Defense/Offense

Free Safety	Strong Safety
Brian Russell MikeGreen Jordan Babineaux	Deon Grant CJWallace Jordan Babineaux

Right Cornerback	Dime Back	SLB	MLB	WLB	Nickelback	Left Cornerback
Kelly Jennings Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux	Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs Rich Gardner	Julian Peterson Leroy Hill	Lofa Tatupu DDLewis Julian Peterson	Leroy Hill Will Herring Lance Laury	Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs	Marcus Trufant Kelly Jennings Josh Wilson

Right DE	Right DT	Left DT	Left DE
Darryl Tapp LawrenceJackson JasonBabin	Brandon Mebane Red Bryant Howard Green ChrisCooper	Rocky Bernard Marcus Tubbs Craig Terrill Larry Tripplett	Patrick Kerney Baraka Atkins Nu'uTafisi

I don’t know what the average number of injuries, their severity and to what positions is typical for an NFL team, or even if that information would be informative. I do know that when a team suffers an injury to a starter, their replacement is usually worse. So when I say that the Seattle Seahawks were abnormally lucky with injuries in 2007, it’s not because I know that they suffered fewer or less severe injuries than should be expected. It’s because when the team lost Chuck Darby, Shaun Alexander and Mack Strong, each was replaced with a superior player. We cannot expect a similar turn of fortune in 2008.

Predicting injuries can be dicey. Older players are typically more susceptible to injury than younger players, but certain members of Seattle’s geriatric have an out. Walter Jones is a future Hall of Famer whose play, ability to protect his body and resulting excellent and consistent health is alike his enshrined peers. Matt Hasselbeck has enjoyed good health most of his career, and the injuries that commonly befall quarterbacks are decidedly of the freak, unpredictable type. As for the rest…

Rocky Bernard: Turned 29 April 19, Bernard is not “old” for a defensive tackle. He has a lengthy recent history of minor injuries. Bernard missed the final two games of 2007, but mostly as a precaution. In the past two seasons, Bernard has transitioned from a quick single-gap tackle to more of a run stuffing two-gap tackle. That’s not unlike “old player skills” in baseball.

My Guess: Will miss time, could suffer lingering ineffectiveness.

DT Depth: Excellent

Bobby Engram: Engram is an old 35, having turned 35 before Seattle’s season even ended. Engram enjoyed/endured a career high in receptions in 2007. The last time he surpassed 70 receptions in a season (1999), he played only three games the following season. Good overall health most of his career, he’s missed time in only 6 of 13 seasons.

My Guess: Will miss significant time in 2008.

WR Depth: Poor

Patrick Kerney: He doesn’t turn 32 until December 30. Kerney missed 7 games in 2006 after suffering a torn right pectoral muscle tackling tight end Steve Heiden—the only 7 games Kerney has missed throughout his career. Only 12 injury mentions in 9 year career, Kerney is known for his excellent conditioning and health.

My Guess: Will not miss time.

DE Depth: Very Good

Julian Peterson: It’s hard to believe he will turn 30 July 28. Peterson is among the most athletic players in the NFL. He missed 11 games in 2004 after tearing his Achilles tendon and was visibly slowed in 2005. Peterson plays a little fast and loose, sometimes putting his body in dangerous spots.

My Guess: Should age gracefully, could miss significant time.

LB depth: Very Poor

Brian Russell: Russell turned 30 two days after the Giants won the Super Bowl. Both facts are a little hard to believe. Russell entered the league in 2001, having none of the tools that get a player drafted, much less invited to the combine. But unlike so many fast, quick, muscular busts, Russell has parlayed a good work ethic and some football savvy into a respectable career. Unfortunately, when age hits the tools, the tool-less are especially crippled. Russell’s extremely conservative play might spare him excess wear and opportunities for injury, but should Russell get hurt, he could quickly slide into an Alexandrian late-career black hole.  Non-contact, running strains, like hamstring or groin pulls, could be enough make Russell a true liability.

My Guess: Should avoid injury; can’t afford not to.

S Depth: Average

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.

Patrick Kerney

Stats

Highlights

Lowlights

Outlook

TBA

*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.

