Seahawks: Why I’m Looking Forward To 3rd down This Season
By Nick Drage
The Seattle Seahawks have compiled a very strong group of offensive weapons to help Russell Wilson in the passing game.
Recent articles on the Seahawks have focussed on the sheer number of “blue-chip” players, most notably former Seahawks scout and current NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks lists the Seahawks as the most talented team in the league, listing nine blue-chip players and three rising stars; and there’s a nice commentary on the article by Dan Viens too.
The players listed are undoubtedly impressive, and will grab the headlines and leading statistics every week. However I don’t think these players solely define the level of talent on the roster, and the strength of the Seahawks.
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War
More so than other directly competitive sports, the structure of football presents a team with the opportunity to exploit weaknesses in their opposition… remember Cary Williams… or to suffer the biggest drop-off in quality due to injuries… look at the Dallas Cowboys’ offense last season with Romo on the sidelines.
Not only is the ceiling of talent important on a roster, it’s the floor – the skill level of the third string players can make all the difference.
That opportunity for a team to exploit a weakness is strongest in the passing game, either picking on a weak defensive back, or triple covering a leading receiver – and especially so in a situation like third and long, where teams are looking down the depth chart for the right players to put into play. So paying attention to the areas Bucky Brooks favoured I’m highlighting the Seahawks’ depth in their pass receivers and defensive backs.
Wide Receiver:
Brooks lists Baldwin as a blue chip, and Tyler Lockett as a rising star who’s gaining recognition already… but here the depth just keeps going. The third receiver will be the ever reliable Kearse, but beyond him there’s Paul Richardson, a second round pick in the 2014 draft, who’s been dogged by injuries so far in his career. He’s looking healthy, has been practising with Russell Wilson this off-season, and finally looks set to live up to his potential.
Arguably directly behind Richardson on the roster are two former Huskies, who both fall into the same kind of mold, Kevin Smith and Kasen Williams. Kevin Smith is a fast learner who’s positioned himself as a knowledgeable standby for every receiver’s position as well as a special teams regular; Kasen Williams has been specifically a backup to Kearse, and his performance in OTAs has caught the media’s attention. As stated in this article over in FanSided’s SpinZone Kevin Smith isn’t expected to make it, but will be on speed dial.
In among those players is Kenny Lawler. A tall receiver at 6′ 2″ he’s a step slower in the forty yard dash than teams normally look for, but he’s another player who’s impressed pundits and coaches alike in OTAs and while watching game film… and general managers too, John Schneider described his catching range as “stupid” and highlight film often backs that up.
Each player above deserves more than the sentence I’ve given them, and overall their quality gives the Seahawks more options on every down and every situation. But especially on those passing downs, those four wide receiver sets in third and long, the Seahawks’ depth doesn’t give their opponent the opportunity to just focus on Baldwin… or Graham, which leads me to the other main pass receivers…
Tight End:
Of course the star here is Jimmy Graham, who’s on track to make an ahead of schedule recovery from his patellar tendon injury and once again become a receiving threat to be feared; behind Graham is Luke Willson, who’s been a stalwart of the offense since he was acquired in the 2013 draft.
But then behind Willson is rookie Nick Vannett out of Ohio State. Of course if you’ve read up on Vannett you’ll have seen him called “the best blocking Tight End in the draft”, and mentioned in the same breath as former Seahawk Tight End Zach Miller on more than one occasion.
But if you read a little deeper you’ll see a few a few pundits mention something like “draft the player not the scheme”. Not given much of an opportunity in college, Vannett has impressed people with his pass catching skills, most notably Russell Wilson: “He’s got unbelievable hands, smooth hands. His timing, he gets his head around right on time, understands the route concepts”.
Competing with Vannett, as it’s unlikely that the Seahawks will have four Tight Ends on their roster, is Cooper Helfet. Described by the Seahawks’ website as “a reliable contributor over the last two seasons“, Helfet had two four catch games at the end of the 2015 regular season and as with all these players, performed well when the Seahawks needed someone to step up.
Similarly, needing players to keep up the level of skill required when team mates have been injured has happened all too often in the defensive backfield, which takes us to the other side of the team…
Defensive Back:
With opponents looking to pass more, and hopefully facing third and long on a regular basis, the Defensive Back position is increasingly important. Of course Bucky Brooks lists Sherman, Chancellor, and Thomas as blue chips, but also lists Jeremy Lane as a riser. With the starting four set, how does it look behind them?
Browner is expected to be part of a slightly new look “Bandit” defense, playing as a hybrid LB or DB, similar to Chancellor’s role, very much man to man coverage and run support. Browner’s previous season is regarded by some as him being a poor fit for the poor scheme in the poor Saints’ Defense while playing injured, but regarded by others as him being a liability the Saints were well rid of. I hope to look at this in another article, but for now I think the former Pro-Bowler is a good fit for the Seahawks Defensive style and will be much more suited to a role starting closer to the snap and not out on the boundary as a corner.
Alongside Browner at safety is Kelcie McCray, who was an excellent starter in place of an injured Kam Chancellor at the tail end of last year, he stood out for me in-particular when Chancellor seemed to be having a relatively bad season. Behind Earl Thomas at free safety is Steven Terrell, who’s been with the team for two years but is rarely on the field, but stepped up in last year’s post-season when needed.
Behind Lane at corner are three quality players, none of whom appears to be head and shoulders above the others, DeShawn Shead started six games last season but is expected to lose that spot to Lane. Shead has been on the roster since 2013, and has been a consistently reliable backup to corners such as Browner and Williams when not starting.
Tharold Simon is one of the bigger DBs, and started opposite Sherman in OTAs due to DeShawn Shead’s injury. He’s always looked promising, and hopefully can stay healthy this year after reportedly having a great off-season. In among them is Marcus Burley, who’s been called “one of league’s more underrated slot defenders” and like Helfet came on well at the end of last season.
As with the wide receivers on offense, here the depth on the team gives the Seahawks more options on every down, and no weakpoints when faced with defending a lead or a third and long. Again, really each player deserves more than the sentence or two I’ve given them, but their quality means there’s no sense of dread for the fans when the Seahawks force the opposition into an obvious passing down, and that quality also means Carroll and defensive coordinator Kris Richard are considering Dime sub-packages this season ( six defensive backs ), where before they’ve used Nickel ( five defensive backs ).
Next: Does Christine Michael still have a role in Seattle?
So overall, as a fan you’ll be cheering for those blue-chip players at the top of their game; but if, due to injury, fatigue, or situational substitution on something like third and long, those farther down the roster are on the field, there will definitely still be some great players to watch this season.