2007 Season Review
Season Retro: Julian Peterson
by John Morgan
on May 5, 2008 11:22 AM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Julian Peterson
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Season Retro: Kelly Jennings
by John Morgan
on Apr 13, 2008 12:08 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Kelly Jennings
Penetrations: 1
Broken Tackles: 4
Good Coverage: 17
Blown Coverage: 8
*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.
9/16/07
Kelly Jennings performed admirably despite a terrible mismatch. He recorded three good coverages and just one blown coverage. The blown coverage? When Larry Fitzgerald jumped over him.
12/16/07
Jennings had a fine first quarter, including coverage that broke up a touchdown reception and a tackle of -1 yards against Steve Smith. The tackle was especially heartening.
1/05/08
Jennings was lined across from Reche Caldwell for most of the game. Caldwell caught one pass for 7 yards, and was the target of 3 incompletes. Caldwell isn't any great shakes, but Jennings is good. Real good.
10/7/07
Jennings had a couple rough stretches and despite my theorizing otherwise, it's not man but zone coverage that gives him troubles. His worst showing was on the third play of the Steelers first drive of the second quarter backed up within their own ten, third and 3. The Steelers have two receivers bunched left and Seattle is in a 4-2 nickel. Jordan Babineaux and Kelly Jennings are in zone coverage left. Babs interior, Jennings ext--oh wait, no he seems to be playing the interior too. Willie Reid catches the ball in the flat, Jennings breaks on the receiver (at this point the first down is already conceded) throws an awful tackle that slides right off the 186 pound Reid before Reid breaks it for a 25 yard gain. The worst infraction is the blown coverage as once Jennings was near Reid the first down was all but conceded anyway, but the tackle is exactly the type you fear from a slight player like Jennings, not really bad form, just wimpy. Reid barely broke stride slipping past him. Jennings has played well all year and has been a real step up in man coverage from Kelly Herndon, but what he showed on this play isn't something tackle drills can overcome.
10/14/07
Fifth play, third New Orleans drive. First and ten, the Hawks are in a base package w/ Deon Grant playing up. At the snap the Saints left side creates a big mess, Baraka Atkins leveled, Grant flies in, gets picked by Karney and only Kelly Jennings stands between Bush and the sidelines. Jennings takes a miserable angle, again somehow inexplicably underestimating Bush's speed, breaks outside containment and watches Bush dash past him for 22 along the left sideline. It's the first, and hopefully last, time I have pined for Kelly Herndon.
Back to business. Tru played decent. Grant was a non-entity. Russell is the reactionary fling following Ken Hamlin: Where Hamlin lived in the first fifteen yards, Russell rarely strays from 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. It's not the worst thing a safety can do, but it does leave a lot of middle-deep post routes open. Oh, and Jennings played awful. Here's a three play stretch that best summed up Seattle's secondary:
- Seventh play, Saints final drive of the half. It's 1st and 4 into the end zone. Seattle rushes seven, Brees feeling nary a whisper of pressure tosses the ball to Marques Colston. Jennings blows coverage, but luckily Colston drops the pass.
- Eighth play, Seattle in goal line formation. Hawks blitz on play action, Grant gets penetration, Brees rushes a pass to Eric Johnson. Trufant absolutely mugs Johnson, but doesn't get called.
- Ninth play, Hawks again in goal line. Hawks blitz, Brees tosses it out to Colston, Jennings blows coverage, this time Colston hauls in the touchdown reception. Fantasy owners rejoice. I attempt to bite off my own fist.
The quiet corner. Noteworthy for being not-noteworthy. Jennings is one of Tim Ruskell's less recognized success stories. Second year corners are supposed to be inconsistent and a little toasty around the edges. Excepting his showing against the Saints, Jennings was a rock. A pillar of basalt, if you will, because if such a thing is possible, Jennings is a thin 178. Jennings open field tackling is, yes, wimpy. Not technically incorrect, but a bit like a superball colliding with an asteroid. The Jennings, Russell, Tapp troika oversaw Seattle's 20th ranked rush D on runs a round left end. A weakness that came to fore facing Green Bay. As hopeless as Jennings looked at times in 2007, I'd put better odds on Jennings filling out enough to put the oomph in his good angles and technically sound tackles than a larger defender acquiring new skills. Jennings is a precocious cover corner. Should he develop some ball skills, watch out. Too good to be so unappreciated.
