Reconstructing our 2013 Front Seven Defense

[Hawkmode]

Our new front seven continues to offer content with Dre'Mont Jones (best free agent)...Boye Mafe (biggest rookie 2nd year leap)...Bobby Wagner(biggest missing ingredient) and Derick Hall (Star in the making?)

In 2013 we had the LOB backing up a stacked front seven with more traditional 4 man fronts that rotated Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril in on Pass Rush Roles. Our current front seven is close in body types but much younger and able to scheme different looks because of marrying half 3-4 and half 4-3 looks but with personnel better suited for 3-4 roles...the "extra" end being a hybrid (having more speed and range for coverage than a traditional end by blending high pass rush skills yet athletic enough like a LB to drop back in underneath coverage...which is why Derick Hall makes more sense and also accounts for Boye Mafe being chosen from last years draft...as the template they were looking for.

Comparing body sizes from 2013 and now...we are similar but the roles are more dynamic in execution and our 2013 line had more experience sprinkled in.

Red Bryant 6'5" 326 LDE (Jarran Reed 6'3" 306 5T/Big DE)
Tony McDaniel 6'7" 305 LDT (Mike Morris 6'6" 295 5T/Big DE)
Chris Clemons 6'3" 255 RDE (Uchenna Nwosu 6'2" 251 Edge)
Michael Bennett 6'4" 275 DE (Dre'Mont Jones 6'3" 281 3T/DE)
Cliff Avril 6'3" 260 DE (Mario Edwards 6'3" 280 3T/DE)
Brandon Mebane 6'1" 311 RDT (Cam Young 6'3" 320 NT/DT)
Bruce Irvin 6'3" 250 OLB (Darryl Taylor 6'4" 267 Edge)
KJ Wright 6'4" 246 OLB (Derick Hall 6'3" 252 Edge)
Bobby Wagner as himself from 2013 but now older and wiser : 6'0" 240 (Inside Off Ball LB same as Jordyn Brooks*and Devin Bush)

Our extras: Boye Mafe 6'4" 261/ Tyreke Smith 6'3" 255/ / Bryan Mone 6'3" 345/ Alton Robinson 6'3" 259/ and Devin Bush 5'11" 234

 

[Chawker]

I'm still POed about Gavin Dexter ! Don't get me started on our front seven.

 

[Hawkmode]

Well Garvon Dexter has enormous potential but we heavily invested good money for a tried and true young DT type with Dre'Mont Jones. Draft wise...selecting Zach Charbonnet is kinda like the year before drafting Ken Walker III...looking for immediate impact to allow our offense more chances of rescuing our young budding defense by having more sustained drives...not so many 3 and outs. Understand your pain...gotta trust Pete and John just a bit.

 

[Hawkmode]

Since this post "mirrors" the concerns expressed in other posts...I'll add some content to show why Pete and Clint Hurtt aren't kidding when downplaying the "new" defense as being not so new...just continuing to adapt it from ideas Pete and Dan Quinn first focused on...way back in 2013. Take a deep breath...relax

The 4-3 Under defense shifts two LB to the strong side of a 4 man front but Seattle uses a hybrid version to blend this 4-3 formation using 3-4 personnel...found this online (Wickapedia) :

Seattle 4-3 hybrid defense

“Our end and nose and tackle are our three big guys," Quinn said. “So we are half 4-3, half 3-4. They have to be big enough and stout enough to play the run, and then when we go into nickel is when we move a guy like Bennett to defensive tackle or Bruce (Irvin) to a defensive end spot."
— Dan Quinn, Bob Condotta, Seattle Times

The Seattle 4-3 hybrid is a defense created by Pete Carroll and Dan Quinn and was used by the Seattle Seahawks to great success in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.[1] The defense has a four man defensive line, but incorporates defensive principles more commonly seen in three man lines. The defense has more specialized roles than most, and this allowed them to take advantage of "market inefficiencies", to use players that other defenses could not.[2] It also features a pass defense scheme that improves run defense.
In depth

The Seattle 4-3 hybrid defense is based on the 4-3 under front used heavily by Monte Kiffin.[3][4][n 1] Unlike the standard 4-3 under, in which all the defensive linemen employ 1 gap techniques, the Seattle variant has a split personality. In its best known form, half the line uses 3-4 two gap principles, while the other half acts like a one gap 4-3.[5][6]
Seattle 4-3 under reduced front. The two linemen to the left of the offensive center use a 1 gap technique, while the two to the right of the offensive center use a 2 gap technique. Left to right the linemen's roles are the Leo, the 3 tech, the nose tackle, and the big end.

Also unlike many defenses, where a defender on the right side is always on the right, the Seattle 4-3 shifts specific players to the strong side of the formation, as determined by the position of the tight end.[7] The strong side defensive end is also called the "big end". Other positions include the nose tackle, the 3 technique tackle, and the Leo, a defensive end - rush linebacker hybrid.[8] The big end and the nose tackle use a 2 gap technique, while the 3 technique and the Leo use a 1 gap technique.

This defensive front is usually coupled with a Cover 3 defensive backfield where a safety comes down to about linebacker depth.[9] This puts eight men close to the line of scrimmage. The combination of two 2 gap defensive linemen and "8 in the box" means the formation is powerful against the run. The Cover 3 as employed by Seattle 4-3 users also emphasizes the size of their defensive backs, with for example, Richard Sherman at 6' 3".[10]

To further defend against the run, the 4-3 under front can be reduced.[11] In a reduced front, the big end moves from the outside shoulder of the strong side tackle to the inside shoulder. It subsequently becomes much harder for an offense to run into the strong side B gap.

