The Seahawks will need a lot
more of Patrick Kerney this season.
Seahawks.com
Jim Mora’s first press conference as Seahawks head coach marked a clear shift in the franchise’s philosophy. No longer would the team’s main focus be rooted in its fine-tuned West coast offense, but instead it’s refined defense.
“They’re going to make you proud,” Mora said about the defense. “They’re going to make our fans proud.”
Thus began the defensive overhaul, or more accurately, the defensive line overhaul. Not coincidentally, Seattle’s season may hinge on the success of the unit.
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At the very least, the success of the defense as a whole depends on the line’s ability to apply pressure.
2008 was a perfect example of what a bad defensive line can do to a team. Without Patrick Kerney, Seattle’s line drew no real double teams except for those on Brandon Mebane. To put it simply, the line was easily handled by almost every team Seattle played last year.
Consequently, the secondary, which gave up a league low nine passing touchdowns a year earlier, ranked no. 27 in the same category in 2008 and gave up the most passing yards in the NFL.
The real root of the problem was in a defensive scheme change implemented by defunct defensive coordinator John Marshall.
Due to the lack of a run stuff, Marshall was forced to move strong safety Deon Grant forward to play more as a linebacker, leaving free safety Brian Russell to cover the back of the field by himself. The scheme is called a cover-one.
This left big holes in the secondary to make even mediocre passing teams look elite.
A year earlier in 2007 Seattle was often generating pressure with its front four, allowing Deon Grant to play back in a cover-two, taking away about half the field from Russell’s responsibilities.
Basically, the defense looks the same as it did in 2008 if defensive line play is unchanged in 2009.
Pass Rush
Cory Redding is a skilled pass rusher, accumulating eight sacks in 2006. Mebane led the team in sacks last season with 5.5. The prospect of having a complete line with proven pass rushers at all positions in Patrick Kerney, Darryl Tapp, Mebane and Redding should get the 12th Man fired up for kickoff in September. Three of those players have been known to draw double teams.
When healthy, Kerney demands double teams on nearly every passing play. In 2007, he accumulated an NFC high 14.5 sacks. However, with his recent injuries, it would be reasonable to expect Tapp taking a few of Kerney's downs to keep him fresh throughout the game. He's all hustle and can wear down late into the game.
With Tapp taking reps on the left side behind Kerney, it's likely Jackson will back up Redding on the right.
Redding at End
Redding had his breakout year as a pass rushing DT, while not putting up staggering numbers as a DE. It's certain Head Coach Jim Mora will better assess Redding's skills at DE during training camp, and it's possible there could be a change in the way the team uses Redding. While Redding played at DE, the Lions ranked in the middle of the road in rushing defense.
It's important to remember that Redding was used as a run stuffer at the position and not a pass rusher, which accounts for his low sack totals starting at the position. While at end, don't expect him to rack up staggering sack totals.
Size (From earlier article by Jeff Richards)
GM Tim Ruskell has done a lot to add depth to the defensive line, depth with size.
First, the Seahawks plan to move Redding back to his more natural defensive end position on downs one and two. At 295 pounds, he would be the team's largest defensive end, even if he sheds some weight.
Cole is also the largest player at his position, weighing in at 330 pounds. He hasn't won the starting job yet, but if he does, Seattle will have size starting in the middle unlike anything since Marcus Tubbs.
At linebacker, Curry weighs in at 254 pounds. That's 14 more than Peterson's listed weight.
In fact, assuming all three of these players start, Seattle will have gained 76 pounds over their predecessors on the front seven. Now that's stopping power.
Aaron Curry
It remains to be seen whether Curry can be an upgrade at linebacker over Peterson. But one thing's for sure, he'll be much better at stopping the run.
For all of Peterson's athleticism, he had a tendency, as did all three of Seattle's linebackers, to get caught up in the trash. Once a lineman got his paws on Peterson, he was out of the play.
That won't be the case for Curry. This guy will shed blockers with the best of them and has the ability to make plays in the backfield even when he doesn't come through untouched.
Moreover, with Curry's great straight-line speed, Seattle isn't losing any sideline-to-sideline speed at linebacker.
Improved rush defense
In the last 10 years under head coach Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks have had a top 10 rush defense in yards per rush only twice and only once in the top five. Most of the time, they have been quite bad.
Things should change in 2009. Seattle will be great at stopping the run. And it seems to me there's some old axiom about needing to stop the run first if you want to go far in the NFL.
Oh yeah, that one year Seattle finished in the top five? They went to the Super Bowl.
Reach Aaron Weinberg and Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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