Offense/Defense

Split End	Slot	Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle	Tight End	Flanker
LoganPayne SammieParker	BillyMcMullen BobbyEngram	Walter Jones Sean Locklear FloydWomack	Mike Wahle MansfieldWrotto	Chris Spencer Steve Vallos	Floyd Womack MansfieldWrotto RayWillis	Ray Willis Sean Locklear	John Carlson Jeb Putzier Will Heller	CourtneyTaylor SammieParker

Fullback	Quarterback	Running Back
Leonard Weaver Owen Schmitt	Matt Hasselbeck Seneca Wallace Charlie Frye	Julius Jones TJ Ducket Maurice Morris

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

Editor's Note: I printed this as a comment on a post below, but Joel suggested it might make a better stand alone post. Since I don't have the time to write much today, I think that's a good suggestion.

. . .

I realize now that "attacking" is meaningless because of its ambiguity. What I meant to say is that Seattle uses a one gap defensive front four. I'm sure you know this but for those who don't, gaps describe a position to the left or right of an offensive lineman or tight end. Usually between two offensive linemen.

Like This:

gOgOgOgOgOg

g = Gaps

O = Offensive linemen

So when I said that Marvin Lewis' system sought to channel rushers to the MLB, his system might look like this.

X    X     X    X
gOgO O OgOg

g = Assigned Gaps

O = Offensive linemen

X = Defensive linemen

That's one of the reasons that Ray Lewis had eighty bazillion tackles during Lewis' tenure.

Now a player can do two basic things with a gap: Penetrate or Control. Penetrate is just what it sounds like, getting past your blocker and to the quarterback or rusher. Control means that you dictate where the blocker or blockers go. So John Marshall's base system looks like this.

 X    X    X    X
pOcOcOpO Op

p = Penetrate

c = Control

O = Offensive linemen

X = Defensive linemen

Naturally a ton of flexibility exists within this basic look. You might notice Lofa Tatupu moving linemen to the left or right so that they better align with their gaps. Anyway, the point is that three of the four lineman are assigned one gap and attempt to penetrate. That's sort of what I mean by attacking. The right defensive tackle, ideally, can also penetrate. That's what made Tubbs sucha badass, he could control two gaps but also work one gap and penetrate when called upon.

(On a side note, Seahawks fans should be watching what Kenechi Udeze is doing. Udeze had 5 sacks as a 21 y/o rookie in 2004. He then suffered torn cartilage in 2005 and had microfracture knee surgery. In 2006 he didn't do much. Now nearly 2 years removed from the surgery Udeze has two sacks and two stuffs for the season. I know people are ready to give up on Tubbs, but look at it like this: He probably needed the extra 10 months to rehabilitate from the torn cartilage in his left knee. ACL tears have a predictable recovery period and recovery. So we can be pretty sure that Tubbs returns in 2008 fully healthy. Seattle might even get a discounted contract for their loyalty.)

Hell, I'm up--let's complete this. Seattle's three linebackers are asked to control, penetrate and work in man and zone coverage. Each does this at various levels of ability, but ideally each are capable of all three. All are well skilled at penetration though. Still, that's asking a lot, the big sacrifice is often their size. One of the reasons Seattle's defense is "miniature" is that Marshall and Tim Ruskell sacrifice size for well-rounded--wait on it--ness.

The Hawks don't blitz a lot, but Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill are both well above average blitzers. There is nothing wrong with not blitzing. The Bears, the turn of the century Bucs and the turn of the century Ravens mostly avoided blitzing. A lot of uninformed announcers will call for the blitz because it's exciting, but blitzes aren't always the right call. Few things go as horrendously wrong as a picked up or mis-executed blitz. I'm tired, I know I answered a bunch of things you didn't ask, but though I sort of got carried away I think roundabout answered what you were asking. Sleep..whee!

Back to business.

