." --William S. Burroughs

Fitting a junkie'd understand the simple joy of no longer feeling sick, sad and hollow.

That's the word out of Seahawks Insider.

I didn't see the injury and have no insight into the severity. The team will conduct an MRI tomorrow. It's not hard to expect the worst, but we shall see.

• Many a Seahawks fan clamored for Seattle to draft Josh Beekman. Beekmen, a decorated lineman out of Boston College, fell to the fourth because of concerns about his size. Just 6'105, and without compensating tools, those concerns were not without merit. On the very first play of the game, combo blocking with Olin Kreutz, Beekman toppled Brandon Mebane with a vicious blindside block.
• Next play, 2^nd and 6 on the Chicago 24. Bears break in a 3 WR, TE, Rb formation. Seahawks in a base 4-3. The Seahawks rush 5 on a zone blitz. Lofa Tatupu, showing exciting improvement as a blitzer - the logical next step after last season's gains shedding blockers - explodes down the right "A" gap and forces a panic throw by Rex Grossman. As far as panic throws by Grossman go, this one was surprisingly accurate, and doubly-surprisingly to an undermatched target. Earl Bennett against a defensive end is an exploitable misma - no. Lawrence Jackson blocks out Bennett and records his first of two good coverages.
• Seattle cashed-in on the next play, as the Troika, LeRoy Hill, Julian Peterson and Tatupu, convened for a sack. Hill, somehow, received sole credit, but by the time he arrived for the wipeout hit, Tatupu and Peterson had already corralled Grossman and Sex Cannon was in a standing fetal position. In that sense, Hill deserves the least credit.
• For those scoring at home, Steve Vallos blew the block that led to Charlie Frye's first sack.
• A little field leadership by Deon Grant: On Chicago's third play of their first drive, Grant adjusted Atkins, hitting him on the left hip and directing him to slide out wider right. It didn't have a direct result on the play, but Atkins did achieve better edge rush and that rush opened a pass rush lane at the right "B" gap.
• Two plays later, 2^nd and 3 on the Chicago 34. Bears break in a 2 WR, TE, Hb, Rb formation. Seattle in a base 4-3. Jackson dominates Chicago's left side offensive line, ultimately drawing a triple team. Darryl Tapp exploits the attention, abusing John Tait, flying around the edge and forcing an incomplete.
• Next play, now third down. Bears 3 WR, TE, Rb. Seattle in nickel. Grossman gets time, targets a single covered Bennett streaking down the middle on a skinny post and delivers a catchable pass to Bennett's inside shoulder. Josh Wilson, playing man under coverage, reads the pass, breaks in and swats the ball away.
• Leonard Weaver, Mike Wahle and Sean Locklear each displayed good pull blocking. Locklear was then rolled up on from behind. It's some wonder he wasn't hurt worse.
• Preseason fumbles have become a bit of a tradition for Seattle. Weaver, recently T.J. Duckett and now Julius Jones has joined the party. Like Duckett last week, there're fumbles and there're fluke fumbles. On Seattle's seventh play of its second drive, Jones had broken containment, converted a long third down and seemingly put his team just outside the red zone. Sensing contact, Jones secured the ball, lowered his shoulder and put a clean, squared shot on Kevin Payne. And then the ball popped out. I really don't know how, as it didn't even look like Payne buried his helmet into the ball. Maybe Jones was just sweaty. Either way, I'm not concerned.

• Even with the fumble, Jones had a very productive first quarter: Excellent blocking as always, two first downs, a 50% success rate and no rush for less than two yards, 35 yards on six carries and one reception of nine yards. Another reception targeting him was tipped away; certainly no fault of Jones.

• On Frye's first interception, the ugly one into coverage that looked better targeted towards Charles Tillman than Jordan Kent, it was Vallos who was beat back and allowed an open lane for Adewale Ogunleye to stunt through. Frye does not keep his head under pressure.
• Jackson at it again, pressing Kellen Davis and taking away Grossman's safety valve. Second play of Chicago's third drive. 2^nd and 8 on the Chicago 22. Got to love the excellent field position courtesy of Olindo Mare. Bears in a 2 WR, 2 TE, Rb formation. Seattle in a base 4-3. John Marshall calls another zone blitz. Hill obliterates lead blocker Matt Forte. Tatupu, trailing Hill, shoots the exposed gap and pressures Grossman. Grossman heaves the ball towards Davis, who, pressed out of his route and bewildered, looks slightly more open than Jackson himself. Slightly. Jackson is exceptional on zone blitzes. His addition has and will change Marshall's play calling.

