Because I am on vacation for the next few days, I have set these posts up in advance. And because the 'news' I'd be bringing you would be outdated, I have decided to include some interesting articles that you should check out if you're a football nerd like me. They are great for a general understanding of football and a background into why the Seahawks (or any team) do the things they do.
First, in a 3-part series, writers from Shaking the Southland, a SBN Clemson blog, give a very detailed and informative coaching session on Defensive Back techniques and strategies.
Defensive Coverage Techniques I - Backpedal, Slide, Jam - Shakin The Southland
"Over the course of the off-season, we would like to discuss some basic defensive techniques and strategies along with common defensive looks that you will see over the course of a football season--specifically in pass coverage. Since we are all at different levels of technical understanding of the game and the positions, we thought we would start with the absolute basics and work towards more complicated aspects of pass coverage. Please be patient if these concepts are elementary and remember that understanding technique is critical to successful play."
Defensive Back Techniques II - Terms and Communication - Shakin The Southland
"We plan to continue to develop defensive topics during the offseason and go into pattern-reading, a technique by which the secondary can tighten up the zone coverage so that it appears to be man/man. However, before we go into this type of secondary coverage Clemson runs we need to continue to develop some terminology and basic techniques used in pass coverage so that you can understand the information presented."
Defensive Back Techniques: Cover 2 Pattern Read Examples - Shakin The Southland
"This is the last group of examples we'll showcase for Cover 2 pattern reads, and over the summer we plan to touch on pattern reading a little more and for specific plays and examples. I think in the next series of articles we'll go into substituted pass coverage (nickel or dime packages) when applied to the spread offense, and some discussion on defensive fronts. In the example diagrams I've created here, I've assumed a standard Cover 2 zone scheme where the FS and SS (or a nickel back) play the 2 deep halves of the field. I've also diagrammed most of it as a usual 4-3, but that doesn't matter. Note that Cover 2 is not Tampa 2, a Tampa 2 scheme is closer to Cover 3 zone."
This next article is pertinent to Seahawks' fans because it talks about the use of an Elephant in Wade Phillips defense. There are some similarities to Pete Carroll's 4-3 Under so it's worth a read.
How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Elephant - Battle Red Blog
"A couple of weeks ago I heard that Wade was planning to move Mario Williams to weak side OLB as he retools the Texans broken defense. Before I knew what to make of it, every frustrated Texans fan with a twitter account, blog or access to a call-in radio sports show was howling that this abominable experiment was doomed. Just as Warren Sapp recalled Wade Phillips' resume and made me feel better, Willie McGinist laughed at the madness of this idea and anyone foolish enough to even consider Wade's past success as a factor. Silly Sapp. Silly me... watching the NFL channel, so I decided to get a broader view."
The Seahawks run a Tampa-2 defense at times. It's easiest to recognize by Lofa Tatupu streaking down the middle of the field in deep middle pass coverage. It's explained in more detail in the following article.
"Tampa 2" Defense Explained - Bucs Nation
"The Tampa 2 Defense is the heart of the Buccaneers championship run, what keeps getting Lane Kiffin jobs (Thanks Dad) and is making a comeback per Raheem Morris. Monte Kiffen and Tony Dungy modified the original Cover 2 in response to the West Coast Offense. The WCO (West Coast Offense) was notorious for getting receivers behind the linebackers, thus creating spots on the field that simply left people uncovered or didn't put players in a position to make a tackle. However, do we really understand what a Tampa 2 is? What kind of players does it require, and what does it require of those players? After the jump we will examine this in great detail."