Jeff Tefertiller
Footballguy
http://www.seahawks.com/news/articles/arti...8b-e9def94bda73
Each is a receiver, but each also possesses specific skills and traits that set him apart in the Seahawks’ offense. There is a reason – and even a rhyme – why one of the wide receivers lines up as the split end and the other at flanker, while the third is the best pass-catching tight end in franchise history.
Call it the A-B-C’s of the X, Y and Z.
X: It’s the split end position in coordinator Greg Knapp’s offense, and Burleson is a prime example of the type of receiver needed to play it. Bigger. Faster. Capable of delivering the “homerun” play.
“Our split end is going to be our fast guy, our deep-threat type of guy,” said Robert Prince, who’s in his first season as the Seahawks’ wide receivers coach. “He has to be able to make the big play in a crowd.”
That’s where Burleson’s size (6-foot, 198 pounds), explosiveness and athletic ability (42½-inch vertical leap) come into play.
“In college, I was in the slot quite a bit,” said Burleson, who signed with the Seahawks in 2006 after spending his first three NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
“In Minnesota, I even played a little slot. But for the most part, I’ve always been a split end. And I must say, it takes a special receiver to play over there.”
In addition to Burleson, rookie Deon Butler, Ben Obomanu and Jordan Kent are working at X.
Y: That’s the tight end. Under former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox, the tight end was a blocker first, a blocker second and a blocker third. Or as former tight end, Pete Metzelaars, once put it, “The tight end can go an entire season in Seattle and the only thing he’ll catch is a cold.”
Not anymore. Not since Carlson was selected in the second round of the draft last year. After Carlson led the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches as a rookie, it is likely that even when the Seahawks go to four-receiver sets this season, Carlson will be one of them.
“John is special,” veteran strong safety Deon Grant said. “And the really good thing about it, he’s a humble special person. He likes to work. He runs great routes. He’s got good speed. And he’s got great hands.”
Z: That’s the flanker, the spot filled by Steve Largent, Brian Blades and Darrell Jackson during their record-setting runs with the Seahawks.
Largent led the club in receptions from 1976-87 while fashioning his Hall of Fame career – including a then-club record 79 catches in 1985. Blades, who moved from split end to flanker when Largent retired after the 1989 season, was the team’s leading receiver five times, including a then-club record 81 receptions in 1994. Jackson caught a then-club record 87 passes in 2004, the most productive of the four seasons he was team’s leading receiver.
The single-season record now belongs to Bobby Engram, who caught 94 passes in 2007 – when he started five games at flanker, but did most of his damage from the slot.
Now, it’s Houshmandzadeh, who signed with the team in March after averaging 89 receptions the past five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Others working at Z are Deion Branch, Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne, Mike Hass and Michael Bumpus.
“Our flanker is a guy we keep on the move (before the snap),” Prince said. “He’s the guy we might send over the middle, so he’s got to be able to read coverages – whether it’s man-to-man or zone – and know where to sit in holes.
“And we do like a guy who has some run-after-the-catch ability, because he’s got to catch it and burst to get the yards after the catch.”
A flanker’s life, however, is not all catches and runs after the catch.
“Flankers are going to do more blocking, because it’s the strong side and they run the majority of the time to the strong side,” Houshmandzadeh said. “So you’ve got to be able to block. That’s probably the biggest key – you’ve got to have some dog in you.”
But what about all those receptions? What’s the key to that?
“Any receiver, you’ve got to be able to beat bump-and-run coverage,” Houshmandzadeh said. “You can run a route in off coverage, anybody can do that. So if you can beat bump-and-run coverage, then that’s when you’ll find the success.”
But as Koren Robinson, who played the split end to Jackson’s flanker, once put it, “Darrell makes all those catches because he plays the good position.”
Burleson concurs. “To be honest, it seems like when you’re at the flanker position you’re going to get a lot more balls,” he said. “Because there are a lot of knick-knacks.”
Like those quick throws when the flanker is the hot read because the defense is blitzing.
“Those kinds of plays lead to a lot of catches,” Burleson said. “And it makes you a household name.”