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Season Retro: Brandon Mebane
by John Morgan
on Apr 7, 2008 11:37 AM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Break you.
Brandon Mebane
Penetrations: 25
Forced Double Teams: 18
Broken Tackles: 2
*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.
9/16/07
Brandon Mebane has earned more plays and perhaps a start. He absolutely blows back the opposing linemen. If he were out there more often I think teams would be forced to double him. A lineman that forces the double team would be a real boon to this rush defense. A defense that looked overmatched versus Ken Whisenhunt's power running scheme. The man in front of Mebane, Chartric Darby, was all but invisible in the first half.
10/14/07
Brandon Mebane got two looks with the first team unit in the second half, and I am happy to report he rocked. The very first play of the second half he rips into the backfield, Drew Brees stepped up and delivered a pass to the seemingly uncovered Lance Moore. Kelly Jennings is playing soft off the receiver, so he doesn't really blow the coverage as much as simply allow the reception. Grrr. Sixth play, same drive, second and twelve after Tatupu hammers Bush for a loss on first, Mebane gets penetration and then chases down Bush for a minimal gain. Mebane is surprisingly quick. That's a nice little opener, and more than we've seen from Darby in weeks, but Mebane gets better. Mebane records another penetration, still being single blocked, on the second play of the Saints' second drive. He blows the tackle, but by rule a blown tackle by a lineman against a run play is not such a calamity, Bush is staggered and Darryl Tapp cleans up. Two yard gain.
Zoom to the second drive of the Mebane era. First play, Mebane is playing over the center like a true nose tackle, Jeff Faine hits him but gets no push, Jamar Nesbit adjusts, chips Mebane still getting no push, this disrupts the play, Nesbit never gets to the second level, the Hawks linebackers close in, Mebane sheds Faine and tackles Bush for a two yard gain. Next play, this time New Orleans is keying Mebane, putting both a guard and center on him from the onset, Mebane splits the double team and tackles Bush for a two yard loss.
Will Mebane be able to keep this up? I don't know, but I would be astounded if he doesn't outplay Darby. Mebane also adds some badly needed pass rush.
10/21/07
On the very first play of the game Brandon Mebane broke into the Rams' backfield and tackled Brian Leonard for no gain. Mebane wouldn't record another solo tackle for the remainder of the contest, but his impact is visible in the Rams inability to run up the middle and through the contributions of his line mates.
Let's start with runs up the middle. Saint Louis averages 4.33 adjusted line yards on runs up the middle for the season. That's fifteenth in all of football. Their total for Sunday was 1.33 yards per rush on runs up the middle. That's three rushes for negative yardage, four more for 0 to 3 yards, one 12 yard rush and one 14 yard rush. I don't have the resources to adjust for strength of opponent, but Seattle ranks 16th in adjusted line yards allowed for runs up the middle, 4.16, so it's more or less a push. In other words, Seattle absolutely dominated the Rams ground game on rushes up the middle. Nine rushes is not an overwhelming sample size, but bare in mind that adjusted line yards is less susceptible to wild fluctuations. The most any one run can contribute is 7 yards, 4 for the initial 4 yards and three more for the remaining 6 yards. After that it's no longer counted. Even if the Rams exploded through the middle for a pair of 50 yard gains on Sunday, their adjusted line yards would only equal 2.36.
The other way to interpret Mebane's impact is through the feats of his adjacent line mates. Rocky Bernard, Craig Terrill and Darryl Tapp combined for 10 penetrations, 3 sacks, 3 runs stopped for no gain or loss and 2 forced incompletions. Tapp and Terrill are both undersized players with lightning first steps, for them to succeed they need someone between them that can take on multiple blockers. On the very first play of the game Mebane served notice, Andy McCollum will not be able to block me alone. It's too early to christen Mebane as true successor to Marcus Tubbs, but he certainly laid to rest any nostalgia for Chartric Darby.
