lukerguy
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- Feb 18, 2012
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The Seattle Seahawks very easily could have lost Sunday's game against Carolina.
After extending their lead to 30-10 with 7 minutes left, the Sehawks found themselves on 3rd and 11 in their own territory with 2 minutes left. Does anyone have confidence that the defense would have stopped CAR after giving up 2 straight long TD drives in "prevent" defense? I sure don't.
To those who have played HS or College football, you know that it's a lot easier to play loose when you're coming from behind. You're already faced with the the idea of losing, and since you're already losing, you have nothing more to lose. When your winning, you have everything to lose, and such your play calling becomes more conservative, your hands get a little tighter, and doubt can enter the picture.
Why is it that the Patriots, when leading against inferior teams, seem to blow them out, and often? Why is it the Seahawks have a tendency to let teams back in?
The Seahawks couldn't bring any pressure on defense from their base front 4 in prevent D... And they didn't even try sending blitzes either. Many teams, when up, will actually bring more pressure.. Sure it opens up the big play, but it also has a much better upside than letting a team score in 71 seconds with no pressure in prevent defense as the Seahawks did Sunday.
So, how do you fix it? I'm not more knowledgable than NFL coaches, but if I had to try to fix the problem.. here's what I'd suggest. Copy those who do it regularly- the Patriots.. What do they do?
1) Get pressure on the opponent's QB, while maintaining deep help. Disguised blitzes with linemen and and LBs showing at the line then dropping. When leading big, you have a huge advantage, you know they aren't going to be running the ball. Use that advantage!
2) Don't change your game planning. If they had success running on 1st down, run on 1st down. If they had success with play action, run play action &/or boots. If they had success with short passing games, run short passing games. If they're loading the box, and man coverage with no safety help, take a shot. Run screens, keep the playbook fully open.
3) Mentally: coach your players to think of it as 0-0 game. They shouldn't be protecting the ball anymore or less than they did earlier in the game- it's always important.
The Seahawks used to be able to put away bad teams.. Remember the 58-0 drubbing of the Cards years ago? The difference? Pressure on D. The Hawks could rotate their line and get consistent pressure with their front 4... so teams could get down by 20 points, and still only have 2-3 seconds to throw the ball. Tons of sacks, INTs, fumbles and 3rd and long. Offensively, the read option confused teams and sort of kept them on their heels more.
Anyways, this has been bothering me all week. Imagine if they hadn't converted 3rd and 11. We could easily be talking about 31-30 loss when up 30-10 with 7 min left. I know they came through, but it was too close for a team of their caliber ( and CAR).
After extending their lead to 30-10 with 7 minutes left, the Sehawks found themselves on 3rd and 11 in their own territory with 2 minutes left. Does anyone have confidence that the defense would have stopped CAR after giving up 2 straight long TD drives in "prevent" defense? I sure don't.
To those who have played HS or College football, you know that it's a lot easier to play loose when you're coming from behind. You're already faced with the the idea of losing, and since you're already losing, you have nothing more to lose. When your winning, you have everything to lose, and such your play calling becomes more conservative, your hands get a little tighter, and doubt can enter the picture.
Why is it that the Patriots, when leading against inferior teams, seem to blow them out, and often? Why is it the Seahawks have a tendency to let teams back in?
The Seahawks couldn't bring any pressure on defense from their base front 4 in prevent D... And they didn't even try sending blitzes either. Many teams, when up, will actually bring more pressure.. Sure it opens up the big play, but it also has a much better upside than letting a team score in 71 seconds with no pressure in prevent defense as the Seahawks did Sunday.
So, how do you fix it? I'm not more knowledgable than NFL coaches, but if I had to try to fix the problem.. here's what I'd suggest. Copy those who do it regularly- the Patriots.. What do they do?
1) Get pressure on the opponent's QB, while maintaining deep help. Disguised blitzes with linemen and and LBs showing at the line then dropping. When leading big, you have a huge advantage, you know they aren't going to be running the ball. Use that advantage!
2) Don't change your game planning. If they had success running on 1st down, run on 1st down. If they had success with play action, run play action &/or boots. If they had success with short passing games, run short passing games. If they're loading the box, and man coverage with no safety help, take a shot. Run screens, keep the playbook fully open.
3) Mentally: coach your players to think of it as 0-0 game. They shouldn't be protecting the ball anymore or less than they did earlier in the game- it's always important.
The Seahawks used to be able to put away bad teams.. Remember the 58-0 drubbing of the Cards years ago? The difference? Pressure on D. The Hawks could rotate their line and get consistent pressure with their front 4... so teams could get down by 20 points, and still only have 2-3 seconds to throw the ball. Tons of sacks, INTs, fumbles and 3rd and long. Offensively, the read option confused teams and sort of kept them on their heels more.
Anyways, this has been bothering me all week. Imagine if they hadn't converted 3rd and 11. We could easily be talking about 31-30 loss when up 30-10 with 7 min left. I know they came through, but it was too close for a team of their caliber ( and CAR).