Seahawks 2022 Training Camp Preview: Can Loaded Safety Group Stay Healthy, Play to Potential?
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In the midst of a training camp unlike any other in NFL history due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marquise Blair proved to be near unstoppable force for the Seahawks on the practice field two summers ago. Whether intercepting a pass, registering a "sack" with an early blown whistle, or swatting the ball out of the air, the former second round pick seemed to be in on every single play.
The clear MVP for Seattle in August, Blair wowed coaches and teammates alike throughout camp, including registering a pair of interceptions during a mock scrimmage game at then-named CenturyLink Field. After struggling to find his way as a rookie, the ex-Utah star looked poised to be a major factor at slot cornerback and coach Pete Carroll couldn't have been more excited about the prospects of unleashing him alongside star safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs.
"We are really pumped about this camp to figure that part out," Carroll told reporters before camp opened in late July. "For the most part, we have to figure out Marquise. He's the one that's going to get the opportunity to get in on the slot and do some stuff that puts him in a position to be really active and be part of the pressure packaging and some really aggressive parts of the play, so that's cool for him."
Unfortunately for Carroll, two years later, his beauteous vision of deploying the hard-hitting, versatile Blair with Diggs and Adams at the same time in flexible sub-packages has yet to be realized. While Diggs started all 33 regular season games and made a pair of Pro Bowls while picking off 10 passes, the other two players have battled numerous injuries, preventing the trio from playing many snaps together.
Only two games into a potential breakout sophomore campaign, Blair became the victim of unintentional friendly fire against the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. As he went in to make a tackle in the second quarter, linebacker K.J. Wright's helmet inadvertently collided with Blair's knee, causing his leg to buckle. He crumpled to the turf and had to be escorted off the field with a season-ending torn ACL.
Only one week later, with Blair set to undergo reconstructive knee surgery, Adams came up lame with a groin injury during the fourth quarter of a Week 3 victory over the Cowboys. He missed the next four games and then played most of the second half with fractured fingers and a torn labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery in the offseason.
With both Adams and Blair healthy in time for camp last August, Carroll and the Seahawks once again had high hopes for the safety trio stirring up chaos playing extensive snaps together. But those dreams came to an abrupt halt when Blair suffered a significant knee injury for the second straight season, this time fracturing his knee cap in a Week 7 loss to the Saints and promptly landing on injured reserve.
Meanwhile, Adams re-injured his left shoulder while making a hit on 49ers tight end George Kittle in Week 13. Once again tearing his labrum, he underwent surgery and missed the final five games of the season. Even Diggs couldn't avoid the injury bug, fracturing his fibula in the fourth quarter of Seattle's season finale in Arizona.
“Man, it’s been a toll, but it’s temporary, you know what I mean?" Adams told reporters at Seattle's mandatory minicamp in June. "Sometimes you go through things in life that you really didn’t want to go through, but at the end of the day, it made me stronger mentally and physically. I’m just looking forward to the challenge.”
As a new season quickly approaches, Carroll will be banking on better fortune being bestowed on the Seahawks' talented safety group this time around. Adams and Diggs participated in walkthroughs during minicamp and each player expressed confidence he would be ready to return to the field when camp opens next week, while Blair should be close to returning from his latest setback.
Coming off a disappointing last place finish in the NFC West, the Seahawks shook up their defensive coaching staff this offseason, firing coordinator Ken Norton Jr. and defensive backs coach Andre Curtis. Taking their place, Carroll elevated defensive line coach Clint Hurtt to replace Norton and aggressively pursued former Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai - who coached with Hurtt for three years under Vic Fangio - and Vikings defensive backs coach Karl Scott.
Emphasizing youth, continuity, and creativity in his hiring process, Carroll believes he has built a staff built for immediate success. But in order for Hurtt to excel in his new role with Desai and Scott serving as key advisors, the trio will be tasked with getting the most out of Adams, Diggs, and Blair, whose collective versatility should give the unit tremendous flexibility scheme-wise.
Excited to play in an aggressive defense similar to the one he played in earlier in his career with the Lions, Diggs thinks the scheme changeup will help the Seahawks disguise their coverages and prevent defenses from keying in on what he and Adams are doing snap-to-snap as easily.