11/18/07
On to good stuff. The Hawks put the clamp down on the Bears rushing attack. That all starts with the Great Immovable Mebane. Grim is a flurry of spins and shrugs , plus his amazing low center of gravity and explosiveness off the snap give him leverage on nearly every play. What's better is that he's quick enough that when single covered he's a penetrative force. In the first quarter, to take a chronological step back, he literally shrugged off Terrence Metcalf and stopped Benson after just one yard. Grim is a rookie third rounder, just 22 - that's draft value.
12/9/07
For aspiring offensive coordinators curious as to why you don't single block Brandon Mebane, the Cards' third series of the quarter might be constructive. First play Bane walks Reggie Wells back to Warner, pushes him right and out of the way, sacks Warner and then, uh, curtsies. Now second and fourteen, Whisenhunt attempts to run Edge up the left "A" gap. The Cards double Rocky Bernard, but Edge finds a dent with a pair of arms where his hole should be. That forces James to cut back right, and right into Rocky Bernard. You can't blame Arizona for doubling Rocky - but then, who's gonna double Mebane? After a Julian Peterson Neutral Zone Infraction, it's 3rd and 7. The Cards align w/ Trips left, a single WR tight right, a single back and Warner in shotgun. Rock's been subbed out for Craig Terrill. The Hawks run a stunt that has Terrill and Mebane converging against the Cards three interior linemen. That's not what you're looking for from a stunt. Mebane shades behind the more aggressive Terrill, Terrill falls between his double team, and then, from the scrum, Mebane comes unblocked around the right side and forces Warner to dump the ball off to Leonard Pope short of the first down. Not a play for the highlight reel, sure, but Bane doesn't quit, and when an opening arrives he delivers the critical pressure to force Warner to check down.
N/A
Before he was Bane, he was Brandon Mebane, third round pick, Seattle Seahawks. I wasn't thrilled about Mebane's selection. This was before I knew how to find tape on guys and instead attempted to piece together something intelligible from scouting reports and combine numbers. A mistake I'll never repeat. By preseason's end, it was clear how wrong I was. Tim Ruskell had once again unearthed something special in the third. Bane is the perfect combination of strength, leverage, motor and quickness for Seattle's system. And only recently 23. He's not the type you expect to "break out", but with little more than incremental growth from now until 2010, when he turns 25, he will become a top 10 defensive tackle for 3-5 years to come.
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Season Retro: Jordan Babineaux
by John Morgan
on Mar 31, 2008 1:33 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
I'm sure he's a very nice guy
Jordan Babineaux
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Season Retro: Nate Burleson
by John Morgan
on Mar 29, 2008 1:54 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
The In-house Option
Nate Burleson
Good Blocks: 2
Good Route Run: 2
Broken Tackles: 7
Drops: 4
Blown Assignments: 4
*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1. Does not include special teams.
11/4/07
Upping his trade value: Yep, if we can get a second or third round pick, I'd be entirely in favor of shipping off Nate Burleson this offseason. But while he's a Hawk, let's celebrate the one thing he does like no other Hawk: break tackles. When Burly received the kick within the ten, he had 3 Browns within 5 yards of him and another 5 within 15 yards of him. Through agility, strength and exceptional body control, Nate Burleson broke 5 tackles on his 94 yard punt return TD. I don't have the numbers handy, but I'm fairly certain that's as many or more tackles as Alexander has broken in the last 4 weeks. Burleson also had a nice day receiving. Are you paying attention Matt Millen?
11/18/07
That same drive gives us our play of the half. Eighth play, third down, Hawks on the Bears 4. Seattle sets up 4 wide, but with the middle of the three right receivers in a three point stance, and the outside man, Nate Burleson, motioning in. The result is a sort of wide bunch. At the snap the two inside men move out and drag across the middle and top of the endzone. They're essentially decoys to clear out the center for Burleson. Burly continues his pattern in, does something that sends the defender cartwheeling away, and makes a reception that looks rather painful - Burly is jumped on top of and falls into the endzone doin' the splits. Good play all around, from design to execution, and another small step in Burly's recent receiving renaissance.
