If you really want to know why the DC doesn't let Sherman roam with the opposing teams #1 receiver, check out this post from Hawks.net Any one else notice AR didn't even look to his right all game? He barely looked over the middle.
Pandion Haliaetus wrote:
hawknation2014 wrote:This is really more of a question for Aaron Rodgers. I have no idea if it was in the game plan, but Rodgers appeared to have told Sherman after the game "yup" in response to whether he was intentionally avoiding Sherman's side of the field. Honestly, I don't understand the controversy. Rodgers was smart to avoid Sherman and attack the other corners.
Wrong, IF you want to beat Seattle's Passing D , you can't be afraid of Sherman's side of the field. You also won't win playing conservative, you have to take shots down-field and either hope you get lucky and the WR makes an unbelievable play OR you get lucky and the Defense makes a mistake.
Its not smart what-so-ever allowing Sherman to take away 1/3rd of your field.
1. You're not going to beat Thomas over the top and you're allowing Thomas to shade to Maxwell's side more often than not.
2. You allow Kam to patrol the middle zone and he'll destroy everything in his path.
3. All our LBers have good range and excel in zone coverages
4. The RT becomes the blindside protector, a realization that many are putting out there now.
And thinking about it... I now understand the genius of Quinn's defense and why he essentially flipped the strongside and weakside personnel the way he did last year and why the Seahawks could let Clemons and Bryant walk. Because Sherman shuts down his 3rd of the field, nothing is getting past Thomas, you don't want to cross paths with Chancellor, Wagner could have the best range out of all LBs, it leaves the left side of the field where QBs have to throw across their bodies =,more mistakes and the dump-off where our OLBs are prepared to eat you up. But best of all it turns the right side of the O-Line into the blindside protection.
Teams spend tens of millions of dollars investing in top level LTs and LGs to protect the blindside, and here's Seattle, and you don't want to throw at Richard Sherman because he's the most dangerous CB in the NFL. Well, we are going to line up Avril on your RT, and Bennett on your RG.
You want to know why the Seahawks were so successful with just a 4 man rush, and why Avril and Bennett were so effective, its because the Seahawks have the best 2ndary in the NFL, it has a great LBer corps and a very active D-Line. But the Seahawks D dictates what the offense can do and if your a team who is going to try to dink and dunk, you're not going to beat the Seahawks.
Those offenses only end up tiring themselves out quickly where they are useless by the 4th QTR. Only end up burning a lot of clock, running a lot of plays, only to walk away with a Turnover in the RZ or just 3 points to show for it.
This about sums it up perfectly and I agree with every single point. It took the Packer game for me to completely understand what the Seahawks have really been doing for a long time. Eating up right tackles across the league. The Leo is a diversion. It is the mismatch on the right side, against the weaker pass blockers, where Seattle is winning with the four man front.
This is because....Sherman. The argument that the pass rush creates Sherman is a big misconception. Sherman creates the pass rush by recreating the blindside while inducing right handed quarterbacks to throw across their body to the left. Let Patrick Peterson chase players all over the place and lose. Bill Belichick figured out what Seattle is doing. Revis will no longer be an island, guard one side of the field, and New England will come closest to replicating the Seahawks. Emulation is the perfect form of flattery.
