Seahawks defense built around speed
RENTON, Wash. – Up close, within earshot of the whistles, the game does not so much flow as explode. It goes beyond the collisions. Those are easily appreciated from any distance.
What is truly, viscerally shocking is the speed, the way the action goes from a standstill to delirious chaos in the time it takes to tie your shoe. It’s like watching a powerful engine roar at full throttle.
The first time I stood on the sideline of a Seahawks game, for the final two minutes of a 2013 playoff game against New Orleans, I didn’t want to get too close to the field for fear that I wouldn’t get out of the way and turn into a pile of empty clothes.
I’ve thought about that experience a lot lately. It seems everyone has something to say about the Seahawks defense, but what you hear about most is their speed. Not just how fast they run, but how fast they play.
The Seahawks can be judged in all the traditional ways – they are the first team since the Vikings in the early 1970s to lead the league in scoring defense for three consecutive seasons. But there also is something to be said for aesthetics.
“I’m telling you, when you stand on the sideline of this team and watch Seattle’s defense, it is overwhelming,” former NFL fullback Heath Evans said. “The speed from the sideline is uncanny. I played this game for a decade. … And yet when I see this team, it’s crazy what goes on.”
Positive reviews
Other testimonials sing the same chorus.
John Lynch, a former Pro Bowl safety for the Buccaneers and Broncos: “Let the film run like water. Don’t slow it down. Just look at some of the plays in full speed. I think you’ll start to notice running backs not sure about struggling for extra yards, or quarterbacks pulling the ball down because they just can’t find an angle to throw.”
Even Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril can be overwhelmed once removed from the furnace: “I just remember sitting on the sideline a couple times, and you can really feel the wind of guys after they run past you.”
Bigger not always better
Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider hunt for speed, but what team doesn’t? The Seahawks have shown that more often than not they are willing to sacrifice size and bulk for speed. It’s why they drafted Bruce Irvin as an undersized defensive end and Bobby Wagner as a smaller middle linebacker.
That speed shows up in small but important ways. Safety Earl Thomas’ speed changes the trajectory of deep passes down the sideline because he’s fast enough to get there and intercept the ball. Wagner closes on passes to running backs in the flat in a hurry.
“We would always go for the smaller guy and the faster guy in our history,” Carroll said.
The Seahawks play so fast, so ruthless, for many reasons, but one of the more important ones also is one of the more misunderstood. The Seahawks play a simple defense, something you’ve probably heard before. But it’s misleading.
The Seahawks don’t have a huge variety of complex formations or schemes; offenses pretty much know what to expect. The Seahawks either play cover-three zone or man coverage with a single high safety deep in the middle.
They have just a few options on the menu, but they want to do those better than anyone.
“I’d say it’s like fine dining,” first-year linebackers coach Michael Barrow said. “We know what we do, and we’re the best at what we do.”
Knowing their weaknesses
It also allows the Seahawks to drill deep into their weaknesses. The Seahawks can spend more time studying and explaining where they are vulnerable than teams that play more schemes.
“So we know going in how teams are going to attack us,” Barrow said. “There are only so many ways you can attack one-high coverage. We train our guys on issues that we face so guys can be ready to go.”
The best defenses are smart and sound, but they also play free and instinctive. It’s like driving the same route home every day; you know every twist and turn, every spot where traffic slows down. The car can drive itself. That’s what the Seahawks have tried to do.
Former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn said that’s one of the more frustrating parts of playing the Seahawks. “Their defense, even though they’re simple, those places where you feel like you can go with the football, there’s just no opening,” he said.
Not so simple step-kick
But the simplicity of what the Seahawks do as a whole overshadows the complexity of what they do on a micro level. Just look at their cornerbacks.
The Seahawks ask their corners to use a step-kick technique, meaning they take one step at the snap of the ball, wait for the receiver to pick a side of the field and then kick when he moves upfield. Sounds simple, right?
In theory, it is. In practice, it requires a level of detail and understanding that is the equivalent of a football PhD. It’s why so many young corners struggle early. To call that simple is just wrong; it is complex and detailed and difficult.
That is just one example, but that detail spreads to the rest of the defense. The Seahawks take great angles to the ball. Carroll and his staff, as most coaching staffs, stress the importance of eliminating “explosive” plays.
Taking the right angle
But the Seahawks have been so good at limiting those big plays in part because they rarely take the wrong angles, and when they can get there they are fundamentally sound tacklers.
Thomas, the Seahawks’ free safety, had a reputation as a spotty tackler early in his career. But he has gotten so good at taking the proper path to the ballcarrier that he rarely lets anyone break past him.
The Seahawks should be in a position to be just as good this year with so many starters back – in theory. But Thomas has yet to practice after offseason shoulder surgery, and strong safety Kam Chancellor is still holding out.
Nevertheless, the Seahawks will run the same defense that won’t fool offenses and dare them to find an answer anyway.