SB Nation - Josh Wilson

The Continuing Misadventures of Aaron Curry

John Morgan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:59:25 -0000

More photos » by Steven Senne - AP

Texans receiver David Anderson receives a pass from Matt Schaub.

Aaron Curry was back in action before the Seahawks defense could even take the field. He was wracking up a fifteen-yard unnecessary roughness penalty for an unjustifiably late hit. Jacoby Jones was tackled by two Seahawks defenders, his elbow clearly down, seconds before Curry gave him the ol' Brian Russell. It didn't register as dirty to me, but frighteningly unaware.

He started the next series by backing away from his gap and taking himself out of a run play directed at him. It looked like Curry was held, but not flagrantly and not impactfully. The remaining series went:

2. Contain but did not factor.

3. Timed and blitzed perfectly off right end, but lands only an after the fact hit on Matt Schaub. Josh Wilson was burned badly on this play. Ron Pitts called it a nightmare play for a nickelback because the slot receiver has a two way go. Wilson was burned defending the outside route when David Anderson cut in on a post.

4. Stands up and sheds fullback Vonta Leach.

5. Dominates Joel Dreessen but is held and dragged right and out of the play. This would become a theme.

6. [Out] This looked like a 3-3 stack.

7. Stands up left tackle, sheds him with an inside move, closes to the ball carrier and joins David Hawthorne in a gang tackle.

Then Curry executed to perfection and still allowed Dreessen to squirt out for five on second and seven. He was subbed out and Hawthorne, keying Ryan Moats from before the snap, took a bad angle of pursuit, bubbling up and away from Moats to stay parallel, and whiffed so badly that Moats didn't break stride, didn't even slow as he ducked then drove into the end zone. Lofa Tatupu at least gets a shoulder tackle on Moats, and a shoulder tackle would have staggered the roster cut veteran and allowed Seattle's defense to swarm and stop him.

Three more plays before the quarter ended:

1. Bites hard on play action, does not factor.

2. [Out]

3. Can't separate from Dreessen and is unambiguously held.

Now, I'd rather a rookie that lacks awareness than a rookie that lacks tools, but this was a bad, bad start for Curry. He looked as clueless as he did unskilled, and all his size, strength and speed didn't help him when he was reading wrong, reacting wrong and rarely where the ball was.

Seahawks Humiliated on the Road; Deliver Signature Loss of the 2009 Season

John Morgan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:46:40 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

I am pretty sure George Walker Bush busted coverage on a few plays. Fire him. Fire EVERYBODY!

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If ever a time for finger pointing and easy answers existed, it is now. I could attack the character, play and talent of about any Seahawk and score. We don't know exactly how Seattle failed, but we all certainly saw someone in blue fail and that, that guy, is the problem. Panic loves a demagogue and I've the rich pipes to shout orders at the assembling mob. To Renton!

The coaches! We can be sure they're dumb.

The line! Sucked like an Oreck.

Matt Hasselbeck! Boy that guy's done!

The Seattle Seahawks were 4-12 last season. They are now 5-8. They should win against Tampa, and since we're talking "shoulds", they should finish the season 6-10. That is a reasonable step forward for the 2008 Seattle Seahawks. The 2008 Seattle Seahawks were one of the five worst teams in football. The 2009 Seattle Seahawks are one of the ten worst teams in football. And when a bad team, with a suspect line, conservative playbook and aged quarterback gets behind early on the road, it has no answer. It is not one player's fault, but a complete team failure.

That Julius Jones! What a jobber.

And Housh! An overpaid primadonna!

I hope that is sufficient aperitif for everyone's hunger for blame.

Here are some sure to be unpopular observations.

Josh Wilson ran down the field and tipped away a deep pass. That was an exciting display of man cover for the kid and a small, small-small step towards realizing his potential. Wilson might settle at nickel and he is already a fine situational defensive back, but there's room for Pistol to develop into a Antoine Winfield type corner.

Deon Butler can own the short pattern. He's smooth into and out of his cuts and the rare receiver capable of quick acceleration and long-stride speed. Butler must be embraced as a receiver rather than a forty time. From the time he was drafted, Seattle has mismanaged his talent: Wasting time and development, not to mention risking injury, auditioning him as a returner; Sending him streaking up the sideline without a quarterback that could target him; seeing him as a deep receiver because of one attribute and missing his true profile as an underneath burner.

