Seahawks front seven (1 Viewer)

[Jene Bramel]

dan pompei of Sn thinks addition of peterson could more than offsetloss of hutchison... not sure i agree, but he could be huge if all the way back from achilles injury... he was turning into perennial pro bowler (though SLBs are rarely IDP gold... marcus washington has been about as good as it gets lately, around top 20)...

Bob's note on Peterson in another thread got me thinking about the Seahawks front seven again. I figured I'd make my reply into a new post to get the discussion going again.Seattle used to play a static 4-3 front with a dediciated ROLB and LOLB making Anthony Simmons one of the few worthwhile SLBs.

That was before Ray Rhodes (and now John Marshall as DC) came to town, though, and with Leroy Hill at 6'1', 225, I think Peterson will line up strong side at all times. The interesting problem is deciding who leaves the field on passing downs when the Seahawks want an extra pass defender on the field.

You'd have to think Julian Peterson is a three down player (making it possible he could rival the Dansbys and Washingtons of the IDP world). But do you take Tatupu (your defensive captain) or Hill (a surprise stud in pass rush last year) off the field? Are either of them good enough in coverage to routinely handle a slot receiver? Do you put Peterson on the line then? Who leaves? Both Bernard and Tubbs were effective collapsing the pocket from the inside last year. And Fisher and Wistrom are your primary pass rushers.

I'll look into this a bit more tonight. Anybody already have a good feel on this one?

EDIT: There was some discussion of this when Peterson was signed, including Weiner Dog's reply below, but I don't know that it's been resolved...

Peterson (6'3" 235) is far more suited to cover TE's than Hill (6'1" 229). It's been well documented than Peterson can essentially play every position on the field outside of DT.

I could see Wistrom getting yanked on passing downs with either Hill or Peterson rushing the passer. The remaining LB's (Tatapu and either Hill or Peterson) would then be the two nickle LB's. It's painfully obvious Wistrom cannot get to the QB anymore.

 

[Weiner Dog]

It's anybody's guess, but if I follow the "if ain't broke don't fix it" adage, I'd have to assume the following would happen in passing situations...

Tatapu ~ like last year, man the middle

Peterson ~ like his entire career, man-to-man on the TE/RB with the occassional zone coverage and 3-pt pass-rush

Hill ~ like last year, rushing the passer with the occassional zone coverage

Fisher, Bernard and Tubbs would stay on the field since they're the Hawks best DL rushers. Darby would head to the sidelines for a breather.

Now...Wistrom played all three downs last year. This was before Peterson was signed. The coin flip most likely comes down to Hill or Wistrom. One will stay...one will go. There's an outside chance Wistrom could slide inside with either Bernard or Tubbs on the sidelines, but I don't think the Hawks want a front-seven nickle D with only one guy weighing more than 275lbs.

 

[DonFue]

Tubbs will not stay on the field in the Nickle...didn't last year either. Petersen will be a DE/SLB hybrid but they cannot take Hill off the field b/c of his above-average coverage skills, nose for the ball and pass rush instincts...he is just a productive, if not dynamic, defender. He hasbeen at every level! The Nickle should look like this:

Wistrom will man one end, Bernard and Darby at DT. tatupu, Hill and petersen will be wildcards either by formation (Petersen with hand on the ground) or selective blitzing...imagine the versatility these LBs could bring with a well-prepared D-coordinator?!?!

 

[Jene Bramel]

Tubbs will not stay on the field in the Nickle...didn't last year either. Petersen will be a DE/SLB hybrid but they cannot take Hill off the field b/c of his above-average coverage skills, nose for the ball and pass rush instincts...he is just a productive, if not dynamic, defender. He hasbeen at every level! The Nickle should look like this:

Wistrom will man one end, Bernard and Darby at DT. tatupu, Hill and petersen will be wildcards either by formation (Petersen with hand on the ground) or selective blitzing...imagine the versatility these LBs could bring with a well-prepared D-coordinator?!?!

Darby came in for Tubbs in the nickel package last year? I didn't see many 'Hawks games so I had assumed a good number of his sacks came in nickel situations. After reading your post, I went and looked - all Tubbs' sacks were on early downs.I gather you're suggesting that you'll see Wistrom/Bernard/Fisher on the line (with Darby leaving), with Peterson and Hill varying blitz and coverage assignments. Or are you saying Fisher would be the odd man out in favor of Peterson?

Thanks for the input. Love it when new members come straight to the IDP forum and contribute.

 

[DonFue]

Didn't even consider Fisher...this D could be scary! Anytime you can rotate the d-line, its a positive for the team. I still just don't see those LBs ever leaving the field...maybe on 3rd-and-2 when the threat of a run is legit?

I'll be on a lot...I love IDPs and have been known to be extremely opinionated...I think I'm in the right place!!!