Will the success of the Seahawk's defense transform the NFL back into a defense dominated league similar to the 70's?
The evolution of the NFL into the offense dominated game it is today began in the 70's in part because of the dominance of the Steeler defense of that era. More specifically, because of Mel Blount, a 6' 3" 205 lb corner for the Steelers. Blount used to commit aggravated assault against an opposing wide receiver on virtually every play.
Fast forward to the current Seahawk defense and Pete Carroll who put a Mel Blount, at least size wise, at both corners (Sherman and Browner) and told them and the rest of the corners to grab and hold until the referees quit calling it. And guess what? IT WORKED!! Turns out that the NFL would rather let a defense hold like crazy than have the game bog down because of a bunch of defensive holding penalties. My guess is that this is especially true in the Super Bowl, which is why I think it will be a long and frustrating evening for Manning and the Bronco offense.
The rest of the league may be complaining about it, but they're also seeing that it works. My guess is the next big trend in the NFL is big corners who get up-close and personal with receivers at the line of scrimmage. I also don't see anything Goodell can do about it other than force the officials to throw more flags. So far he hasn't been willing to do that.
P.S. I'm not being critical of the team. If fact I think this is a brilliant example of Pete Carroll's creativity and ability to think outside the box. Beside's, I love smash mouth defensive football, so this is great!
The evolution of the NFL into the offense dominated game it is today began in the 70's in part because of the dominance of the Steeler defense of that era. More specifically, because of Mel Blount, a 6' 3" 205 lb corner for the Steelers. Blount used to commit aggravated assault against an opposing wide receiver on virtually every play.
Fast forward to the current Seahawk defense and Pete Carroll who put a Mel Blount, at least size wise, at both corners (Sherman and Browner) and told them and the rest of the corners to grab and hold until the referees quit calling it. And guess what? IT WORKED!! Turns out that the NFL would rather let a defense hold like crazy than have the game bog down because of a bunch of defensive holding penalties. My guess is that this is especially true in the Super Bowl, which is why I think it will be a long and frustrating evening for Manning and the Bronco offense.
The rest of the league may be complaining about it, but they're also seeing that it works. My guess is the next big trend in the NFL is big corners who get up-close and personal with receivers at the line of scrimmage. I also don't see anything Goodell can do about it other than force the officials to throw more flags. So far he hasn't been willing to do that.
P.S. I'm not being critical of the team. If fact I think this is a brilliant example of Pete Carroll's creativity and ability to think outside the box. Beside's, I love smash mouth defensive football, so this is great!