REnton reporter
REnton reporter
REnton reporter
REnton reporter
Seahawks defense
REnton repor
2012 Seahawks Special Section
REnton reporter
REnton reporter
REnton reporter
REnton reporter
REnton repor
[Primary objective: Stop opposing offense]
Target: Opposing QB
Options: - pass - hand off
Earl Thomas
capable of! !Caution: play action
Position: Safety Options:
- blitz - zone coverage - man-to-man coverage
Protection Protection
Primary weapon: right arm
Latitude:
47.53
Longitude:
-122.20
Wind speed:
6.4 mph
Third down, chance of success:
33.8%
[[
Field enhancement: on - Magnify: variable
]]
photo/design by adam mcfadden
‘12 Seahawks:A different pointofview By ADAM McFADDEN
In a time when prolific passing offenses rule the NFL, Seattle is doing something different: Building around defense. And the progress is hard to ignore. Yes, the Seahawks finished at 7-9 for the second straight year. And yes, they missed the playoffs. But things are far from dire. Improvement was apparent across the board, and it was especially easy to see in the team’s young secondary, where Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner all made the Pro Bowl. “The expectations are high for those guys to really be a factor again,” head coach Pete Carroll said in a press conference during a June practice. “There’s nothing that these guys can’t do. They’ve worked really hard and they’ve taken a lot of pride.” The group improved as the season went on and developed a definite swagger that sunk in as the team’s identity. “It’s the personalities,” Chancellor said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are confident.
What’s inside? Read all about the 2012 Seattle Seahawks inside. Also, don’t forget to visit RentonReporter.com to find Seahawks news through training camp and the regular season.
You get that confidence and then you get that swagger about you.” In 2010, the Seahawks ranked 27th (out of 32) in total yards allowed, 27th in passing yards allowed, and 21st in rushing yards allowed per game. Last season, the team jumped all the way to ninth in total yards allowed, 11th in passing yards allowed, and 15th in rushing yards allowed per game. By other measures, the defense was even better. Advanced NFL Stats (advancednflstats.com) has a statistic called Expected Points Added (EPA). It measures the value of every play in points added or taken away from a team, as opposed to a traditional stat, like yards.
In this regard Seattle ranked fourth in the league in defensive EPA last season with -33.7. For context, San Francisco was first, at -60.3. Eight teams had negative defensive EPA values. Split even further, Seattle’s run EPA of -18.6 was seventh in the NFL, while its pass EPA of -15.1 was fifth. So while the Seahawks ranked 11th in passing yards allowed per game, the yards they allowed were not as damaging to the game outcomes as they sound. Contrast this to a team like Kansas City. The Chiefs allowed just 201.3 passing yards per game last year, which ranked sixth, and is almost 19 yards more than Seattle. Despite that, the Chiefs ranked 23rd in pass EPA at 65.4. EPA also shows a stark improvement for Seattle from 2010 to 2011. The team’s overall defensive EPA was 26th in the league in 2010, at 76. The Seahawks really struggled against the pass in 2010, ranking 27th in pass EPA, at 60.9. Thanks almost entirely to the improved defense, Seattle had a positive point
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differential (plus 6) in 2011 for the first time since 2007. And it wasn’t a gradual improvement. The Seahawks’ recent point differentials of minus 97 in 2010 and minus 110 in 2009 left much to be desired. So what happened to make the defense turn around so quickly? It was a combination of many things. Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider had another year to bring in even more talent and get players used to playing in the system. But it’s also hard to discount the team’s confidence and mindset on the defensive side of the ball. “We’re going to grind every game,” Chancellor said. “We’re flying around the field trying to let them not catch anything on us.” Making things better is the fact that the secondary should only improve. Chancellor and cornerback Richard Sherman are 24. Safety Earl Thomas is only 23. Cornerback Brandon Browner is the group’s elder statesman at 27 (he will turn 28 in early [ more defense page 2 ]