• Do you like exotic blitz packages? I don't. Too many Three Stooges blitzes involving players running around, picking each other out of the pocket and wasting motion and time. Then again, maybe I'm all turned around on the idea.

  Next play, Bears break 3WR, Hb, Rb, Shotgun. Seattle in a 3-3 nickel. God I missed the 3-3 Nickel.

  Here's what happens:

  

  And here's how it happens:

  At the snap, ends Jackson and Tapp deke in and then fade into short hook zones. Rocky Bernard teams with Tatupu to splinter the middle offensive line left. Offensive linemen, like pawns, are strongest when contiguous. Hill and Wilson, in symmetrical positions left and right respectively, edge rush. Wilson destroys Greg Olsen, forcing an uncalled hold before easily slipping past him. Hill draws left tackle John St. Clair and running back Forte, eventually circumventing both. Tait, previously assigned Tapp, is shuffling alone, isolated between the Bernard and Tats havoc and Wilson's edge rush. That's when the keystone of this blitz arrives: Peterson shoots between Tait and Kreutz, providing inside pressure and cuing Grossman's retreat. Grossman, now nearly backed into his own end zone, facilitates Hill and Wilson's edge rush. Remember aspiring quarterbacks, 15 yard drops allow edge rushers to run straight past their blockers. In a beautiful culmination, Seattle's three blitzers simultaneously arrive, terrifying Grossman into a grounding penalty.

• Let's end with Jordan Kent, who benefited from some blown coverage, but, at least on one play, put it all together.

  Seattle ball, third play of Seattle's third drive of the quarter. Hawks break in a trips left, TE, Rb. Kent is the "headpin". Chicago is in a Nickel. Before the snap, Seattle motions Ben Obomanu out of the bunch, wide right. At the snap, Ricky Manning Jr. attempts a press on Kent but gets tossed aside. Kent then zips horizontally on a drag route, receives without breaking stride, hops over all-world tackler Lance Briggs, turns upfield and puts a pretty good pop on Tillman before being wrestled down after 8.

  Heck of a play and great to see the drag executed to perfection.

With the 12th overall pick in the first ever Seahawks All-Time Fantasy Draft, the Skid Row Sliders select...

  
via NFL

Well, we can finally put this titillating little saga to rest.  Seahawks middle linebacker, Lofa Tatupu,  has pled guilty and been sentenced to "one day in jail and ordered to pay fines and court costs of $1,255." You may now resume your life free of this Hyundai wielding menace.

In the by and by, no doubt the sordid details of another sports celebrity's life will surface. But before we sink our teethe into this new schadenfreude marinated tripe, let us pause for a second and consider the deeper questions...like is 24 hours enough time to master the methods of constructing a zip gun? And could this theoretical zip gun be somehow smuggled onto the field of University of Pheonix Stadium?

0:39 remaining in the 1st quarter

Seahawks up 10-0

Arizona ball, 1st and 10

The Cardinals are in a run formation. Offset I left, tight end left, 2 wide receivers (not pictured.) Top: Leonard Pope (TE), Mike Gandy (LT), Reggie Wells (LG), Allen Johnson (C), Deuce Lutui (RG), Levi Brown (RT). Kurt Warner (QB). Terrelle Smith (FB). Edgerrin James (RB).

Seattle is in a base 4-3, with Peterson playing strong, the linebackers shifted right and the second string tackle rotation in. LBs: Peterson, Tatupu, Hill. Line: Tapp, Green, Terrill,  Kerney.

Pope motions right. The Seahawks do not adjust.

At the snap: Tapp and Green stunt, Terrill moves hard right, so that all three defensive linemen are between the right "A" gap and the left "C" gap. Kerney runs with Pope, gives him a quick press and stops in a short zone right. Peterson edge rushes around the left offensive side. Smith moves up to block him. Tatupu trails, moving around the left tackle. Hill moves into a short curl zone.

Two seconds in: The Tapp/Green stunt, coupled with Terrill driving hard right, occupies the Cardinals left offensive line and most importantly left tackle Gandy. Smith engages Peterson, but Peterson threatens to break free. Warner feels pressured. Tatupu moves into the left "C" gap, but James does not engage. James, instead, holds back, awaiting Tatupu's pass rush. Tatupu, sensing he will not get to Warner before Warner can pass, sits in the C gap and bats down Warner's pass left. Hill is in position to make a play for the tumbling football, but watches it drop in front of him.

