Schlereth on Defense: "I thought they were amazing."

[jammerhawk]

A lot of the problems with tackling have arisen around the league with decrease in padded practice/contact practice time.

It is clear though that some teams are a lot better at tackling than others. In short that aspect for those teams is being emphasized more.
I like this change as it shows the team is progressing well in the direction the new HC wishes it to go.

 

[bileever]

There was a point where Pete and the defensive staff were making tackling instructional videos that were used not just in the league but down to the high school level. In my opinion that was the real hallmark of the LOB, you might catch a pass against them but you were being put on the ground at the spot of the catch.

I'm not sure when or how that message got lost but it was quite frustrating to watch the past few years.

I think some of these tackling issues came with many teams' emphasis on load management, not practicing in pads and some coaches trying to be in the forefront of that approach. You can see other teams besides the Seahawks also paying the price for doing that. Can't blame coaches for trying that approach, but it really didn't work for the Seahawks.

 

[AROS]

Sometimes Occam’s Razor applies.

The LOB disbanded and they didn’t have the same level of talent to run the simple cover 3. Our base scheme worked because we had the generational talent to make it work.

Super Bowl 48 was a clinic on defensive domination like we have never seen before. In that regard it was the crazy level of talent and skill that made that base philosophy work so well.

 

[AROS]

Now we have what looks to be a defensive savant who can put maybe not quite as talented players (compared to the LOB minus Spoon who would have fit right in) in position to succeed due to outsmarting the opponent due to innovative thinking and scheme. A total paradigm shift from the past.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

We're not seeing a bunch of guys out of position. We're not seeing a bunch of missed tackles. I have a very good feeling about this defense. Will they have a clunker here and there? Probably. Every team does. But the future of this defense is very bright.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I think Pete just overrestimated hiw much of the success they had during the LOB years was due directly to his style of coaching. I think he took it for granted that he could just 'do it like he did it before' and everything would be fine.

He never assigned enough credit to the fact that he assembled a pretty sharp class with the LOB.

His philosophy of keeping it simple and playing with your hair on fire was right for the time and worked with an intelligent group of players who could morph his scheme into something transcendent because of how deeply they owned it, how completely they learned it, and how well, as a group, they executed it.

But when they left, the chemistry was gone. And he never assembled a similar group of intelligent players with the unique bond the first one had. None of the post LOB iterations of players / coaches had the same standard of excellence or maintained accountability the way the OG group did. They played the 'hair on fire' bit, but were rinning in the wrong direction and only ended up burning the house down.

He tried to adapt the scheme, but never adapted his approach.

I'm not talking about the overall defense, just one facet of it -- tackling. Even our depth players could make open field tackles with boring regularity on the Seahawks. That wasn't the case with the later Seahawks. In fact, there were even some vets that were well known for being solid tacklers that struggled underneath Carroll in later years. Carroll was also the very first person to teach the rugby style of tackling in the NFL, other teams followed suit.

In the final years of the Seahawks the tackling was lazy and there was no real technique. The blight was even affecting veterans that came to this team. If anything, it looked as if he had abandoned what had worked for him when teaching players tackling technique.

 

[BASF]

I'm not talking about the overall defense, just one facet of it -- tackling. Even our depth players could make open field tackles with boring regularity on the Seahawks. That wasn't the case with the later Seahawks. In fact, there were even some vets that were well known for being solid tacklers that struggled underneath Carroll in later years. Carroll was also the very first person to teach the rugby style of tackling in the NFL, other teams followed suit.

In the final years of the Seahawks the tackling was lazy and there was no real technique. The blight was even affecting veterans that came to this team. If anything, it looked as if he had abandoned what had worked for him when teaching players tackling technique.

I believe they didn't want to play for Hurtt and were trying to get him fired.

 

[had2bhawk]

I believe they didn't want to play for Hurtt and were trying to get him fired.

Anyone thinking like that with McDonald running the show will be Gone.
You better have a Brain and know your plays!
The smart ones are the keepers!

 

[Timberhawk]

I agree. Rayshawn Jenkins=upgrade, Tyrel Dodson=upgrade, Jerome Baker=upgrade, K'Von Wallace=upgrade. Those guys were flying around on Sunday. (The one holdover, Julian Love was pretty good, too.)

This makes me even more excited for our future drafts and other talent signings. It seems the new coaching staff has an eye for talent that’s an upgrade as well. ESP since some of the new players were clearly not valued by the teams that parted ways with them.

 

[hgwellz12]

I'm not talking about the overall defense, just one facet of it -- tackling. Even our depth players could make open field tackles with boring regularity on the Seahawks. That wasn't the case with the later Seahawks. In fact, there were even some vets that were well known for being solid tacklers that struggled underneath Carroll in later years. Carroll was also the very first person to teach the rugby style of tackling in the NFL, other teams followed suit.

In the final years of the Seahawks the tackling was lazy and there was no real technique. The blight was even affecting veterans that came to this team. If anything, it looked as if he had abandoned what had worked for him when teaching players tackling technique.

Riq Woolen on Seahawks' improved tackling​

“We practice tackling every day... It’s a big emphasis around here. You can just tell it’s just natural to everybody. Everybody is just going in there, and we trying to get guys down. On Sunday it reflected how much tackling practice we’ve had. We’re just going to continue to build on it.”
More here...

 

[cymatica]

I believe they didn't want to play for Hurtt and were trying to get him fired.

If I was an NFL player, the last thing I would do is put bad tape of myself out there just to get a coach fired. That only makes me look bad and get paid less

 

[Spin Doctor]

Riq Woolen on Seahawks' improved tackling​

“We practice tackling every day... It’s a big emphasis around here. You can just tell it’s just natural to everybody. Everybody is just going in there, and we trying to get guys down. On Sunday it reflected how much tackling practice we’ve had. We’re just going to continue to build on it.”
More here...

That’s a pretty big indictment on Pete.

 

[Double Tribble]

I read recently that Pete didn't have the team practice tackling during the off-season due to fear of injury. That's why our defenses kept starting slow and improved as the season progressed. Makes sense.

 

[hgwellz12]

That’s a pretty big indictment on Pete.

HUGE.