Defending Bevell?

So here goes my attempt (although probably lame) to attempt the Bev. I think he had a type of offense preseason he planned on running with Harvin in the mix. Harvin was obviously a disruption to the system (he sat out plays and who know what else he miht have done that we don't know). Harvin is gone now what? I don't think it is easy to just change up the way you design an offense mid season. In preseason you can get the bugs out with no ill effect but mid season your bugs affect your record. That in the addition to a leaky front line makes his job one I don't envy. We don't have a receiver that can blow the top off a defense or is even that tall for the big jump ball. Yes he has a fantastic running game but if you go to the same well to many times it will just be to predictable. Russ is in a funk, average receivers, and a crappy front line. What do want from him. I know I know...more. I am not sure if anyone else coached our offense right now it would make any difference. Now before you jump all over me I am not an X and O's guy. I just think the guy was given a bad set of cards and we expect a winning hand.

I get what you are saying but as a professional football coach, you should be able to make adjustments because you could also lose an impact player to season ending injury. You must get creative to put your players in the best position to succeed. This is a team sport and it should never be about one player.

Except he has been running the bubble screen and empty backfield on obvious pass situations since. He. Has been here. They didnt work then but he continues to run them. The passing game could be fixed if they just did in depth film study of how the Saints do things with their short QB.

Your defense is admirable but I think applies more to RW the Bevs.

Read this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=101185

We beat the crap out of that dead and decaying horse yesterday, lost friends, ruined relationships, turned the ship around, kissed & made up and solved all the worlds problems in less than 3 pages.

I dont think it is hard to draft up new plays but to have the whole offense (including a turnstile offensive line) and then practice it to the point of being comfortable running it in a game is not as easy or quick as it sounds. Now I am not saying he is a hall of fame material but I think it is much harder than it looks. He has made many head scratching plays this year but who knows what affected these decisions. I am sure everything he has decided has not been in a vacuum. The one thing I am curious about is a week or two ago Pete made a comment about stepping up the tempo of the offense to find a rhythm but I did not see that at all this past game.

That is true. The new CBA pretty much makes it next to impossible to install anything after TC. Bevell was dealt a shit hand in that regard, yes.

Chawks1":2kpi1au4 said:

Except he has been running the bubble screen and empty backfield on obvious pass situations since. He. Has been here. They didnt work then but he continues to run them.

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I know this bugs a lot of people but I don't think "empty Seahawks backfield" is a thing as long as we have Russ. He gets the same sort of attention that a third down back would get and rushers have to come in with contain principles and mind gaps like they would on running downs. Defenses can't afford to only play the pass or he picks it up with his legs. Why is the occasional empty backfield a bad look with a highly mobile QB?

And bubble screens DO WORK. We hit one to PRich yesterday for 8 yards. And when they don't get positive yardage they work by forcing the defense to recognize that we're willing to do and capable of doing them. Just because a play doesn't get positive yardage doesn't mean it didn't accomplish anything. If we were running them multiple times per drive and they were consistently not getting yardage then I'd understand the outrage, but 2-3 per game, or more when they are getting yardage, especially games where we are running well, is perfectly acceptable. I know nobody wants to hear that shit but it's true.

Bevell can only call the plays; he doesn't execute them.

From what I heard on the radio, on Lynch's 4th down run, two of our lineman were beat...IIRC: Okung and Sweezy wiffed.

AgentDib":1pifvu5f said:

Chawks1":1pifvu5f said:

Except he has been running the bubble screen and empty backfield on obvious pass situations since. He. Has been here. They didnt work then but he continues to run them.

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I know this bugs a lot of people but I don't think "empty Seahawks backfield" is a thing as long as we have Russ. He gets the same sort of attention that a third down back would get and rushers have to come in with contain principles and mind gaps like they would on running downs. Defenses can't afford to only play the pass or he picks it up with his legs. Why is the occasional empty backfield a bad look with a highly mobile QB?

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It's a good look, actually. But I don't agree it's a good thing in short yardage situations. 3rd and 1, nah.

