Why don't we move KJ Wright to SAM LB?

I doesn't look like we have a good answer right now for how we can replace Bruce Irvin at SLB. Morgan is mediocre and undersized. Marsh is looking more like a pass rush specialist and his ability to cover is very much in doubt. Pinkins has athletic ability and coverage skills but like Morgan is undersized, and he's also inexperienced.

Why not move KJ Wright to SAM LB on mixed/running downs? He's played there before and excelled. He's got the size (6-4 250), strength and reach to effectively play at the line of scrimmage and set the edge. And honestly, he doesn't have ideal speed and quickness for the WILL LB spot, and while he's got good instincts in coverage he's not a great blitzer.

If you put KJ at SAM, then you open up the WILL spot for the likes of KPL (who flashed his talent again in the 1st preseason game) and possibly Pinkins, who on paper seems much better suited to the WILL spot, playing off the line of scrimmage and using his athleticism to chase runners to the outside and get to his spots quickly in coverage.

KJ would still play next to Wagner in the nickel, which we use most of the time anyway.

KPL flashed some explosiveness against the run, while also demonstrating that he hasn't improved that much in pass coverage. If KPL were as refined as Wright in pass coverage, then I think they would consider this move.

Barring that, why not give KPL a try at SLB? He is no more undersized for the position than Malcolm Smith was and probably better at shedding blockers.

hawknation2016":1abwyj9f said:

KPL flashed some explosiveness against the run, while also demonstrating that he hasn't improved that much in pass coverage. If KPL were as refined as Wright in pass coverage, then I think they would consider this move.

Barring that, why not give KPL a try at SLB? He is no more undersized for the position than Malcolm Smith was and probably better at shedding blockers.

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KPL is forgotten for some reason. He's always been solid and is the fastest of the true linebakcers.

I think I agree, something needs to change. Maybe we could trade some our our great DB depth to a team that has a good SLB prospect for us.

There's a logjam at SLB, a veritable three-horse race between Morgan, Marsh, and Pinkins.

Morgan got the first crack at SLB, while Marsh played mainly LEO. Marsh did have a couple nice pressures.

I would not be too surprised if Marsh started on Thursday at SLB and Morgan got some reps at LEO.

Using KPL on the strongside might require the coaches to re-configure their whole thinking about the competition. Morgan, Marsh, and Pinkins were all playing on special teams. If KPL plays SLB, does that make one of them expendable?

If Marsh plays SLB on Thursday, I could see him getting exposed in coverage, but at the same time, the whole defense should be better against the run after some uncharacteristic struggles in the first game. It could be a confusing position battle to follow.

A-Dog":3i274cr4 said:

Why not move KJ Wright to SAM LB on mixed/running downs? He's played there before and excelled. He's got the size (6-4 250), strength and reach to effectively play at the line of scrimmage and set the edge. And honestly, he doesn't have ideal speed and quickness for the WILL LB spot, and while he's got good instincts in coverage he's not a great blitzer.

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I might be forgetting, but when did KJ play Sam? Off the top of my head i only remember him at Will and Mike.

Wright started at SLB in 2011 and 2012. As they moved to the 4-3 Under, the responsibilities at SLB changed. Wright could still do it, I think, but they prefer him playing more in space at WLB than taking on the TE and strongside running game.

hawknation2016":30o1za0d said:

Wright started at SLB in 2011 and 2012. As they moved to the 4-3 Under, the responsibilities at SLB changed. Wright could still do it, I think, but they prefer him playing more in space at WLB than taking on the TE and strongside running game.

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Thanks. Forgot about Leroy Hill at Will in the earlier PC years.

That being said Wright has been primarly playing Will for the past three seasons. I'm not a fan of established players switching positions.

I still remember fans advocating for Kam as an LB and ET being moved to slot corner.

McGruff":xa8oqkqj said:

hawknation2016":xa8oqkqj said:

KPL flashed some explosiveness against the run, while also demonstrating that he hasn't improved that much in pass coverage. If KPL were as refined as Wright in pass coverage, then I think they would consider this move.

Barring that, why not give KPL a try at SLB? He is no more undersized for the position than Malcolm Smith was and probably better at shedding blockers.

Click to expand...

KPL is forgotten for some reason. He's always been solid and is the fastest of the true linebakcers.

Click to expand...

Minor thing, but Wagner ran a 4.45 40, 39" vert and 11 foot broad jump. He is kind of an athletic freak for an LB.

I wonder if we might see fewer looks with three LBs this year. Browner hasn't shown anything yet, but I think his presence on the roster shows a willingness by Seattle to embrace the big nickle defense again.

While I don't think Wright is the greatest in coverage, he at least knows where he needs to be like the back of his hand. When you're the SLB, you really are only playing the flat most of the time. When we go cover 3, which is most of the time, the WLB is going to have one of the 2 short zones maybe half of the time and since we only have 2 of those zones, you really need to know what you're doing. It isnt like a cover 2 where you have 3 short zones. It's a ton of space to consider and a hell of a lot more difficult on LBs than cover 2. That said, you dont truly consider moving Wright back to SLB unless you really have a guy who can show you they can cover one of those short zones. People talk about how the dink and dunk hurts the Hawks, but really it's natural weakness of the coverage itself (cover 3). Therefor, you better have someone manning that spot who knows what they're doing at least.

Now, on the flip side, we see that a 230 pounder has a tough time squeezing that edge on run D. This is why my hope is that Marsh can pull off the swith to SLB because it is indeed a legitimate concern. I'm not sure that Morgan is stout enough either, but we'll see. I dont really care who it is, but we can't have a glaring weakness on the edge.