Our safety cup runneth over...our money is invested there...we have abandoned our hey days of Earl Thomas roaming in a single high safety role.Earl was special in the attack angles he took and the speed burst to get to his target...so our philosophy guided by Pete (who played safety as well) has molded into a more "collective minds" type brand that is just getting shaped into having special personnel to transform potential into production.
Jamal Adams had a huge role to play in our defenses re-design as a safety in the box at Linebacker depth but not Linebacker gap responsibilities...free to seek and destroy based on instincts. His role is as a safety hybrid not a LB hybrid. Ryan Neal had one of his best seasons in the schemes we employed last year but gap responsibility isn't easy in a light box...run stopping gets sacrificed for better coverage but your D-line better be penetrating the backfield to keep running plays from finding the best gap to explode through.
When Ken Norton began using more 3-4 hybrid schemes KJ was a difference maker with uncanny instincts and very good athleticism...Wagner and KJ had excellent gap discipline and experience but our legion of boom secondary allowed Kam to hammer out his role as a punishing assassin...again very special individuals playing under rules that were just starting to tip the balance toward the offenses use of the middle of the field.
Julian Love provides very good range when in our two deep shell packages. My own guess is our team was surprised to snag Love at a reasonable price. The Big Nickel package for 2023 seems to have set expectations on Diggs...a healthy Adams and now Julius Love...freeing Jamal Adams to free lance from LB depth...without LB gap responsibility. Yes Diggs and Adams are big cap hits...only possible due to Geno's team building cap hit of 10 million...but perhaps drafting Jerrick Reed II will provide a safety target of interest to compete in 2024 as Backup/Replacement for Adams/Diggs since Love's signing procures at least one safety with a smaller cap hit in 2024. A quick blurb on Reed :
From Brent Stecker (Editor Seattle Sports.com) :
As a senior, Reed started all 12 games for New Mexico, making 94 total tackles, 4.5 tackles with loss, two forced fumbles, 12 passes defensed and an interception.
Jerrick Reed II was one of three players drafted from our top-30 visits (also Devon Weatherspoon and Anthony Bradford). He is on the "smallish" side of being a safety "thumper" but has a mean streak and killer attitude and listed at 5'10" 192# carries the "chip" of being considered small for an NFL Safety...but he finds solace in knowing Quandre Diggs is 5'9" 197 and hits like a ton of bricks.
Loves signing and Reed's drafting relegates Joey Blount to special teams/ roster bubble cut when 53 man roster gets set...windows of opportunity have to be aggressively pursued. Our corners need to be aggressive as run thumpers not window dressing when set to contain the edge. Sherman and Brandon Browner defined run "containment" with initial contact aggression. We want intimidating tacklers not just "athletes in motion".
Tre Brown and Coby Bryant have flashed often but M-Jack's aggression in run defense had so far held the 2nd CB spot ... but the arrival of "Spoon" will now make M-Jack a luxury rotational piece (perhaps relegated to our dime packages). Our secondary has the depth and special youth that is waiting for our D-line to duplicate...and we have added a d-line coaching specialist BT Jordan to jump start our pass rush for penetration.
As a team we tied with 3 other teams for 7th place in total sacks produced but TFL defines the penetration needed to blow up running plays before they take advantage of our "light box" schemes.
Many people question the desire to employ a "big nickel" scheme as a desperate effort to make use of the drastic cost Jamal Adams represented...but this was actually considered as a viable scheme shortly after drafting Marquise Blair when we had Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald established. Almost like an injury jinx Marquise Blair never became the heavy nickel corner piece Pete imagined him growing into...and now Jamal Adams has been injury bit as well. IF we can turn curse into blessing... Jamal Adams has a healthy green light to play in 2023 then perhaps this Big Nickel approach can really bear fruit...Jamal Adams is the Linchpin to pre-snap/post-snap coverage disquise with QB pressure without sacrificing explosive run plays given up.
Three very special safeties should put a "clamp" on explosive run plays eluding Wags or Devin Bush...and maybe Jamal can jump up to the Line of Scrimmage where he showed incredible burst off the snap as a heat seeking missle.
