A Wild Card Guide For Seahawks Fans: Part 1
The 7-10 Seahawks will not be participating in the NFL postseason. But football can still be fun, right? Putting the pain of Pete Carroll’s first losing season since 2011 aside, the NFL playoffs—starting this weekend with the wild-card round—feature a little something for every kind of Seahawks fan.
The Hindsight Center
Chiefs rookie center Creed Humphrey will be tasked with picking up the Steelers' defense and all of the challenges that the unit poses to blocking schemes—specifically the co-owner of the NFL's single-season sack record in outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
As a Seattle fan, you know why you care: 2021 second-round draft pick Dee Eskridge was taken with the No. 56 pick; Humphrey, coming out of Oklahoma, was taken at No. 63 by Kansas City.
Eskridge had a patchy year impacted by the serious concussion he suffered in Week 1 of the season; and Seattle suffered a messy early experience at center, with Ethan Pocic missing through injury and starter Kyle Fuller struggling.
Humphrey, meanwhile, slotted into the Chiefs’ starting lineup just fine. The sadness/hindsight misery of passing on the 22-year old went into overdrive following ESPN grading Humphrey as 2021’s best pass block win rate center, with his 98 percent efficiency placing first in the NFL.
Importance of Pass Rush
In the aftermath of the 2021 season, Carroll repeatedly raised pass rush as an area which Seattle needed to improve on defense. Pressuring the quarterback is often seen as especially important in the postseason and even regarded as one of the requirements for a Super Bowl trip.
This first round of playoff fixtures features two Seahawks-tree defenses in the Raiders and the Cowboys. Both units have the quarterback hunters to regularly cause issues for opposing offenses—something which was lacking from Seattle's 2021 defense.
Dan Quinn’s Cowboys, with rookie sensation Micah Parsons, are an interesting, man coverage-heavy development of the coach’s time in the Pacific Northwest.
Gus Bradley’s Raiders, however, are a throwback.
They are blessed with Maxx Crosby as their star rusher. Per Next Gen Stats, Crosby led the league in regular season pressures with 81, putting up a staggering eight pressures in the fourth quarter of his massacre of Chargers right tackle Storm Norton in Week 18.
Las Vegas has, of course, benefitted from other contributions in their rush-four groupings. The trustworthy four-man pass rush has allowed Bradley to stick with his preferred middle field closed defenses, predominantly Cover 3. Next Gen Stats has Bradley using single-high shells at a top 5 rate in six straight seasons, with Vegas' 2021 figure of 72 percent ranking the highest in the league.
Watching this style face Joe Burrow and the Bengals will be fascinating. That first wild-card game has the Raiders' pass rush and defense meeting a quarterback who, according to Next Gen Stats, led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.9), CPOE (+8.5 percent), passer rating (129.8) and pass EPA (+76.0) versus single-high shells.
It should be clear from watching these games how much a reliably threatening, multi-faceted pass rush helps Carroll’s multiple schemes.
The Deadly No. 3 Receiver?
It’s easy to forget that Eskridge was drafted in the context of quarterback Russell Wilson wanting/needing a third receiving threat to compliment Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Much has been made of the desire for superstars.
Watching how other NFL teams cope without a third, genuine threat will be an educational experience. Kansas City has Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and then the odd track-star breakout. The Buccaneers have suffered for their Antonio Brown sins. The Bengals have the astonishing Ja’Marr Chase with a compliment of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
Come to think of it: which wild-card offense actually has three superstar pass-catching weapons? It’s tough. Tweet at me @mattyfbrown.
Future Seahawks Head Coach?
This is one for the sickos—the anti "Run It Back" contingent. Unsurprisingly, this weekend will feature a ton of talented coordinators in line for coaching positions. The heavily reported-on meeting between Carroll, general manager John Schneider and team owner Jody Allen has, apparently, taken place with zero information disclosed—just like the normal service of 2021.
Imagine (shudders), however, if Carroll were to go. The playoffs feature defensive names like Leslie Frazier and Todd Bowles, and offensive wunderkinds like Kellen Moore and Mike McDaniel. Frazier’s defense will face a third game versus Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones and company, sans-wind. Bowles 100 percent deserves another shot, yet his banged-up unit might experience difficulties versus the Eagles. Moore’s offense might get run out of the game by McDaniel.
I hate that I’ve included this section. You’re welcome.
