xwalker
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The Seahawks offensive and defensive lines realized very quickly that they were being met by a physicality they very obviously were not used to. The physicality that Garrett has been preaching was evident in spades. Watching Bennett, Avril, and Williams pick themselves up after gains on stretch plays in the first quarter, they displayed body language akin to what we saw from Bruce Carter last year. They were not used to being beat like that and it showed.
As a whole the offensive line dominated the Seattle front from the beginning. Now granted Mebane came to play. He came off the ball remarkably well and got into Fred's pads and was disruptive. He did most of his damage early but was active even in the fourth quarter. Fred struggled at times. Bennett also got some penetration in the first half on inside moves on Free but that was also cleaned up.
The Seattle LBers on the other hand were dominated. Martin was especially effective dominating Wagner, Wright and Smith getting to the second level but Leary, Fred, Clutss, Witten, and Escobar also chipped in. I don't think Hanna played well at all. With poor pass protection and no more push than Escobar in the run game. The coaches seemed to notice as well and Escobar was once again the go to down the stretch for 12 and 22 groups.
I have a pretty good feel for Escobar's capability and this game helped cement my idea of what he can and cannot do. He can hold on but he cannot leg drive particularly well is the core of it. When he latches on he holds on he just doesn't move anyone but a safety. They used him inline much more often this game -somewhat surprising considering the oppoisition- and it worked. When he could jump on his guy at the point of attack before they got momentum he could wall them off if not steer them. OTOH on the backside when picking up a run blitzing Wright, he got turned and was only a glorified speedbump. He does have good feet and quickness when looking for targets on the second level. Escobar also has a nastiness to him. If he comes up on you and you are paying attention to someone else, he will cheap shot you. DE that ignore him get blocked as Bennett found out in the fourth quarter. He likes to finish blocks too. He has only done it on the unsuspecting and DBs to this point but he tries to pancake them if he can. He noodled Chancellor over sideways trying to get him on the ground. As he gains strength, he will be able to bully bigger and bigger opponents. He is also good working inline in pass protection. He sets a nice edge.
The Seahawks chase inside-out so well that the WR were not much of a factor in the run game; it's hard to get to that perimeter. They play their base a lot and their LB were sloughing off Williams and co. when they motioned inside like they were nothing. We stopped trying to do that at the half. Spreading out Seattle and running out of smaller sets does not work. Instead we started pulling 2 linemen to attack outside and our guys cut off pursuit. You have to love that.
Pass protection was much better. Watching them split off into groups of two and three and move in unison is art. Martin in particular stands out in the improvement. He is no longer a step slow on the uptake and the unison is apparent. The team units are meshing across the board on the team. The run game has seen it for some weeks but you are seeing it in pass protection and all over the defense as well.
The Seachickens ran a series of twisting blitzes using DB and LB, line stunts and twists. They also are relentless much like our guys and will loop and stunt organically rather than stop their rush. Our guys picked up most of it as opposed to Romo eating constant turf due to poor execution. Our interior guys were all able to sit down on what power moves the SEA rush could muster. Our guys punch drove them back and when it could not they could sit down after a step or two and keep their feet and Romo was able to find room to avoid leakage. The pocket only collapsed once and the hits Romo took were from him extending plays more than anything. Against lesser teams he needs to be more comfortable just throwing the ball away.
Mebane, Bennett, and somewhat Avril were able to make some plays but we dominated Wagner, Wright, Smith, Irvin, McDaniel, Williams, and Hill almost entirely. When DBs tried to stick their nose in they got plowed too. In total it was one of the more impressive performances by an offensive front that I have seen. The team has won battles against good or better defensive fronts 5 out of the past 6 weeks.
RBs played well. Murray and Randle spent the first half cutting back behind stretch plays and trucking DBs. When Seattle cheated 9 man boxes in the second half we started throwing quick passes to Murray out in the flats and he consistently made the DB miss and get 4 or more yards. I had had some concerns about his hands and the extended hand off but he is executing it well. Randle looks quick and powerful running behind the front and Dunbar was effective with quickness and the ability to make people miss underneath and out in space.
Dez got a lot of attention and managed to beat the best press coverage the NFL has to offer. Only other test at this point is Peterson in a few weeks. Williams is clutch. Harris seemed to wilt under the pressure. His performance was very discouraging. Leary's hold on Mebane That being said it's easier to overcome that kind of performance when your team wins anyway. I would like to see some pride and redoubled effort there. Beasley made a couple plays early but was not much of a factor overall.