Sometimes it's okay to own your offensive identity and just see if your men can beat there's. It doesn't always have to be an mental exercise. Or at least make the defense respect the threat of it.

LymonHawk":135qr1sp said:

Bevell can only call the plays; he doesn't execute them.

From what I heard on the radio, on Lynch's 4th down run, two of our lineman were beat...IIRC: Okung and Sweezy wiffed.

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I feel like Lewis was the only one who didn't wiff on that play. [/hyperbole]

But it's true, if Sweezy gets a good block on that play we probably get the 1st down.

Seattle had 6 blockers vs 8 in the box for KC. It shouldn't have been a surprise they were going to stack the box. The oline didn't have numbers, at all. It was dumb, period. And yes, if they converted I'd say that.

Go against 8 in the box, fine, but at least have an hback or FB to lead it.

There was no understanding of the situation.

The Seahawks going empty backfield on 3rd and short is the equivalent of the Packers going 2WR on 3rd and 6.

That's just what it is.

pehawk":2eb7joae said:

Sometimes it's okay to own your offensive identity and just see if your men can beat there's. It doesn't always have to be an mental exercise. Or at least make the defense respect the threat of it.

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I'm all for running on third and short, especially the Lynch/Wilson RO. If we are calling a pass play on 3rd on 1, however, then I think having an empty backfield with RW is decent personnel as they respect RW as a running threat. If the core criticism behind the "empty backfield" concept is that we are passing on third and one then I can understand the dissatisfaction on that front.

AgentDib":38ilecti said:

pehawk":38ilecti said:

Sometimes it's okay to own your offensive identity and just see if your men can beat there's. It doesn't always have to be an mental exercise. Or at least make the defense respect the threat of it.

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I'm all for running on third and short, especially the Lynch/Wilson RO. If we are calling a pass play on 3rd on 1, however, then I think having an empty backfield with RW is decent personnel as they respect RW as a running threat. If the core criticism behind the "empty backfield" concept is that we are passing on third and one then I can understand the dissatisfaction on that front.

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I would've been fine throwing on the 4th and 1, given the numbers. Or at least do something they'd been doing well all year. And a dive play, which that was, isn't one.

I guess a simple question would be; what is Bevell bringing? What aspect are we pleased with? Even Bevells ardent supporters agree theres some questionable calls. So what is his strength?

The RO and running game is all Cable. So, what exactly am I missing here? Because win or lose i see a lot of cute. Packers game drove me crazy as well...lot of cute.

Bevell loves to throw the ball. He loves to stretch the D, both vertically and horizontally. Unfortunately this year we don't really have the personnel for it. We all know the reasons for that. He's also all about protecting the football and not turning it over. Mixing it up, ball distribution, getting everybody involved, big plays and scoring points. Not at an astronomical level like the Broncos but consistently in the top 1/3rd of the league. Even with the struggles we've had this year, we're still the 5th highest scoring team in the NFC, only trailing the Cowboys and Saints by 1 point, and on pace to match almost exactly our scoring total from a year ago and 2012, minus all the defensive TD's thus far. And I imagine Cable and Bevell work fairly closely on the RO and running game. To say it's "all Cable" is a little bit disingenuous, no?

I'm no expert. That's just my observations.

And he is a lot of cute.

Harvin is not an excuse for Bevell. You don't think Carroll asked Bevell what he thought of Harvin's coachability and practice mentality before he agreed to trade for him? If anything, Harvin is Bevell's waterloo.

I'm thinking more Sidney, Golden and Zach than Percy. The whole Percy thing still befuddles me a bit, I try not to think about it.

SeahawksFanForever":3dvxc0kf said:

I get what you are saying but as a professional football coach, you should be able to make adjustments because you could also lose an impact player to season ending injury. You must get creative to put your players in the best position to succeed. This is a team sport and it should never be about one player.

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Yep....2013 with just a minor sprinkling of owie-Harvin.
2014 and he's stymied on what to do without "Headcase-Harvin"?