 

[Hawkmode]

Perhaps coming from 2013 forward...is a "bridge too far". Lets see our roster change from our last losing season of 2021 coming forward into 2023:

Transforming our starting offensive and defensive Base Lineups from our last losing season of 2021 to our current projected starting lineup in 2023.
Base Offense (in 11 personnel)
2021
QB Russel Wilson has been replaced by Geno Smith
RB Rashaad Penny has been replaced by Ken Walker III
TE Gerald Everett has been replaced by Noah Fant
WR DK Metcalf remains
WR Tyler Lockett remains
WR3 Freddie Swain has been replaced by Jaxon Smith-Njigba
LT Duane Brown has been replaced by Charles Cross
LG Damien Lewis remains
C Ethan Pocic has been replaced by Evan Brown
RG Gabe Jackson has been replaced by Phil Haynes
RT Brandon Shell has been replaced by Abraham Lucas

Base Defense (3-4 front)
NT Poona Ford replaced by Cameron Young
5T Kerry Hyder replaced by Jarran Reed
3T Al Woods replaced by Dre'Mont Jones
Edge Rasheem Green replaced by Uchenna Nwosu
LILB Bobby Wagner remains
RILB Jordyn Brooks replaced by Devin Bush
Edge Benson Mayowa replaced by Darryl Taylor
LCB Sidney Jones replaced by Devon Witherspoon
RCB DJ Reed replaced by Tariq Woolen
SS Jamal Adams replaced by Julian Love
FS Quandre Diggs remains

After major injuries Jamal Adams and Jordyn Brooks might return in 2023 to claim back their starting roles. Evan Brown/Phil Haynes currently hold an advantage over rookies Olu Oluwatimi/Anthony Bradford heading into training camp (July)

 

[keasley45]

Since this post "mirrors" the concerns expressed in other posts...I'll add some content to show why Pete and Clint Hurtt aren't kidding when downplaying the "new" defense as being not so new...just continuing to adapt it from ideas Pete and Dan Quinn first focused on...way back in 2013. Take a deep breath...relax

The 4-3 Under defense shifts two LB to the strong side of a 4 man front but Seattle uses a hybrid version to blend this 4-3 formation using 3-4 personnel...found this online (Wickapedia) :

Seattle 4-3 hybrid defense

“Our end and nose and tackle are our three big guys," Quinn said. “So we are half 4-3, half 3-4. They have to be big enough and stout enough to play the run, and then when we go into nickel is when we move a guy like Bennett to defensive tackle or Bruce (Irvin) to a defensive end spot."
— Dan Quinn, Bob Condotta, Seattle Times

The Seattle 4-3 hybrid is a defense created by Pete Carroll and Dan Quinn and was used by the Seattle Seahawks to great success in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.[1] The defense has a four man defensive line, but incorporates defensive principles more commonly seen in three man lines. The defense has more specialized roles than most, and this allowed them to take advantage of "market inefficiencies", to use players that other defenses could not.[2] It also features a pass defense scheme that improves run defense.
In depth

The Seattle 4-3 hybrid defense is based on the 4-3 under front used heavily by Monte Kiffin.[3][4][n 1] Unlike the standard 4-3 under, in which all the defensive linemen employ 1 gap techniques, the Seattle variant has a split personality. In its best known form, half the line uses 3-4 two gap principles, while the other half acts like a one gap 4-3.[5][6]
Seattle 4-3 under reduced front. The two linemen to the left of the offensive center use a 1 gap technique, while the two to the right of the offensive center use a 2 gap technique. Left to right the linemen's roles are the Leo, the 3 tech, the nose tackle, and the big end.

Also unlike many defenses, where a defender on the right side is always on the right, the Seattle 4-3 shifts specific players to the strong side of the formation, as determined by the position of the tight end.[7] The strong side defensive end is also called the "big end". Other positions include the nose tackle, the 3 technique tackle, and the Leo, a defensive end - rush linebacker hybrid.[8] The big end and the nose tackle use a 2 gap technique, while the 3 technique and the Leo use a 1 gap technique.

This defensive front is usually coupled with a Cover 3 defensive backfield where a safety comes down to about linebacker depth.[9] This puts eight men close to the line of scrimmage. The combination of two 2 gap defensive linemen and "8 in the box" means the formation is powerful against the run. The Cover 3 as employed by Seattle 4-3 users also emphasizes the size of their defensive backs, with for example, Richard Sherman at 6' 3".[10]

To further defend against the run, the 4-3 under front can be reduced.[11] In a reduced front, the big end moves from the outside shoulder of the strong side tackle to the inside shoulder. It subsequently becomes much harder for an offense to run into the strong side B gap.

Nice post. This info should be added to the thread that someone started a few weeks ago about xs and os. Helpful for discussions / evaluations of the D.

 

[Hawkmode]

Nice post. This info should be added to the thread that someone started a few weeks ago about xs and os. Helpful for discussions / evaluations of the D.

Thanks for the heads up...I'm new to this site so I haven't sifted through more than the recent posts.