Greg Cosell’s Look Ahead: Looking at why Seattle’s defense struggled
It’s easy to assume the Seattle Seahawks defense giving up a lot of passing yards to the St. Louis Rams was a function of holdout safety Kam Chancellor’s absence, but it was more than that.
The Seahawks’ pass defense was not as tight as it has been. There were a lot of completions in open areas by Rams quarterback Nick Foles. There was not as much recognition and awareness within the Seahawks’ “Cover 3” zone, their foundation on defense, which caused them to change their defensive approach late in the game.
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Here’s an example of how the Seahawks didn’t have their normal awareness and recognition. On the first play of the third quarter, the Rams had a play-action fake with a ghost reverse action by Tavon Austin. When Austin came across the formation like he was getting a reverse, all of the underneath defenders were impacted. When they went with Austin, it opened up the middle of the field for a 29-yard catch by Stedman Bailey.
There were personnel issues as well. When the Seahawks went with a nickel defense, DeShawn Shead and Cary Williams would play outside and Richard Sherman would move into the slot, and Sherman isn’t as good in the slot as he is outside. That weakens two positions.
The Rams had a big day throwing the ball. The Seahawks gave up eight 20-yard pass plays, the most in the NFL last week. The Detroit Lions gave up seven. No other team gave up more than five 20-yard pass plays. We’re not used to seeing that from the Seahawks, though the Rams are a divisional opponent and know better than most teams how to attack Seattle. The Seahawks’ uncharacteristically poor day on defense led to a telling change late in the game.
Despite the problems on defense, the Seahawks played “Cover 3” most of the game. Then in the final two minutes of regulation they switched to man coverage. It would seem they recognized their “Cover 3” zone concepts had holes and they needed to man up. That didn’t work either, as the Rams scored a long touchdown in the final minute when Dion Bailey slipped and fell down, but moving away from the “Cover 3” late in the game was interesting.
Seattle’s problems on defense are particularly worrisome for them considering they play at the Green Bay Packers this Sunday night.
Despite getting the win against the Chicago Bears, I didn’t think it was a very good offensive performance by the Packers in Week 1. There was very little rhythm and timing in their pass game. The receivers made some outstanding individual plays, but will that happen every week?
What also struck me — and something that’s worth watching as the season progresses — is the ability of Devante Adams and James Jones to win against man coverage. At times they struggled against the Bears against man coverage. That leads us back to Seattle, and how they’ll attack Green Bay. After last week, they’ll have some decisions if they want to go with their normal “Cover 3” or switch it up a bit and run more man coverage.
James Winston’s biggest issue
One thing that could be a real concern for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is that their offensive line isn’t good and their rookie quarterback isn’t the type of player who can make up for that.
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Tampa Bay’s offensive line really struggled in pass protection, both with individual matchups and with stunts. Jameis Winston is not the kind of quarterback who can compensate for a less-than-average offensive line, because he lacks natural quickness and explosive lower body movement. The potential concern for Winston is whether he will start to perceive pressure and break down in the pocket. There were some elements of that already against the Tennessee Titans last week. It’s worth watching this week as the Buccaneers travel to face the New Orleans Saints.
Witten gets wide open for the win
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten’s game-winning touchdown was one of the signature plays of Week 1, but how did he get so open for the score? Two defenders on the Giants didn’t play their assignments very well.
The Giants lined up Robert Ayers over Witten to disrupt his release, and they played a hybrid “Cover 2” zone/quarters red-zone coverage concept. Ayers did a poor job disrupting Witten; he could not allow Witten an inside release but that’s what happened. Then middle linebacker Uani Unga dropped into the end zone rather than playing it as a matchup zone concept against Witten. That’s how Witten was free to catch the game-winning score.
Joeckel struggles again
Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Luke Joeckel, the second pick of the 2013 pick, didn’t show much improvement in Week 1 of his third season. He continued to get beat in pass protection, with power and quickness. Right now he’s a liability.
My sense is Joeckel is not very strong in his anchor. He was tossed around by Panthers defensive end Mario Addison a number of times. Joeckel would get too upright in his set at times and get driven back. The Jaguars offensive line as a whole didn’t protect well, Joeckel in particular struggled (even before suffering an ankle injury) and that could be bad news for second-year quarterback Blake Bortles, especially this week against Miami’s strong defensive front.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
