The biggest lie in the media --cheating Hawk DBs

We have heard it all year. This is an incredible tactic by Harbaugh in my opinion. He played this one perfectly. All his crying and whining over the last 2 years regarding the Seahawks DBs started a meme, a storyline. It's that the Seahawk's secondary has a tactic, they pass interfere on every down and know that the refs won't call it on every play. The media is full of representatives that only worry about their jobs --which means that they must entertain. This is understandable. They worry about entertaining. They do not have jobs because they are the best analysts in the world, they have jobs because they are damn good entertainers. So they don't sit down and watch every game of every team. In fact, I would make a bet right now that the average number of Seahawks games every reporter on ESPN/NFL/Fox/etc has watched is right around 3-4, that's including the 2 playoff games. So 2 games over the regular season. And I don't blame them. The Miami Dolphins are a popular team --how many of their games have you watched? 2? Maybe.

So, they depend on popular thought processes in the media in general to come up with their ideas. This meme has been created for the last 1-2 years, so all media people simply parrot the thought and it continues to gain steam.

What is the truth?

1) Throughout the regular season, Denver's secondary holds/grabs just the same as the Seahawks do. In fact, the Denver secondary has 1 less combined pass interference / defensive holding penalty --for the ENTIRE YEAR!! So why have you either not heard this in the media or only heard it once? I heard it 1 time in the media and was SHOCKED!! Why doesn't the media talk about this all telling stat? Because it goes 100% against the meme in the media.

2) Denver's entire offense depends on offensive pass interference. I've watched many Denver games this year, and I've never seen so many "picks and rubbs." Notice the difference in language in the media. When they speak of these offensive pass interference plays, they call them "picks" or "rubs" When they talk about the Seahawks, they talk about "muggings." When they speak of these Denver OPIs, they always say "every team does it," but when speaking of Seahawks they act as though they alone have this strategy, regardless of point #1 above which shows that Denver does the exact same thing! If the Seahawks win, I personally am going to send Bill Bellicheck a box of chocolates and flowers in a thank you. Without him the media would not even TALK about this offensive pass interference routes.

3) This is a copy cat league. If this ridiculous tactic actually worked, then every secondary in the league would tackle the WRs, knowing that the refs won't call it every time. This doesn't happen, because this is not what the HAwks secondary does.

4) I don't think the reffing is going to be rigged. The NFL has no reason to rig a game. But this storyline in the media which is being pushed non stop may corrupt the subconcious of the refs in this game. This is why for Jury's courts want people who have not heard much or anything about the case in the media, because this creates preconcieved notions. And there is no doubt that the preconceived notions regarding the Seahawks secondary has been created.

Bad news for us. Good news is that the Seahawks are so much better than Denver, that I beleive they will overcome this negative.

I heard someone ask Sherman if they will "Bend the rules" as far as the officials would let them....I loved Sherman's answer...he basically said they get interceptions and they try to score and last he heard that was still within the rules

I know it's not reasonable, but would love to see on the first two pick/rub plays....the defender about to get picked, just crush the receiver trying the move. Take the PI or holding call and move on. These usually happen in the 5-8 yard range anyway and often lead to that short gain.

lobohawk":33l6aejl said:

I know it's not reasonable, but would love to see on the first two pick/rub plays....the defender about to get picked, just crush the receiver trying the move. Take the PI or holding call and move on. These usually happen in the 5-8 yard range anyway and often lead to that short gain.

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I think Pete needs to come out strong in the media. Bill bellychck has started the ball rolling, I now love the guy because I know what his reasoning was. Bill was very upset that the refs allowed the Denver WRs to cheat basically on every play. They never called offensive PI once on Denver despite the fact that Denver does it every other play. In fact the refs called it once in New England?!! That's why he brought it up, now Pete needs to take it and drive it home this week. Create your own storyline being the Denver offense.

Next make sure you talk about Denver's defense having one less combined PI and defensive holding penalty all year long versus Seattles defense.

lobohawk":9ahjw9f3 said:

I know it's not reasonable, but would love to see on the first two pick/rub plays....the defender about to get picked, just crush the receiver trying the move. Take the PI or holding call and move on. These usually happen in the 5-8 yard range anyway and often lead to that short gain.

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Especially if said defender has a 31 on their chest.

