New DB rules and their effect on the Seahawks DB's

After watching the first five games and then also replaying the games, I've noticed our DB's are not pressing near as much as they did last year. It seems they may be overcompensating their style of play because of the new rules. I know they want to eliminate unnecessary penalties, but I see other teams press and make contact within 5 yards and have even seen teams try to "bend" the rules and get away with minimal contact after 5 yards, just like our DB's were doing last year. The technique is still the same with these teams. However, Seattle's DB's seem to be scared to make too much contact. I saw it with Dallas's corners. They "bent" the rules and the refs let them play. If our DB's played the same way, we might have not given up some of those big pass plays.

Nobody in the secondary is getting turnovers and I know that some of that is due to pass rush, but the coverage does not look like LOB coverage. Is anyone else seeing the same thing?

First, they are not new rules. Early on the re-enforcement of longstanding rules was draconian with players being called for touching somebody beyond 5 yards. I think it is beginning to ease just a bit now on the down field stuff beyond 5 yards.

What you think you are seeing is accurate. IMO, when NFL teams worked with league officials in training camp, what was shown to teams was that press coverage in the 5 yard area was going to be the real area of emphasis. What you have seen with the Hawks has been league wide as teams go off cover and have to give up the short area.

The Rams, in a move I found to be hilarious, made their guys play press with tennis balls in their hands. Point is, they like to press too, and they were trying to have their cake and eat it too early in camp and preseason. Predictably, once the games began, guys with suddenly free fingers played press by grabbing, and got called for holding in the 5 yard area. Never forget, Jeff Fisher is on the committee that authorized the draconian enforcement of these rules, but he completely missed the point that these new rules were intended to eliminate press cover. Perhaps the lack of sacks in STL is tied to this stupid new thinking on defensive holding?

Think about it. Unless you are bigger, stronger, and faster than the WR you are lined up on (think Sherman on Crabs), a DB has to make a decision about which leverage to play on each snap. Seattle tends to try and take away the inside lane and leverage the WR to the sideline in press, maximizing their length and using the sidelines as a 12th and 13th defensive player. If the WR makes a move inside to beat that leverage to the seams, a press corner is going to grab. Especially if he knows he doesn't have help over the top in his deep third. 5 yard penalties are a small price to pay compared to 70 yard passes.

I think Pete realized early on the intent of the rules. So, he made the concession of a lot less press. I think the hope was that good and punishing tackles would make up for the the QB indecision that press causes, but it hasn't translated yet.

All the re-interpreting of the rules did was make dink and dunk offense the new king of the NFL.

Scottemojo":2ouvxlvk said:

First, they are not new rules. Early on the re-enforcement of longstanding rules was draconian with players being called for touching somebody beyond 5 yards. I think it is beginning to ease just a bit now on the down field stuff beyond 5 yards.

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I guess I should've cleared up what I meant. I should've said the new emphasis on the rules.

At this point the defense is giving up enough yards that they might as well risk getting called for a penalty.

The most annoying thing about the emphasis are the receivers who lobby for a flag on every play.

Good analysis of the issue, Scotte. That's interesting how the Rams practiced for this new emphasis of the rules. You'd think a coach like Fisher would get what the league was trying to do.

I hope Pete can figure this out and go back to what works for them. It seems that because of the new emphasis on the rules, we seem to be changing our defense to react to the offense, not the other way around like last year. Last year, with the exception of the Indy game if I recall, our db's and entire defense in general would not change the way they played. They only played off the receivers that game because of the ridiculous calls by Winters and his incompetent crew. Press coverage with Kam and Earl roaming and punishing receivers was fun to watch and I hope to see this dominance again soon. I would hope that they stop worrying about penalties and play the historic type of defense we played last year. I also realize that all of the personnel are not the same and the injury to Kam seems to be more significant than the team is making it out to be. I think the league should watch out that if this dink and dunk offense keeps up and takes the fun of watching a dominating defense out of the game, the game will not be as fun to watch. Defense this year seems to have had a big drop off, at least in my opinion. I guess I'm old school and love watching good defense.

I would hope that the db's keep forcing the action to the sideline but realize right now we need the personnel to do it. When Lane comes back I think our secondary will look more like last year.

Two old quotes from Pete will tell you all you need to know about how Seattle will play cornerback.

"The corners have to run fast if you plan on playing bump and run. If they don't run fast then you can still play with them. But if your corners are not faster than the wide receivers you are facing don't play bump and run. Your asking them to do something they can not do and they'll get beat deep. It is a race when you play bump and run and if you can't win the race don't play bump and run.

If you have a million reads for your secondary you are crazy. They don't need that even at our level. All they need to know is their primary responsibility and then secondary. At the highest level in the NFL the pass game is as complex as you can imagine. However if a defender can play the post and the seam route then they can learn to play at that level. The thing that kills and breaks down a defense is a ball being thrown over the defender's head for a touchdown."