Highlights

9/9/07

What the numbers don't say about Patrick Kerney is just how aware he is. No play better defined this than on Tampa's fifth play of their second drive. The Bucs have just entered the red zone, 3rd and 2, Seattle's aligned in a base package with Kerney and Darryl Tapp at the ends. After the snap Rocky Bernard barrels in getting some good inside rush, Tapp runs a very wide pass rush and looks to be largely out of the play, but never stops fighting. Jeff Garcia makes a very bad pocket read, sensing the inside pressure he incorrectly rolls out, exposing himself to Kerney—now unblocked. That mistake is the key, Kerney didn't strip his blocker, he just held back and watched Garcia, when Garcia incorrectly chose to role out to the right he escaped his own pocket and left himself exposed to a suddenly free Kerney. Kerney sees Tapp still chugging out and behind Garcia and instead of rushing right at Garcia he shadows him, shutting down Garcia's rushing lane and passing lane. Tapp, now free, runs up Garcia's backside and the Bucs Qb, with no other option, runs, getting sandwiched between Tapp and the now charging Kerney. Kerney makes every right decision on this play and the result is a three yard sack on a critical third down.

10/21/07

Kerney had another nice game. His sack on the Rams first play of their second drive is a great example of how sometimes, very rarely, one player makes the play essentially on his own. Tapp is out with a busted up hand, subbed in is Atkins aligned at right end. Pre-snap, the Hawks three down linemen minus Kerney slide right, Kerney in turn slides slightly out left. At the snap, Terrill and Mebane crash into the center of the pile, Atkins stays in the blocks (duh.) and Kerney puts a "you don't belong here" bull-rush on Milford Brown. Brown is walked, no, jogged back, Kerney gets in under Brown's pads, pushes off and wraps Bulger up in a you-never-had-a-shot kind of sack.

11/18/2007

Bears on the Hawk 42 with a little under 6 left to play. This is the play of the game. Hawks set up in a base defensive package. The Bears: 2 wide right, I-back with a single tight end. At the snap Chicago runs a little play action, Grossman runs one of the lazier PAs in the NFL and no one looks to be fooled, looks down field and then scrambles left. Enter our hero, Patrick Kerney. Kerney explodes off the snap, gives Fred Miller a hell of a push, but has no clear angle to Grossman. Roberto Garza disengages from the scrum and gives Kerney a glancing block from the side. Kerney, unlike the Bears right side, decides the play is not over, splits the two blockers, runs Grossman down from behind and delivers the strip.

12/2/2007

Here's your blitz package of the game. Run out of my favorite formation, the 3-3 Nickel. It led to the Julian Peterson INT, but, really, Pete did little more than let the ball into his hands. The superstar of this blitz is Patrick Kerney, who's won me over. You? The other 4 rushers are primarily decoys, designed to open a center channel for Kerney to zip through, unabated to the quarterback - but in a legal way. For that to work, Kerney must not only be quick, he must be quick off the snap, take just the right angle to the gap, and then explode through it before Feeley can adjust. Blitz accomplished.

12/9/07

In 17 of 67 plays, Kerney broke free from his blocker or blockers and had an open lane to the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. That forces incompletions, interceptions, causes rushers to cut against their rush lanes and, all around, disrupts an opponent's offense. Kerney isn't blindingly fast along the edge, he gets most of his sacks by way of a good burst off the snap, a great push move that gets him separation, clean lines to the quarterback, but above all, hustle. What has to frighten Cardinals fans is that Kerney made such a mockery of Levi Brown mostly by way of speed rushing the outside. Kerney's quick, but he's not elite or otherworldly. No, Brown is just very, very slow - or, rather, inagile.

Lowlights

N/A

Outlook

The front office and I were of mind about Kerney and Tapp, dedicating their first round pick to a defensive end. Specifically. Next week we’ll start community projections. Football defies the cool, quantifiable nature of baseball. We’ll need to work in something more analog. The Hawks don’t need Kerney to repeat yesteryear’s weekly beatdown, but a late career Wistrom-like collapse could be disastrous. Age is against him. Bernard’s age and injury history are against him. Depth, coverage, Tru’s run tackling, Leroy Hill’s development, Red Bryant, DE rotation-mate Lawrence Jackson and Kerney’s own dedication to fitness are on his side. Age still might win. Because age, like Tony Jaa, is an insatiable ass-kicker.