The defense kept its pride even after being handed its ass. Seattle forced two big turnovers that quickly dissolved into nothing, but were clean, meaningful turnovers. Seahawks fans are done thinking this is an elite unit, and with ample reason, but it is young, it is mostly cheap and it is worth picking apart and finding value within. Whether Seattle needs a complete rebuild or not is mootable. I see young talent growing within an otherwise crumbling team.

The team is crumbling. Today a pillar broke off and landed on the Seahawks coaching staff. I like Gus Bradley, Greg Knapp and Dan Quinn. I think all three have a future in this league, but probably not together. I can't see Jim Mora escaping such an embarrassing loss. It was always unlikely Mora would stay. New general managers want their guy. I will not look back at Mora and feel contempt, but he has not earned much respect in his short time here. Fiery is fine. I see desperation. The look of a man that thinks he can yell his way out of failure.

This loss hurt through the first half and settled in the second. Now I don't feel it all. A better team, at home, that matches strength against many of Seattle's weaknesses, playing from well ahead from the first quarter on...

And it won't matter a damn in a month. The Seahawks live beyond the players, coaches and fans. Suck as today sucks, and this sucks, Seattle will rise again. And someday, that good coverage down field by Wilson, the rollicking tiny power presence of Justin Forsett, that force of nature hitting by Aaron Curry, will matter again. Just not today. Or soon. Or even next year, probably.

Game ball: Brandon Mebane was stuck behind Chuck Darby not too long ago. Back then, I was sure to point out Darby's missteps and Mebane's potential. He finally got his shot when Darby was lost to injury and has been nothing but special ever since. He is, accounting for position, Seattle's best pass rusher. He is clearly Seattle's best run stuffer.

Mebane is the rare defensive lineman that bunches double teams and brutalizes them if the quarterback double-clutches. He sticks-out when he's in and even more when he's out. A dozen players on the current roster would be lucky to make the next winning team, but make one Brandon Mebane. Kid was playing for a good team, he would be bashing backs and sacking quarterbacks towards his second Pro Bowl.

Max Unger in the Trenches; Josh Wilson on the Sideline

John Morgan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:49:27 -0000

It's hard enough to get a read on a corner in quarter, but when that corner subs out, it's impossible. Jordan Babineaux played left cornerback and Marcus Trufant right. Lawyer Milloy substituted for Babineaux at safety. So it was for most of the quarter. Josh Wilson made one important play, contacting Josh Morgan on a short pass on third and 10, and throwing Morgan out bounds to end the drive and stop the clock.

Unger didn't have anymore big moments during the half, but at least he was getting snaps. He single blocked twice to open the next drive. He held on both plays and on the first, finished by chucking his man right. Power, the missing component in Unger's game. He moved left with the pocket on the next play and controlled the left defensive end. Unger struck the nose tackle, lost the block, recovered and buried him on a run up the middle that went nowhere. Chris Spencer helped double the nose on Matt Hasselbeck's long pass to Nate Burleson, a pass that fell one yard short of awesome and one yard long of interception.

Unger has improved as a pull blocker. He is no longer driven back. He doesn't struggle to release or release too late. Unger pulled forward and engaged Patrick Willis, but Willis stood tall and kept the struggle in the hole. Justin Forsett ran left for five.

The 49ers blitzed on the next play, and with superior numbers and overloading the edges, caved the exterior pocket and threatened a group sack. Unger let Ray McDonald achieve a stride on him. McDonald slashed around Unger's right shoulder and towards Hasselbeck, but as the pocket warped and collapsed around him, Hasselbeck stepped forward and negated the entire rush. Unger shadowed McDonald and cleared as Hasselbeck stepped up and scrambled for 23. Moments like this remind that Seneca Wallace may have the legs, but smarts make smart quarterback scrambles.

The entire Seahawks line surged left and Spencer blew back Aubrayo Franklin. Unger never got a chance. The cutback lane tore open to the offensive right, but Julius Jones skipped the hole and hit the pile. The run went for two.

Hasselbeck pumped and scrambled himself into pressure on the next play. It was ugly all around, but Unger kept his head in it and his quarterback clean.

