Richard Sherman as the Outside/Inside CB?

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Surprised nobody is really talking about this, finally had a chance to review what was said in Carroll's monday presser via .com, and it was very interesting:

1. Richard Sherman could be a “real factor” as a nickel corner.

Through his first four seasons in Seattle, Richard Sherman has played almost exclusively as a left cornerback, though he has moved around at times because of specific matchups. On Sunday, however, Sherman played a significant number of snaps covering a slot receiver when Seattle went to its nickel package with DeShawn Shead coming in at left corner. That might not be something the Seahawks do every week, but Carroll also said it wasn’t necessarily just a one-game experiment.

“He did great,” Carroll said. “He’s going to be a real factor in there whenever we use him in there. It’s a real plus that we’ve had the opportunity to mix him in. It depends on the matchups each week and how it goes and the different things that we’re trying to get done, but it’s nice to have that flexibility; we’ve never had that before. He has really taken to it.”

Asked how playing in the slot differs from being on the outside, Carroll said, “At times there are more variables, there are more things going on, you have more things you can draw from. There’s route combinations and things that you can look at to see what’s going on. Some of the best nickels are the guys who are the most savvy, have the best all-around awareness. Ronde Barber was a famous nickel guy, he could see and feel everything that was happening. Richard has a lot of awareness and he has been kind of excited about all the stuff that goes on in there. He’s pretty charged about trying to figure it out and work with the position and all. He should be really, really good in there just because of all of that.”

In the years prior Seahawks have had those types of inside/out role players in:

Walter Thurmond
Jeremy Lane
Byron Maxwell

And I kind of love seeing that Seahawks might be strongly entertaining this idea as I think Burley is probably the weakest link in the 2ndary. NB4, Cary Williams and Dion Bailey, blah blah blah.

Fact is, I only saw one player on the defense, more or less, get benched vs the Rams and it was Marcus Burley.

Not saying Burley sucks, but he's kind of in the same boat with a lot of the Training Camp/Pre-Season injury players i.e. Thomas, Matthews in that its going to take them a few more weeks to catch up to speed and completely knock the rust off.

Thomas is starting, though?

Burley is not getting paid 10 million per year and the drop off to Earl Thomas to Steven Terrell is a lot worst than the drop off of Deshawn Shead replacing Sherman replacing Burley.

I really thought Shead would have been the one to transition to nickel corner, he just has the a great profile for being able to player either FS or SS, meaning he has experience roaming the middle of the field, and he has enough corner experience to kind of just be thrown out there on short notice like he was vs KC in the PS and against the Rams. Seems like he would be a good fit but Carroll did say you need a great deal of instincts and awareness to be able to stick at NCB.

Maybe that's something Shead doesn't have enough of in his game but Richard Sherman is elite in those aspects, which is why I think it would be a great move for a defense who is currently lacking a dependable inside option.

Sherman, Williams, Simon, and Shead were probably the top Outside options Post-53 man roster.

Burley, Tye Smith, and Steve Tyrell were probably penciled in as the top Inside options Post-53 man roster.

Doesn't resonate a lot of confidence within that inside group at least for now, Burley could suck or he could just need a few more weeks to build his confidence, Smith is probably just a student right now, learning, but we don't know how far he'll come along down the road. Tyrell seems like Emergency only option.

Hopefully, the Seahawks aren't banking on Jeremy Lane to solidify this unit. Down the stretch, last year, when Lane was finally healthy, he locked down that inside position pretty well. But if Lane doesn't make it back the Seahawks might need a better contingency plan especially in high leverage situations. And...

Outside CB:
Sherman <-- Shead
Williams <-- Simon

Nickel CB:
Sherman <-- Burley

...looks a hell of a lot better than just kind of hoping for the best at NCB and rolling with what they have for now.

 

[SomersetHawk]

I'm guessing it was Sherman who was supposed to cover Steadman Bailey when he made that wide-open catch in the second half. He was one of only two receivers running routes on that play and neither Sherm or Williams covered him, nobody did.

I guess it doesn't matter whether he plays the outside or inside as long as the matchup is favourable, but we all know that Sherman isn't at his best against the smaller, shifty slot guys.

 

[TheLegendOfBoom]

The Seahawks defense doesn't work to the best of its abilities if Sherm is playing anything but left corner.