“I think it's going to help both of us," Diggs elaborated. "I think guys can automatically tag him and say he's in the box and he's blitzing and slide his way. I've always learned from the different quarterbacks that I play with it. They always watch the backside safety. And now, with the backside safety just showing something different or kind of sitting there, the backside safety is me this time. And it's not just Jamal. I think that's going to help a lot because you don't know the coverages. You don't know what we are in. You don't know what checks we have. So I think that's going to be dope.”
After surprisingly failing to register a single sack last season before going down with his latest shoulder injury, Adams welcomes the schematic change as well, seeing similarities to defenses he starred in at LSU under coordinators such as current Baylor head coach Dave Aranda.
"You can disguise everything, you can move around, I can be in the box sometimes, I can be in the backend sometimes, and I can be blitzing, whatever the case may be," Adams added. "It’s a really creative defense and I’m really looking forward to it.”
For the Seahawks to take a big leap forward defensively, unlocking Adams' maximum potential may be the most important box for Hurtt and his staff to check off this fall, especially considering how much the franchise has invested in him. Over the past two seasons, he's tantalized with his ability to rush the passer and improved in coverage last season before going down, but the team has struggled to consistently utilize his unique skill set within the confines of their scheme.
Enter in Desai, who managed to survive through three head coaching changes in Chicago and work his way up from a quality control coach to safeties coach to defensive coordinator in nine seasons with the organization. During his time in the Windy City, he oversaw the emergence of several Pro Bowlers in the secondary, including safety Eddie Jackson, who earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2018 and made the Pro Bowl the ensuing year.
When asked about the challenges of optimizing strengths for such a unique talent like Adams, Desai pointed to Jackson's ascendance as proof that he has excelled coaching such players, referencing his ability to play both safety spots as well as nickel corner.
"I think it creates excitement to be able to work with a special talent like that," Desai remarked. "That's what I prefer to hang my hat on, to be able to work with unique guys and put guys in position to go make plays and optimize their talents. That's what coaching is. You got to take the best out of each individual and make them the best that they can be. And that's what we're going to look to do with Jamal [Adams], and really all the guys back there.”
While Desai's stellar work coaching up Jackson shouldn't go unnoticed, there's not another player in the NFL like Adams, a pass rushing safety who plays at his best lined up in the box where he can wreak havoc. However, opponents always seemed to be one step ahead last year anytime the Seahawks tried to send him as an extra rusher, sliding protection to the two-time All-Pro anytime he walked up towards the line signaling a blitz.
To allow Adams' immense talents to fully shine, Seattle will have to find ways to move him around and make it more difficult for opponents to key pass protection calls towards him. Mixing in more two-deep coverages such as Cover 4 and Cover 6 would also be wise, as the veteran picked off two passes in his final four games last season after the team shifted towards more middle of field open schemes. Per True Media, they ranked eighth in the NFL in Cover 6 usage (12.3 percent).
With the ball-hawking Diggs roaming center field and capable of moving around to play in the box or in the slot when called upon, Hurtt and Desai shouldn't have any difficulties mixing and matching looks to benefit both players and take advantage of their talents. The real wild card, of course, remains Blair, who the Seahawks still believe can be a difference maker in a situational role if he can stay on the field.
In some ways, Blair presents a bit of a hybrid between Adams and Diggs. While carrying a lean frame, he plays a physical brand of football defending the run, excels as a blitzer, and has the size and length to match up with tight ends and bigger slot receivers in coverage. He also has prior experience playing free safety and has shown comfort covering in two-deep and single-high schemes.
As opponents pass the football at a higher frequency and lean more heavily towards 11 personnel groupings, a multi-talented Swiss army knife like Blair brings tremendous value to any NFL defense if used correctly. His presence further complicates reads for quarterbacks, as his ability to play both safety spots as well as the nickel opens the flood gates to run any number of coverages without signaling intentions pre-snap.
Not to slight veterans Ryan Neal and Ugo Amadi, who have done valiant jobs filling in for Adams and Blair the past two years and are quality players in their own right. But they simply don't offer the same upside and create the world of possibilities from a scheming standpoint.
There's a reason Carroll couldn't stop gushing while pondering the potential of such an arrangement with Adams, Blair, and Diggs forming a dynamic safety trifecta two years ago. Though those desires have yet to be fulfilled, there's still another opportunity for the group to "come to life" as he envisioned and play to their potential.
Assuming Adams, Diggs, and Blair avoid the significant injuries that have set them back in recent years and the coaching staff figures out how to blend their respective skill sets together within the confines of their scheme, the trinity has the firepower to carry a rejuvenated Seahawks defense and keep the team competitive in 2022.