The drive ended with Unger reading and picking up a defensive end stunt. To his left, Michael Lewis exploded through the line untouched and forced a fumble. It was a curious play to say the least. Spencer pointed left, identifying the blitzer. Then Hasselbeck looked like he was audibling and Forsett shifted from left to right. It's the second time we've seen Forsett on the wrong side attempting to pick up a blitz. The announcers commended him for it the first time. He didn't luck into a recovery this time.

There wasn't much more of the quarter to speak of. Seattle regained possession, but managed little before running out the clock. Unger released well on the screen attempt right, but the rest of Seatle's line was AWOL. Jones slipped out of bounds for a loss of two. Unger controlled his man on another nice looking deep route by Deion Branch, but the pass sailed nowhere and luckily to no one. Unger finished with a good block on McDonald. McDonald, you might remember, owned Unger in week two.

Shitcan Your Mock Drafts, the Seahawks of the Future are the Seahawks of Today: Max Unger and Josh Wilson

John Morgan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:55:55 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

Brian Orakpo has seven sacks splitting snaps between linebacker and defensive end. The Redskins are out of the playoff hunt and their defense has declined.

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Mock drafts heat up this time of year as top prospects define themselves and declare, and fans of bad teams begin looking toward the future. It's easy to forget, imagining C.J. Spiller or Gerald McCoy, that every team in the NFL is constructed from draft picks. Draft picks that did not remake the franchise or dominate from snap one, but that struggled to make a roster, struggled as rookies, near-rookies, bounced between teams, or went, within the time of a single season, from savior to goat to savior. Draft picks that started hot and started cold, that were hyped, undersold, called bust and steal, that stole someone's heart in a bowl game and broke it blowing an assignment.

Aaron Curry was the consensus best linebacker in an historic linebacker draft. Factor in Brian Orakpo, who splits time between end and outside linebacker, and the first two rounds produced ten linebackers credited with 59 starts, 21.5 sacks, 28 tackles for a loss, 25 passes defended, six interceptions and eight forced fumbles. The last linebacker selected in the first day, Cody Brown, selected 63^rd overall by the Arizona Cardinals, was placed on injured reserve before the season started.

Not one of those picks has significantly changed his team's playoff chances. Not because they've failed or that linebacker play is trivial, but because the best of the best draft picks, healthy and roaring towards their potential in record time, still can not fix, sink or significantly alter a team's future. One draft doesn't do it.

The future of the Seattle Seahawks starts with the 53 man roster: The imports, the projects, the recent class and the class of two, three and four years ago. So instead of fixating on the devilish lie of what could be, let's immerse ourselves in what is.

Max Unger excited before becoming a professional. Now he's just another offensive lineman. But how good is the rookie doing? He's been outmuscled at times and arguably the worst regular offensive lineman on a mediocre unit. Those are global impressions though, ones I could have written the day after Unger was drafted. What did Unger do yesterday? That's my focus this week.

Unger and Josh Wilson, two second round picks that stuck, that are under contract, and that, no matter the new GM, are Seahawks to stay. And both, either, a more important part of Seattle's future than quarterback x, running back y or Hawkblock's newest Mock Mock.

Matt Hasselbeck Slings to Deon Butler for 32 and Game Winning Field Goal Range

John Morgan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:15:19 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Matt Hasselbeck's pass to Deion Branch bent like a curveball and sought like a missile.

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Matt Hasselbeck gets the game ball.

The NFL Draft is designed to assist weaker teams and create parity. Bad teams get better players and become better teams. The very worst teams can pick any player to help rebuild their franchise around. That intent has been disputed by research conducted by Massey and Thaler. Common wisdom is that rookies are overpaid and the strict salary structure punishes bad teams by awarding them potentially crippling investments.

Two things are true: High salaries in the top ten punish bad teams by increasing how much is risked. The best players are usually drafted early.

The San Francisco 49ers started eight picks selected in the top fifty: Alex Smith (1), Vernon Davis (6), Michael Crabtree (10), Patrick Willis (11), Manny Lawson (22), Joe Staley (28), David Bass (33) and Chilo Rachal (38). It took a lot of ass football to assemble that cast. If not for the 90s Niners spilling into the early 2000s, San Francisco would have a dog in the race for worst team of the new millennium.

Smith looked like a competent if unsexy quarterback. Dilfer with a better arm. He's 25.

