FanPost

Sheldon Richardson Doesn't Have Time for BS

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

This is Nazair Jones.

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Something very bad is about to happen to him.

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"[Being 6-5 with long legs is] really a downside when you get these guards and it's time to play the run and you have to keep your pads low," Jones said.

The two men pushing him down, Aviante Collins and Jeremiah Sirles, are each undrafted free agents attempting to stick as depth with the Minnesota Vikings. Last season Minnesota rated 30th in the NFL in run blocking as measured by Football Outsiders, and in a dead heat with Tampa for last place in short yardage or "Power" blocking. Maybe Collins and Sirles are emerging talents soon to break through. That seems unlikely. Most likely Jones was converted to a short stack with ample syrup by two guys nervously checking their phones today, dreading a call from Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.

I like Jones, overall. His raw hustle is off the charts, but his in-game effectiveness varies greatly from play to play. He struggles to get off blocks, and as the above gif indicates, he's roadkill against double teams. Which is why he was projected by many to be a defensive end in a 3-4. Seattle would love to employ him in certain sub-packages, working him as a big end in the Red Bryant mold, or as a pass disrupting tackle able to tip passes and close throwing lanes like Tony McDaniel. What he is not though is a stout presence in the middle, anchoring and contorting and surviving car crash forces without being blown back or run over. Which is a problem.

A few hours ago Seattle was dangerously thin at defensive tackle. Now it's acceptably deep and extraordinarily talented. Funny what happens when you rob Todd Bowles' doghouse.

Enter Sheldon Richardson

Sheldon Richardson played linebacker last season. That is a remarkable testament to his athleticism and a total mismanagement of resources by the Jets. The upshot for my purposes is that game tape from 2016 is useless for assessing how Richardson will perform for the Seahawks in 2017. Luckily the tubes of the Internet are deep and replete. With a little work I found tape from 2015, in which Richardson plays defensive line against the New England Patriots.

I am working on short notice so this is admittedly a little shallow and rushed, but let's see how he did.

The Patriots were missing starters along the offensive line, leaving this group to battle the Jets.

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Sebastian Vollmer has since retired. Josh Kline starts for the Tennessee Titans. Tre Jackson was released by New England and could not stick with the Rams. He's currently a free agent. Cameron Fleming started at left tackle for the Patriots in Week 1 of the 2016 season, but played mostly as a swing tackle thereafter. New England re-signed him this offseason. David Andrews still starts at center. It's a mixed but not overly bad group--the sort of misfit bunch of brawlers and bruisers the Seahawks might start. Which is to say, not overly bad.

The Patriots began the game by passing 12 straight times. Many of these passes followed a hurry-up offense, and many were short to compensate for the relative mismatch of the Pats offensive line against the Jets defensive line. It wasn't until 5:04 left in the second quarter that Richardson accomplished much of anything of note, and, frankly, he looked a little bit gassed.

(Bowles runs his defensive linemen ragged. Against New England Muhammad Wilkerson played in 94% of all snaps, Richardson in 87% and Leonard Williams in 70%. In the 11 weeks following his suspension, Richardson played in 618 of 784 possible defensive snaps, or 78.8% of all plays. By contrast, Ahtyba Rubin, who started all 16 games for Seattle in 2016 and led defensive tackles by snaps, played in only 55.8% of defensive plays. Richardson may improve simply through better management of his workload.)

But, gassed though he was, he put Jackson on skates and drove him right toward Brady's kisser.

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He's the dominant half of the couplet positioned directly in front of Brady.

Whether or not he finds what he is seeking

is important, gridiron football speaking.

It's a simple bull rush, the foundational technique of a defensive tackle, but it works, and the otherwise tepid outside rush becomes very threatening. Brady bails ... for 11 and the first. Tom Brady frustrates from beyond the fabric of space-time, y'know?

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Let's watch Richardson exact revenge.

New England sets itself five wide, shotgun and New York counters with a 3-3 nickel. Richardson is singled up against Jackson. Jets rush four.

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Through the confusion you can see Richardson first working to Jackson's outside shoulder, and then, with his right arm, swimming Jackson aside to create a pass rush lane. It's a good move against an overmatched blocker, but what really dazzles are Richardson's ability to stay low, maintain balance and continue toward Brady though he's not fully disengaged from Jackson.

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And his closing burst in the open field.

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Richardson was not able to complete his workout at the 2013 NFL Combine because of a hip injury. At Missouri's pro day, he put up 10-20-40 splits reminiscent of Geno Atkins.

Atkins

40 Yrd Dash: 4.85
20 Yrd Dash: 2.86
10 Yrd Dash: 1.75

Richardson

40 Yrd Dash: [4.88-4.89]
20 Yrd Dash: 2.71
10 Yrd Dash: 1.68

Typically, I discount pro day results, but given the circumstances of Richardson testing through an injury, his pro day splits may be more indicative of his true talent. That's nutty.

If for whatever reason you're feeling unusually calm right now, know that Brady recovered his own fumble after Andrews dribbled it to him with his foot.

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Richardson ran a hook zone quite often. He's impressively quick, agile and controlled for a defensive tackle, but his deployment in coverage was surely a reaction to New England's game plan.

This was an unusual game for observing line play, and by "unusual" I mean "poor." The Patriots did everything in their power to neutralize the Jets' defensive line, running only nine times--four of which were by Brady--and flooding New York's secondary with receivers running short routes. Only six of Brady's 54 pass attempts were deep. Factoring in sacks, Brady averaged only 5.91 yards per attempt. He averaged 6.87 for the season. Yet he was hugely effective.

This leaves me with some incomplete but informed opinions about Richardson. He's rare quick for a defensive tackle but does not always fire off the line. His ability to separate from blockers through rip and swims moves is unlike anything the Seahawks have seen from a defensive tackle in quite some time. This should greatly improve Seattle's pass rush from base formations, and allow the Seahawks to spell Michael Bennett in sub-packages. Black Santa was sorely depleted and more than a little banged up by season's end last season, and those debilities really showed when he played defensive tackle. That's a hugely demanding task for a defensive end.

As for double teams? Such is the danger of a post researched and written on the spot--he just didn't face many. Richardson plays with good leverage, and he's more than a little squirmy, twisting and contorting his powerful core to evade linemen and avoid anyone locking on and driving him back. The point of attack bends to his will, so that when he wants to drive into the backfield, blockers are driven back, but if any of that means he will hold ground against a double team, I don't know for sure.

Sometimes I like to hype guys up. Sometimes it's better to understate a player's ability. Usually it's better to understate a player's ability when they're so good that any phrasing, any fulsome mix of adjectives, is unlikely to capture how talented and skilled that player is. I've analyzed one game of Sheldon Richardson's play, quickly and rather incompletely. He seems pretty good.