What does new Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer resume show us?
So what does this all mean for the Seahawks?
There’s a reason that Pete Carroll said Schottenheimer was the Seahawks first choice. Think back to that offensive style employed by the Jets and Rams. Run the ball to set up the pass. Dictate the pace of the game, and help your defense by controlling the clock. Sound familiar, 12s? Not in the past two years, no, but that’s the whole point.
I mean, they call that style of play Marty Ball, after all. When the style you coach is named for your dad, it’s no wonder Pete Carroll wanted Schottenheimer in the fold. Is he the right choice, though? It certainly hasn’t been a home run on social media.
this may end up meaning nothing but i have literally seen zero people that think the Brian Schottenheimer hire is a good idea
— Danny Kelly (@DannyBKelly) January 13, 2018
From what I’ve seen, that’s a fairly accurate representation, too. To clarify an earlier statement, when Schottenheimer worked with great quarterbacks like Brees and Favre, they weren’t at their best. Favre was in his 18th year in the league. Brees certainly became better once he arrived in New Orleans. Maybe Schottenheimer held him back. But with LaDainian Tomlinson averaging over 1,500 yards per season, you probably wouldn’t throw too often, either. The question remains, which Schottenheimer held Brees back? I think it was dad, myself.
Not a home run – but did the Seahawks need one?
Brian got decent production out of some pretty mediocre quarterbacks. There aren’t too many great offenses without great quarterbacks. I don’t recall anyone turning Kellen Clemens or Shaun Hill into All Pros, do you? His offenses ranked higher in points scored than yards gained in seven of his nine campaigns. Seems efficient to me, maximizing the points scored.
On the flip side, his offenses only ranked higher than 17th in Red Zone scoring once. That was in 2011, when the Jets somehow were the best in the league in the Red Zone. Yes, that was the year of the Sanchize. And if Brian Schottenheimer can get that kind of performance out of Mark Sanchez, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt with Russell Wilson under center.
As mentioned elsewhere, Schottenheimer was hired to fix the running game. His track record shows he can do that. Was this hire a home run? Hardly. I’d say it’s more of a ground rule double, at best. But Pete Carroll knows what he wants, a ground game. I imagine there was just one question in the interview. “You’re at the one yard line with the Super Bowl on the line. Do you throw, or run?” I think Pete got the answer he wanted.