Davis ran a 4.38 forty. Match him against Aaron Curry on a crossing route and Curry is probably going to get burned.

Crabtree is athletic and explosive and-Oh shit! Lawyer Milloy!

I won't continue fawning. My point is that Seattle beat a better team than itself today. It beat a younger team with far greater resources invested in that youth. It beat that team because the 49ers are better than Seattle, but not significantly.

Josh Wilson was the best all around cornerback playing today. He is a fiend against the wide receiver screen, aware and responsive to his surroundings like a Shaolin Monk. Wilson isn't a stride-for-stride, Asomugha-like shutdown corner. He's a zone corner, but a hell of a zone corner, and drafted to play in a zone scheme. He was supposed to be Ronde. He's supposed to bury the screen, intercept the bounce, jump the route and find the fumble and fly.

Brandon Mebane is an incredible machine. He's a backloaded piston; a battering ram shaped like candy corn. The day Mebane synced to NFL snap counts he became a great young defensive tackle. Mebane is quick, powerful and hard to block. Seattle doesn't need Suh to showcase Mebane, just someone better than Rocky Bernard, Colin Cole, Craig Terrill and the whole sick crew. Like, motile matter -- ambulatory would be an upgrade.

Jordan Babineaux is a young, cheap and functional free safety.

Tim Ruskell never did rebuild but he added some talent while the core rotted. Seattle's next GM inherits a heck of a fine position. I hope he realizes it.

. . .

Two years ago I faced the Shaun Alexander dilemma. Alexander was no longer a good running back. On his best days rushing, he was still a liability as a receiver and pass blocker. But he was beloved even by we who hated watching him. I never feared a miraculous recovery disproving all my theories. I cringed because others saw a miraculous recovery every time he rushed for five.

Hasselbeck isn't there. Quarterbacks do not fall like running backs fall. Losing a little arm strength is not like losing the first gear that got you the job. Hasselbeck can toss a nice pass when he needs. The bender over the defender to Deion Branch was indefensible pass at its best. He threw another high-arcing bomb to Branch that Branch lost behind the defender. It was pretty for a second. Real pretty.

Unlike seeing Shaun sprinting for fourteen, I never cringed seeing Hasselbeck spark to life. It was thrilling. Hasselbeck was never a great quarterback. Well, screw that. Matt Hasselbeck is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play American football. Any quarterback that's made a Pro Bowl can claim that. Hasselbeck is not Manning or within the discussion. He's not Fouts or Unitas or Tarkenton or Marino or-

But HE's THE BEST GODDAMN QUARTERBACK WE'VE EVER HAD!!

Game ball guy. I hope you find a team to make your last few millions in the league with. And I hope that team is not the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks Wither; Fall 31 - 20 to the Arizona Cardinals

John Morgan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:25:25 -0000

by Matt York - AP

Greg Knapp achieved offense with surprise.

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This was an heroic effort and exciting football. Arizona is pretty good this year. Standing at 6-3, the Cardinals should surpass ten wins. Seattle tore out to an early lead, but the defense crumbled against a sustained Arizona attack. Seattle was beat because it was the inferior football team. The Cards had thirteen meaningful drives and averaged 35.8 yards a drive.

There's a lot of game balls to give out, but first let's discuss some of Seattle's weaknesses. Sean Locklear looked a bit gimpy between snaps, so perhaps he is not fully healed. However Locklear is chipping away at his chance to stick at left tackle. Seattle faces an interesting dilemma with Lock. He could be a great right tackle in Greg Knapp's system, but even without the left tackle incentives, he is expensive for a right tackle. Seattle owns a fabulously cheap offensive line, so perhaps it could afford to pay Locklear well at right tackle.

Matt Hasselbeck had a hard game. Heroic is a great way to describe his play. A hero is someone that gets other people killed. Joss Whedon did not envision Hasselbeck's high pass to Deon Butler, but I did upon quoting him. There are many things Hasselbeck still does well. To build a good to elite offense around him, something Seattle would need to do to have a realistic chance at winning the Super Bowl, would require a massive investment. A more massive investment. Seattle has already sunk much of its cap into Beck, Walter Jones, Deion Branch and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Objectivist is wonderfully free of Kyle Orton moments. Because Matt Hasselbeck can consistently make the right read and throw with accuracy, he can make an offense out of check downs. But it's a shit offense. And the second his reads are wrong or his accuracy flutters, it completely breaks down.