11/25/07
Finally, as Mr. Pearson pointed out (and Pearson isn't a bad color analyst, despite the built in handicap of being teamed with Mad Matt Vasgersian who, I swear, is either blind or doing his taxes) Nate Burleson's blown assignment - that is: giving up on his route - was the primary culprit for the Hasselbeck pick. It near-surely cost the Hawks 3+ points. Despite his contributions as a special teamer, I am completely sick of this guy. Burly, you've made my list.
11/25/07
Seattle exits the huddle with 2 WRs, an H-Back and backs in an I-back formation. It's a run first formation for Seattle. They would run the next 4 plays from this same formation. The Rams, anticipating run, put 8 in the box and 5 along the line. Morris runs for three, and it's a wonder that he does. Next play, the Rams stack 6 on the line and 8 in the box, but Seattle calls play action, Beck finds Burly one on one downfield, Burly converts the first, nets 20 yards, and forces a superfluous penalty. This is the one adept play call of the drive.
12/9/07
The play to the right here is pretty self explanatory. Marcus Pollard gets extra credit for causing a ruckus off the line and setting a legal pick for Burleson. Burly shows some good route running, bending his route around Pollard's high contact curl and shedding Ralph Brown and Terrence Holt much like the boxer must shed roll after roll of sweaty, useless, disgusting flab before he can win the title. The star of this play, though, is its creator. He earns some criticism around here, but Mike Holmgren knows how to work the red zone. You can see that Pollard's route occupies Holt and forces Brown to take an obtuse angle of pursuit from a trailing position. That's how Nate gets so open. A great play call run to perfection. (Branch not pictured)
1/5/08
Burly just sheds Shawn Springs on, get this, a really nice route run by Nate. Springs was clearly off yesterday, perhaps feeling his age, but the story for Hawks fans is that Burly has now shown clear, consistent improvement over the last few weeks. Good to see.
I don't think Burly committed offensive pass interference against Shawn Springs. I watched his leaping, 15 yard reception a few times, and at first, that is, on the first viewing from the long angle lens, it looks like Burleson pushes off. But on the replay, right up next to the two, you see a little hand fighting, but no penalty. That was maybe the most important offensive play of the game for Seattle, and it shouldn't be sullied if it's not deserved.
10/9/07
With Deion Branch and D.J. Hackett both injured, you might expect Seattle to revert to more 2 WR sets, but you'd be wrong. It's only 7 plays, but Seattle ran four WRs thrice and three once. That actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. The remaining Hawk wideouts are all slot receivers. The one time they went two wide, a lopsided right formation with two tight ends (left/right) a single back and both receivers right, Beck looked like he wanted to spit piss he was so mad. First Obomanu aligns too far from the line and Beck has to yell at him to get closer, and then on a play that was clearly quick slant or bust, Obomanu runs the most half-assed slant in the history of man. He runs about quarter speed, never getting an inch worth of separation from Deshea Townsend. Beck motions the pass, on what was certainly an aborted throw and not a play fake, and then the whole thing just breaks down. Pitt doesn't even bother with a pass rush, and three seconds into the play the Hawks wideouts are just milling around in the second level neither running routes nor seriously looking to get open. Beck just throws it away. On the next play Beck throws a frustration pass into Ike Taylor's back on a pathetic curl route by Burleson. With Burly and Obo both goofing off, I can't help but wonder if Courtney Taylor shouldn't get some looks starting wide. He's not gifted physically, but he does run his routes.
10/14/07
Bad DBs make even iffy receivers look good, and so Seattle's awful trio of Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and Ben Obomanu looked decent. That's three slot receivers, one who can run his routes, and two guys playing their way off the 2008 squad. Burleson and Obomanu found some holes in New Orleans' zones, but it's clear that Matt Hasselbeck simply does not trust them. Sometimes, when Beck's throws look off, you can tell he's playing conservatively to a fault. Sailing passes because Engram is covered or putting triple strength Joe Montana touch on the touchdown pass to Obomanu. You watch him and want to yell "Grow a set!" but in some ways his skittishness is justified. It's got to kill you when your team is down a score, the offense is driving and you launch a flawless pass to Burly only to see him gain position on the corner and then swat the ball to the ground. Burleson jumps, turns 180 so that he's facing the line of scrimmage, uses his body to screen the defender out of the play and then flubs a pass directly between his hands pointing towards his sternum. Absolute, bush-league garbage.
