Ringer article on Seahawks Offense

[Hyak]

Good read

What Does the Seahawks’ QB Situation Signal About Their Short- and Long-term Plans?

After the Russell Wilson trade this spring, many expected Seattle to look far and wide to find its next passer. Instead, the team heads into the summer planning a QB battle between Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Are they rebuilding? Or competing for a playoff spot? Or both?

www.theringer.com

 

[Rainger]

Man this part of the article is so accurate.

But Russ is also an outlier in that he’s been able to consistently produce like a top quarterback while using an approach that we typically associate with mediocre passers. He regularly abandons clean pockets; he drops his eyes and looks to scramble at the first sign of pressure; and he is pretty much incapable of executing dropback passing concepts because of that discomfort with bodies around him. But Wilson is also supremely accurate: He has an arm that can make any throw, and he’s one of the best playmakers we’ve ever seen. He’s so talented he can get away with breaking the rules in ways that even the best quarterbacks in the NFL can’t. And while that style of play brought Seattle a lot of wins in the past decade, it’s easy to see how calling plays for such a quarterback could be frustrating for an offensive coordinator.

Wilson is the antithesis of the “system quarterback.” He is his own system, to the point that it didn’t matter who Carroll brought in as a play-caller. Eventually everything morphed into the Russell Wilson Offense.

 

[Rainger]

Man that was a damn good article.

 

[Jville]

Thanks for posting the article link.

Always appreciate quality contributions about the Seahawks.

 

[sutz]

Decent read and pretty accurate to what I've seen. Guess we'll see as the summer unfolds.

 

[nanomoz]

Wow. Great article. Thanks for sharing. This graphic (and the data like it) is fascinating.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

The other day I was just thinking about all the WRs Seahawks drafted since Russ has been here… The ones that seemed to have the most success were the ones capable of making plays downfield and the ones who struggled to find a spot were the guys that were more possession types than downfield threats.

Even TEs it just seemed they needed to be downfield or running towards the sidelines for them to get their targets.

Even Hackett in regards to his offense had to tell the truth and say he’s going to build his offense around Russ’s strengths. Had the Broncos gotten Aaron Rodgers, I think Hackett would have just said something like…. Aaron is fully capable to run my offense.

And as good as Russ is this might be the biggest reason i don’t care he’s gone. You see all these other offenses being able to adjust to the way to the defense plays, creatively nickel and dimin’ with rhythm and timing being capable of utilizing all areas of the field.

It just seems with Russ the Seahawks never had that unless He or the Run Game we’re able to keep chains moving with their legs. It’s like either every 3rd and 7 yards or more was going to be either a 20+ yard pass, Russ running, or Russ taking a sack. He was just too predictable and defenses either just stacked the box with the blitz/run blitz and force him to Hero Ball or had the quality to play cover 2 deep safeties with an athletic spy unless the ground attack was keeping them honest.

There was no in between with Russ, past the RPO years no creativity, no amoeba like offense that could adapt to defenses. It was pretty much All or Nothing with Russ. It was able to work but it was also frustrating to watch. I don’t think Pete would have cared if Russ could have attacked all areas of the field and move the chains with his arm and I think that was Pete’s emphasis on the Run game. Pete needed that in-between on offense to control the clock and keep his defense fresh because of Russ’s limitations as a passer particularly in the middle of the field that they really could never trust in and they kind of had to just either hope Russ could see the open guy or make something miraculous happen.

 

[keasley45]

I feel like this article is dead on. Russ, for better and worse, WAS the offense. Didn't matter the coordinator or play, Russ did Russ.

If you have a scheme that's been figured out, you change the scheme or change the coordinator. Well, what do you do if your scheme IS your QB and that QB has in many ways been 'solved'?

 

[keasley45]

The other day I was just thinking about all the WRs Seahawks drafted since Russ has been here… The ones that seemed to have the most success were the ones capable of making plays downfield and the ones who struggled to find a spot were the guys that were more possession types than downfield threats.

Even TEs it just seemed they needed to be downfield threads or running towards the sidelines for them to get their targets.

Even Hackett regards to his offense had to tell the truth and say he’s going to build his offense around Russ’s strengths. Had the Broncos gotten Aaron Rodgers, I think Hackett would have just said something like…. Aaron is fully capable to run my offense.

And as good as Russ is this might be the biggest reason i don’t care he’s gone. You see all these other offenses being able to adjust to the way to the defense plays, creatively, nickel and dimin’ with rhythm and timing utilizing all area of the field.

It just seems with Russ the Seahawks never had that unless He or the Run Game we’re able to keep chains moving with their legs. It’s like either every 3rd and 7 yards or more was going to be either a 20+ yard pass, Russ running, Russ taking a sack. He was just too predictable and defenses either just stack the box with the blitz/run blitz and force him to Hero Ball or had the quality to play cover 2 deep safeties with an athletic spy.