Seattle had very little chance to recover when it lost the lead. It does not have what Arizona has: A repeatable ability to gain big chunks of yards in one play. But it shouldn't have lost the lead. Seattle did exactly what it needed to: punch the Cardinals in the mouth early and force Warner to consistently face thick zones. The defense did not crumble because any one player played poorly, but because now it does not have a single great pass rusher. The defense Seattle wants to run needs someone to make Brandon Mebane's almost-snaply pistoning into the backfield and crushing the front of the pocket matter. It needs someone to keep the tight end away from Darryl Tapp. It needs a better edge rusher than Aaron Curry. It lacks that and it failed to sack Warner once.

Game Balls:

Justin Forsett: Kid showed up and declared his an NFL player. Force showed quick feet in his cuts, power in the hole and the less recognized ability to run under tackles and through smaller holes. I don't believe in a feature back. So I am not calling for Forsett to get the majority of the carries, but he is no longer a specialty back. Force is a first and ten, I-formation back.

ME!BANE!: Said. Done. Master of the midway.

Darryl Tapp: Tapp is hybrid end-linebacker. His ability against the run is that of a linebacker, but he's a pure edge-rushing defensive end. Keep this guy and enjoy how he ages.

Josh Wilson: Who would think Wilson would look like the best cover corner Seattle had today? Pistol isn't too good at that, actually, but small samples may contain outliers. He needs to be facing the quarterback to be his best and the game plan to man up the Cardinals defenders and hope they can buy the pass rush time stopped working in the second. Wilson recovered well, showed some man ability and kept overall his guy close, boosting his campaign for starting right corner. He wasn't great, but he was good at something he doesn't do and against the league's best wide receiver corps.

Greg Knapp: It took some balls to swallow your assumptions and let Forsett run real runs. He also called a very nice game. Early, Seattle attacked with a suddenly successful rush game, and punctuated their Two-Headed Freak with a mid-range aerial assault. He saved the screens for desperation time in the fourth. It's hard planning around an injury wracked quarterback with fading arm strength that plays behind a piecemeal line, but Knapp squeezes production out of this offense with a mix of good timing and good play calling.

That's it folks. Seattle is no longer in the hunt to win the division. If it keeps up this intensity, it will enter the Wild Card chase, but only in a fanboy sense. Field Gulls is switching gears again. Like last year, the tape review will now focus on players key to Seattle's future. This week: Sean Locklear at left tackle and Brandon Mebane at the three.

Seattle Seahawks Agonizing in Victory; Win on Stafford's Five Interceptions

John Morgan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:05:04 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Deon Grant and the defense benefited from five Matthew Stafford interceptions to lead Seattle back after going down 17 in the first.

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Seattle won. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't exciting and the Seahawks never looked like a playoff team, but halfway through its season, Seattle is a game away from last year's win total. These are the slow steps to rebuilding. Seattle started behind by 17, but gutted out a win against a team it could have stomped. It's not satisfying but it's something.

The offensive line is still disorganized and Seattle's run game is a liability. This line needs practice together. The organization needs to thoroughly scrutinize its line talent. Much of it may not return next year. I doubt Seattle re-signs Damion McIntosh. Ray Willis is cheap enough to stick at depth, but does not fit Greg Knapp's system. Sean Locklear will likely stick. Max Unger is a Seahawks. The rest of Seattle's linemen better pick it up in the final eight. Some, like Mansfield Wrotto, may not make it through the season.

It is possible that Tim Ruskell has been shy about drafting talent on offense because he didn't know what offense to draft talent for. Whatever the explanation, Seattle is not renovating, it's building a new offense. What it can salvage from this year's unit is like recycled mortar from the Kingdome.

The defense is built. Seattle will cash in when the pick is right. It needs a young athletic defensive end. It could use another disruptive defensive tackle, but should entertain re-signing Cory Redding. There's holes to patch. The talent must develop for it to be great. This defense is young and talented and capable of looking elite if paired with a great offense.

That might take a while. Seahawks fan must be brave, because the tables will be flipped soon enough. Matthew Stafford is a 21-year old rookie playing for a team that finished 0-16 last season. If he pulls it together someday, these trials will make his fans love him. Seattle will get its Stafford soon enough. Matt Hasselbeck played fierce and his effort helped lead Seattle back, but scraping for yards against a bad defense is not some miracle turnaround or rebirth for the Seahawks offense.