11/25/07
Burleson committed returner greed. From taking the ball out from within the ten, to leaving his feet, to repeatedly hanging the ball away from his body - Burleson's fumble was earned.
12/16/07
The worse quarter belongs to Nate Burleson: One drop that turned into a fumble and two incompletes on catchable balls. The failed end around was, really, a failed play call. The Panthers were blitzing off the offensive left end, which might be an indication that you should audible out of that end around off left end. When Burleson finally found his way to the left side of the field, one Panther was three yards in the backfield and three others were between him and the first down marker. This play call, btw, was Holmgren's official signal that he had completely given up on the run game.
11/25/07
The first quarter was busy, but the second was a bit like watching paint dry. I'll detail the highlights, but don't be surprised if this article is a bit brief. For those who think I came down a bit too hard on the officials last night, I think J.C. Pearson said it best when praising the superlative coverage by Fakhir Brown: "Good job on pulling down Burleson's arm. You pull the arm down, you can't catch the ball." Indeed.
Among Seattle's worst players but rarely criticized. Burleson was Brian Russell to Shaun Alexander's Jordan Babineaux. Burly played a bit better later in the season, but one can't be sure if he actually improved. Throw enough darts at a dartboard and some will bunch, but that doesn't mean anything. When all was said and done all Burleson accomplished was pulling himself up from the absolute cellar and back among the simply bad wide receivers. Couple that with a noticeable slowdown in his return play and one might wonder if it's time to sell high on Nate. Because of his athleticism, history of success and the time it takes some receivers to figure out Holmgren's system, breakout is still possible.
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Season Retro: Marcus Trufant
by John Morgan
on Mar 26, 2008 11:29 AM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Marcus Trufant
Penetration: 1
Good Coverage: 26
Broken Tackle:5
Blown Coverage: 13
Blown Assignment: 1
*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.
9/31/07
Marcus Trufant grabbed two picks, a gimme that could as easily have been any DB on the roster and another that may be proof of real growth. The gimme was on the Niners first play from scrimmage after the onside kick. Trufant just happened to be in the best position to grab Trent Dilfer's badly sailed pass. The second, also ridiculously enough on a play-action (think you better scrap the play-actions once your team is down by twenty Mike?) was an exciting display of coverage and well timed aggression. Trufant is at his customary position, alongside the receiver's hip, when Dilfer tosses a wounded duck. Tru breaks coverage and zips back to the ball. Playmaking is the component Trufant has long needed to become a next level corner. For the past few years he's excelled in coverage. You very rarely see Tru out of position on a pass, but he's never mastered creating fear in opposing quarterbacks. That comes from opportunism and turning bad passes into picks. Some of the problem has been his hands, which are just okay, but the larger factor is that Trufant rarely ever plays anything but the receiver. It's good cover corner technique and I don't want him to become a Delta O'neal type route jumper, but the best corners know when to play cover and when to play the ball. Maybe Trufant is finally figuring that out.
10/21/07
First play, Rams fourth drive. The Hawks are dominating the line of scrimmage, but leading only 10-3. Bulger, with good time, attempts a deep pass along the right sideline. Tru intercepts. On the replay, here's what we see. Off the line Tru uses expert body position to subtly ride Bruce up against the sideline. He's literally in lockstep with Bruce, hip to hip, running down the right sideline. That's all classic Tru, but here's where we see something new. Still shadowing Bruce, playing the man, he sees Bruce look up towards the descending pass. Trufant sticks up an arm and begins to turn his body back towards the line of scrimmage. Both men are still running at near top speed, so that's incredibly difficult for Tru to do. The ball hits Tru in the arm and bounces back towards his bread basket, Tru snags the ball, tip-toes two feet centimeters from the sideline and converts the interception. He doesn't ballhawk, he never breaks coverage opening the potential for a big gain, Tru nullifies his man and punishes the attempt. Bulger wouldn't look Bruce's way again until garbage time in the fourth quarter. That's true shutdown corner play that Seattle hasn't had since Shawn Springs. That's Tru, free agent 2008.