There was no in between with Russ, past the RPO years no creativity, no amoeba like offense that could adapt to defenses. It was pretty much All or Nothing with Russ. It was able to work but it was also frustrating to watch. I don’t think Pete would have cared if Russ could have attacked all areas of the field and I think that was Pete’s emphasis on the Run game. Pete needed that in-between on offense to control the clock and keep his defense fresh because of Russ’s limitations as a passer particularly in the middle of the field that you couldn’t trust.

Agree. And the part you noted about Pete likely not caring about what the O did as long as it functioned is right. He said as much in his effusive praise for Geno after the Jags game - how he spread the ball around, was quick, and hit all areas of the field.

Pete wouldn't make it a point to identify those elements of his game if it wasn't a point of contention, I don't think. He was critical of Russ NOT doing that last year and the year before.

 

[m0ng0]

Carroll staying and Russ moving on was the right choice

 

[John63]

Man this part of the article is so accurate.

But Russ is also an outlier in that he’s been able to consistently produce like a top quarterback while using an approach that we typically associate with mediocre passers. He regularly abandons clean pockets; he drops his eyes and looks to scramble at the first sign of pressure; and he is pretty much incapable of executing dropback passing concepts because of that discomfort with bodies around him. But Wilson is also supremely accurate: He has an arm that can make any throw, and he’s one of the best playmakers we’ve ever seen. He’s so talented he can get away with breaking the rules in ways that even the best quarterbacks in the NFL can’t. And while that style of play brought Seattle a lot of wins in the past decade, it’s easy to see how calling plays for such a quarterback could be frustrating for an offensive coordinator.

Wilson is the antithesis of the “system quarterback.” He is his own system, to the point that it didn’t matter who Carroll brought in as a play-caller. Eventually everything morphed into the Russell Wilson Offense.

Rent free causing garbage to be spread

 

[Throwdown]

Rent free causing garbage to be spread

Translation: I can’t discuss football I just don’t want to hear negative things about my favorite player

 

[Rainger]

Rent free causing garbage to be spread

Why don't you go get on the Broncos sites and leave this one to people who actually like the Seahawks?

 

[Lagartixa]

Rent free causing garbage to be spread

 

[WarHawks]

Once age caught up with Russ, so did opposing team's defensive schemes. I don't think it will take other teams long to similarly figure him out in Denver. He might get them to the playoffs, but I don't see how his issues here will magically solve themselves in Denver, especially as he continues to age. Father time is undefeated.

 

[WmHBonney]

Rent free causing garbage to be spread

LMAO
So predictable.

 

[hoxrox]

Wow. Great article. Thanks for sharing. This graphic (and the data like it) is fascinating. View attachment 11492

People were wondering why the Waldron offense didn't look like the McVay offense after week 1. The answer becomes clearer for anyone to see.

We all know about the middle of the field usage, but shotgun rate compared to the Rams is interesting. RW is more comfortable passing in shotgun and pistol formations. Under center? Not so much.

 

[sdog1981]

Wow. Great article. Thanks for sharing. This graphic (and the data like it) is fascinating. View attachment 11492

This sums up where Wilson is at as a QB. Either he can't or won't throw over the middle and both of those statements are a major problem.

 

[sdog1981]

Once age caught up with Russ, so did opposing team's defensive schemes. I don't think it will take other teams long to similarly figure him out in Denver. He might get them to the playoffs, but I don't see how his issues here will magically solve themselves in Denver, especially as he continues to age. Father time is undefeated.

Look at 80s Steve Young vs 90s Steve Young. He went from scrambling QB to pocket passing QB. By the time he was old and slow it didn't matter because he had improved his ability to throw from the pocket.
With Wilson it was always going to end badly, he was not going to have a slow regression to retirement. He was going to fall off a cliff like McNabb and Cunningham (he was a pocket passer in 98 after he we benched and cut in 94).

 

[TwistedHusky]

It is telling that the most compelling player for the Seahawks left.

The article is about Wilson because Wilson is still worth writing about.

They didn't write about the increasingly less capable, increasingly less competent HC because nobody cares. Nor the team that is essentially 1/2 JAGs.

They made it about Wilson.

There isn't much left to matter.

You have Tyler (if we keep him), DK, Diggs and then what? A bunch of guys that aren't exceptional and nobody expects to do anything.

Maybe, MAYBE Brown.

An NFL roster has 53 players on it, we have maybe 5 players that anyone cares about or expects anything from. 6 if you count our punter.

So the article is about Wilson, though ostensibly about the Seahawk offense.
After laughing a bit about Lock or Smith being any good, or the Seahawks being any kind if playoff team - it is intended to get people to read it because Wilson is featured prominently in it.

We will watch the games because we love football, and we root for the Seahawks even when they have a bang average roster. But come on, nobody expects it to do anything. But Wilson is still an interesting topic so people will read about that.