Our 2023 schedule ranks as 6th hardest from a report shortly after schedules got released and doesn't get easier as the season progresses from our home game 17 Nov against the Rams. We NEED a healthy Jamal Adams (Hate aside) to tip the balance in our direction.
Jamal Adams had a huge role to play in our defenses re-design as a safety in the box at Linebacker depth but not Linebacker gap responsibilities...free to seek and destroy based on instincts. His role is as a safety hybrid not a LB hybrid. Ryan Neal had one of his best seasons in the schemes we employed last year but gap responsibility isn't easy in a light box...run stopping gets sacrificed for better coverage but your D-line better be penetrating the backfield to keep running plays from finding the best gap to explode through.
When Ken Norton began using more 3-4 hybrid schemes KJ was a difference maker with uncanny instincts and very good athleticism...Wagner and KJ had excellent gap discipline and experience but our legion of boom secondary allowed Kam to hammer out his role as a punishing assassin...again very special individuals playing under rules that were just starting to tip the balance toward the offenses use of the middle of the field.
Julian Love provides very good range when in our two deep shell packages. My own guess is our team was surprised to snag Love at a reasonable price. The Big Nickel package for 2023 seems to have set expectations on Diggs...a healthy Adams and now Julius Love...freeing Jamal Adams to free lance from LB depth...without LB gap responsibility. Yes Diggs and Adams are big cap hits...only possible due to Geno's team building cap hit of 10 million...but perhaps drafting Jerrick Reed II will provide a safety target of interest to compete in 2024 as Backup/Replacement for Adams/Diggs since Love's signing procures at least one safety with a smaller cap hit in 2024. A quick blurb on Reed :
From Brent Stecker (Editor Seattle Sports.com) :
As a senior, Reed started all 12 games for New Mexico, making 94 total tackles, 4.5 tackles with loss, two forced fumbles, 12 passes defensed and an interception.
Jerrick Reed II was one of three players drafted from our top-30 visits (also Devon Weatherspoon and Anthony Bradford). He is on the "smallish" side of being a safety "thumper" but has a mean streak and killer attitude and listed at 5'10" 192# carries the "chip" of being considered small for an NFL Safety...but he finds solace in knowing Quandre Diggs is 5'9" 197 and hits like a ton of bricks.
Loves signing and Reed's drafting relegates Joey Blount to special teams/ roster bubble cut when 53 man roster gets set...windows of opportunity have to be aggressively pursued. Our corners need to be aggressive as run thumpers not window dressing when set to contain the edge. Sherman and Brandon Browner defined run "containment" with initial contact aggression. We want intimidating tacklers not just "athletes in motion".
Tre Brown and Coby Bryant have flashed often but M-Jack's aggression in run defense had so far held the 2nd CB spot ... but the arrival of "Spoon" will now make M-Jack a luxury rotational piece (perhaps relegated to our dime packages). Our secondary has the depth and special youth that is waiting for our D-line to duplicate...and we have added a d-line coaching specialist BT Jordan to jump start our pass rush for penetration.
As a team we tied with 3 other teams for 7th place in total sacks produced but TFL defines the penetration needed to blow up running plays before they take advantage of our "light box" schemes.
Many people question the desire to employ a "big nickel" scheme as a desperate effort to make use of the drastic cost Jamal Adams represented...but this was actually considered as a viable scheme shortly after drafting Marquise Blair when we had Quandre Diggs and Bradley McDougald established. Almost like an injury jinx Marquise Blair never became the heavy nickel corner piece Pete imagined him growing into...and now Jamal Adams has been injury bit as well. IF we can turn curse into blessing... Jamal Adams has a healthy green light to play in 2023 then perhaps this Big Nickel approach can really bear fruit...Jamal Adams is the Linchpin to pre-snap/post-snap coverage disquise with QB pressure without sacrificing explosive run plays given up.
Three very special safeties should put a "clamp" on explosive run plays eluding Wags or Devin Bush...and maybe Jamal can jump up to the Line of Scrimmage where he showed incredible burst off the snap as a heat seeking missle.
Our 2023 schedule ranks as 6th hardest from a report shortly after schedules got released and doesn't get easier as the season progresses from our home game 17 Nov against the Rams. We NEED a healthy Jamal Adams (Hate aside) to tip the balance in our direction.
