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Leon Washington and the Rest (Minimally Featuring Leon Washington)

By John Morgan
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The second half starts.

Leon Washington (you're going to want to click that link.)

Seahawks up 17, Chargers ball.

  • Did the pressure end at the onset of the third quarter? No.
  • Brandon Mebane disrupts Mike Tolbert's run and he runs himself into Red Bryant attempting the cutback.
  • Now onto the fun stuff. Well, fun after the fact. Sucked at the time.
  • Seattle drops Will Herring and Chris Clemons into coverage and blitz Lofa Tatupu and David Hawthorne. Four pass rushers but pressure. I love this. Even better, it's only three. Tatupu is a decoy. He fakes rush, stops, adjusts to cover Jacob Hester and in a wrinkle debuted this game (I think) adjusts and chucks Hester to the turf.
  • I started noticing that. The Seahawks send a pass rusher but that pass rusher will adjust and pick up an outlet receiver if an outlet receiver attempts to escape. They did that last season some, but what's different this season is, instead of just moving into coverage, the Seahawks defender will first pop the outlet receiver and attempt to knock him off his route, or in the case of Tatupu and Hester, actually knock him down.
  • Even better, it's only three. Tatupu is a decoy. Better still, free shipping and handling. But best of all, Hawthorne shoots up the gut and strikes Philip Rivers with a head of steam. Boom. Three man rush, pressure and a quarterback hit. What more can anyone want?
  • Oh, results. Rivers completes the pass to Antonio Gates for 28. Rivers has balls of wrought iron and all, but this is largely blown coverage. Barely blown but blown. Herring gets lost watching Rivers and loses Gates. He nearly recovers in time to deflect or intercept the pass, but, well
  • Someone_forgot_to_pump_up_their_jordans_medium 
  • Someone forgot to pump their Jordans.
  • Don't get me wrong, I really like Will Herring. I wasn't sure if he would make the final 53 man roster, but I've always liked his hybrid safety-linebacker profile. But that's some pitiful hops, and I don't rag on players athleticism too much, I don't have an abundance of my own, but did Norv Turner flip the triple gravity switch or something? You couldn't slide a coaster under his foot without catching cleat.
  • Good play design, anyway.
  • Seattle rushed five on the next snap but good pressure was undone by better pocket presence. Mebane pressured from the right and Clemons circled around the blind side, but in a sliver of space in front of Clemons and to the left of Mebane, Rivers sidestepped and fired.
  • The pass arced high and towards Buster Davis. Marcus Trufant had tight coverage but the pass descended, Davis ran under and Trufant couldn't knock it away. At the very last moment, Earl Thomas shot into the action and delivered a blow but not enough to force an incomplete. One day very soon, Thomas will read the pass that much quicker, take that much cleaner an angle, and he'll be there. Thomas will be there to pick or intercept.
  • Seattle generated pressure from a five-man goal line front, but pressure didn't matter as Malcom Floyd did something very cagey. Off the snap, he slow-played into this route until both Tatupu (to the right) and Lawyer Milloy (to the left) abandoned the center. Then he tiptoed into his route and waved for Rivers. Rivers complied and fired and Floyd caught the touchdown and a desperate late tackle attempt by Tatupu proved desperate, late and insufficient.

    • Seahawks ball.

    • Chris Baker seemed much more involved in the game plan, perhaps, unfortunately, because the coaches recognize that John Carlson is not much of a run blocker and that he isn't improving. Baker handled the left outside linebacker, Spencer and Andrews took care of the nose and Forsett ran for an easy nine.
    • False start, Michael, don't call me Marcus, Robinson.
    • (because I too shall one day win the Pete Rozelle Award.
    • Polumbus and Carlson botch cut blocks, Forsett tackled after one.
    • Hasselbeck evades pressure, steps up, sees a clearing, scrambles, is nearly dropped, gets bailed by a block by Locklear, and is then struck by that same player, Shaun Phillips.
    • Forsett motions into the right flat and receives for an easy eight.
    • Blown block, Locklear.
    • Matt scrambles right, looks at Forsett running a cross, waves "Go deep. Go deep." Forsett doesn't. Carlson does. Hasselbeck sees Carlson streaking free, sets his feet, starts to throw, tucks, throws, overthrows Carlson.
    • It would have been awesome.

    Punt.

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