Keys

1. The Hawks' stunts occupy the left side of Arizona's line.

2. Kerney chucks Pope and sits in an underneath zone. Warner looks to his outlet receiver but determines him covered.

3. James does not engage Tatupu. Tatupu aborts his pass rush and sits in the left "C" gap, taking away Warner's lone passing lane. This is excellent awareness by Tatupu and the tip nearly causes a pick.

4. Hill fails to recognize the tip before it's too late. You can't expect Hill to nab the pick, but he certainly had the opportunity.

Ever since Sam Huff became the middle linebacker in Tom Landry’s seminal 4-3 defense, the position has enjoyed a unique mystique. Middle linebackers are often known as the quarterback of the defense, and more than any other position, middle linebacker is accredited with the success of the entire defense. While it is true that player’s like Lofa Tatupu deduce offensive formations, anticipating play calls, making line reads and calling coverages, it’s also true that the effect of all this sound and fury is almost immeasurable. Occasionally, Tatupu hits a bullseye, sniffing out a play exactly and preempting the offense. But occasionally, Tatupu calls stunts, aborting the pass rush, or leads the charge left, allowing a huge cutback lane right. It’s one of many football phenomena that exist within that gray expanse between common knowledge and modern analysis. As one might guess, common knowledge lords the annals; 9 of 18 linebackers enshrined in the Hall of Fame are middle linebackers. 10 if you include Harry Carson, who started his career as a MLB before becoming an inside linebacker in Bill Parcells’s 3-4.

Glossary

Cover 2: A set of simple defensive plays that involve the two safeties playing deep zone coverage.

Stunts: A play type where two defensive linemen cross each other in an X pattern so that each is attacking the other’s typical assignment. The purpose of stunts is to confuse offensive linemen or retard blocking patterns. Sometimes effective, stunts often only create a longer route from the defensive lineman to the ball carrier.

Tampa 2: A style of 4-3 defense that emphasizes team speed, pass rush, the Cover 2 defense, pass cover ability in its linebackers and a middle linebacker who can cover the deep middle. It also deemphasizes a need for larger defensive linemen and man cover corners.

Apart from its more high-minded duties, middle linebackers serve as a 4-3’s primary run tackler. Many 4-3 defenses use the line to channel opposing rushers to the middle linebacker. That’s not as prevalent as it once was, or is in the amateur ranks, but because roughly half of all rushes are “up the middle”, that is, behind the center or guards, the defense needn’t influence the play for the rusher to enter the linebacker’s zone of control. Because middle linebackers are measured above all else by their tackling prowess, people often equate total tackles to ability to stop the run. A middle linebacker with a lot of tackles is given all sorts of fanciful properties*: sideline to sideline range, a nose for the ball, intelligence and instincts. Though awareness, prescience and an extensive knowledge of an opponent’s playbook and tendencies is important, agility, strength and quickness are likely just as if not more important. The two groups of traits rarely are found in the same player. That players without the latter never sniff the pros is why pros with the former are so celebrated.

The other major duty of the middle linebacker is coverage. Though not every team employing a 4-3 runs a fulltime Tampa 2, the Cover 2 with Tampa 2 principles is in every modern playbook. The difference between a typical Cover 2 and a Tampa 2, besides personnel, is that in a Tampa 2, the middle linebacker must be able to drop into deep middle cover, controlling the otherwise vulnerable middle in a Cover 2 defense. In the pass first modern NFL, that ability cannot be overestimated, and middle linebackers who can control the deep middle are a definitive step above their tackle racking peers. A great middle linebacker can drop into coverage, adjust should the play be a run, but be able to prevent their assignment from getting open, force incompletes, play the ball, intercept passes, and also force fumbles after receptions. At his best, Brian Urlacher could do all that. Lofa Tatupu stands as the current heir apparent.

Middle linebackers do not blitz much and when they do, it is often as a decoy. Or if not as a decoy, they are assigned to engage blockers and allow another blitzer or linemen to create pressure or convert the sack. That’s not hard and fast by any means, and some linebackers, like Urlacher, are or were great pass rushers, but it’s a comparatively small part of their repertoire compared to run and pass coverage.