What I find funny is that during the Saints game I actually watched Sherman specifically in the ALL 22 and he maybe only just TOUCHED a WR a handful of times. Most of the time he was playing off coverage 6 or so yards off the line of scrimmage and droping back. He was not playing press at all.

I want to see Welker try to put a pick on Kam.

The media has had a field day with the whole good guy Manning vs. the bad guy Sherman angle, and this plays into that.

But anyone that's watched the Hawks DB's this year has seen that their superior tecnique and skill is why they're dominating, not cheating or playing dirty. Unless you think aggressive is dirty, if that's the case go watch baseball or ping pong.

I agree w/ the op and would like to add that most of this non sense is worsened by the fact that casual fans have not read/understand the nfl rulebook regarding PI and illegal contact. For example, it is not illegal for the defender to touch the WR as long as the touching does not turn or impair the WR's ability to catch the ball.

The legal rub route is ok if the defenders run into each other or the WR does not initiate a block prior to pass completion (incidental contact is ok creating the grey area of the rule). However, if the WR puts his hands out or drops a shoulder to block it is an illegal pick.

In the Welker case argument is made that the contact was made simultaneous to the WR catching the ball (or close enough, smh whatevers). My problem w/ the Welker play is he clearly drops his shoulder and rolls his body in low (waist to thigh area) in what should probably be considered a cut block 6 yds down field. While questionable as a legal block it is clearly a cheap shot whether intentional or not.

Sgt. Largent":371r48pz said:

The media has had a field day with the whole good guy Manning vs. the bad guy Sherman angle, and this plays into that.

But anyone that's watched the Hawks DB's this year has seen that their superior tecnique and skill is why they're dominating, not cheating or playing dirty. Unless you think aggressive is dirty, if that's the case go watch baseball or ping pong.

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Yes, this is the story: The great white hope. Manning is the great white hope, the Seahawks are the bad guy that everyone wants to lose. At least where the media is concerned. Take the racism bit out, and you have the perfect anology.

"Y'all want that perfect peyton to win......" -- Michael Irvin

I wish one of the Seattle reporters would ask Pete how he plans on defending some of the illegal pick plays the Broncos run on offense.

400WattHPSHawk":3030s6a3 said:

I wish one of the Seattle reporters would ask Pete how he plans on defending some of the illegal pick plays the Broncos run on offense.

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In my opinion you have it backwards! It should be Pete bringing it up at each and every opportunity. In my opinion harbaugh is a douche but he is a great coach. One of his strokes of genius was crying and whining about the seahawks secondary. Enough to create a meme in the media. Pete needs to steal some tactics from harbaugh and create his own storyline about the illegal picks.

Seeker":21ciul84 said:

"Y'all want that perfect peyton to win......" -- Michael Irvin

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Damn I love that playmaker! One of the best of all time. How I miss him coming to press conferences wearing his fur coat. Awesome. Was it mink?

I used to read the WSJ, until a fool from Australia bought it. Last week, a 49er fan pointed me this article. I thought it had already been posted here ... but maybe not. I think the National Media has a problem with the Hawks winning.
Knowing the current WSJ and all the garbage people at Fox trying to smear our team ... needless to say the article below is nothing but an attempt to influence public opinion. This is disgusting.

The Seahawks' Grabby Talons
Seattle's Defense Relies On a Brazen Tactic: Rampant Interference
On Saturday, the New Orleans Saints take their flashy passing offense up to dreaded Seattle. We wish them the best of luck with that.

The Seattle Seahawks—the favorites to make the Super Bowl out of the NFC—employ an exasperating defensive game plan: They blitz rarely and drop an army of defenders into pass coverage. And those defenders mug, obstruct and foul opposing receivers on practically every play.

Quietly, the Seahawks have achieved a 13-3 record and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by exploiting a loophole: NFL referees are reluctant to throw endless flags for pass interference and defensive holding, even if defenses deserve them.

"They look at it and say, 'We may get called for one but not 10,'" said Mike Pereira, a former NFL vice president of officiating who is now a Fox analyst.

League insiders say this divisional-round matchup between the Seahawks and Saints, the NFC's top passing offense, may be Seattle's rule-bending masterpiece.

"They just seem to not care about the rules," said New York Giants wide receiver Louis Murphy, whose team was routed 23-0 by Seattle this season.