The defense needs to have Sherm play the left side so Earl can help the right corner and Kam (when he does play) can help take away the run/and or short passes in the middle. Kam's responsibility is to help the linebackers in coverage and stop the run. Essentially when the Seahawks are at their best on defense is almost them playing a 4-4 defense. In order for it to work properly Sherm himself takes away the entire right side of an offense and the rest can contribute to funnel an offense to force them to throw against the grain to the left side. QBs mostly right handed QB's do not like to turn their body through progressions and force throws to the left side of an offense.

Each piece and level of the Seahawks defense complements each other. Without Sherm working the left corner and without Kam patrolling his zone/box by the linebackers the defense can unravel. See the recent Rams game. The Seahawks were never able to play their defense and dictate the offense.

 

[Tical21]

Make no doubt that Sherm is playing there out of necessity. Everybody else failed miserably. I do think we lose a bit of our identity in the process, but hopefully Shead can step up enough to make the difference. It will be interesting to see what happens when we play a really quick little slot, as I don't think Sherman is the guy you want following a guy like that across the field.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The Seahawks defense doesn't work to the best of its abilities if Sherm is playing anything but left corner.

This is only true when the LOB is in full effect, AND more importantly we have 1-2 competent nickel and dime corners.

Sunday we had none of this, Shead and Burley were getting torched and out of position, so we moved Sherman inside because it's an easier assignment for the other corners to just play outside CB instead of inside.

Things should go back to normal this week with Simon hopefully coming back.

 

[SeahawksFanForever]

I just can't wait until Jeremy Lane gets back. In my opinion, his return is as important as Kam's.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

Great evaluation Pandion. I was wondering what they were thinking in PreSeason putting Shead in the left corner spot. A replacement for Sherman so he can get some experience in different locations is a great thing for a very quick and explosive CB like him. Shead did look decent in that position and I think will do ok there. We just need him there until things get gellen together. Thanks.
Go Hawks.

 

[DavidSeven]

I don't love it because you're counting on Simon to be healthy just to have a slightly worrisome option at LCB. If this means Shead actually ends up playing half the games at left corner, it gets really troubling.

And yet, we don't have any better options than this, really.

 

[hawknation2015]

Shead really struggled in this game at LCB. I hope Burley gets a shot at nickel in the next game.

 

[seahawks08]

I think Sherm is playing inside out of necessity. He is best playing outside where he has the ability to track the ball while thrown to his island. Inside when the space is less, you have many bump, shift and run scenarios that I am sure he can pick up, but it is something he will grow into and not something that he is natural in. Running in one direction in the sideline is way different than being shifty and playing in smaller spaces and figuring out assignments. With lots of inexperience players, they can miss assignments very easily.

 

[jblaze]

Just goes to show you how little confidence they have in our nickel corners right now. Tye Smith isn't ready and Burley really is more of a backup and we let Will Blackmon go.

In the nickel, Sherm will go inside and it'll be Cary one one side and Simon on the other.

You gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[Hawks46]

The biggest problem we have is that most QBs are used to taking advantage of the Nickle/Slot matchup. Most good slot WRs in the NFL are a mismatch against a team's 3rd CB. So QBs are used to going there already.

Sherman moving inside is a better compromise than playing any of our guys in the slot. The outside can be a bit easier as you can use the sideline as another defender, WRs don't have as much space to operate, and the throws are generally longer, which means you have more time to correct mistakes and break on a ball.

It's not optimal for us, but it's the best we have right now. We really need our pass rush to step up.

 

[daveyoung52]

Why cut Blackmon ?

 

[Basis4day]

Why cut Blackmon ?

He was more expensive as a veteran and was only signed to one year. Something had to give when you're limited to 53 players.

They kept 2 FB's for whatever reason. This would be the anticipated cut should Kam return or Richardson come off PUP after the minimum 6 weeks.

 

[daveyoung52]

Cheers,is it that tight?

 

[Basis4day]

Cheers,is it that tight?

Yes. 53 active roster players. And only 46 can be suited up on game days.

New to the sport? I see you're in the UK.

 

[daveyoung52]

Yes probably,but thought it was just a small matter of about $500,000,but then if Lane had settled for a few less yards on that interception return in February lots of things might be different now.