Prototypical Middle Linebacker: Sam Huff

Greatest I’ve ever seen play: Ray Lewis

*Total tackle numbers are not a good indication of a middle linebacker’s ability to stop the run. An abnormally high number of tackles, like Patrick Willis recorded in 2007, is often indication of overall defensive failings. I.e., defensive linemen not making tackles, sustained drives by opposing offenses and opposing offenses running to take time off the clock.

3. Big Man/little man

Why It Matters: When appreciating Mebane and Bernard, one must consider their contributions as part of a rotation. Both were strong in 2007, but both undoubtedly benefitted from regular rest. Seattle’s little man unit was an ongoing weakness that was severely exposed against the Packers. Much of the praise for Green is built on one play. Thorough examination reveals him as a big body that plays small, without much in the way of one gap skills. Serviceable depth that may experience a peak in the “good” range. Terrill is a one gap situational pass rusher. Neither should have sniffed the field on anything resembling a rushing play, but the Hawks lacked a better duo to spell their starters.

Going Forward: Seattle’s one tech (in Seattle’s system, the one tech is Mebane’s spot, its job is twofold, force double teams and get into the backfield) rotation is now Mebane/Red Bryant/Bernard. Seattle’s three tech (almost exclusively, get into the backfield, get to the ball carrier) rotation is Bernard/Marcus Tubbs/Lawrence Jackson. There no longer is a “little man” unit, just unrelenting big, punishing badasses.

2. Unsafe At Any Speed

Why It Matters: Alexander tallied 100 yards on 21 carries against the Bengals. 1/5^th of that was a 20 yard rush with 49 seconds remaining, the Bengals without timeouts and anything short of a fumble a successful play. Nevertheless, most fans would consider this among Alexander’s best showings in the last two years. At his best, against a mediocre (at best) Bengals rush defense, minus every starting linebacker – to the point where bowtie salesman Dhani Jones was their leading tackler – Alexander was just barely good enough to be bad. Factor in his pass blocking and pass receiving and you have one of the five worst players in the NFL.

Going Forward: As much as I root for a committee backfield, if Julius Jones doesn’t receive 60%+ of the carries I’ll be shocked. Holmgren does what he does and when he can, he rides his primary rusher with a vengeance. Isolating the play of an individual player is one of the greater failings of statistical analysis in the NFL. That said, Jones was barely better than Alexander in DPAR and worse in success rate. Whatever he did in Dallas, from his second coming of Emmitt entrance to his vanishing act finale, he needs only to be league average to be so much better than Alexander it’s startling. I trust he can be that; in a blocking scheme fit to his skill set, I think he can be so much more.

1. Throwing Down, Stepping Out

Why It Matters: I’ll admit it, I’ve long thought Tatupu was a little overrated. And I’m a Lakers fan. There, it’s all out there. When Seattle drafted Tatupu in 2005, he immediately assumed the middle linebacker duties and that team went on a miracle run, powered by an out of nowhere defensive renaissance, too much of the credit was channeled through Tats. Members of the media tend to speak out of both sides of their mouths, yakking about football being the ultimate team sport one minute before applauding the play of some superstar face the second. Leroy Hill, Bryce Fisher, Marcus Tubbs, Rocky Bernard – great seasons each, and each as important to that defense as Tatupu. In 2006, despite jacking his tackle totals, Tatupu did not deserve to play in the Pro Bowl. He spent entirely too much time lost in traffic. His pass rushing skills vanished. He was a good, but by no means a top MLB. Both deficiencies stemmed from one vital failing, an inability to fight off blockers. Scouts gleefully chortled at his struggles, having predicted his size and strength would forever limit his play in the pros. Then, they might have been right. Then.

Going Forward: It’s one play, but indicative of total growth. Tats was never destined to “break out” like less polished, but larger, longer and more athletic players. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to develop. Tatupu added vital strength between 2006 and 2007. Where he once was forever moving towards the ball carrier, even if he never arrived, in 2007 he destroyed plays before they could ever develop. He moved through and over blockers. In 2006, Tatupu recorded a 61% Stop Rate on run plays, his average tackle 4.2 yards past the line of scrimmage. In 2007, Tatupu recorded a 70% Stop Rate on run plays, his average tackle just 2.05 yards past the line of scrimmage. That’s not hype, that’s year one of the best middle linebacker in the NFL.