The Seahawks opened the game on Saturday, after a little chippiness from the special teams unit on the kickoff, by setting the tone of the game with a 7-play, 80 yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead on the visiting San Francisco 49ers.

Thomas Beekers said it perfectly at the time, noting then that the "49ers have no answer for the opening scripted drive. That's pretty wonderful."

It was pretty wonderful, and also makes for an interesting breakdown as (as Thomas mentioned) most, if not all, of these plays were carefully scripted in the week running up to the game and practiced in walk-throughs and pre-game meetings an innumerable amount of times. For the Seahawks to nearly perfectly execute that game plan against one of the top defenses in the NFL in a huge game with playoff implications, well, that's pretty nice to see.

The way they went about it, too, was interesting, eschewing the normal run hard then only pass if necessary type of offense, the Seahawks instead spread things out and passed the football on five of seven initial plays. This did a number of things, - first, it effectively knocked the wind out of the Niner run defense's sails -, had the Seahawks tried to run it early and often then failed, who knows what kind of momentum they'd have given their opponents. Doubt would set in for the Seahawks. More confidence would have been gained for the 49ers. Instead, by gashing the Niners several times through the air on the initial drive, the Seahawks essentially said with their opening volley, "if we can't run on you to win, we'll beat you through the air."

I believe I've read Davis Hsu elucidate this as well - the opening possession for the Seahawks is a very important one. You'll hear the words 'tone-setting' thrown out by me but I really believe that's what this type of drive does. When the Seahawks start slow, they START SLOW. If they have some success in the opening minutes, it's typically anothe story. Anyway, let's take a look at how it was scripted and how it went down.

Seattle Seahawks at 15:00
1-10-SEA 20 (15:00) (Shotgun) T.Jackson pass incomplete short middle to D.Baldwin.

Opening play, the run-heavy Seahawks offense spread it out and show an empty backfield, with Marshawn Lynch and Zach Miller set out on the right wing. Um, that's an interesting look, especially for the first play of the game. Announcer Charles Davis comments on this as well.

The play fails, - Doug Baldwin, in the left slot, runs a quick slant and drops a nicely placed ball from Tarvaris Jackson. That, my friends, is not going to happen very often.

2-10-SEA 20 (14:57) T.Jackson pass deep right to R.Lockette to SF 36 for 44 yards (C.Rogers). P1

2nd down. The Hawks go to their "12" personnel grouping with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield, and Cameron Morrah and Zach Miller as the tight ends. Golden Tate is out on the left wing and rookie UDFA Ricardo Lockette is out to the right.

Note - Pete Carroll mentioned Lockette several times over the week and apparently it wasn't just lip service. Credit to the Seahawks for getting him involved, - I'm actually a big fan of their ability to get their depth out on the field throwing Ricardo into the fire with a deep ball on the second snap of his first game is a hell of a way to introduce him to the NFL.

The play is fairly simple, use two tight ends and a running back to draw your linebackers and strong safeties' attentions then get your receivers in iso situations on the wing. In this case, S Dashon Goldson is actually pretty close on the throw but Lockette just has a step on him and Carlos Rodgers.

Ball is snapped, Lockette beats the press to the inside then fades toward the sideline. Tjack throws it up, with pressure in his face from Justin Smith, and perfectly leads Lockette on the pass.

Nice play by the rookie to reel it in but an even nicer throw by Tarvaris. Big pickup on 2nd down for 44 yards. Remember how I wrote that the explosive play was going to be integral to drive on this stiff 49er defense? Well, that's not rocket surgery when you're facing a team with San Francisco's run defense, but that this type of thing was scripted early was telling. That they could execute it, that was encouraging.

Continue reading this post »

Alright, back tonight with the Top Five Defensive Plays of the Week as the Seahawks knocked off the Eagles in primetime. To start off - I wouldn't say this was the Seahawks' best defensive performance of the season, overall. The four interceptions were huge, yes, but the defense still gave up 5.3 yards per carry on the ground and over 200 yards through the air. They didn't particularly dominate and Vince Young didn't play particularly well. Ok, I've gotten that out of the way, and the Eagles are normally a damn good offensive team so I'll definitely take what we got on Thursday.

Now, there were quite a few great plays to choose from, (I almost dedicated this whole post to ridiculously high-degree of difficulty open-field tackles of Lesean McCoy by Earl Thomas) and here were a few (apart from ET's ridiculousness) that caught my eye.

1. 1-10-SEA 33 (5:42 4th Quarter) (Shotgun) V.Young pass short right to D.Jackson to SEA 30 for 3 yards (C.Clemons).

As a quick aside - there was another Clemons' play that caught my eye as well, early in the third quarter where Clemons came across the formation on an Eagles stretch run play and caught Shady McCoy from behind, followed by his signature chin-strap-unsnapping celebration and compulsory in-Andy-Reid's-face taunt, probably something along the lines of "you shouldn't have traded me, sir".

