These plays are great when they work.
They're also the reason that Bob Condotta usually ends too many first halves by posting how Wilson is sitting at <70 passing yards and the offense looks like your rural high school's.
"If you want to keep Russell Wilson from throwing that ball, you sack him. That's your only good bet."
Ya. And it happens a lot. And Pete gets away with it because we're too busy blaming the offensive line.
If you want to see the embarrassing version of what happens when Seattle sends a whopping two guys out on routes, go back to Seattle's first play from scrimmage this season, against the Broncos. You guessed it. Wilson gets sacked. Hilariously. WITH SEVEN-MAN PROTECTION. It's not an immediate sack, either - Wilson's got nowhere to go with the ball. Doesn't help that Duane Brown gets pushed back into Chris Carson trying to leak out, but the point is - this type of deep philosophy is a double-edged sword. There are games where Wilson can do it over and over. There are also games where he just...gets sacked. A lot. And scores five points the whole game.
If I'm Rod Marinelli this week, whenever I see that smash concept out on the field, I tell one or both linebackers away from that side to blitz. That's the weakness of that two-man route concept. It invites blitzing linebackers because they've got nothing else to do. Yeah, I know Wilson is statistically good against the blitz, but not all of those big plays of his are against this particular concept. So I roll the dice.
Why?
Go to 8:23 on that video and find David Moore on the shallow crosser. He's found a soft zone to sit down in, and is wide open for twelve yards. Instant first down. So Wilson has MORE options than he does on the usual two-man concept. And he doesn't take it. He doesn't fire to Moore. He goes looking for Lockett again.
If I'm Marinelli, I use that against him. I call blitzes on these plays. Because even if the play does have a hot route or leaking RB installed, it's going to either be late because it's a chip or because the RB has a hard time dodging his own tackles, or because I just know Wilson is loath to settle for a checkdown or modest gain. Because he's greedy. PETE'S greedy. They're obsessed with the psychological value of the back-breaking big play and therefore run these concepts that leave all Wilson's eggs in one basket and put immense pressure on the offensive line. It's only the talent of Wilson and his receivers that make these plays work.
So on that concept, I'm going to bet that Wilson either just doesn't take the quick yards or something else goes wrong for Seattle. Pocic screws up. Ifedi screws up. The tight ends whiff a speed blitz. Davis gets caught in the scrum trying to leak out. Take your pick. And the blitz gets home. Wilson will get some plays, but he'll also miss a lot more and get rattled. I'll take the attrition.
God I hate those plays. Just take the #&@%^@* yards. Wilson's good enough to be scoring forty points a game. He's always been that good. And it's Pete, more than anything else, that's held him back from that. Sorry to lift a quote from Semiahmoo, but yes, I've been saying this the entire time.
