How Seattle Seahawks are Trying to Perfect Peanut Tillman 'Punch Tackle'
Turnovers are king in the NFL.
Usually, teams who take the ball away at a high rate find themselves in the win column. For example, four out of the top five teams in takeaways last season made the playoffs, while all five had winning records in the regular season. Currently, the Seattle Seahawks rank No. 5 in the NFL in takeaways with 14.
Seattle's success at taking the ball away has been primarily fueled by the team's knack for jarring the ball free and forcing fumbles on defense. The Seahawks have forced 15 fumbles so far this season, good for the most in the NFL.
It seems as though the Seahawks have perfected the "peanut punch," with rookie cornerback Coby Bryant leading the charge. Earlier this season, Bryant became the first rookie since the NFL began tracking forced fumbles as a statistic in 2000 to record four of them in his first six games.
Evidently, this has actually been a point of emphasis on the coaching staff, with Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt recently citing how the players are coached to "punch tackle."
"If you're the sole guy going in for the tackle, punch tackle," Hurtt said. "You can come in and go wrap up the ball carrier. Near foot, near shoulder, so that you're striking through the ball carrier. But as you're going to wrap up, you're going to punch through, punch down on the football."
Seattle is using this technique to take the ball away at a high rate while staying in the win column as a result. The Seahawks now hold a 5-3 record, while in control of their playoff destiny halfway through the season.
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