Anyway. This play wasn't particularly flashy, but it showed how Chris Clemons is effective in the LEO role apart from just rushing the passer like a banshee.. The Eagles are going to run something that they tend to run quite well - a quick swing-pass screen, over to Desean Jackson that will be aided by pulling tight end Brent Celek, a couple of offensive linemen, and Jackson's wily shiftiness.

Upon the snap, Richard Sherman backs off of Jackson quickly, signaling a zone, apparently happy at this point in the game to just keep Jackson in front of him and limit the big play. The Hawks are up ten with 5:43 to go and by no means is this thing over. A score here by the Eagles would really put the Seahawks' backs to the wall in terms of finishing out the game with the lead.

See the assignments illustrated below.

Below you can see the snap, with Shady staying in for pass protection, and the tight end to the right side of the field pulling downfield. On this particular snap, Clemons doesn't rush the passer, instead dropping into coverage of the releasing TE. This is very helpful for the Seahawks' defense here. (Can we be thankful for Gus Bradley here?!?)

Clemons sniffs out the swing pass almost instantly, breaking off and letting the TE, Brent Celek, run downfield. He makes a beeline for Jackson. I've shown arrows indicating that the Eagles have some good numbers downfield if Jackson is able to sneak past the Chris Clemons' onslaught.

Continue reading this post »

Before we put last Sunday to rest and focus on tonight's game - which we will do today, in this weird, short week - I wanted to talk a little bit about a few key plays made against Washington.

The Seahawks' defense didn't play the way it was capable this past Sunday and on the way gave up 23 points to the Washington Redskins. They made some mistakes and the Redskins took advantage, but that doesn't mean there weren't some highlight worthy individual plays to focus on.

I picked out a few to break down a bit, and once you've read through them, vote on which play you think deserves the honor of being the Defensive Play of the Game. Or Top Defensive Play. Or Biggest Defensive Play of the Game. I still haven't landed on the title yet. Last week, Red Bryant ran away with it for his interception/stiff arm, getting over 80% of the votes.

1:

2-9-WAS 23 (11:19 2nd) R.Grossman pass short right intended for J.Gaffney INTERCEPTED by B.Browner at WAS 36. B.Browner to WAS 20 for 16 yards (M.Hurt).

This is why it's nice to have 6'4 cornerbacks that used to play receiver. Brandon Browner does a good job of anticipating the pass Rex Grossman sailed toward Jabbar Gaffney, and picking it off at its high point. The pass is a poor one but Browner showed good instincts by blanketing Gaffney in his route. It was a big play at the time, as the Seahawks trailed 7-0 early 2nd quarter.

Even more important was the very next play was a 20-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown on a swing screen pass.

Continue reading this post »

Updated: Brock Huard actually just broke down this play for his Chalk Talk about 15 minutes after I posted this. As could be expected, it's an even better look at the play by Huard that works as a great addendum to my piece. It's validating that Brock makes some of the same points I just did - and the detail he brings is excellent as usual. I've attached the video at the bottom of the post so give it a watch.

Each week I break down a "power play" of my choosing - sometimes I like to look for 'power' in the truest sense of the word, with players winning individual battles and smashing their opponents in the mouth, bending them to their will, outmatching them physically. Other times I like to look at plays that were powerful in the sense that they made a big impact in the game, and that's more where the following comes in.

Screen passes, in general, rely less on smashmouth football and more on slight of hand, misdirection, timing and finesse. Oftentimes you need to have a little luck when it comes to the opposing defensive call. I've talked about the Seahawks' use of the screen pass a little bit here this season - Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett had some success with it back in week four against the Falcons that I thought was encouraging - but in general the screen has been anything but the Seahawks' bread and butter. In fact, it's sort of been a bane to their offense, falling short on key third downs, moving the Seahawks backwards, failing to develop at all, and in general just frustrating the hell out of me.

That's why I always like to point it out when the Seahawks run a well-executed screen pass and in this case it went for a very big (at the time) touchdown. Here's the situation: 1st and 10 at the Redskins 20 yard line, 11:08 in the 2nd quarter. Up to this point in the game, it had very much been all Washington, including a 14-play, 80 yard, 7:49 clock eating drive in the first quarter that went for seven. The Seahawks, by this point in the 2nd frame, hadn't gotten past midfield and were looking listless.

However, with 11:19 in the 2nd, the play before Lynch's TD, Brandon Browner picked off a Rex Grossman pass, flipping the momentum in the Seahawks' favor and putting them deep into Washington's end of the field. The Hawks needed to keep the momentum gained and punch it into the endzone.