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And

"To take this even further for example we tell our corners to play inside leverage (i.e. to the inside shoulder of the receiver) in this defense. This helps the corner avoid giving up the big play to the inside of the field. If you want them to play the out route towards the sideline you have to give them someone playing support over the top. There is not a corner in college or the NFL that can both play the out routes and also avoid giving up the deep ball to the inside. You have to be realistic as to what your players can do. They only way a corner can play inside leverage and make a play on the out route is if the offense screws up or the quarterback makes a bad throw or the receiver runs a bad route. If you don’t understand that then you are asking the corner to do something he can’t do."

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Within the context of the 2014 literal interpretation of the rules, Pete has his guys lined up to take away the seam and the post. Just like he always has. Asking them to play bump and run with the new rules is not impossible, but it will lead a few penalties. You have noticed the results.

Keep in mind, our offense has benefitted from a few cheap holding penalties as well.

Scottemojo":1fxs5z5o said:

All the re-interpreting of the rules did was make dink and dunk offense the new king of the NFL.

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EXACTLY. Not sure they thought this one through all the way. I'm sure Rog and the boys would rather have explosives over what River's did to the Seahawks.

I'll say that I felt the bigger enforcement of these rules was a direct shot at Seattle's secondary being as good as they are.

When you're the Superbowl champion the NFL has a historical habit of trying to find ways to try and bring your game closer back to the pack by either making an emphasis on rules or making new rules.

When I was a teenager and Dallas started winning all the time the NFL started cracking down on WR's pushing off which was considered the Michael Irvin rule because of the way he would get a little push to create separation.

They also had a way of coming up with a new rule every year for the O-lineman which were obvious targets at the way Erik Williams was blocking Reggie White, and blanking White during games, and the NFL simply wasn't going to allow that.

I'm sure if you look at any team that is really dominate and check the rules the next year for reemphasis or new rules all together you'll find them doing this stuff.

I know they put the 5 yard rule in years and years and years ago in order to try and keep Mel Blunt and the Steelers from being so good by now allowing them to jam WR's in the same way.

It is what it is.

HawkNuts":xi70hn6z said:

At this point the defense is giving up enough yards that they might as well risk getting called for a penalty.

The most annoying thing about the emphasis are the receivers who lobby for a flag on every play.

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Correct on the first at least I think the most annoying thing is that they still don't call OPI nearly enough to actually even it up. I really think they should change it to 5 yards no automatic 1st down if they insist on actually keeping this kind of interpretation up going forward. That way you could be physical and get a penalty without completely changing the game every drive and/or causing WR's to lobby for fouls like soccer players on every pass play.

I completely understand having to adjust based on emphasis on certain rules, but at least IMO, what the Seahawks were doing were just fine because of having superior athletes in the secondary and great coaching of technique for the db's. Pete and Richard do a great job year in and year out of preparing anyone who is plugged into the secondary. It just seems different this year from seeing a pattern through the first 5 games.

From what Pete is saying, the philosophy is simple even at the pro level if techniques are used correctly, regardless of the complexity of the opponent's offense. If the outside db's play press and the receiver is faster, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's where having the single high free safety in the cover 1 is supposed to recognize that and do his job of helping over the top (Earl and sometimes Kam). IIRC typically the slot corner does give a little space because of their ability to close so quickly, ala Thurmond last year and what was supposed to be Lane this year, so we had to adjust by using Burley and others now that Maxwell is injured. So after the Maxwell injury we had to put Burley on the outside. It just seemed like in years past that whoever we plugged in used the same technique and did it fairly well. Now it seems that depth is thin.

The Seahawks secondary has always given up yards through the course of the game. What i am noticing is yards being given up in crucial situations or them getting beaten deep.

I also think another key to them limiting passing yards is punishing the receiver as soon as he catches the ball. If the corners are giving a little room then the receiver has to be punished with no YAC. Kam is the enforcer but is playing injured which seems to have him a step slower in getting to the receiver.

I think injuries have had a lot to do with it as well. With a healthy Lane and Simon in there we can be a much more physical secondary than we have been with Burley and a rental guy at 4th corner.

But Scott also nailed most of it.. seems like we're conceding a lot of B&R coverage because of the rule changes. Up until last Sunday .. we had 0 illegal contact penalties, and 2 holding calls.

BraveHeartFan":v3q581fe said:

I'll say that I felt the bigger enforcement of these rules was a direct shot at Seattle's secondary being as good as they are..

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I don't believe the league gives a rat's ass about how Seattle won the SB.

But the NFL competition committee in agreement with the league office did agree that they'd like to see a more attractive brand of football with more scoring and explosive plays. This means no longer allowing defenses to hold, push, pull and grab.

The fatal flaw is that this is NOT a more attractive brand of football, because defenses are still holding and grabbing..............which has resulted in twice as many penalties called over last year so far this year. Sorry Roger and competition committee, but flags all over the place which result in frustrated teams/fans and stoppages is not fun to watch for anybody.