It took 51 attempts to get 329 yards. 17 passes were to his backs or fullbacks. Hasselbeck played like the aging game manager I think he now is. Seattle won around him, but mostly because of Stafford's five interceptions (worth 225 or 300 yards* depending on your interpretation). It didn't win because of him. Hasselbeck dinked and dunked against the 30^th ranked pass defense. He stared at his wide receivers like there wasn't a throw he could make. Hasselbeck checked down like he was facing a gifted young secondary. He was facing Kevin Hobbs.

(*Corrected from 350)

Today wasn't fun but it was a win. Remaking this offense will be a struggle, but it can't be pushed back anymore. The defense is starting to click. The Seahawks are branching two directions. The team is getting better as a whole, but worse at critical positions. I won't remember Matt Hasselbeck leading the game with a pick or picking his way back on top, but I will remember Hawthorne's two and Josh Wilson sprinting down field for six.

Game Ball: Josh Wilson recorded his first tackle a yard before the first down marker. Hawthorne would follow with a tackle for no gain to force the field goal attempt. Jason Hanson missed. From there he was pretty quiet. He might be seen tackling his receiver where he stood like against Bryant Johnson in the second quarter, but he wasn't seen much.

Detroit is a bad passing offense and Kelly Jennings could disappear in the folds of their failure, but for Wilson, this was step up time against a corps of tall, powerful receivers. He wasn't leapt over or bullied out. When Megatron went high over him on a critical fourth quarter pass attempt, Wilson stuck in and disrupted the catch. Today was a training wheels step towards starting, but Wilson kept it level and finished off flying. The Seahawks need Pistol to turn his quiet day with an "!" into the beginning of a beautiful career at right corner.

Patrick Kerney Subtly Swings into Irrelevance

John Morgan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:40:20 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Above we can see where the blitz broke down.

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That drive was another pin in the Seahawks hopes. Seattle barely budged the ball before Jon Ryan and Seattle's coverage unit combined to undo the Seahawks field position advantage. The resulting drive would sap what was left of Seattle's comeback chances.

Marion Barber scurried for six and Tony Romo converted the first on a pass to Martellus Bennett. Seattle, for its part, put a lick on Bennett: Aaron Curry standing him up and Jordan Babineaux delivering the blow.

Then, for a brief shining moment, Darryl Tapp nearly undid a half's worth of damage and put Seattle back in the lead. It was another moment where Seattle missed by inches. Tapp rushed around left end and forced back Flozell Adams enough to block out Romo's preferred throwing lane. Tapp jumped as Romo motioned and Romo tucked before taking another attempt. The ball sailed behind intended receiver Roy Williams, but where a good break nets a pick six, Josh Wilson skidded and the pass proved too errant. Ironically, an accurate pass results in a pick six.

Then the wheels came off. Seattle was attacking and Romo forced consecutive offside penalties to convert the first. Penalties would decide this drive.

Lawrence Jackson moved into right defensive tackle alongside Tapp, and stopped the next two plays near single-handedly. He tackled Barber after two and read and reacted to a draw and curled in to stop Barber for a loss of one. Jackson has looked every bit the end I wanted him to be: aware, active, athletic and everywhere.

From the official NFL rule book:

Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to:

. . .

(e) Cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball.

This play pissed off a lot of Seahawks, but the ruling was justifiable if not maybe right. Marcus Trufant was attempting to curl underneath Miles Austin's deep route. Jordan Babineaux was to play over top, though he clearly wasn't deep enough and would have been beat on a clean throw attempt. Trufant curled into Austin's route. The contact looked incidental, with Trufant clearly not attempting to cut off the path of Austin, but he did cut off the path of Austin and Dallas got the call. So it goes.

In the same play, but of less interest, Nick Reed dropped into cover and was literally stride-for-stride with Patrick Crayton. That a player - and damn Crayton is slow.

Seattle cued up a Marshall seven-man blitz and forced an incomplete.

Seattle sent Josh Wilson on its next blitz and Deon Grant hit Crayton to force an incomplete.

Third and 9: Miles Austin for 16. This was a failure of pass rush. The blitz design was..not so good. One could see it working, but there was one major flaw inherent in its design. Perhaps this graphic can illuminate what I mean. For sake of clarity, I'll only show the key players.

