K.J. Wright on NFL.com's All-Underrated Team

[scutterhawk]

“He’s a fantastic coverage guy. He has great instincts, he’s got great sense, he studies really hard, he’s got tremendous range because he is so long, he runs really well, he’s a fast guy too, and he’s got a good attitude about challenging. We’ve put him up against a lot of really good players and he’s matched up with all of them so we have no problem continuing to count on that. He’s got really all of the tools, and he has the addition of having the real good length. His arm length is really a factor in how he covers guys.”

Petes opinion of his coverage skill.

The question I have is how much stock can you really put in Pete's public statement on his own player? Have you ever seen a high profile head coach come out and openly criticize his own players? Pete Carroll is infamous for being extremely positive and complementary towards his players. I think he would be one of the last people to say anything negative about his guys in the media.

Saying anything negative could result in a locker room rift and loss of faith in the coach. Just look at what Jim Mora's jabs directed at his O-Lineman accomplished? I think one of the reasons why he lost his job so quickly is, because he lost the locker room.

That being said, it isn't that Wright is a bad linebacker, it's just that he is a replaceable cog in the wheel. He isn't a structural piece of the Seattle Seahawks defense, he is a decorative piece.

No matter what Carroll may say about his coverage, I think it is a weak spot in his game. He has definitely been exploited there during the 2014 season. Where he really shines is breaking up screen plays. I always feel like I see him breaking up screen plays when they are thrown on his side. He's very good at sniffing them out.

You can try'n spin it any way you want Doc, but the nice Contract that Wright just signed?, yeah, that kills your notion that Pete was just spewing bullshit about his up-side.
Money talks, bullshit walks.

 

[canfan]

Watch the SB again and then tell me how good he is in coverage.

M.M.

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick games, I wonder why you didn't reference KJ's performance against Jimmy Graham in 2 games in 2013? Possibly because it paints a much different picture than KJ against Gronk (the best tight end in the game) while having the ball thrown to him by a Tom Shady who was under absolutely no pressure due to a decimated D Line. I think the speed with which the Seahawks resigned KJ and at what level tells us all we need to know about how the FO values him. Don't we all say in Pete and John we trust? If that is true, you must acknowledge that they see a value in this player as they obviously regard him as part of the core of players they want gong forward.

 

[hawknation2015]

Watch the SB again and then tell me how good he is in coverage.

M.M.

Ok, if we are going to cherry pick games, I wonder why you didn't reference KJ's performance against Jimmy Graham in 2 games in 2013? Possibly because it paints a much different picture than KJ against Gronk (the best tight end in the game) while having the ball thrown to him by a Tom Shady who was under absolutely no pressure due to a decimated D Line. I think the speed with which the Seahawks resigned KJ and at what level tells us all we need to know about how the FO values him. Don't we all say in Pete and John we trust? If that is true, you must acknowledge that they see a value in this player as they obviously regard him as part of the core of players they want gong forward.

The biggest factor contributing to our difficulties in stopping Gronkowski was not Wright; it was Kam's injury. Wright's length and cover skills are terrific, but our scheme requires Kam to reliably come over the top to jar receptions loose. Kam couldn't do that with his knee injury. The same scenario played out in the loss to SD due to Kam playing on a bad ankle.

For example, Kam was five or six steps too late on this play due to his knee injury:


Similarly, Kam was a step or two late on this TD by Gates: