Focus On: Seahawks Reserve CB’s
Since I fully believe that the Seahawks and Saints will see one another again, I’m going to go ahead and tackle an issue that’s garnered a lot of attention this week. Call this a scouting report of sorts for Saints Fans ...
With the suspensions of Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond, the klieg light has been focused sharply on the Seahawks Secondary this week. Just how much “Boom” will that steal from this Legion though? That's truly the million dollar question at this moment heading in to this game.
As I've mentioned before, Seattle is truly unique in the sense that they have better quality depth in the secondary than maybe any other team out there. Many local and some national experts have recognized that as well. To give you a sense of some of the depth this team had in training camp, CB Will Blackmon was snatched up the second he were cut loose and he’s become a key contributor for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Seattle and John Schneider’s ability to find talent truly is remarkable. In fact, in taking a look at their roster, 8 players on it were drafted in the 5th Round or later and 11 players were Undrafted Free Agents (that’s 36% of their roster).
In this game, we’ll get to see 2 of those guys, as Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane will get the call on Monday. Maxwell and Lane are both very talented young guys. Both are physical, quick, and are good cover corners in the making. Here is a breakdown of the Seahawks reserve CB’s and the guys that will be getting the call Monday Night and for the forseeable future for the remainder of this year ...
Byron Maxwell …
Byron Maxwell was drafted by the Seahawks in the 6th Round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Maxwell is 6’0” 202 Pounds. Coming in to the draft, he had the reputation of being a very hard hitter with great speed and quickness (he had run a 4.37 in the 40). Though he had shown some inconsistency, scouts like Russ Lande noted he had great instincts and was a smart player. In fact, right after he was drafted, Lande said that he believed that Maxwell had the stuff to be a future starter.
Here is Schneider talking about Maxwell following the draft ...
http://www.seahawks.com/videos-phot...-Maxwell/1fb9f61f-949d-40b9-a831-2eee0eaa3f1a
Pro Football Focus notes the following about Maxwell in this week’s preview of the Seahawks-Saints game ...
On the year Maxwell has seen 139 coverage snaps in eight games, been targeted 23 times and allowed 15 catches for 161 yards and a score while also defending three passes. The Falcons game is his most noteworthy one – he successfully defended an end zone pass to Roddy White, but was later beat by undrafted rookie Darius Johnson for a TD.
Source:
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/11/29/3tfo-saints-seahawks-week-13/
Here is an article that was just put out a couple of days ago. The embedded video has a clip of that play against Roddy White towards the end.
http://www.seahawks.com/news/articl...steps-in/3288f171-5aaf-47bd-a574-3c4616b6d0bf
Since Brandon Browner’s groin pull in the Falcons game, Maxwell has been getting regular work on the outside. Maxwell played well against the 49ers in Seattle’ 42-13 victory last year. Coming in to that game, Maxwell was named
Pro Football Focus’s top defensive sub for Week 16, the week prior in Buffalo.
Jeremy Lane …
Jeremy Lane was drafted in the 6th Round one year later than Maxwell in 2012. Lane is 6’0” 190 pounds and coming in to the draft, had been timed at 4.42 seconds in the 40 yard draft. He was noted as having excellent leaping ability (39.5” vertical) and again, had the reputation as a very physical defender (in fact, he was involved in a couple of scraps during training camp last year.)
Schneider talks about Jeremy Lane following the draft here ...
http://www.seahawks.com/videos-phot...ston-Guy/5239a584-428a-4f35-b4f5-3f7e011f7637
and a clip of Jeremy Lane making a pick against the Raiders in the preseason last year ...
http://www.seahawks.com/videos-phot...-Leinart/4dd22533-7936-418b-9243-ba5f27904085
He has shown good overall man to man coverage skills and because of that, the Seahawks have utlilized him in nickel coverage some this year. On special teams, he is an excellent gunner with great speed and a real ability to down punts inside the 10 yard line. He has the stuff to be a Pro Bowl special teams player. Again, Lane played well for the final 4 games down the stretch including that win over the 49ers. Against Buffalo last year, Lane held the Bills to just 29 yards on 7 targets.
DeShawn Shead …
One move that’s really flown under the radar this week has been the decision by the Seahawks to bring Deshawn Shead up off the practice squad. Dave Boling (long time writer for the Tacoma News Tribune) talked about the fact this week that the coaching staff really likes this guy.
Shead is a big CB (6’2” 220 pounds) and because of that, some have called him Brandon Browner 2.0. Shead is a heck of an athlete, as he was a standout track star and displayed good speed (4.49 in the 40) and leaping ability (38” vertical) in his pro day at Portland State. Shead shows excellent quickness for a man his size, good physicality, excellent smarts, strength, and tackling ability.
Here he is making a play in the preseason. Eye popping play in many ways for a guy that size ...
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000231438/Shead-picks-off-Osweiler
Here are some highlights from Shead's Pro Day at Portland State ...
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And some game film of him from Portland State (I know you've got to consider level of competition, but just check out his instincts, the speed at which he can break on the ball, and his overall physicality. Though he’s obviously inexperienced as far as the NFL is concerned, those traits translate obviously.)
[youtube]8yE21QPF9CE[/youtube]
Closing Thoughts ...
With Browner and Thurmond both being lost to suspension, people througout the country are questioning what the heck Seattle is going to do. Well, to that I would answer, Seattle has been down this road before ...
When he was first hired in 2010, one of the first moves GM John Schneider made was to trade away starting CB Josh Wilson (a scrappy, very talented corner) for a conditional 5th Round pick in 2011. Many Seahawks fans were angry at the time, feeling that it was the absolute wrong move, as Wilson was one of the best defensive players Seattle had. Instead, Schneider ends up pillaging the Great White North, finding Brandon Browner, who was an All Star in the CFL, but was totally unproven in the NFL.. All he does is become one of Seattle's best corners and a real anchor of the Seahawks Defense, as his physical style of play really lends well to what Carroll believes in.
In October of 2011, Walter Thurmond went down with a
broken fibula and severely injured ankle and was placed on IR. The team was already reeling from the loss of CB Marcus Trufant (who was considered the Seahawks best CB at the time). Seahawk fans again thought all was lost. But, the games must go on, so it was Next Man Up time. And who did they happen to insert in to the lineup. A guy who at that time was a No Name Rookie who was taken in the 5th Round that year out of Stanford -- Richard Sherman. Trufant got Wally Pipped and never got his starting job back, as CB play improved overall with Sherman at the helm.
Last season, Brandon Browner was suspended for the remaining 4 games of the season for violating the NFL's PED policy at the start of December. Then, Walter Thurmond went down with a hamstring injury and was lost for the final 3 games of the regular season. Seahawk fans were saying the exact same thing last year, "What are we going to do?" Next man up -- enter Jeremy Lane and Byron Maxwell. Both guys played great down the stretch including that 42-13 whooping of the 49ers in Seattle last year. Neither Browner nor Thurmond played in that 49er game ... and Seattle won all 3 games with those guys at the helm.
Will that necessarily be the case again this year? Only time will tell. Carroll himself played Free Safety in college and broke in to the NFL as a Defensive Backs Coach with the Bills in 1984 (and continued to coach DB's with the Vikings until 1989), so he and former Seahawk DB (and now Seahawks DB Coach) Kris Richard obviously know and evaluate the position very well. Carroll, Schneider, and company have made good decisions in the past, so fans generally feel they’re in good hands now.