kearly
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This topic is probably four months too early, but I'm bored. I'm just thinking out loud here...
As always, I trust the coaches. I support how they use their roster even when I disagree, and for the record, I usually end up on the wrong side when I disagree with their usage. With that said, here are some personnel usages that I'm really hoping to see next season:
Christine Michael and Percy Harvin see significant reps at RB.
With an open field ahead of him, Marshawn Lynch can still hit the low 4.4s. But in traffic, he's probably more like a 4.6 guy. It's not that Lynch is slow, it's just that he builds his game off of resilience and not explosiveness, and with bodies around him, it shows. It's hard to be explosive or run at top gear while in the drunken master rushing stance, as awesome as that running style may be. If you can find it, watch Lynch's 70+ yard TD against Detroit. Notice how his running style changes in the open? It's like he has a "beast mode" and a "sprint mode."
Lynch is Mr. Consistent. I don't think there is a RB in the NFL that is even close to as good as Lynch that runs for 20+ less often. Lynch makes up for it by rushing for 3-5 yards very consistently. Lynch is elite and he's complete as a back, but if there is one thing he's not, it's being explosive in traffic.
The really cool thing about Christine Michael and Percy Harvin is that not only are they among the most explosive athletes in the NFL, but they are very physical runners with great balance, power and resilience. They are explosive in traffic in a way that Lynch isn't. Lynch lumbers and clobbers. I liked how Scottemojo described Christine Michael: "part ghost part truck." He can run you over but he can also vanish with his insane burst through a wall of defenders before they can close on him. There will be rushes during the season where Lynch would go for 5 hard fought yards that Harvin or Michael would be taking to the house.
This is by no means a repudiation of Beast Mode. He's one of the elite running backs in the NFL. I just think it's no coincidence that Seattle went out and spent a 1st, 2nd, and (future) 3rd round picks on two players with the kind of explosive skillset that compliments Lynch perfectly.
Last year, Seattle's #1 RB had four times as many carries as the #2 RB. I think a nice goal for 2013 might be for Lynch to get 60% of the non-QB rushes (based on last year's numbers that would be 265 carries compared to 315 last year) with Michael and Harvin getting preference with the rest (approximately 175 remaining carries). I think the more those two see backfield next year, the better our offense will be.
I think this is pretty likely to happen, and it's a great move for the team, IMO.
Michael Bennett gets more 5-tech reps than Red Bryant does.
What do Michael Bennett, Cameron Jordan, and Corey Liuget have in common? All three were solid 3-techs who exploded in sack production when moving into a 5-tech type role. From the sound of it, Seattle will use Bennett like Jason Jones, and Jones probably saw (I'm guessing), a solid 70% of his snaps inside at DT. That feels like a waste to me, as Bennett has a little bit of Osi in his game at defensive end but with run defense that Umenyiora could never dream of.
The team just drafted a potential over-achiever 3-tech in Jordan Hill and Greg Scruggs is up to 295 pounds, which is prototypical weight for a 3-tech. Given that Bennett had nine sacks last year playing mostly outside AND was one of the better run defenders in the NFL (PFF), it should be a priority to man the strong side defensive end spot as much as possible. Just two of Bennett's sacks last year came from the DT spot.
In a best case scenario, Bennett continues the stardom he had last season in the 5-tech role with Bryant becoming a rotational player. I think this benefits Bryant too since it would keep his workload down which helps him stay fresh and healthy. Jesse Williams should get some work in too at DE, if only to see if Dan Quinn can turn that 4.9 forty at 323 pounds into pressures. Williams didn't see time at DE at Alabama, so he might have upside there that we don't know about. Williams is Red Bryant with speed.
If Bennett can prove to be as good a run defender at the 5-tech as a healthy Bryant, it makes sense to use him there as much as possible. The upgrade to the pass rush would be enormous.
Seattle does not depend on Avril the way they did on Clemons last year.
Seattle's entire pass rush centered around Clemons the last couple years, especially in their early down formations (Bryant, Branch, Mebane, Clemons). That's basically one true pass rusher getting it done for us. I like Cliff Avril a lot, but would you trust a one dimensional edge rusher like him in that kind of situation? I wouldn't.
I think Seattle needs to throw Avril a bone if they end up relying on him as the LEO while Clemons recovers. Use Bennett more at DE. Use Jesse Williams and Red Bryant sparingly as they add zilch to the pass rush. Get Jordan Hill and Greg Scruggs as many 3-tech reps as possible. Send a 5th pass rusher more often. If Clemons comes back 100%, I think at that point Seattle can probably revert to their previous run defense heavy fronts, but I wouldn't personally get that cute with Avril. I'd make sure he had help.
I think this probably happens eventually, but I suspect Pete will learn the hard way first.
KJ Wright becomes a specialist; Seattle gives Allen Bradford serious consideration at SAM
KJ Wright is kind of the Red Bryant of our LB corps. He's an elite enforcer at the line of scrimmage against the run, like having another defensive end. He's just so-so as a blitzer though and has shown himself to be a liability at times in coverage because of his lack of speed (He's a 4.75 forty guy in a group full of 4.45 runners).
