Waldron-22: Travis Homer edition

The Seattle Seahawks offense has gone through some droughts lately, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t still seen some creative play calling from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. In last Sunday’s meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders, we got to witness a great sequence of plays that led to the go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter.

Of course, this lead wouldn’t hold for long, but that is on the defense; this easily could have been the winning score right here if the Raiders hadn’t responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive that forced overtime. While the offense was inconsistent, to be sure, they put the team in position to win this game, and that all started with these two plays. Roll the tape!

In the first play, the Seahawks line up in 12-personnel on 2nd and 8. Lockett is outside left, and Goodwin motions behind the line. Will Dissly and Noah Fant are lined up tight to the formation on the right. Walker is in the backfield, as usual, and helps to sell the playfake that sucks some of the Raiders front inside.

There isn’t anything particularly tricky going on here as defenses see some variation of this play very frequently, but this is simply an effective design that is well executed and sets up 3rd and short. That, in turn, opens up the playbook and puts the offense in a very favorable position. Pay attention to the blocking of Dissly and Fant, especially in the second angle. Dissly pulls a veteran move and lets Maxx Crosby get a step inside. He basically allows Crosby to assist him in setting up a solid reach block that keeps the defensive end from getting his hands on Goodwin; if Dissly doesn’t pull this off, Maxx had a good line on either shutting this play down, or at least forcing Marquise to take a less favorable running lane. Fant gets out in front and puts a hat on Zamir White, and Goodwin picks up a decent gain. Now, on to the TD.

This is yet another simple design that takes advantage of the aggressiveness of the Raiders, as they get basically every Las Vegas defender to bite on the play fake to Walker. The team lines up in 22-personnel, with Walker in front of Homer as a fullback. I have seen him do this a few times over recent weeks (10 times in total this season, according to Pro Football Focus) which I simply find interesting. Laquon Treadwell — who was elevated from the practice squad for the first time since being signed November 1st —is on the left, with Parkinson and Dissly lined up next to each other on the right. The funny thing here is that the play fake really isn’t even that great, as Walker never even gets close enough to Geno to touch the ball. But that isn’t as significant as the clever use of game situation to put the defense in an unenviable position. Following the fake:

• Dissly stays at home and pushes Maxx Crosby out of the play;
• Treadwell runs a crossing route and ends up hustling to put a pretty critical block on Rock Ya-SIn (even though he kind of whiffs, it is enough to spin the DB around and leave Homer with only one man to beat);
• Parkinson releases to the inside as Homer sneaks out of the backfield.

Right around the :43 second mark, you can see how the essentially the entire Raiders front is caught off guard and out of position, setting up Travis Homer for an easy completion. Of course, he doesn’t stop at the easy completion and he takes it 18 yards to the house.

Disappointment lingers after the last couple weeks. Particularly in this game where the team put themselves in position to win late in the 4th quarter and really should have pulled this one out. Nevertheless, I continue to find myself impressed by this offense for at least a few plays each week, even in defeat. Also, it was cool to see that Laquon Treadwell made an impact, even if he didn’t officially record any offensive stats. Geno Smith had positive things to say about Treadwell’s performance, and said that he hopes they can get him more involved moving forward. Regardless, this team in general will need to improve their consistency, to be sure, as this is the same team that proceeded to run a total of 8 more plays that covered a cumulative 10 yards during the rest of the 4th quarter and overtime. The play sequencing hasn’t always been ideal, but I did find the above sequence to be inspiring. Hopefully, Waldron will continue to inspire the team to get a victory over his former team and end their 3-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Rams (including playoffs).