I started watching college football in the early nineties, when the state of Washington had two worthy programs. Nowadays, it's hard to find much to root for in the college ranks. WSU and UW have both been marginalized by resurgent programs in California and Oregon. Neither have a prayer of winning a title, neither has a prayer of winning the Pac-10--both better pray they can top .500.

Still, college football is like a vast, televised minor league for the pros. If you tune in on the right day, any given contest can feature top matchups that will produce pro quality talent. Here are some of the most intriguing ones, ones that feature positions of need for the Hawks, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, defensive end and running back, that Hawks fans can tune into and have something to care about. Thanks to Athlon's College Football Annual for many a helpful list, and thanks to the very cool Rivals.com for video on most of the players.

I'll throw up one of these each Saturday leading up to the season. This one covers week 1, the next week 2 and so on.

Tennessee at California
LaMarcus Coker versus Zack Follett

Last season, Cal and Tennessee defied conventional wisdom and inaugurated their season with a top 25 opponent. That would be, each other. Tennessee sent preseason title contender Cal spiraling down the rankings with a 35-18 drubbing in cavernous Neyland Stadium. This year Cal, once again the favorite, hosts the Labor Day Weekend festivities in, oddly, Memorial Coliseum. Football, Labor Day, Memorial Coliseum and all to be televised on patriot and Nazi sympathizer Walt Disney's ABC? That's enough patriotism to give Toby Keith a truckgasm.

The matchup to watch for is speedy sophomore tailback LeMarcus Coker and more polished junior, Arian Foster, versus the quick, but inexperienced Cal linebacking corps and, specifically, Butkus Award candidate Zack Follett. Coker is likely two or three years from entering the draft, but his sprinter speed and excellent cutback ability make him one to watch. Coming off a minor knee injury this will be his first big chance to explode on the national stage. The Cal Bears don't possess the stoutest run D on God's glorious growth, but their collection of agile linebackers, including the athletic, tenacious Follett, should be well suited to challenge Coker's cutback style.

Arizona at BYU
Louis Holmes versus Dallas Reynolds and the BYU O-Line

BYU and Arizona are fringe top 25 teams, at best, but each possess some interesting pro talent. Luckily, on opposite sides of the ball. Louis Holmes is, physically, an NFL talent, but his performance has never matched his projection. Entering his senior season with the Wildcats, this is Holmes last chance to play himself into true prospectdom. Holmes closes in a hurry, but needs to work on his pass rush technique, too often relying on a simple bull rush. For BYU, a solid offensive line is anchored by left guard Dallas Reynolds. Reynolds has been able to work at guard and tackle and may begin the season at left tackle--all the sweeter to evaluate their talent. Someone is going to exit this game a step closer to the pros.

The Hawks will be looking for talent at offensive tackle and defensive end in the 2008 draft and while neither Holmes nor Reynolds projects as first rounds talents, both can play their way into the first day with stand-out senior seasons.

Local Flavor

Washington State at Wisconsin
P.J. Hill and The Badgers O-Line versus Ropati Pitoitua and The Cougs run D

Ostensibly a mismatch, the post-Joe Thomas Badgers offensive line will get a real challenge against the Cougs underrated run defense. When you are 6-6 , allowing only 114.1 ypg rushing--31st best in D-1 football--is a true achievement. Why? Because teams run when they're ahead, and teams were ahead of the Cougs a lot. The top talent for the WSU defense is 6'8" Ropati Pitoitua. Wisconsin lost starting quarterback John Stocco (who is yet unsigned, but has tried out with the N.Y. Giants), but return every starter on their offensive line except Thomas. They also return freshman rushing standout, P.J. Hill. The Badgers will lean on their run game, but Pitoitua and company could shut them down in the early going. It's up to the WSU offense to keep composure against an intimidating Badgers D, but if they can, WSU might have the right formula to make this a close one. Pitoitua is looking to transform from a blip to a bogey on draft radars and will get few chances as big as this to impress pro scouts.