You'll have to excuse me if that's too subtle, for I am a humble caveman confused and frightened by your modern world. It's a perfectly cromulent blitz design and swinging Patrick Kerney across the line should give him a strong matchup against the left guard, but Kerney is far too slow to get into the action before Romo finds an open receiver. This will rile some feathers, but do not be surprised if Seattle drafts a defensive end in the first round of next year's draft.

Cory Redding and David Hawthorne combined to delay the inevitable. Redding created the pressure and Hawthorne hit the ball out of Jason Witten's hands. A play later Roy Williams palmed the ball into the end zone and the Seahawks fell behind by two scores to end the half.

Seattle got the ball back and ran a simple run to kill the clock. The fun was over. The third quarter awaited.

What is Wrong with Seattle's Secondary?

John Morgan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:56:22 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Jim Mora cut his teeth coaching Seattle's secondary. Since his arrival, Seattle's secondary has been an awful mess.

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David Hawthorne shot the gap and tackled Felix Jones for a loss of three. It was the kind of quick turnaround Seattle needed to escape a potentially damning fumble. Then everything crumbled in front of Seattle's high priced secondary.

Roy Williams ran a ten yard curl and ran off Marcus Trufant. Tru was caught in his backpedal and Williams was wide open for the reception. Trufant managed to wrestle him down before the first, but Dallas was left with an easily convertible first and back in field goal range.

The Cowboys motioned Miles Austin into the backfield, using Marion Barber as the up back. They ran a toss sweep off of right end. Seattle's linebackers fought off and broke through Austin's lead blockers, but Austin exploited a crack to effort past the line. He was upright and exposed and stumbling through the marker when Jordan Babineaux sunk his helmet into his arms and popped the ball from his grasp. Seattle failed to recover. The play was called back on a Martellus Bennett hold.

Dallas was third and eleven and either about to pass or about to run and settle for the field goal. We know how this ends.

Seattle's persistent third down futility reminded me of something Brian Burke wrote in an email exchange.

My theory is that this may be why run defense appears so unimportant. Say teams are not operating at the game equilibrium, and passing is, on balance, a more lucrative strategy than running. In other words, there really is a considerable passing premium where the payoff for a pass is generally higher than a run, all things considered.

Having a good run defense would therefore be somewhat self-defeating. Take the 2007 Vikings defense that gave up only 3.1 yards per run (good) but 7.0 yards per pass (bad). Facing such a solid run defense, a good offensive coordinator is forced to pass more...which would be a far more effective thing to do in the first place, especially against a relatively weak pass defense. A team like the 2007 Vikings would essentially be forcing their opponent to unwittingly play a more efficient and effective strategy, all the while exploiting their own weakness.

Seattle's ability to force third and long by stifling the run game was undermining the overall defense. It's maddening. It's infuriating watching Patrick Crayton run past the marker and quick-curl without a man within three yards of him. Deon Grant was assigned over coverage and dropped deep. Josh Wilson was assigned under coverage and played the passing lane. Romo effortlessly split the two and found Crayton for 16 and the first.

The Cowboys reset with Austin in the backfield and Barber again the up back. This time Austin was a decoy. Leroy Hill chased him into the right flat, but Barber had the ball. Babineaux, David Hawthorne and Aaron Curry controlled the interior gaps and Babs shot up and tackled Barber after two.

Seattle blitzed five, dropping right defensive end Darryl Tapp into cover, and Curry closed on Jason Witten before he could receive. Witten twirled and juggled and dropped the ball.

It was again third and long. Seattle rushed seven, Trufant covered Austin, Austin initiated contact and Trufant was flagged for pass interference. A play later, Barber ran off right tackle for the touchdown. In seven plays, Seattle had forced two third and longs, it had forced a fumble it couldn't recover and a hold that negated the play, but it couldn't defend the pass. Why can't Seattle defend the pass?

Sam Hurd Streaks for Six

John Morgan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:15:13 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

Colin Cole has been as advertised: A still life in pads.

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The following covers from when I left off to when Sam Hurd put Dallas up by six.

