The No. 1 thing you have to defend against the Seattle Seahawks is the read option. There’s a very strong tendency within that play that we have seen in our film study, and I guarantee you New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick knows it as well.
On 42 percent of Seattle's plays they use a 3-by-1 set (three eligible receivers to one side, and one to the other) counting tight ends. If Marshawn Lynch is offset to the side of the tight end, the single-receiver side, he will cut back and not follow the zone blocking 80 percent of the time. He will cut it inside before he crosses the center. That's a strong tendency to do it on four of five carries, and we'll look at how New England will have to defend it – something you can watch for in the Super Bowl.
First, let’s take a quick look at an example of this tendency. Early in the third quarter back in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, the defensive end tried to play Lynch and the option. He couldn’t make a tackle on Lynch. The stacked linebacker, Rolando McClain, ran around a block, and Lynch was running clean into the secondary for a 32-yard gain. Notice how Lynch cuts back well before he crosses the center.
So we know the Seahawks will use a lot of read option, and that when Lynch gets the ball he’ll often look to cut it back right away. How do the Patriots combat this? You can’t have the stacked linebacker on Lynch’s side flow across the formation, because Lynch is going to stay on his side. The stacked linebacker has to sit there, and then you have a defender there when he cuts it up. That's tough to do, because it's natural for a linebacker to go with the flow of the play.
We’ve discussed the Carolina Panthers and how they play Seattle’s read option. And the Panthers have played it well. They define the read by having the unblocked defender stay wide so quarterback Russell Wilson has to hand it off. And then, because their linebackers are so quick, fast-reacting and smart, they are in position to prevent the cutback. Then if Lynch has to go toward the zone blocking, your defensive line has to win or at least stalemate. But you can define the read with Wilson and force him to hand it off. That simplifies things for the defense. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots do something similar.
Another read option wrinkle is Seattle can get some big pass plays off of it. An 80-yard touchdown to Luke Willson in Week 16 is a great example. Instead of Wilson running read option, he rolled out. There’s so much going on in the backfield that it’s easy to lose discipline and get your eyes caught up in the backfield. That’s what happened here, especially with Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu.
That’s the issue the Seahawks cause. I can hear Belichick saying “Do your job,” his famous motto. If you’re defending this guy, don’t worry about Wilson. But will they revert to human nature – “That’s Russell Wilson, I have to go get him”? The Seahawks are very good at creating confusion within the defense by having a lot of action in the backfield.
Seattle is good with formations too. The Seahawks had a great one in Week 14 against Philadelphia. They had double stacks, two receivers on each side, well outside of the numbers. What that does is puts an unbelievable burden on the unblocked defender. That time it was Eagles outside linebacker Trent Cole. Cole made a mistake – he was supposed to play it from the outside in, and he played it inside. Regardless, he was in a bind. Cole is not stopping Wilson on that play, with that much space to defend. It speaks to the importance of formations, and how formations and personnel can affect the number of defenders in the box and matchups.
The read option for the Seahawks has many elements, and not just in the run game. They don’t do it every play, but when they do they put stress on the defense with Lynch being able to run, with Wilson being able to run, and with Wilson being able to pass off a read option element. The Patriots have quite a challenge.
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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.
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