There is a lot of talk about Avril and Irvin moving to SAM next season part time, so it sounds like this might already be in the plans.
Last year I took notes during every preseason game and wrote comprehensive post-game summaries here at .net that covered just about every player that took the field for Seattle. One of the players who really surprised me was former USC RB Allen Bradford. He was hurt and played in just one game (week 4- Oakland). But in that one game, he was a truck at linebacker. 240 pounds running at low 4.5s speed. He was laying huge hits at high speed left and right. More than that, Bradford had much better instincts than I expected. Turns out that Bradford was a very highly recruited LB coming out of High School. After watching that preseason game, I believe it.
I know it was just one game, one preseason game, but that game left a hell of an impression on me, and I still wonder if Bradford might be our best outside linebacker at least in terms of physical talent.
It made a huge impression on Pete Carroll too. Pete went out of his way to talk about Bradford in a recent radio interview when asked about not drafting linebackers, specifically citing the Raiders preseason game. Seems Bradford caught Pete's eye as well.
I'm not anointing Bradford, but I think he deserves serious consideration for playing time and I expect that Pete will have a vigorous competition at linebacker this year. If all goes well we could see a fully specialized linebacker corps next year with each linebacker being used to his greatest strengths.
Golden Tate sees more reps than Doug Baldwin.
The addition of Harvin will mean that Tate and Baldwin will see the field less often in 2013. The Seahawks are going to cycle through a lot of receivers though I expect Harvin and Rice to be near constants. With Tate and Baldwin competing for playing time against each other, who should get more? Tate? Baldwin? Maybe a 50/50 split? Personally, I lean towards Tate getting the majority share.
Tate had far more yards per target last year than Baldwin did in either of his seasons, and Tate also makes tough catches look routine while Baldwin sometimes makes routine catches look tough at times. More importantly, I don't think Baldwin will see the field much in the slot next year thanks to the additions of Harvin and TE Luke Willson, and as an outside receiver Tate is clearly superior, in my opinion. That plus Tate stays healthy, and that's something Baldwin struggles with, so it makes sense to limit the reps of the less durable option.
It sucks that either one of them has to have his reps reduced. Both are quality receivers and I thought Tate was a breakout candidate in 2013 before the Harvin addition knocked his rep count down a little bit. Tate nearly led the NFL in yards per target and catch rate last year, was among the league leaders in YAC, and has become a very good blocker.
As always, I trust the coaches. I support how they use their roster even when I disagree, and for the record, I usually end up on the wrong side when I disagree with their usage. With that said, here are some personnel usages that I'm really hoping to see next season:
Christine Michael and Percy Harvin see significant reps at RB.
With an open field ahead of him, Marshawn Lynch can still hit the low 4.4s. But in traffic, he's probably more like a 4.6 guy. It's not that Lynch is slow, it's just that he builds his game off of resilience and not explosiveness, and with bodies around him, it shows. It's hard to be explosive or run at top gear while in the drunken master rushing stance, as awesome as that running style may be. If you can find it, watch Lynch's 70+ yard TD against Detroit. Notice how his running style changes in the open? It's like he has a "beast mode" and a "sprint mode."
Lynch is Mr. Consistent. I don't think there is a RB in the NFL that is even close to as good as Lynch that runs for 20+ less often. Lynch makes up for it by rushing for 3-5 yards very consistently. Lynch is elite and he's complete as a back, but if there is one thing he's not, it's being explosive in traffic.
The really cool thing about Christine Michael and Percy Harvin is that not only are they among the most explosive athletes in the NFL, but they are very physical runners with great balance, power and resilience. They are explosive in traffic in a way that Lynch isn't. Lynch lumbers and clobbers. I liked how Scottemojo described Christine Michael: "part ghost part truck." He can run you over but he can also vanish with his insane burst through a wall of defenders before they can close on him. There will be rushes during the season where Lynch would go for 5 hard fought yards that Harvin or Michael would be taking to the house.
This is by no means a repudiation of Beast Mode. He's one of the elite running backs in the NFL. I just think it's no coincidence that Seattle went out and spent a 1st, 2nd, and (future) 3rd round picks on two players with the kind of explosive skillset that compliments Lynch perfectly.
Last year, Seattle's #1 RB had four times as many carries as the #2 RB. I think a nice goal for 2013 might be for Lynch to get 60% of the non-QB rushes (based on last year's numbers that would be 265 carries compared to 315 last year) with Michael and Harvin getting preference with the rest (approximately 175 remaining carries). I think the more those two see backfield next year, the better our offense will be.
I think this is pretty likely to happen, and it's a great move for the team, IMO.
Michael Bennett gets more 5-tech reps than Red Bryant does.
