How Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, Shane Waldron plan to avoid 2020 repeat – Seattle Seahawks Blog
RENTON, Washington – Quarterback Russell Wilson’s right hand had barely found the laces of football when he shot it at tight end Gerald Everett, who was split far to the left in a group of receivers. Everett caught it, snaked through his blocks, and slipped into the end zone for a touchdown.
It was an extreme example, but this game and countless others in the Seattle Seahawks’ first month of training camp showed what will be one of the biggest differences in their offense under first year coordinator Shane Waldron.
It’s not just that Everett replaced Greg Olsen as TE1 after following Waldron from the Los Angeles Rams to Seattle. Rather, it’s how the Seahawks plan to take the ball from Wilson to Everett, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf & Co.
In a hurry.
“It’s really about getting the ball to our boys as quickly as possible and getting our shots taken too,” said Wilson. “And giving the ball to 32 and letting it go is always a good thing.”
This is No. 32 like running back Chris Carson, who will remain a focal point. But even if Waldron’s offensive maintains the Seahawks’ long-standing dependence on their running game, he is installing a largely new system, much more so than Brian Schottenheimer when he took over for Darrell Bevell in 2018.
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It’s going to be at a fast pace, a staple from Rams trainer Sean McVay’s offensive that brings Waldron to Seattle. And there will be more priority on keeping the defense honest with short and medium throws, which the Seahawks failed to do during their offensive collapse late last season, leading to another early playoff knockout and Schottenheimer’s departure.
All of this came after a brilliant start to the season, with Wilson leading the NFL on touchdown passes in the first eight games and Seattle leading the league in scoring. Most of this damage was from deep throws, which caused the defense to adjust, dropping a second fuse out of the box and deep into cover more frequently.
The general feeling within the organization is that the Seahawks weren’t strong enough to take what the opponents gave them. Trying to force deep throws that weren’t there rather than getting the ball out of Wilson’s hands quickly became problematic given the strong defensive fronts they faced on the track, particularly in two matchups against Aaron Donald and the Rams.
“It’s 100% related to what happened in the second half of the season,” said Jake Heaps, a former NFL quarterback who is now Wilson’s personal QB trainer and co-host of 710 ESPN Seattle, who is on attaches importance to faster throws.
Heaps says style was never a focus of the recent Seahawks offenses, which made it difficult to adopt on the fly. Schottenheimers MO always played the ball to prepare deep passes with game action. The short, quick stuff isn’t really in his DNA, Bevell’s or Pete Carroll’s.
It’s with Waldron.
New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron hopes shorter passes with faster release times can help Russell Wilson score fewer hits. Chris Unger / Getty Images
“For me it’s just part of a balanced offensive,” said Waldron. “Which doesn’t mean we’re conservative and dink and dunk all the time, but when are the right opportunities to do completions, have that completion mentality and then move on to the next game.”
Heaps expects more screens as well as more “pick routes” where a receiver has the ability to break in, break out, or sit, usually within 5 to 10 meters of the scrimmage line, depending on where the cover presents an opening.
Shorter routes make a point of gaining yards after the catch. It’s something Everett does well, and one of the reasons the Seahawks signed him to a $ 6 million one-year contract. They also had this skill in the back of their minds when they put their top picks on the Speedster D’Wayne Eskridge, who is physically unfit to be back on the list after starting camp.
“The best way to put it in general football terms is that this is a real West Coast system,” Heaps said. “It’s not West Coast in terminology, it’s West Coast in philosophy, which means that passing is about timing and rhythm, about getting the ball to your playmakers so that they are who it is with to create explosive games with the ball in hand. “
Contrasted with those explosive games that come with deep throws that were Wilson’s forte.
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According to ESPN Stats & Information Research, the Seahawks have, on average, had the sixth most air yards per attempt since 2015 (8.41). During the same route – which includes three squadrons under Bevell and Schottenheimer – they are 22nd after the catch per reception (5.0) in yards.
In comparison, in four seasons under McVay, the Rams are ranked 24th in air yards / attempt (7.49) and third in yards after catch / reception (5.94). Everett finished third in the latter category of NFL tight ends last season (5.88).
Heaps believes Waldron’s offense will take the pressure off Wilson.
“He won’t have to be the playmaker every single game,” said Heaps. “He’s becoming more of a director of an offensive than anything. This is a perfect position for Russell Wilson to make use of his exceptional ability to make big moves and his exceptional ability to read defenses and put you in the right situations.”
Another benefit of increasing the faster throws: it should alleviate one of Wilson’s frustrations by reducing the number of hits and sacks. It would need more emphasis if Duane Brown missed regular season games at the Pro Bowl as part of his contract dispute.
“It could look different because a lot of teams didn’t really see that we were neglected,” said Lockett. “A lot of teams tried to force us to run out and we didn’t and we wanted explosives and stuff like that. But to be honest, the explosives part is not going to change. It’s just the fact that we ‘ We’ll learn to be a lot more balanced, whatever the teams give us, we’ll take that. “