11/25/07
The next play is a pass. The Rams attempt to combo block Mebane off the snap, but he sheds the center, isolates the guard, and walks him back into Bulger. Never attaining true penetration, but creating pressure, and forcing Bulger to throw into coverage. That coverage is sublime. Marcus Trufant locks down Holt, and without breaking off his man scoops up the interception. Tru is still primarily a cover corner, but his ability to play the ball has improved tremendously. What is most exciting, though, and what may vault Tru into the realm of shutdown corner, is that he gets picks without breaking coverage. Even the best cover corners, like Dallas' Terrence Newman, generally have to jump routes to score picks. That's risky. Tru gets picks on plays that are either pick or incompletion. It's yet to be seen if Tru can keep it up, but if he can, he could become one of the five best corners in football.
12/9/07
Tru showcased some of those ball skills we've long looked for from him. He's been a top cover guy for the last two years (albeit on some very shoddy secondaries), but this season he's shown both the ability to shutdown a receiver, and play the ball for the pick. With that said, it's not likely that Tru would have attempted either of his two second half picks if not for the Hawks being up big. Each was a little risky, jumping routes and thereby breaking coverage, but both were done expertly. The question for Tru, who's already turned into an elite NFL corner, is this growth? Will he take his big day on Sunday and turn it into confidence or cockiness? Tru at his best has shown the ability to lockdown a receiver, the ability to jump routes for the game-changing pick, and, most importantly, the ability to know when to do each.
1/5/08
The Truth: On the Skins second rush of their second drive, the Hawks gang tackled Portis after 6 yards. The Hawks have Portis wrapped, so Tru, the freakin' brilliant player that he is, goes for the strip. Nothing came of it, but it's a really heady play, and a compliment to Jim Mora Jr's coaching.
9/16/07
Marcus Trufant often gives too much cushion in coverage. If you're playing Marvin Harrison perhaps the five yard separation is warranted, but against Anquan Boldin playing so soft allows for a lot of short, but productive completions.
10/7/07
Rough day for Seattle's secondary, and though we think of the big men along the line as suffering the most from fatigue, the little guys, of which Seattle has considerably less depth and who must run around all game, looked the worse for wear. On the Steelers' back breaking 10 minute drive to open the second half, Marcus Trufant, Jennings and Jordan Babineaux combined for four blown coverages resulting in 56 yards and 3 first downs. Tru seemed to have particular trouble keeping his feet.
11/25/07
Speaking of Russell, he is partly to blame for Bruce's touchdown reception. It's 3rd and 6, the Rams are in a bunch formation left, the Hawks, a base package with man coverage. Grant is lined up over top, Jennings on the exterior and Trufant on the interior. At the snap the top and inside man of the bunch run in what might best be described as an "X". Jennings picks up the receiver running out, Grant the receiver running in. The pattern has the effect of screening Trufant from Bruce until about 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. Now, Tru bears blame, while Jennings and Grant are able to confidently maneuver the formation and pick up their men, Trufant looks bewildered. It is possible that he assumed that the inside man would be his responsibility and not Grant's, but that we'll never know. What we do know is that Trufant is well behind Bruce and desperately in need of deep help. That's where Russell, who is working in a middle zone in the endzone, should run over to cover Bruce. Instead, Russell stays in the center though Grant has his man covered, and then doesn't break towards Bruce until it's entirely too late. The Rams convert the score and Trufant looks a couple shades worse than he deserves.
12/2/07
Two plays later the Eagles run trips left, and in an eerily reminiscent scene, Tru loses Curtis breaking towards the sideline. It's 9/10ths the same play call the Rams ran last week in which Tru broke coverage and allowed Isaac Bruce to get open in the endzone. Mora may want to find a more effective way to defend against that. Russell tackles Curtis 47 yards down the field, and had Curtis not nearly fumbled the ball switching hands, it's unlikely Russell catches him at all.
