On switching positions, Eric Pinkins, and NFL success

There is a coaching axiom that states that “Good coaching is putting your players in a position where they have the best chance at success.” The Seattle Seahawks and head coach Pete Carroll are perhaps the greatest embodiment of that principle in the NFL.

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This is why we see the Seahawks are continually teaching players new positions that they’ve never played before. The team identifies athletic traits that players have, and then works to get those players on the field where they can best take advantage of those talents.

J.R. Sweezy is the the most well-known example. He moved from defensive tackle to offensive guard and made the transition fast enough to start in Week 1 of his rookie season. Sure he was dreadfully bad as a rookie, but he did well enough that the Seahawks were willing to let him continue to learn on the job.

Alan Bradford made the move from RB to linebacker. Jared Smith went from DT to center. Jameson Konz never did settle on a position, as he jumped around from defensive end to tight end to linebacker. Of course, none of that group ever did well enough at their new position(s) to stick on Seattle’s 53-man roster for very long, but all were given every chance to do so.

There have been others as well. The Seahawks are one of the few teams in the NFL that are brave enough to move a player to a new position if it fits their athletic talents better. Along with that comes the skills to teach the player the new position, and the patience to give them time to learn.

That of course brings us to this year’s crop of guys who are currently learning a new position. Sixth round selection Kristjan Sokoli is making the same defensive tackle to interior offensive lineman move that others have made before him. It is a move that will get a lot of press this year, but it is not the most significant position change for this season.

The Seahawks are changing 2014 sixth round pick Eric Pinkins’ position for a second time. The Seahawks tried to college safety at cornerback last season. Safeties are relatively east to find, but corners with the length the Seahawks love and the movement skills to cover receivers are an entirely different story.

Pinkins’ time at corner didn’t work out. The team abandoned that move about halfway through training camp and slid him back to safety until an injury landed him on the disabled list.

Pinkins is now on the move again, this time to outside linebacker. The Seahawks drafted Ryan Murphy at safety this season. So moving Pinkins gives both a better shot to stick on the 53-man roster. Seattle also was unable to get a linebacker in the draft, and they need someone who can replace Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith who left in free agency.

The Seahawks have moved 2014 rookie DB Eric Pinkins to OLB. He looks good there in rookie minicamp.
— Terry Blount (@TBlountNews) May 10, 2015

This move is interesting on a couple of different levels. First, Pinkins profiles athletically as a taller and faster version of Smith. A lot of their test results were surprisingly similar. If nothing else we know that Pinkins can cover the league’s best backs and tight ends.

The other reason why this is significant is that it works for the same reasons his move to cornerback failed. Pinkins was too aggressive; too willing to leaving his man to come up and make a play on the running back. The team appeared to be worried he’d leave too many receivers wide open because of simple play-fakes.

That isn’t as much of a problem at linebacker. This is especially true on the weak side where his primary coverage responsibility would be the running back, so his aggressive nature wouldn’t be as much of a problem.

The key to this move will be how quickly his can pick up the read-flow-fill in the running game. He’s going to have to learn to recognize plays and fill the appropriate gap in a fraction of a second. It isn’t as simple as many people believe, so Pinkins has a ways to go before he’s ready to see the field at OLB in a game.

The fan in my loves this move for the same reason I love all of these moves. Pete Carroll and his staff are doing what is necessary to put players in the position where they will have the largest chance of success.

Next: Is Brandon Mebane Done in Seattle?

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