For their first down play, Darrell Bevell dials up a screen pass, a play-call that I like in this situation, considering the Redskins' very formidable pass rush and taking into account the down and distance. In a first down and ten situation deep in their own end, most defenses aren't thinking screen pass. They're probably more apt to be thinking, let's get to the quarterback and take these assholes out of field goal range or create a turnover, or something along those lines.

This plays into Seattle's favor. Below you can see the Seahawks are in their "21" personnel - two running backs, Marshawn Lynch as the tailback and Michael Robinson as the fullback, and one tight end, Zach Miller, set to the right in-line. Sidney Rice and Mike Williams are out left on the wing, and the Redskins run a man coverage scheme with their cornerbacks, leaving the right side pretty wide open.

One notable and interesting wrinkle in this personnel package is the fact that Paul McQuistan has switched spots with Breno Giacomini and is playing RT, with Breno moved into the RG position. On one hand I'd say this is a grievous tell of what was coming next (McQuistan pulling downfield) but on the other hand it's just another way to make the defense think and thus react more slowly.

Ball is snapped.

Continue reading this post »

I liked this play for a number of reasons, but principal among them was Marshawn Lynch's three-point stance, shown in the image below. Just drink that in, folks. A beast ready to strike. Anyway, that was cheesy. 

There are real reasons I like this play, and I'll tell you about them. First off - look at the down and distance. It's 3rd and 1 in the from the 3 yard line. Seahawks are up three, midway through the third quarter and you know if they come short on this play, the media is going to crucify Carroll for whatever it is he decides to do, - whether it's to go for it Big Balls Pete Style, or to play it safe, boring, and pansy-ass style and kick the field goal.

So, to avoid all that, I really like that Lynch just went ahead and scored the touchdown on this one, despite the real play call not really working how you'd like it to. 

I also like it because it's unconventional, at least in a personnel sense. I don't know how often the Seahawks use Lynch as the fullback but it can't be more than once or twice a game, if that. Michael Robinson is sitting back, a few yards further than he's used to, just ready to crash through the line for a touchdown, but they wouldn't call his number this time. 

The Hawks are going to run a basic run play here - with each lineman downblocking to their right and right tackle Breno Giacomini reaching to his left. Anthony McCoy is going to seal to his right and create a hole in the C-gap for Lynch to hit hard. 

Continue reading this post »

Seahawks' fullback Michael Robinson found himself Pete Carroll's target of praise following Sunday's win against Baltimore and I must admit I hadn't really noticed him all that much in this one the first time around. In full game speed, it's only natural to watch the ball and as a consequence you tend to miss out on all the rest of the twenty-one players winning battles on a given play. Upon second viewing though, and especially after this quote from his coach, I sat up and paid closer attention:

"At the fullback position, Mike had his best game since we've been here. He really was effective. And he had the matchup of the century going against Ray [Lewis] and he did a very nice job. He didn't win them all - you're not gonna. But he was effective and had some key blocks. He dominated some blocks against their guys at times. So I was really fired up to see Mike play that well consistently and have such a big factor."

Though I have this weird fascination with huge, hulking fullbacks like Mack Strong or Vonta Leach (who nearly took Earl Thomas' head off this weekend, by the way) that clear running lanes and destroy anything in their paths, I also really like what Mike Rob brings to the Seahawks' offense, both on the field and off. Robinson isn't your typical fullback - especially as a former college quarterback at Penn State - and at 240 or so, is a tad undersized. For whatever reason - speed, athleticism, versatility in special teams - the Seahawks like their fullbacks in that weight range and haven't really deviated from that, personnel-wise.  

As Carroll said, Robinson isn't going to win every matchup with linebackers in his path, and I suspect the Seahawks are fine with that, but he definitely made me a believer on Sunday against Ray Lewis - maybe you've heard of him?

Future Hall of Fame linebacker, All-Pro All Day, you name it, and I want to point out that this post's purpose isn't to poke fun at Lewis because that guy is a beast and everyone knows it. Instead, it's simply a testament to Mike Rob for getting the job done this time, something that I think deserves some attention and accolade. 

Two particular plays in the 3rd quarter really caught my eye so I thought I'd break them down. First up - ball on the Seahawks 9-yard line with 9:31 in the quarter. The Hawks, as you might have noticed, had it in their mind that they were going to run the football on Sunday and they never abandoned it. 

Below you can see some of the blocking responsibilities. Center Max Unger is going to down block on the defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, and left guard Robert Gallery is going to double up on him. Russell Okung is going to block with inside leverage, as will right end Zach Miller. This is going to open up a hole in the B gap, outside what would have been Gallery's shoulder. In true smashmouth style, this is going to leave Michael Robinson mano-a-mano with oncoming linebacker Ray Lewis. 

Ball is snapped. 

Continue reading this post »