What do Michael Bennett, Cameron Jordan, and Corey Liuget have in common? All three were solid 3-techs who exploded in sack production when moving into a 5-tech type role. From the sound of it, Seattle will use Bennett like Jason Jones, and Jones probably saw (I'm guessing), a solid 70% of his snaps inside at DT. That feels like a waste to me, as Bennett has a little bit of Osi in his game at defensive end but with run defense that Umenyiora could never dream of.
The team just drafted a potential over-achiever 3-tech in Jordan Hill and Greg Scruggs is up to 295 pounds, which is prototypical weight for a 3-tech. Given that Bennett had nine sacks last year playing mostly outside AND was one of the better run defenders in the NFL (PFF), it should be a priority to man the strong side defensive end spot as much as possible. Just two of Bennett's sacks last year came from the DT spot.
In a best case scenario, Bennett continues the stardom he had last season in the 5-tech role with Bryant becoming a rotational player. I think this benefits Bryant too since it would keep his workload down which helps him stay fresh and healthy. Jesse Williams should get some work in too at DE, if only to see if Dan Quinn can turn that 4.9 forty at 323 pounds into pressures. Williams didn't see time at DE at Alabama, so he might have upside there that we don't know about. Williams is Red Bryant with speed.
If Bennett can prove to be as good a run defender at the 5-tech as a healthy Bryant, it makes sense to use him there as much as possible. The upgrade to the pass rush would be enormous.
Seattle does not depend on Avril the way they did on Clemons last year.
Seattle's entire pass rush centered around Clemons the last couple years, especially in their early down formations (Bryant, Branch, Mebane, Clemons). That's basically one true pass rusher getting it done for us. I like Cliff Avril a lot, but would you trust a one dimensional edge rusher like him in that kind of situation? I wouldn't.
I think Seattle needs to throw Avril a bone if they end up relying on him as the LEO while Clemons recovers. Use Bennett more at DE. Use Jesse Williams and Red Bryant sparingly as they add zilch to the pass rush. Get Jordan Hill and Greg Scruggs as many 3-tech reps as possible. Send a 5th pass rusher more often. If Clemons comes back 100%, I think at that point Seattle can probably revert to their previous run defense heavy fronts, but I wouldn't personally get that cute with Avril. I'd make sure he had help.
I think this probably happens eventually, but I suspect Pete will learn the hard way first.
KJ Wright becomes a specialist; Seattle gives Allen Bradford serious consideration at SAM
KJ Wright is kind of the Red Bryant of our LB corps. He's an elite enforcer at the line of scrimmage against the run, like having another defensive end. He's just so-so as a blitzer though and has shown himself to be a liability at times in coverage because of his lack of speed (He's a 4.75 forty guy in a group full of 4.45 runners).
There is a lot of talk about Avril and Irvin moving to SAM next season part time, so it sounds like this might already be in the plans.
Last year I took notes during every preseason game and wrote comprehensive post-game summaries here at .net that covered just about every player that took the field for Seattle. One of the players who really surprised me was former USC RB Allen Bradford. He was hurt and played in just one game (week 4- Oakland). But in that one game, he was a truck at linebacker. 240 pounds running at low 4.5s speed. He was laying huge hits at high speed left and right. More than that, Bradford had much better instincts than I expected. Turns out that Bradford was a very highly recruited LB coming out of High School. After watching that preseason game, I believe it.
I know it was just one game, one preseason game, but that game left a hell of an impression on me, and I still wonder if Bradford might be our best outside linebacker at least in terms of physical talent.
It made a huge impression on Pete Carroll too. Pete went out of his way to talk about Bradford in a recent radio interview when asked about not drafting linebackers, specifically citing the Raiders preseason game. Seems Bradford caught Pete's eye as well.
I'm not anointing Bradford, but I think he deserves serious consideration for playing time and I expect that Pete will have a vigorous competition at linebacker this year. If all goes well we could see a fully specialized linebacker corps next year with each linebacker being used to his greatest strengths.
Golden Tate sees more reps than Doug Baldwin.
The addition of Harvin will mean that Tate and Baldwin will see the field less often in 2013. The Seahawks are going to cycle through a lot of receivers though I expect Harvin and Rice to be near constants. With Tate and Baldwin competing for playing time against each other, who should get more? Tate? Baldwin? Maybe a 50/50 split? Personally, I lean towards Tate getting the majority share.
Tate had far more yards per target last year than Baldwin did in either of his seasons, and Tate also makes tough catches look routine while Baldwin sometimes makes routine catches look tough at times. More importantly, I don't think Baldwin will see the field much in the slot next year thanks to the additions of Harvin and TE Luke Willson, and as an outside receiver Tate is clearly superior, in my opinion. That plus Tate stays healthy, and that's something Baldwin struggles with, so it makes sense to limit the reps of the less durable option.
It sucks that either one of them has to have his reps reduced. Both are quality receivers and I thought Tate was a breakout candidate in 2013 before the Harvin addition knocked his rep count down a little bit. Tate nearly led the NFL in yards per target and catch rate last year, was among the league leaders in YAC, and has become a very good blocker.
