Tag: LOB

5 Seahawks selected to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010’s

Marshawn Lynch, Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Pete Carroll were all selected to the All-Decade team of the 2010’s.

The NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that 52 players and two coaches have been selected to the 2010’s All-Decade team – and five of them were members of the Seattle Seahawks.

Two key pieces of the Legion of Boom, safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman, made the defensive squad alongside linebacker Bobby Wagner. They were joined by running back Marshawn Lynch on offense, as well as coach Pete Carroll, who was the second coach alongside New England’s Bill Belichick.

Notably absent is Russell Wilson, who was passed over in favor of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady at the quarterback position, as well as safety Kam Chancellor, the third key member of the LOB who lost out to Eric Berry and Eric Weddle for the chance to be alongside Thomas once again.

Wagner, Thomas, Sherman, Lynch and Carroll are all no doubt deserving of this honor, having been members of the teams that went to back-to-back Super Bowls in the early part of the decade.

Now, as the clock turns to a new decade, the Seahawks will hope that many of their current young stars will make their mark in the 2020’s.

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2020 NFL draft: Why CB Harrison Hand is a good fit for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks love long, physical defensive backs, and Temple’s Harrison Hand is the perfect fit for them in the 2020 NFL draft.

Over the last decade, the Seattle Seahawks have become known for their ability to turn relatively unheralded defensive back prospects into stars. The Legion of Boom was built from two fifth round picks, an undrafted free agent and first rounder Earl Thomas – a testament to Pete Carroll’s ability to develop talent in the secondary.

The other big hallmark of that era was length, a key scouting tool that allowed the Seahawks to find and evaluate players that were otherwise being overlooked.

Assuming those principles still apply to this team, there are quite a few day three cornerback prospects who could fit the bill as the next great Carroll project in the 2020 NFL draft.

One of them is Temple corner Harrison Hand, who projects as a fifth or sixth round pick but who was measured at the NFL combine with a 76 3/8 inch wingspan and 31 6/8 inch arms – well above the average among the rest of the corners participating in the event.

Hand spent his first two collegiate seasons with Baylor before transferring to Temple, where he recorded 43 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three interceptions and a forced fumble last season.

In addition to having the requisite length to thrive in Carroll’s defense, he is a punishing hitter known for his physicality, particularly in the run game. He excels in cover-3 schemes, Carroll’s defense of choice, and has a reputation for laying big-time hits, a la Marquise Blair.

Hand probably isn’t ready to come in and start right away, and there’s some concern about his overall quickness at the next level, but he seems nearly perfect for the next Seahawks developmental project in the secondary, and could be an instant contributor on the special teams.

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Will the Seahawks buck tradition and take a CB in the 1st round?

The Seattle Seahawks have not taken a cornerback in the first round of the NFL draft since 2006, but could this year be the year?

Death. Taxes. The Seattle Seahawks not taking a cornerback in the first round of the NFL draft.

That’s how it has felt at least in the John Schneider/Pete Carroll era, with the team choosing to bank on Carroll’s ability to develop lesser known players into stars, most famously Richard Sherman and Shaquill Griffin.

Carroll hasn’t just developed stars, he has worked his magic on players like Byron Maxwell, Jeremy Lane, Walter Thurmond and Justin Coleman as well – plenty of evidence to suggest this team can get by without using early draft capital or large sums of money to build their secondary.

The last time the Seahawks took a cornerback in the first round was Kelly Jennings back in 2006, when Schneider still worked for the Packers and Carroll was still coaching at USC.

However – it has been a theme for mock drafts to project a corner to Seattle at No. 27 overall this year, with Kristian Fulton of LSU, Trevon Diggs of Alabama and CJ Henderson of Florida the most common targets.

Is it simply a case of mock drafters being unaware of Seattle’s strategy, or is it the belief that the team will take a more direct approach at replacing Tre Flowers this year?

After all, the Legion of Boom was so good in their heyday that drafting corners at all was unnecessary; now, with Flowers struggling and the depth behind him nearly non-existent, it could be time to buck tradition and pony up for an immediate addition alongside Griffin in the new-look Seattle secondary.

Of the three frequently mocked to Seattle, Diggs has the requisite length (six-foot-two) and aggressive, physical nature that seems to speak to this team and their front office. He’s known for his work in press coverage and as a zone corner – which would fit right in with Carroll’s cover-3 scheme.

The Seahawks may not be ready to spend early draft capital on a cornerback, but if they are, Diggs is a great place to start.

Even the Legion of Boom started with Earl Thomas, a first round pick out of Texas. Perhaps Diggs – alongside Griffin, Quandre Diggs and (eventually) Marquise Blair will help form the next great secondary in Seattle.

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Pete Carroll could see Quandre Diggs’ potential at free safety

Defensive back guru Pete Carroll struck again when he saw Quandre Diggs’ potential to play free safety, a move that paid off for Seattle.

When all is said and done, the legacy of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll will be his ability to create elite secondaries. The Legion of Boom was a perfect combination of late round draft steals and Carroll’s simple, yet difficult to stop, defensive schemes.

Although the LOB is long gone, the Seahawks are already proving they can still pack a punch in the secondary, and a big part of that success recently has been the team’s acquisition of Quandre Diggs.

Diggs was acquired from the Lions, along with a seventh round pick, for a fifth rounder. He was having a rather pedestrian year with Detroit, playing primarily strong safety. He had previous experience as a nickel back as well, but Carroll saw what few (if any) others saw: how his skill set would translate into a cover-3 free safety in his defense.

“I thought you could see it,” Carroll said of Diggs’ potential at free safety. “There’s indications that you can see over his time playing, that he’s just a really good, natural football player. He makes good decisions, he goes for stuff, and he’s aggressive. There’s guys that I’ve coached before – and you guys have seen how Earl [Thomas] played, and if you go back to Troy Polamalu and those guys – they have a different mentality than some other players. They look for the opportunity to for it and they trust themselves because they’ve done it before, and they’ve had the experience. I’ve tried to tell you guys about that, and he is one of those guys.”

Diggs may not be the player that Earl Thomas is, but he certainly possesses that same mentality, aggressiveness and high football IQ that made Thomas the catalyst of Seattle’s Legion of Boom.

Carroll’s ability to see that in an opposing player, who was playing a different position, is a skill that has helped him maintain a solid defensive backfield for the entirety of his career, even when they churn through players at the highest level.

Diggs is next in line for the Seahawks, and while Carroll won’t divulge too much of his secrets, it’s very clear he has a high affinity for Diggs’ play so far.

“He’s not the biggest, the fastest; he’s just a really good football player and he’s tough as hell,” Carroll continued. “It shows up in numbers of ways, it’s not just any one aspect. He’s playing well across the board; fitting in on the run, making his hits in the passing game, and defending the ball down the field. I think we’re lucky to have him.”

Diggs and the Seahawks will head to Carolina to take on the Panthers in their final road game of the season on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10:00 a.m. PT.

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