In 2007, Marcus Trufant developed from a top cover corner to a top corner. Tru was in the mix for best overall defensive player for Seattle in 2007, but was definitely their least replaceable. Losing Tru would have sorely weakened Seattle's run stopping, coverage against top receivers and crippled its right secondary: Need I explain the enormity of Jordan Babineaux + Brian Russell? I lobbied pretty hard for Seattle resigning Trufant and it's good to see that though Tim Ruskell clearly prefers his own players to the Hawks' former GMs collective holdovers, he's not dogmatic. The question now for Trufant is does he maintain or even build upon his substantial gains from 2007, solidify his rep as a Pro Bowl player or regress to the very good tackling cover corner he once was. Tru is a young 27; in his absolute prime. Fans can and should expect a level of play like last season's for the next 3-5 years. If Tru wants it bad enough and everything breaks right, he could become Champ Bailey good.
Photo Courtesy: ESPN
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Season Retro: Lofa Tatupu
by John Morgan
on Mar 21, 2008 2:02 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
A badass in his prime.
Lofa Tatupu
Penetrations: 31
Tips: 4
Broken Tackles: 17
Blown Coverage: 3
Good Coverage: 5
Blown Assignments: 1
*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.
9/9/07
Lofa Tatupu looks stronger than I've ever seen him. On Sunday he was stripping blockers with ease.
9/16/07
Lofa Tatupu made a game changing interception on the Cardinals first drive of the half. You might have noticed that, but did you notice...The Hawks are in a base defensive package. Ken Whisenhunt's power rushing attack kept Seattle in a base package for most of the contest. Both of the corners are deep, Deon Grant is deep and Brian Russell is shallow--I'm about ready to say that these two are used interchangeably. It's first and ten, the Cards are on their seventh play, driving, nearing midfield. The call is a play action, at first all three linebackers stay shallow spying the backfield. Matt Leinart is staring a hole into Larry Fitzgerald, Tatupu reads the play-fake and turns back sprinting into position. No sooner does he turn back to the line of scrimmage than the ball arrives, the young Pro Bowler catches then sprints 18 yards back across the fifty. Just an awesome and truly improbable play. Tatupu reads Leinart expertly and makes a catch many receivers would drop. Fitzgerald was otherwise nearly uncovered, if Tatupu had merely defensed the play it would have been impressive, but the reflexes it takes to catch a ball unseen is astounding.
11/18/07
Here's your play of the day. A slick little blitz package the Hawks ran twice. I had called for Marshall to rush fewer defenders on blitzes and use underneath zones, specifically with the Hawks athletic defensive ends, and he did just that. Here's his best, with Kerney at left defensive end working in zone coverage. The key is Peterson's ability to edge rush, and the resulting hole created for Tatupu to bring pressure. Kerney is in perfect position to defend the flat when Grossman attempts to roll right.
12/2/07
First play of the game, Lofa Tatupu interception, how'd it go down? Here's what I saw: The Eagles are four wide with a tight end; AJ Feeley in the shotgun. The Seahawks are in a base package w/ the linebackers spread wide. The Eagles have their two best wide receivers, Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, in the slots. They're covered by Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill, respectively. Tatupu is assigned L.J. Smith, so that the Hawks' three linebackers are each in man coverage against, arguably, the Eagles' three best receivers. At the snap Smith runs a loose post route, is thrown a bit off route by Tatupu and then sort of dogs it in the gap between Tats and Deon Grant. Curtis is thrown completely off his route by Peterson. I'm not so sure about Brown and Hill, but Brown looks open after the camera pans to center in on the Tatupu interception. Take that for what it's worth. The rest is obvious, Tats snags the pick and sets up the first Hawks' score.
Since we're on the subject, let's skip to Tatupu's second pick. Daryl Johnston called it a mirror image, but it really wasn't. Not that I'm picking on Johnston, he's just being colorful. It's 3rd and 6, the Hawks are in a 4-2 Nickel package and the Eagles a 3 WR, TE, single back formation. The Eagles send the slot receiver in motion, Jordan Babineaux adjusts by moving in and up against the line, Hill by moving out right. So different formation, different down and distance, and as I'll elaborate, a different group of role players for Tats' second star turn. At the snap, Brandon Mebane punishes the left guard, showing some college form with his manic handfighting, and forcing Todd Herremans back steadily towards Feeley. Westbrook jumps in for an assist and gets chucked for the effort. Tatupu briefly shadows Smith before Babs picks up Smith entering Babs' zone. This allows Tats to break back into a middle zone, intercept the pass intended for the slot receiver and then be off for a 49 yard return into Philly's redzone. That's'alotta zones!! So, Mebane pressures, Babs again shows good zone awareness, and Tatupu makes the best of an underneath zone. Pretty slick and surprisingly no frills.
