| 06 September 2009
Looking at the cuts the Seahawks made should tell us something about what to expect from the team when the regular season starts. I was thinking about the ramifications of the way they've shaped the team and how it fit what they said they were going to do.
Right off the bat in the first press conference introducing Mora to the public, Mora talked about a suffocating defense and how they wanted to put a lot of pressure on the opposing quarterback with the front four. They not only went out and got the beef they felt they were missing in Colin Cole, they traded for Cory Redding, moved Mebane to the three tech, and then drafted Nick Reed and picked up undrafted free agents Michael Bennett and Derek Walker. Yesterday, the big surprise was that all made the final roster and Baraka Atkins was the odd man out. For the first time (as far as I've been able to confirm), they are carrying 11 defensive linemen. I think this says that Mora is deadly serious about using the defensive line to apply the majority of the pressure. Having a rotation that deep will allow for them to keep fresh legs in the game even into the fourth quarter. Reed and Bennett in particular have shown themselves to be relentless pass rushers and I think that they will be used to keep the pressure on in the regular season. Our second string defense played very well this pre-season and were able to compete with most team's first string offense. I think that's an indication of the quality of our rotation and that defensive line rotation will be the strength of the Seahawks in 2009. Just like Mora hinted at the first time we all heard him speak.
I have no doubt that they have been working on a dynamite blitz package and furthermore we haven't seen much if anything that they will unveil when the front four isn't getting enough pressure applied. Face it, the defensive line isn't going to be able to prevail against every team's offensive line and when they can't keep the pressure on, Seattle will unleash their linebackers and defensive backfield to augment. The few times I've seen them blitz in pre-season, they looked overwhelming. I don't think they wanted to give anything away and with the word coming out of training camp about how well Curry and Hill are providing pressure on the blitz packages, I think the Seahawks will fulfill Mora's wish and provide that suffocating relentless pass rush that he said his defense would use as their foundation on day one. To continue reading this article, please press Read more... below.
Another thing that points out that the defense is doing well is shown in the preseason stats. They're 2nd in the NFL in sacks with Nick Reed the pre-season sack leader with 4.5 sacks. The defense was ranked at number 10 in total defense finally cracking the top ten. They came in tied for 7th in defensive TD's and tied for 5th in interceptions. This is an opportunistic defense that flies all over the field and creates turnovers. In short, the defense is playing like we thought they could and I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll be salivating to see them finally turned loose against the Rams with all cylinders firing.
Knapp told us about his offense when the OTA's started. He said it would be up tempo, use hard play action keyed off the running game and be balanced between the pass and run. I think that's just what we saw. All the quarterbacks were operating at a fast tempo getting the team up to the line of crimmage and getting the play off. They had mixed success at running the ball but rarely lost yardage. We saw Jones very little and James for only a couple plays. The play action looks devastating. Once the run is established, the play action keeps the defense off balance and with Seattle's talented receiving corps, the offense has multiple weapons that should be difficult to stop. Jones and James looked alright in their brief pre-season stints and Forsett is a real change of pace back with talent of his own to hurt a defense with. All of this depends on the offensive line's ability to gel, stay healthy, apply the new ZBS, and protect Hasselbeck from injury. I would say that our offensive production depends heavily on the offensive line more than any other single factor. Our whole season could depend on that same factor particularly if there are injuries. If Walter Jones can get back and play, that will alleviate a lot of that concern. If the offensive line says healthy and doesn't crumble, I think the team has a pretty good season. Our defense will keep us in most games.
The only other real area of concern in my mind is the defensive backfield without Trufant but with Wilson playing better and better, outside of being hurt by big receivers that can outmuscle him, the defensive backfield should be able to play well enough to hold off the challenges from the first six teams until Trufant can come back for the Dallas game after the break. Indy and the Cardinals will be the biggest challenges in those first six games. We play the Cardinals at home so I can see us having a good chance there and perhaps coming up with a 4 - 2 or even 5 - 1 record when Trufant can be activated. I will be disappointed with a 3 - 3 record or worse at that point given who we play. Given that scenario and with Trufant coming back on schedule, our defensive backfield should be able to hold up and cease to be a concern after the bye.
I like the final roster this year and give kudos to Ruskell for protecting all of our young players who have shown so much upside during the pre-season. The only guy we lost who would have been nice to hang onto was Taylor but someone had to go. Receivers are much easier to find than defensive ends and tackles. We all speculated that the 2009 Seahawks would have a strong defense and an offense that could score enough points to win if the defense keeps us in the game. The defense allowed 14.5 points a game in pre-season. If they can continue to be stout in the regular season, I think the offense given that we don't have a collapse in the offensive line can give us enough production to win games. To me, the team turned out just about as expected and Mora ended up with what he said he was shooting for in that first presser. It's all about injuries as most seasons come down to. If we can keep from a rash of injuries concentrated in one area particularly in the offensive line, we can be one of the better teams in the NFC this season. I really don't see any other teams I would call a sure thing in the NFC this year and I think the elite teams will define themselves as the season progresses. The Seahawks have as good a chance as any to be among them at this point.
What do you Addicts think? Are we going to be able to be in the hunt if we stay healthy? Are we what Mora had in mind when he took over the team? How do you read the way the cuts went? Are you guys estatic that Russell got cut finally? Please leave comments and discuss.
Hasta,
BillT
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