Romo is a tough SOB. It is nice to see that he can rise to the occasion if need be but we need him in December. These are easier opponents and his teammates need to carry the load. The more turnovers and the more of a beating he will take. We need the defense to continue to step up and the special teams flat needs to play better. Only bad throw I recall is the fade to Escobar. CB had outside leverage, was obviously overplaying it to my eye and a throw to the inside is an easy TD. He only tried to fit throws to Witten and Dez. Would like to see more of those jump balls to Dez.
Spillman was brought in for special teams and he has been pretty awful at it. That was him overrunning Harvin on the long KO return and taking back yet another nice return with a hold. I'd rather give Hamilton a shot than continue to see that trash. Patmon showed up with a TD saving tackle and another stop short of the 20. He certainly made a case for the active roster moving forward. Coverage was good outside of the one long return. Randle made an impact but Heath is not making plays like he used to. Dunbar contributes on coverage but his blocking
We need to put a priority on upgrading Chris Jones. That weak *** 35 yard punt in the fourth was awful. Defense stood up but that could have been a disaster. Too bad McBriar's leg is cooked.
Pass rush was able to get pressure rushing 4. All the rushmen were disruptive. Only a handful of times did we give up contain. Mincey played inside too much and a nice block on Durant got the Seachickens their sole offensive TD. You can see how Wilson reads DE as he takes off running the moment Edwards tries to set up and rip inside as he is coming upfield. Spencer and Selvie were consistently good stretching the various options Wilson likes to run. Mincey is a great technician setting up the OT. He faked Okung out of his cleats a couple of times.
Spencer seemed to take a big step in his level of performance. I have been critical of his work out of a two point stance but not so this week. He started playing it with lean and his quickness was such that his generic rush upfield was beating the OT to the spot on 3 step drops forcing Wilson to step up. His upper body sttrength is apparent in the run game as he stacks and steers. Did a really nice job using his hands playing off blocks.
Crawford is a mismatch on the interior. He could use a bit more weight perhaps to sit down on double teams but his combination of quickness and power gave Carpenter and co fits trying to get their hands on him. It's a great environment to keep his confidence up as he learns the techniques to deal with various blocks and combination blocks once they do get their hands on him and he is not in a dominant position already.
Watching Mebane get off the ball and shove Fred back, it's a good comparison of the ideal as opposed to what we have at the 1. I get why the coaches like him. He is relentless and he owns the scheme lining other guy's up. Problem is he gets washed out by single blocks more often than not and that was the backup center h was up against. He lacks strength and quickness and it is obvious watching him play and effort only makes up so much especially when the other guys is trying real hard too.
Selvie looked quick and active. He was very disciplined in his technique and continues the compress the edge as he sets it helping the hole created from Hayden getting washed out. Would like to see him do a better job shedding blocks on his rush like you see Spencer do. Can get caught dancing with the OT.
I noticed T McClain and liked his burst upfield and power sitting down on a double team. He fights to split it and looked stout. He only had limited snaps but I thought he did well in limited opportunities.
The LBers were magnificent. Seattle runs all manner of stretch options and our front handled them well in large part due to the sideline to sideline range of our LB. Durant got caught in a bad with a man call on the TE and could not get off his block on the TD but outside of that, our guys refused to be flanked. Wilson's response to this demonstrated quite clearly to me how he is a system QB. Once their stock plays with their multiple options were shut down, he had little to answer. Seahawk ballcarriers found themselves being hit by McClain and Durant rather than find the corner and Durant's range was on full display on the almost interception.
Wilber showed a little bit as well. After watching Hitchens get pushed around, Wilber was able to take on Wilson's blocks and dictate the flow. It was what I liked about his game last year. His ability recover separation chasing down the sideline to break up that pass was a damn fine play. Shows his limit but also showed his fight as he made the play if but barely. Great effort and very encouraging. He is a smart player but he has to play strong to make a difference at the SAM. I thought he did.
I thought that the secondary was outstanding against a mediocre receiving corps of Seattle. they miss Rice but they could not get separation from our DBs and LBers. They all made plays on the ball at the point of catch but what impressed me most was their execution of zone coverages. Our guys are finally handing guys off from underneath to above and guarding their zones consistently. Scandrick and Wilcox in particular stood out in that regard. They help each other now as opposed to the untrusting islands we have seen the past year or so before. I have been critical of Eberflus and Henderson for the guys not picking it up and now that they are I feel the coaches need a nod in their direction as well. Well done.
These are just impressions that I have from two views of the telecast. More in depth looks will be forthcoming time permitting.
Good work.