Play of the game, courtesy of, who else?, Lofa Tatupu. Not a pick, but a tackle. First play, third Eagles drive of the third quarter. The Eagles run a wide receiver screen to Curtis, with Todd Herremans pull blocking. Tats starts shaded a little right of center. After the snap, Tats reads the play and charges left, but is met by Herremans. How does Tatupu react to the attempted block by the 6'6", 321 pound guard? By dropping a shoulder into him and laying him out. Flat. Then shoots the gap and stops the screen before it gets off the floor.
We're lucky to have this guy.
10/7/07
Tatupu has gotten much better navigating blockers, but he still misses some tackles and the way Seattle is designed defensively, when Tatupu misses all hell breaks loose. That's what happened on the fifth play of the Steelers scoring drive when Najeh Davenport went off for 45 yards. As soon as Tatupu misses about 7 yards past the line of scrimmage, Davenport cuts back towards the left sideline and Hawks tumbled like a California mudslide. Nate Washington got away with an iffy block in the back, the kind of call you want when it benefits your team but not so flagrant that you can justifiably be outraged. Washington's contact was largely incidental, despite Joe Buck crediting him with a "great block".
11/4/07
A long third down conversion keyed by a blown coverage by Babineaux allows the Browns to drive into the fourth quarter, down 8, but with first and ten from the Hawks' 24. Following a dropped pass by Winslow and a stuffed Jamal Lewis run, the Browns are facing their 6th 3rd and long of the contest. Clevenland spreads `em wide, splits out 4, counting Winslow, with an offset back right. Seattle responds with a 4-2 nickel. Russell impotently blitzes the edge, but Tru plays man to perfection, breaks on the Braylon Edwards quick slant and ankle tackles him short of the first, forcing the Browns into 4th and 2. 4th, 2, Browns break huddle empty backfield, 5 wide. Seattle is again in a 4-2 Nickel, with Tatupu and Kevin Bentley spread outside the ends. At the snap, Hawks rush 4, Craig Terrill spins through his man, pressures Anderson. Bentely and Babs double Vicious to the left. Tatupu stutter steps, attempts to jam Winslow, fails, loses a step, blows coverage and watches as Winslow reels in a quick-out for 13 and 1st and goal from the Seattle 2. Tatupu looks back at Bentley, taps his chest and then raises his hands as if to say "What the Hell just happened?"
12/16/07
If only Tatupu could wrap up, he'd be that much more fearsome. The guy allows a lot of broken tackles. A lot.
The now and future face of the franchise, Tatupu doesn't always wrap well and isn't a plus on blitzes. That's about as critical as you can be of Tatupu. He's a ++ run stopper, a + coverage backer, is fabulously aware and the unquestioned leader of Seattle's D. The day Tim Ruskell "reached" for Tats, he reinvented the Seahawks. In 2007, Tatupu showed growth shedding blockers. What had once been a weakness became a strength as Tats quietly became of one the better middle linebackers in football at fighting through garbage and shedding lead blockers. That skill might portend an improvement in his pass rush, too. Lofa Tatupu is an excellent player, a rare leader and true Blue. A Seahawk for life.
16 comments | 0 recs
Season Retro: Rocky Bernard
by John Morgan
on Mar 19, 2008 12:55 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
The most underrated man in Seattle sports.
Rocky Bernard
6 comments | 0 recs
Season Retro: Shaun Alexander
by John Morgan
on Mar 13, 2008 12:55 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Not for the faint of heart or those who cannot suffer pirouettes, stutter-steps or the phrase "Alexander cuts outside".
Shaun Alexander
22 comments | 0 recs
Season Retro: Rob Sims
by John Morgan
on Mar 9, 2008 12:33 PM PDT
in 2007 Season Review
Rob Sims1 comment | 0 recs
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