The Seattle Seahawks’ floor sport is … to say it kindly, poor. Coming into Week 14, the Seattle run sport was thirtieth in EPA per play and twenty fourth in Success Fee. Neither very spectacular numbers, and it hampered the total effectiveness of their offense and compelled every little thing on QB Geno Smith, who remains to be superb, however has felt the results of that. Seattle wanted to seek out one thing that labored on the bottom, and fortuitously it got here of their pivotal division sport in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals within the type of each faculty coach’s favourite run scheme: GT Counter.
For these uninformed, GT Counter is only a counter play, however the Guard and Sort out (GT) are those pulling as a substitute of a Guard and tight finish (principally named GH Counter). It’s a niche scheme play that has develop into a go to for lots of unfold groups, however the Seahawks discovered huge success with it in opposition to the Cardinals. Positive, it might be only a one-game quirk: whereas I like the potential of the Cardinals’ protection, they make most of their hay defeating zone blocks with blitzing and stemming and never hole scheme as a result of they’re just too small at this stage of their team-building.
Nevertheless, I’m selecting to consider that this might be the start of the Seahawks discovering actually something that works of their floor sport. Let’s see how they did it and the way it may result in some fairly enjoyable stuff sooner or later for Seattle.
On this rep, the Cardinals are in a pseudo 5 man entrance, however Mack Wilson is their edge man coming from depth. That usually means he’s a protection man and has to maintain bottom comprise. There’s a nostril sort out and two ends in a 4i (inside shoulder of the sort out) and one other EDGE to the formation’s left. The Seahawks manipulate this primary by sending WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba in movement. Not solely does this preserve Wilson out of the match, however the movement strikes LB Kyzir White as effectively. So, from there the Cardinals get six defenders within the field, however two of these defenders are a cornerback and a security. Not the most effective gamers you need hitting an even bigger lineman within the run sport. The Seahawks run GT Counter, and have a look at how the look opens up when RG Sataoa Laumea first kicks out the EDGE.
You get an amazing seal on the 4i by LT Charles Cross, after which TE AJ Barner will get straight to the security. The subsequent factor , RB Zach Charbonnet is operating for a giant acquire.
The massive Zach Charbonnet landing was a superbly blocked rep of GT Counter, catching the Cardinals in a blitz. Blitzing zone runs is quite a bit higher than hole runs, as a result of should you blitz to or from the blitz, the line of defense is shifting their motion post-snap to occupy areas that zone runs don’t account for. With hole runs, the blitz doesn’t throw issues off kilter as a lot as a result of you find yourself slanting into or away from a down block, and may get washed out. The Cardinals ship S Budda Baker on a blitz to the protection’s left facet, and the line of defense slants the opposite approach to account for the brand new participant introduced down within the run match.
I would like you to look at the tip to the journeys facet of the offensive formation on this play. As a result of he slants to the surface shoulder of the sort out, he finally ends up first going too extensive and creating the lane, and is swiftly punished for it by getting completely cratered by Laumea. The lane is so extensive that the appropriate sort out coming throughout additionally doesn’t should get an excessive amount of of Kyzir White as a result of Charbonnet cuts this and takes it to the tip zone. It is a lovely rep of GT Counter, and I believe the Seahawks would possibly’ve discovered one thing right here.
It is a fairly dope rep out of a extra unfold formation, with no tight finish connected to the formation. The defensive finish to the appropriate facet of the formation finally ends up slanting to the bottom A-gap, however the issue right here is that this rep of GT Counter is getting the pullers from the left facet, so the appropriate guard and proper sort out find yourself down blocking. This finish washes himself out the play, and once more Charbonnet is operating all up and down the sector.
The Seahawks discovered lots of success on the bottom en path to 138 speeding yards in one in every of their largest wins of the season. Their defensive resurgence takes many of the limelight (for good cause as a result of that protection is INCREDIBLE proper now), however this sport was essential for the Seahawks’ offense as a result of they discovered one thing sustainable on the bottom on the again of GT Counter. Now, with the division lead in tow and 4 pivotal video games in opposition to NFC opponents nonetheless left, the Seahawks have a formulation for achievement on either side of the ball.