Tag: 4-3 defense

Seahawks considering using Marquise Blair in nickel packages

The Seattle Seahawks are going to let Marquise Blair compete for snaps at nickel cornerback, a package they plan to use more in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks, much to the chagrin of many fans and football analysts, stubbornly stuck with their base 4-3 defensive format nearly 70% of the time in 2019, far more than any other team in the league.

While Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks was an elite trio of linebackers, the base defense forced them into pass coverage far too often, and allowed opposing offenses to move the ball efficiently in short yardage situations.

Now, with Kendricks out of the picture and Ugo Amadi more prepared to handle regular duty at the nickel corner position, it appears the Seahawks might be willing to move away from the base defense at such a high clip in 2020.

In fact, coach Pete Carroll not only implied exactly that on a recent conference call with Seattle media members, he discussed the possibility of using safety Marquise Blair in nickel packages as well.

“He’s a guy that we’re very interested in finding a role for him,” Carroll said. “We’ve already mapped that out. He’s got some real special talent that we want to find a spot for him…In the nickel package he is going to get a lot of consideration to contribute in some additional ways, because he’s unique and he’s got some special stuff.”

Blair appeared in 14 games during his rookie season, making three starts and totaling 32 combined tackles, two forced fumbles and one pass defended while playing primarily on the special teams – especially after the midseason acquisition of Quandre Diggs.

Now, while he’s still in the mix at either free or strong safety, the opportunity to compete for snaps with Amadi at nickel corner further adds to his versatility, and gives the Seahawks more confidence in their nickel package, a move that should help the defense on the whole in 2020.

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Bobby Wagner among PFF’s top-50 players in 2020

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is No. 17 on Pro Football Focus’ top-50 players heading into the 2020 NFL season.

Pro Football Focus has continued cranking out rankings this offseason, and their latest is a look at the top 50 players in the NFL heading into the 2020 season.

Players 11-40 have been released, and Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner came in at No. 17 overall, the only Seattle player on the list so far.

Wagner came in at No. 3 overall before the 2019 season, but he posted a 76.1 grade in 2019 – which is still well above average, but certainly not up to his usual performance by PFF’s standards.

Wagner did finish with a league-leading 159 combined tackles, while making the Pro Bowl and being selected as an All-Pro, so it is clear he remains among the game’s very elite heading into his age 30 season.

Seattle’s defense suffered as a whole in 2019, with virtually no pass rush and an insistence on remaining in the 4-3 base defense on passing downs, often forcing Wagner into more difficult coverage situations – which is not his forte.

Still, Wagner is among the best linebackers in the entire league, and there’s little doubt he will be a top 20, maybe even top 10, player in the NFL during the 2020 season.

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Analysis on Seattle’s selection of Jordyn Brooks in 1st round of draft

The Seattle Seahawks kept their original first round pick for the first time since 2011, selecting Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

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The Seattle Seahawks shocked the world in the 2020 NFL draft, electing not to trade down and keeping their original first-round pick for the first time since 2011.

Seattle used the pick to take Texas Tech linebacker Jordyn Brooks.

Brooks is an elite tackler, leading the Red Raiders in tackles in three of his four collegiate seasons, finishing seventh in school history in total tackles.

His numbers were absolutely jaw-dropping in 2019, as the weakside linebacker recorded 108 total tackles, including a BIG-12 leading 20 tackles for loss. In fact, Brooks’ skill set has drawn comparisons to a linebacker Seahawks fans will be familiar with – Bobby Wagner.

However, Brooks doesn’t immediately fill a need on this roster. K.J. Wright is still under contract and coming off a renaissance season in 2019, and with Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven on hand as reserves, it’s hard to imagine where Brooks will fit in at least right away.

Additionally, while Brooks excels in run coverage, he’s a liability in pass protection – an issue that plagued Seattle’s linebacker group last season as they stubbornly stayed with their base 4-3 defense, which forces the linebackers to play more in pass coverage.

With LSU star linebacker Patrick Queen still on the board, and with most projecting Brooks to go later in the second round, it’s hard to fathom why Seattle did not trade back to take Brooks with a later pick.

Of course, that option may not have presented itself, and the Seahawks may have a different idea of what they plan to do with Brooks in the short and/or long term.

Seattle will have plenty more picks to make on Friday and Saturday, with things kicking off Friday, April 24 at 4:00 p.m. PT.

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Seattle Seahawks 2020 free agent profile: LB Mychal Kendricks

Will the Seattle Seahawks bring back linebacker Mychal Kendricks, or will they turn to 2019 rookie Cody Barton to replace him at SAM?

*The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the 2020 offseason with 19 players set to become unrestricted free agents, which should make for another busy spring and summer for Pete Carroll and John Schneider as they look to shore up the roster and contend for the number one seed in the NFC again next year.*

Our free agent series continues with a look at linebacker Mychal Kendricks.

Lining up as the team’s SAM linebacker, Mychal Kendricks had a solid season for the Seahawks. He racked up 71 combined tackles, four passes defended, three sacks, one forced fumble and an interception in 14 games played.

However, Kendricks often struggled in pass coverage, a task assigned to Seattle’s linebackers more than ever in 2019 thanks to an over-reliance on their base 4-3 defense, and he had issues with open field tackles as well.

Kendricks also suffered a torn ACL near the end of the season and is facing potential jail time stemming from a charge of insider trading leveled against him before the 2018 season.

All that, along with the emergence of 2019 rookie Cody Barton down the stretch, makes it look more and more like Kendricks has played his last down with the Seahawks while the team looks to Barton to replace him at SAM.

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Inconsistent defense will undergo adjustments this offseason

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll reported the defense will undergo adjustments this offseason, but wouldn’t comment on coaching changes.

Perhaps the biggest staple of the Pete Carroll era for the Seattle Seahawks has been their defense.

Built upon strong linebacker play and elite, long defensive backs, made famous by the Legion of Boom, the Seahawks pride themselves on thumping opposing offenses all over the field.

2019 was a very different story. The absence of the LOB was felt in a major way, and the team’s complete lack of a pass rush, over reliance on their 4-3 base defense and inferior play in the secondary led to perhaps the worst defensive season in recent Seahawks history.

Carroll is more than aware of the deficiencies put forward by this unit last year, and he is not afraid to report that changes are coming.

“We were not consistent,” Carroll said on Monday. “Too many explosive plays of various natures. For the most part, we had problems on the edge. We had containment issues. We found that the offenses really put the ball on the perimeter against us a lot. That does challenge us in some ways. You’ll see some things be adjusted in the course of the offseason for that. Just the style of offense that we were up against was a little bit different than it’s been.”

Carroll wouldn’t confirm anything specifically, of course, saying folks will have to wait and see – particularly when asked about Seattle’s reliance on the base 4-3 defense.

“Some of it will be going back to things we’ve done, some of the things will be moving forward,” Carroll continued. “I’m really excited to go about it. It’s difficult to adjust some things in the middle of the year. It was interesting, we played a lot of base defense versus three wide receivers and we didn’t see very much of it. It kind of went away. That was an interesting turn. We weren’t sure how that was going to turn out.”

Carroll’s base defense forced his linebacker group to play more pass coverage, which is not their strength. It often led to team’s using short, quick passing attacks that proved extremely successful.

Carroll didn’t specify that any of the incoming changes will involve his coaching staff, but after such an ugly season on the defensive side of the ball it’s fair to assume some of the defensive coaches, including defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr, are on the hot seat.

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