Softy: “Let’s go back to the Niner game and the Pack a week ago. Anquan Boldin (I think) was targeted 18 times and caught 13 balls for 208 [yards] and a touchdown. What do you do if you’re Dan Quinn, OK, or your former player Kris Richard in this game to help slow Anquan Boldin down? How do you take him out of the game or at least minimize those catches and those targets?”
Holmgren: “Well you call coverages and you develop a defensive game plan to take him out of his comfort zone – take him out --not physically take him out, but take him out of the game.”
Softy: “For example?”
Holmgren: “For example, you might put a guy right on his nose all the time. He never gets a free release down the field – ever. If I’m a linebacker to his side, OK I’m going to turn and find him in a passing situation. I don’t know what Green Bay was doing because I was watching the game on television. But, you know, a player can’t be that effective against you. You’re doing something – and, or if he’s starting to roll, you make an adjustment at halftime. You do something and you say, ‘OK, he’s not going to beat me. He’s not going to have another game like that.’ He’s gonna make his catches because he’s a really good football player. You know, when we used to play against him – played against him A LOT when Fitzgerald, remember Fitzgerald was there and Boldin was – I was worried more quite honestly about him, because he’s got a knack. He’s a strong guy. He has a knack for catching – he doesn’t drop passes. He’s a good runner after the catch and he’s tough. And he was always making plays that hurt me. So -- now he had never had – he had done the same thing when he was playing for Baltimore when I was in Cleveland. So, he’s a good football player and people go – I think defensive coaches go and defensive players go, ‘Ah, runs a 4.75 [40 yard dash].’ You know, and before you know it he’s got 10 balls, 3 touchdowns – you know, and you got snookered. Don’t do that. He’s the best receiver they have.”
Softy: [Interrupts] “Right, him and Vernon Davis – and that’s really it. I mean you’ve got Kyle Williams, you got McDonald, Miller – Gore’s gonna catch a couple of passes out of the backfield, but can you go in to this game if you’re Pete Carroll and say, ‘Alright. I’m going to make somebody else beat me. I’m going to take Vernon Davis away. I’m going to take Anquan Boldin away. And if they beat me with Frank Gore, they beat me with Frank Gore, but I’m not letting those 2 guys beat me. Let a guy nobody’s ever heard of try and step up and beat me.’?”
Holmgren: “Yeah, but you see what – that’s also a problem that the 49ers have against the Seahawks. OK, what are they gonna say? OK, we’ll take, uh, you know Lynch out of the game. We’ll do that. Well then, Russell will beat you. You know, the problem when you have weapons – when you have a balanced attack and weapons is – but you can say, and every coach does this -- ‘That guy isn’t going to beat me.’ Now, but I don’t think you start with say Frank Gore. That’s a dangerous thing. You don’t want to say, ‘OK, we’re just going to play pass coverage and we’ll rally around Frank Gore.’ He’s too good. You wouldn’t say that about Lynch either. You know, so I think you start with the run and then you go, ‘We’re going to handle the run the way we always handle the run, but I’m not going to let Anquan beat me.’ Anquan is – someone else – but coverage, we’re going to run coverages to make life miserable for him.”
Softy: “Yeah, what is the big concern about Kaepernick -- I mean as a runner and a passer? Do you have to be, maybe, a little less aggressive and maybe be a bit conservative in your blitz packages this weekend? What is the big concern about facing Colin Kaepernick and maybe 1 or 2 things the Hawks have got to do against him this weekend?”
Holmgren: “Well that’s the thing. He’s proven to be an outstanding runner. And, I thought that on Sunday he threw the ball beautifully. I mean, and not running around throwing – he was in the pocket –“
Softy: [interrupts] “He’s got a gun, doesn’t he?”
Holmgren: “Ohhhh boy! [clearly enamored] And you know what, there were guys wide open. I mean, you know, there wasn’t a whole lot of tough things that happened with there – with the receivers. But you can give him credit. He can do that. And when you have the multi-purpose back -- quarterback like he is – not unlike Russell – Russell Wilson’s the same thing. OK, I think you stick with the same plan. You rush, but it’s a little bit of a controlled rush. And you try and push up the middle. You try and get your push (and kind of a relentless push) up the middle to make him turn out to the guys on the outside.”
