KIRKLAND – In a locker room that has seen very little finger-pointing this season, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill had a bit of a beef with a few of his teammates this week.
Hill didn’t appreciate the way Seattle’s defensive linemen were playing in last Saturday’s playoff game against the Washington Redskins. They were beating double teams, chasing the quarterback out of the pocket and generally making life difficult for Redskins signal-caller Mark Brunell.
So Hill’s issue was this: With that kind of production from the front four, what’s a blitz-happy linebacker to do?
“It felt weird because I usually blitz a lot,” said Hill, a rookie from Clemson who had 7 sacks during the regular season. “But our front four was bringing so much pressure that we really didn’t need to blitz.
“It felt weird, but it worked, so I wasn’t trippin’.”
Jennifer Buchanan/The Herald
Seattle’s pass rush, which led the NFL with 50 sacks, has forced plenty of opponents to trip out this year. And based on last Saturday’s game, the pressure doesn’t look like it will let up in the playoffs.
The Seahawks’ defensive linemen were having so much success getting in Brunell’s face that blitz calls became unnecessary. During the second half, Washington called 24 pass plays, and the Seahawks didn’t blitz on a single one.
They simply didn’t need to.
“Maybe they were just hungry,” Hill said of the defensive linemen who were so successful that the rookie linebacker was relegated to pass coverage. “I really can’t tell you why. As long as it’s working, that’s all that matters. Whatever technique they used, hopefully they’ll bring it back.”
Part of Seattle’s game plan was based on the fact that Washington’s tight ends and fullbacks had a lot of success catching the ball over the middle in a previous meeting. The Seahawks felt they were better off placing more defensive players in coverage, meaning blitzes were de-emphasized as long as the D-line continued to get pressure.
This week might be a little different, mainly because the Carolina Panthers’ offense relies more on speedy wide receiver Steve Smith than the intermediate passing game. Smith had 103 receptions during the 2005 regular season, while Carolina’s four running backs and starting tight end Kris Mangum combined for 90.
So the Seahawks might be a little more willing to blitz.
“We can’t give Delhomme time to sit back there and pick us apart,” Hill said. “They actually have more than Steve Smith; that’s the dangerous thing. They force-feed Smith a lot, but they have other guys.
“Just getting pressure in (Delhomme’s) face and making him not get a good look, that’s imperative.”
The fact that Seattle has been able to get to opposing quarterbacks is quite a step in the right direction after last season, when the Seahawks had just 36 sacks.
“We’re getting better coverage,” Wistrom said, giving credit to Seattle’s pass defenders. “Our linebackers are more sound. We’re getting better checks and better coverage. Guys like Rocky (Bernard) and Bryce (Fisher) have obviously picked it up for us, and they’re rushing the quarterback really well.”
Fisher, who came over from the St. Louis Rams in free agency, had a team-high nine sacks during the regular season. Bernard shattered his own career-high of four by registering 8 sacks.
But Seattle’s improved pass rush has been about more than just their emergence.
“We have good effort guys,” Fisher said. “We play with the lead a lot of the time. Teams have to start their protection by dealing with our two defensive tackles, whichever of the four guys are in there.”
For proof of how important a factor pass rush is, statisticians need look no further than the Seahawks’ game against Tennessee on Dec. 18. The Titans passed for 336 yards and were dominating Seattle’s defense before a late drive helped the Seahawks pull out a 28-24 victory.
Coach Mike Holmgren was critical of his pass rushers after that performance, and the defense has responded with seven sacks in the past three games.
They have been playing so well that linebackers like Hill, Lofa Tatupu and D.D. Lewis spent almost all of last Saturday letting the linemen do all of the pass-rushing.
“We’ve gone through a couple of games like that this year,” Wistrom said, “where it depends on what they’re running and how much success we’re having. If we’re getting there running a base defense, you really don’t have to (blitz).”
Much to the chagrin of Hill.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
