Seahawks Insider » Xs and Os

Getting Harvin the rock – let’s count the ways

Eric Williams — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:12:04 +0000

You can bet as soon as the Seattle Seahawks brokered the trade with Minnesota that sent Percy Harvin to Seattle, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was in his office watching old Vikings game film trying to figure out innovative ways to get his new toy the ball.

Well, two can play that game. So let’s take a look at some of the different ways the Seahawks can make sure Harvin gets at least eight to 10 touches a game come September.

BUBBLE SCREEN

Yeah, I know some people hate this play. But it’s a pretty easy way to get …

Offseason rewind: Can T-Jack be a closer?

Eric Williams — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:29:31 +0000

It’s only appropriate that our first post of this year’s Offseason Rewind series begins at the quarterback position.

And sorry to create some emotional anxiety with that nice weather outside, but we’ll focus on a couple plays that caused some agony during the regular season

Needing a field goal to win the game late against San Francisco, Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson scrambled to his right and looked like he had enough to pick up a first down. But 49ers linebacker Larry Grant stripped him of the ball from behind and safety Donte Whitner recovered the ball to seal the …

Hawks rev up version of “NASCAR” package

Eric Williams — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:00:57 +0000

For Pete Carroll this offseason the idea was simple – add more speed to the team’s pass rush to create more sack opportunities, similar to the way New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell drew up his NASCAR package with four defensive ends on third down, Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka

As pointed out by Pat Kirwan in this article for CBS Sports I linked to yesterday, the Seahawks struggled to get pressure on the passer on third downs with just 12 sacks last season, fourth-worst in the league.

With big bodies like Red …

Offseason rewind: More press coverage

Eric Williams — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 20:16:20 +0000

To say the Seattle Seahawks struggled in pass coverage last season is an understatement.

The Seahawks gave up 31 touchdowns through the air last season, tied for third-worst in the league.

Opponents averaged 250 yards a contest through the air in 2010, 27th overall in the league. Seattle gave up five performances of 300 yards or more to opposing quarterbacks, including San Diego’s Philip Rivers throwing for 455 yards in a 27-20 loss to Seattle at CenturyLink Field, which included two kickoff returns for touchdowns by Leon Washington to salvage that game for the Seahawks.

Here are a couple …

Offseason rewind: The money down

Eric Williams — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:31:57 +0000

I thought we’d take a look at third down percentages from 2010 on both offense and defense to get a better understanding of how the Seattle Seahawks can improve in those situations in the upcoming season.

Seattle finished 24th overall in the league defensively in getting off the field on third down, at 39.5 percent.

Offensively, the Seahawks were not much better, converting 35.5 percent of third down opportunities to continue drives, good enough for 22nd overall.

Let’s take a look at the issues on defense first.

The first six weeks of 2010 Seattle’s defense …

Offseason rewind: Can Whitehurst lead Hawks?

Eric Williams — Tue, 24 May 2011 20:32:14 +0000

When Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll responds to a question, he doesn’t always answer it directly. So as a reporter you’re usually left parsing words – reading between the lines and looking for hints as to what his real intentions are moving forward with this team.

And I think Carroll provided a few clues as to what he might do at the quarterback position during his pre-draft press conference in April.

Asked what his ideal vision is for the quarterback of his system, Carroll had this to say:

“We’re always looking for a guy that can

…

A closer look at Hawks’ sputtering run game

Eric Williams — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:24:05 +0000

We’ve heard this all before. Offensive line guru Alex Gibbs was brought in to install the zone-blocking scheme, which may take awhile to take hold, but has been successful everywhere that he’s coached.

Well, we’re now three weeks into the exhibition season and Gibb’s version of the zone blocking scheme is looking much like former Seahawks offensive coordinator Greg Knapp’s version last season – basically spinning its wheels and going nowhere.

The Seahawks are averaging a paltry 69 yards a game during preseason play, ranking 28th overall in the league. That’s translates to 3.4 yards a game, which is not …

Five questions with Football Outsiders’ Doug Farrar

Eric Williams — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:34:19 +0000

I had an opportunity to ask some Seahawks-related questions to prolific NFL writer Doug Farrar, who is a contributor to the Football Outsiders and Yahoo Sports NFL blog Shutdown Corner, among many other things he covers on the league.

Farrar wrote this year’s section on the Seahawks in the annual Football Outsiders Almanac. This prospectus offers a new and interesting take on the league by combining an innovative look at statistics with film study.

And this year’s almanac doesn’t disappoint in terms of stirring up the pot, with the authors picking the popular media choice to win the NFC …

Hawks offseason rewind: Creating an illusion of defensive pressure

Eric Williams — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:53:44 +0000

It’s something that the Seattle Seahawks made a move towards last season, and will do more of this year – creating multiple defensive fronts to confuse the offense on which defenders will blitz.

The New York Jets are probably the latest team that has had the most success of doing that out of a 3-4 defensive scheme, creating what defensive guru and head coach Rex Ryan termed an illusion of pressure.

“We can give you the illusion of pressure, and it can actually be a coverage,” Ryan told the St. Petersburg Times. “We can overload you on sides. We can …

Offseason rewind: Red zone

Eric Williams — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:45:52 +0000

Much of Seattle’s struggles offensively can be traced back to the team’s inability to score in the red zone. Seattle finished with a 39.58 scoring percentage in the red zone, ranked 30th overall last season.

And in 2008 that number was a little better at 50 percent, good enough for 21st overall. By comparison, one of the best offenses in the league last season, the Indianapolis Colts, finished at 66 percent in red zone percentage in 2009, ranking second overall.

Red zone percentage, the measurement of a team’s ability to score once they are inside the other team’s …