Seahawks must solve Eagles’ blitzing style
RENTON, Wash. – The images of Matt Hasselbeck’s home debut as a Seattle Seahawk are nearly as vivid as they were on that September afternoon in 2001.
Most of them involved the quarterback lying on his back under an avalanche of green.
Hasselbeck was sacked a total of seven times in that game, a 27-3 Philadelphia victory, during a performance that accentuated how dangerous the Eagles’ blitz can be.
The Seahawks have come a long way since that day more than seven years ago. Hasselbeck has developed a good feel for the Philly pass rush and has made most of the right adjustments, resulting in just three total sacks the last two times the Eagles and Seahawks have met.
That’s the good news for Seattle fans. The bad news is that Hasselbeck will be watching Sunday’s game from the sidelines while backup Seneca Wallace has to deal with the Eagles’ complex blitz package.
“They live off the blitz, so anytime they can get home, they’re going to keep doing it – especially this week,” Seahawks left tackle Walter Jones said. “We’ve got Seneca in there, and when you don’t have your starting quarterback, they’re going to come after you. That’s what I would do.
“It’s just a matter of giving Seneca the looks, and hopefully he can put himself in the right situations to make plays.”
Philadelphia’s blitz, as developed by former Seahawks assistant Jim Johnson, is widely considered one of the league’s best because of its guise and unpredictability. The Eagles always rank near the top of the league in sacks – their 342 sacks from 2000 through 2007 were tied for the most in the NFL – and their 23 sacks this season rank fourth.
Eagles coach Andy Reid gives all the credit to Johnson, saying the system dates all the way back to Johnson’s tenure as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator – before Johnson joined the Seahawks in 1998. Reid was an assistant with the Green Bay Packers, and after the Colts’ blitz rattled his Packers, he made it a point to find out who was calling the defensive shots.
“When I was lucky enough to be a head coach (in 1999), I went and searched for him,” said Reid, who hired Johnson away from the Seahawks shortly after Mike Holmgren came aboard.
Since then, Johnson’s blitz scheme has not only rattled the Seahawks but also the rest of the league.
“They’ve got good blitzers,” Seattle center Chris Spencer said. “Whether it’s (Pro Bowl safety Brian) Dawkins or their linebackers, they all can blitz well.
“When you’ve got guys who can come off the corner like that, it makes it tough to pick up. You never know where they’re going to line up.”
The question this week is how Seattle will deal with it.