Seattle started the drive with Cory Redding at left defensive tackle. Redding was blown back by a double team, but single-blocked Brandon Mebane sliced behind the blockers bulldozing Redding to wrap Marion Barber after three. Before Mebane's saving tackle, this play was eerily reminiscent of Seattle's struggles in San Francisco.

Seattle sent a safety blitz on the next play. Jordan Babineaux was game until he squared against Marion Barber. Babineaux pulled up and attempted to evade Barber and Barber did little more than stand to complete the block. Barber was nearly butt to thigh with Romo and Babs should have powered into Barber and jolted him back. If you can't be sure you can go around a blocker, power through him and hope. It could have worked. It should have worked with a running start.

Seattle blitzed again on third and two. It blitzed, but checked to five when Deon Grant dropped his rush and picked up man cover. Seattle was locked in man across the field and that made for any easy matchup for Miles Austin. He beat off Ken Lucas' press and put a shoulder into him to get inside. Romo hit him in stride and Seattle allowed another third down conversion.

Why Seattle blitzed on third and two is beyond me. It seemed like Marshall moment when it happened and it seems like a Marshall moment now.

Having failed by blitzing, Seattle attempted the opposite on the next play. It dropped eight into coverage. It dropped eight out of a 4-2, meaning the eighth man was none other than Brandon Mebane. As luck would have it, Mebane matched against Jason Witten. Witten worked a double move, maybe built in, maybe a savvy improvisation. Mebane didn't bite though. When Witten faked curl, Mebane didn't close, but broke back and positioned himself to tackle. That saved an otherwise sure defensive holding penalty. Witten shuffle-stepped and sprinted past the line but never did fully shake Mebane. Romo targeted him in quadruple coverage and Witten leapt high but dropped it. Perhaps the prospect of being sandwiched between a linebacker, two defensive backs and Brandon Mebane just wasn't worth the first.

Austin converted that. Seattle badly misread the end around and only persistent and alert play from Lucas saved them from worse damage. It was a classic case of broken contain. David Hawthorne owns the most responsibility. When Dallas motioned run right, Hawthorne was all over it, and when the action sped left, Hawthorne had no hope of recovery. A final detail worth noting: Seattle was in a 4-2 nickel. Reading the end around but knowing he had little chance to intercept, Josh Wilson didn't stop or ineffectually drift towards the play. No, Wilson saw Austin and bolted towards the end zone. He positioned himself to be a last line of defense should Austin break free. It's a wonder he wasn't needed.

Hawthorne broke contain again on the next play. He drifted left and got behind a lead blocker allowing Barber to cut right and towards the open field. Then Jordan Babineaux had his first safety moment. He sprinted across the first down marker and fought hard to stop Barber before he converted the first.

I could round out this review with another knock on Hawthorne, but Hawthorne breaking cover against Hurd was assumed after Hurd flattened a slow developing crossing pattern. I still don't know what Seattle is doing with its zones or its line, and both are beginning to frustrate me.

This plays fails for obvious reasons. Seattle is down one rushing the quarterback. Patrick Kerney is struggling to get there. Mebane is doing his part. Darryl Tapp is working his butt off on the blindside. Colin Cole is stuck in the blocks. He never moves more than a yard past the line of scrimmage. Center Andre Gurode is able to stifle him so easily that left guard Kyle Kosier can stand and watch Hurd receive.

Hawthorne is covering the middle zone and picks up Hurd as he crosses the field. Aaron Curry is covering Jason Witten on the left. If we're talking zones, Hurd becomes Curry's assignment after Hurd passes Hawthorne to the left, but should Curry drop cover on Witten? He is an unwinnable position. Curry follows Witten through his break but reacts to Romo's eyes and attempts to intercept Hurd before he receives.

Romo probably could have pump-faked and found Witten. Instead he targets the beaten man and hooks up with Hurd for the score. The zones break down, and maybe zones are losing their place in the modern NFL. But the zones break down because the pass rush breaks down. A crossing pattern is a deep route. It develops slowly and is often found by quarterbacks flushed from the pocket. Romo isn't flushed, he steps right up and throws it over Cole's outstretched arms.

The pass rush was swarming all around, but dead in the middle. Tapp, Kerney and Mebane smashed the pocket, but their pressure came from outside. Cole alone was trusted to collapse the middle, and if he could have, Romo would have had no pocket to step into. Instead Cole just stood there. Cole just stood there, watching the play the develop.