That’s as easy as, well, A-B-C. Or, in this case, X, Y, Z.
Each is a receiver, but each also possesses specific skills and traits that set him apart in the Seahawks’ offense. There is a reason – and even a rhyme – why one of the wide receivers lines up as the split end and the other at flanker, while the third is the best pass-catching tight end in franchise history.
Call it the A-B-C’s of the X, Y and Z.
X: It’s the split end position in coordinator Greg Knapp’s offense, and Burleson is a prime example of the type of receiver needed to play it. Bigger. Faster. Capable of delivering the “homerun” play.
“Our split end is going to be our fast guy, our deep-threat type of guy,” said Robert Prince, who’s in his first season as the Seahawks’ wide receivers coach. “He has to be able to make the big play in a crowd.”
That’s where Burleson’s size (6-foot, 198 pounds), explosiveness and athletic ability (42½-inch vertical leap) come into play.
“In college, I was in the slot quite a bit,” said Burleson, who signed with the Seahawks in 2006 after spending his first three NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
“In Minnesota, I even played a little slot. But for the most part, I’ve always been a split end. And I must say, it takes a special receiver to play over there.”
In addition to Burleson, rookie Deon Butler, Ben Obomanu and Jordan Kent are working at X.
Y: That’s the tight end. Under former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox, the tight end was a blocker first, a blocker second and a blocker third. Or as former tight end, Pete Metzelaars, once put it, “The tight end can go an entire season in Seattle and the only thing he’ll catch is a cold.”
Not anymore. Not since Carlson was selected in the second round of the draft last year. After Carlson led the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches as a rookie, it is likely that even when the Seahawks go to four-receiver sets this season, Carlson will be one of them.
“John is special,” veteran strong safety Deon Grant said. “And the really good thing about it, he’s a humble special person. He likes to work. He runs great routes. He’s got good speed. And he’s got great hands.”
Z: That’s the flanker, the spot filled by Steve Largent, Brian Blades and Darrell Jackson during their record-setting runs with the Seahawks.
Largent led the club in receptions from 1976-87 while fashioning his Hall of Fame career – including a then-club record 79 catches in 1985. Blades, who moved from split end to flanker when Largent retired after the 1989 season, was the team’s leading receiver five times, including a then-club record 81 receptions in 1994. Jackson caught a then-club record 87 passes in 2004, the most productive of the four seasons he was team’s leading receiver.
The single-season record now belongs to Bobby Engram, who caught 94 passes in 2007 – when he started five games at flanker, but did most of his damage from the slot.
Now, it’s Houshmandzadeh, who signed with the team in March after averaging 89 receptions the past five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Others working at Z are Deion Branch, Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne, Mike Hass and Michael Bumpus.
“Our flanker is a guy we keep on the move (before the snap),” Prince said. “He’s the guy we might send over the middle, so he’s got to be able to read coverages – whether it’s man-to-man or zone – and know where to sit in holes.
“And we do like a guy who has some run-after-the-catch ability, because he’s got to catch it and burst to get the yards after the catch.”
A flanker’s life, however, is not all catches and runs after the catch.
“Flankers are going to do more blocking, because it’s the strong side and they run the majority of the time to the strong side,” Houshmandzadeh said. “So you’ve got to be able to block. That’s probably the biggest key – you’ve got to have some dog in you.”
But what about all those receptions? What’s the key to that?
“Any receiver, you’ve got to be able to beat bump-and-run coverage,” Houshmandzadeh said. “You can run a route in off coverage, anybody can do that. So if you can beat bump-and-run coverage, then that’s when you’ll find the success.”
But as Koren Robinson, who played the split end to Jackson’s flanker, once put it, “Darrell makes all those catches because he plays the good position.”
Burleson concurs. “To be honest, it seems like when you’re at the flanker position you’re going to get a lot more balls,” he said. “Because there are a lot of knick-knacks.”
Like those quick throws when the flanker is the hot read because the defense is blitzing.
“Those kinds of plays lead to a lot of catches,” Burleson said. “And it makes you a household name.”
That’s as easy as, well, A-B-C. Or, in this case, X, Y, Z.