Softy: “That means Brandon Mebane, Tony McDaniel, maybe Bobby Wagner inside linebacker up the gut – maybe some stunts with guys moving over and things like that?”
Holmgren: “Yeah, but that’s why you’ve got to do a good job against the run. So, you have to create down and distance situations that more than likely they’re going to have to pass. And when you know they’re going to have to pass, OK, now you turn the big guys inside instead of them reading the run and reading the head and doing all that stuff – you know, flattening the down. [Softy laughs] You know, whatever they tell those guys. You know, you go, ‘Hey, this is your chance. You never get to cut it loose. You’re always blocking, taking 2 guys on so the linebacker can make the play – NOW, uh-uh, Now you go get him!’ And you’d be surprised. Brandon Mebane has good pass rush ability. He does and Red does too and the big guys inside. When you cut ‘em loose, they like that.”
Softy: “I want to come back and I want to ask you specifically who’s game is this gonna be on Sunday? You mentioned Special Teams, which could mean Golden Tate, it could mean a guy like Jermaine Kearse on kickoff returns – but I want to talk about the key guys in this game – the guys that if you could take them aside and say, ‘Hey look, I really need you guys, you 3 or 4 dudes, I need you guys to step up this weekend and have a great game. We cannot win unless you do this or you do that.’ We’ll come back and ask Mike who those guys are. [Programming comments related to the show itself follow. After the commercial break, Softy begins again.] Alright, 4:49pm. Mike Holmgren with us here at the VMAC for 1 more stop – 1 more segment before we flip things over to the Patriots and Jets on Thursday Night Football … the Seahawks injury report by the way, Chris Clemons and Cliff Avril both were full go today in practice. That is great news. Uh, Luke Willson did practice as well full go. Michael Bowie full go. Sidney Rice full go. But Brandon Browner did not practice again today. That’s a big physical corner, Mike. If he’s out, how big of a blow is that for the Hawks on Sunday versus Anquan Boldin and that receiving corps?”
Holmgren: “Well, that’s a blow because you need corners. We’ve talked about that before. You can’t have too many corners, so if you lose your starting corner, now the domino effect takes place. Uh, and he’s a good player so that’s even worse. So, but you know, they’ll adjust – listen, both teams are ready to handle any sort of adjustment like that. But with Boldin, yeah, he’s a physical guy and you’ve got to be physical.”
Softy: “Yeah, we asked going in to the break – I want you to tell me maybe 3 or 4 guys that you would pull aside – I’m not sure if you would do that or not – and say, ‘Look guys, I really need you to step up this weekend against San Francisco.’ If you did do that, who would those guys be? What positions would they play?”
Holmgren: “Well, I think you have to look at the Offensive Tackles against San Francisco’s pass rush – and the Offensive Line in general. But look it, they’re used to that. The Offensive Line usually has a mark right on their head and they’ve got to play well to be successful. But San Francisco’s really good up front, in my opinion, so they’ve [Seattle’s Offensive Line] got to carry the load. And that’ll be a big, big part of the football game. The other thing is our secondary versus Boldin. Something – you’ve got to do something because you can’t have a guy catch 13 passes for over 200 yards and score touchdowns against you.”
Softy: “What makes that Front 7 so damned good though and what makes it so frustrating to try and run and throw on it and keep your quarterback upright?”
Holmgren: “Well, they’re physical and they’re fast. I remember going out and playing San Francisco when I was at Cleveland. And on the field before the game, Keith Gilbertson, someone who is near and dear to you [Softy: “Yes he is”] comes up to me and goes, ‘They’re a look bigger than we are.’ [Softy laughs] I said, ‘What do you want me to do about it, right now, right on the field?’ Ohh, but they’re impressive looking athletes and of all those years that they weren’t doing well, and getting high draft picks, and then Scotty McCloughan, who was in charge of it then (did a heck of a job) – and those guys are now playing. And now I think the organization and Coach Harbaugh, they’re getting the benefit.”