The Seahawks' success is widely attributed to the outstanding play of quarterback Russell Wilson and the earsplitting din of CenturyLink Field, their home stadium. Seattle's backbone remains its defense, which led the NFL this season in points allowed and yards allowed (the latter by far). The strategic idea behind that defense is uncommonly aggressive pass coverage.

The Seahawks had the most pass-interference penalties in the league this season—13, or nearly one per game. Defensive pass interference, a spot foul that comes with an automatic first down, is called when a defender impedes a receiver while the ball is in the air. If the ball isn't airborne, grabbing a receiver more than five yards downfield merits a defensive-holding penalty. The Seahawks have 10 of those this season.

There is a certain brilliance to this approach: Since 2001, nine teams have committed 20 or more of these penalties (including this season's Seahawks). None of them had a losing record, and most of them won big.

So many pass-interference plays meant that many more of them went uncalled, choking the life out of opposing offenses in a pass-dependent league—a big advantage for Seattle's physical brand of defense, led by hulking cornerbacks such as 6-foot-3 star Richard Sherman.

The Seahawks didn't respond to requests for comment, but defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said earlier this season that the Seattle coaches educate their players on what type of interference plays are being called around the league.

"We challenge and we play at the line and we like that style," he said.

Expect the no-calls to get worse in the playoffs. This season, NFL officials called 12.2 penalties a game, but in last week's wild-card round, they called 7.8. There has been a 41% drop in postseason penalties since the 2008 playoffs, while in the regular season, penalties are up 8.9% in that time.

Pereira said aggressive pass-coverage teams like Seattle "test" referees early in the game with a few potentially obvious pass-interference infractions. "They want to see what kind of tone the officials are going to set," he said, adding that he expects to see a couple of penalties called but also the usual brand of Seahawks grabbing.

Game-film analysis reveals plenty of instances in which more penalties could have been called. Facing a third-and-10 on the first possession of their Week 5 matchup with Seattle, the Indianapolis Colts called for a pass to star receiver Reggie Wayne. As soon as the ball was snapped, Wayne was engulfed in a bear hug by Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner, who proceeded to grab the Colts receiver by his shoulder pads, spin him around and force Andrew Luck's pass to fall incomplete.

The Seahawks' defense adopted a similar strategy early in a Week 8 victory over the St. Louis Rams. On their opening drive, the Rams faced a third-and-6 from their own 38. Rams receiver Tavon Austin ran a short curl route and was immediately clobbered by Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. There was only one problem: The ball hadn't even left the quarterback's hand. Kellen Clemens threw the pass anyway, Austin's arms were pinned to his sides and the Rams were forced to punt.

Former Seahawks quarterback Brock Huard, now a radio host for ESPN Radio in Seattle, said the contact between receivers and the Seahawks' defensive backs forces offenses to change their entire game plan. For instance, basic routes like the skinny post, on which a receiver bounces slightly toward the middle of the field (in the direction of the goal post), must be scrapped because receivers can't accelerate fast enough after contact.

Even if the receivers do get to full speed, the long arms of defensive backs such as Sherman simply poke the ball away if a pass is anywhere near them. That goes for "vertical" routes, too, the straight-ahead patterns that are a favorite of the Saints, the Seahawks' opponent Saturday.

Former Seahawks quarterback Warren Moon said the only way to combat the grabby defensive backs is by running plenty of slant-and-go routes and other patterns that involve receivers making cuts. The idea is to get the defense's big cornerbacks on the move and hamper their ability to get their hands on a receiver.

Waiting for the officials to save you isn't a strategy. "If you think they're going to be called and expect that to be the solution to the problem, you're going to be sadly mistaken," said former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who said the Seahawks' persistent interference happens on nearly every play. "They've perfected the art."

Source:

Listening to some of these National talking heads today ... Not sure how you all feel, but this is how I feel.
It is just US against the world. Hey, we got nothing to lose. It is the villains against the good guys. It is the HOF Manning against a bunch of no-names ...

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Thanks Tupac for the inspiration. I'm sure some of our guys will be listening to this motivational song ...
Go HAWKS ... We got this !!!

I completely 100% agree with the OP. I have been thinking and saying this exact thing for weeks now about Seattle's DB's. Their technique is why they are so great on the outside. If they were just mugging people and getting away with it, all teams would be doing that.

Since Seattle has gotten more media coverage, I've actually developed an unhealthy distain for the way the media will twist anything and everything for a story.