Seahawks Defensive Backfield The Press Corner

courtesy: The News Tribune

Here we are at the cusp of a new season.  We have spent the last seven months thinking about the draft, who to re-sign, what possible free agents to acquire and the like.  All the while, every Offensive Coordinator in the NFL has been devising new ways of putting points up on the board.  This is a copycat league, remember when the 2008 Miami Dolphins unleashed the WildCat formation and almost every team tried to implement it the next year.  Well, with the Patriots success with the Twin TE set last year and the emergence of Jimmy Graham and the “Joker TE” you can rest assured many teams will be on the bandwagon in 2012.  The NFL is now a passing league, gone are the days of ‘Ground Chuck’  --- you remember 3 yards and a cloud of dust.  So what is a defense to do?  I believe Pete Carroll has seen the writing on the wall and has been waiting for the right pieces to show off his idea on how to defeat today’s passing attack.

The Seattle Seahawks have invested a lot of resources into their backfield since Pete Carroll and John Schneider (PCJS) strolled into town.  29% of all their draft picks over the past three drafts have been on Defensive Backs (8 out of 28).  You want more numbers - how about 22% of their UDFA signings as well (10 of 46).  Now that we have established how important DB’s are to this Defense let’s get into the why.  The Seahawks Defense is predicated on stopping the run with three huge down linemen (Mebane, Branch, Big Red), an undersized LEO, Clemmons, and an active Mike who only has to watch two gaps.  They are the blue-collar tough guys that make the magic in the Secondary possible.

The Seahawks Defensive Backfield consists of three key elements and one irreplaceable player: Press Corners, Slot Corners, a Heavy Nickelback, and Earl Thomas.  In this series I will give you my take on how they are used within the scheme.

Press Corners: Brandon Browner (6’4 - 221), Richard Sherman (6’3 - 195), Jeremy Lane (6’0 - 190), Byron Maxwell (6’1 - 207)

            Today’s NFL offenses are predicated on speed and timing.  Watching Aaron Rodgers throw a back shoulder pass is a beautiful thing…especially when the receiver doesn’t even look for the ball until just before it gets to him.  The Seahawks upset this speed and timing by crowding the opposing receivers at the line, which they all hate,

and knocking them off of their route tree.  As the QB goes through his progressions the receivers’ are not at the depth or position they should be, which causes them to go to their next target or throw a pass that they haven’t practiced a thousand times.

 Many teams implement press coverage into a Cover-2 zone.  Basically the Cornerback will press, or impede the advancement of the Receiver for the first 5 yards.  If the receiver continues a sideline route the Corner will stay with him for 15 yards before giving way to a Safety.  What makes the Seahawks press corners’ unique, aside from their size, is the ability to play man coverage.  The Seahawks Corners are tasked with not only putting a hard press on the opposing Receiver, but also to stay with them no matter what route they may run.  This keeps Kam Chancellor free to read the play: Sniffing out Screens and Draw’s.   The Seahawks DB’s are bigger and stronger than anything a lot of these wide receivers have faced, causing quite a frustrating day for the opponent’s.   Check out this link from Fieldgulls.com to see what Brandon Browner brings to the table: http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx116/ncernst/Rams/Brownerdoublemove.gif

    After seeing that mauling of Brandon Gibson it is easy to imagine that a referee could throw the flag on just about any play...But, with him getting inside the head (and shorts) of Gibson it is also easy to surmise why Pete Carroll is willing to take those penalties from time to time.  It's all about creating an attitude on defense - which has been missing since the day's of Rufus Porter, Jacob Green and Cortez Kennedy.