How is it that the Seahawks secondary is so good?

[kennyb]

Just another example of how you need a constant influx of talent otherwise you'll bust the cap trying to compete. Wilhite, Wheatley, Butler, Dowling all high round busts. For a long time BB wanted the small nifty quick CBs so you get a guy like butler who lets the WR make the catch and then dance/tackles him down.

Pete Carroll always liked the big CBs, he was the one who drafted that tall safety/CB from Syracuse we traded to the NO Saints. He originally wanted hiim as a CB.

Press man is the only way to go...and you can't do that with guys who are 5'9" 180 pounds. QBs are so accurate today that the soft zone BB employs just means you get picked apart 8 yards at a time.

 

[JMC00]

Pete definitely was involved with the Sherman selection, he saw the kid at Stanford while coaching at USC.

Carroll recruited him aggressively to play CB at USC, but Sherman chose to play WR at Stanford.

 

[kennyb]

I saw that style of play big time in last night's game. The whole PI vs not PI thing is becoming a major problem refing NFL games.

That said I also saw defenders turn their heads towards the ball, something I too rarely see a Patriots defender do on a contested play.

Exactly. Even when the opposing receivers are slowing down and have their eyes and hands up to catch the pass, our guys keep their head on the receiver...sometimes they even slow up a bit (so as not to collide into him and draw a PI) and basically let him catch the ball. Then they dance him out of bounds. It's kind of hilarious. Dennard hasn't been here long so he hasn't learned to let them catch it first. Must have the worst coaching for DBs in the league.

 

[JMC00]

Keep in mind the Seahawks are a very different team on the road. So while they look amazing at home, they've laid some stinkers on the road. We'll see how they do in the playoffs if and when Sherman starts to serve his 4 game suspension.

Yep this is the same stout defensive team that went into Miami and allowed Ryan Tannenhill to do this in the 4th quater

7 plays 82 yards TD
6 plays 80 yards TD
7 plays 65 yards winning FG

Tannenhill was 7/8 156 yds 1 TD on those drives.

This "so called horrible" Pats defense only one week later allowed only 186 yards to Tannenhill. 52 of them on the last drive.

 

[patsfanincleveland]

Yep this is the same stout defensive team that went into Miami and allowed Ryan Tannenhill to do this in the 4th quater

7 plays 82 yards TD
6 plays 80 yards TD
7 plays 65 yards winning FG

Tannenhill was 7/8 156 yds 1 TD on those drives.

This "so called horrible" Pats defense only one week later allowed only 186 yards to Tannenhill. 52 of them on the last drive.

Expect to be attacked for proper perspective.

What the thread Einsteins seem totally focused on missing is that a 41 point SF effort was produced with exactly one sustained drive.

If SF consistently started drives already in FG range, they would score more than 12.

Classic case of preconceived bias. The technical name is "stuck on stupid".

 

[New England Seahawks]

Yep this is the same stout defensive team that went into Miami and allowed Ryan Tannenhill to do this in the 4th quater

7 plays 82 yards TD
6 plays 80 yards TD
7 plays 65 yards winning FG

Tannenhill was 7/8 156 yds 1 TD on those drives.

This "so called horrible" Pats defense only one week later allowed only 186 yards to Tannenhill. 52 of them on the last drive.

The Seahawks defense has been exploited since the 2nd half of the game @ San Fran up until the Miami game. Their LBs did not do a good job on underneath pass coverage and their nickel/slot CB (Trufant) was playing terrible.

Since Trufant went out with the injury, they inserted Jeremy Lane and Walter Thurmond in his place and their secondary play has improved since then. Seahawks are also 4-0 since Trufant went out, allowing just 11.75 points per game.

The biggest weakness in the Seahawk defense (IMO) is the interior line play. There just isn't enough consistent pressure up the middle. The pass rush in general has had moments of elite play throughout the season, but the level of performance has been spotty at best. This obviously puts added pressure on the secondary.