Lockout Hangover: Defensive Line

Seattle's 2011 defensive line is impossible to predict. It could be a force to be reckoned with. There's also the potential for it to be the biggest surprise disappointment on the team.

The common perception is that Seattle's defensive line was top-caliber for the first six weeks of 2010. The context for that, which too many are ignoring, is that during that span Seattle faced some of the feeblest offenses in the league and crumbled against Kyle Orton. The collapse of our defense coincides with the injuries of most of the starting line (Red Bryant, Colin Cole, and Brandon Mebane, in order of perceived importance but not necessarily actual importance), so many people understandably blame that. But it also coincides with the point at which Seattle hit the respectable part of its schedule (i.e. the last 10 games). That rise in respectability was pretty steep.

So it's hard to say how good Seattle's D-line truly was last year. The evidence is circumstantial and could swing either way. The Denver game serves as a disturbing hint that the line may have been tremendously overrated; the starters were all on the field and provided zero pass disruption. Stopping a bottom-five rushing attack isn't that impressive. At no time anywhere in the season did the defense stop a strong passing attack or even come close, starters healthy or not.

Grading Seattle's Free Agency: Defense and Special Teams

Brandon Mebane (#92): A

In an stunning turn of events, I actually managed to be right about something. Not only did Seattle re-sign DT Brandon Mebane, they announced today that he'd be moving back to his natural 1-tech position, something I'd guessed at yesterday. A stud run-stuffer from any position, Mebane has a record of success at collapsing the pocket, that greatest single unsung component of all strong D-lines. The entire line could reap good results from this.

Alan Branch (#99): C+

So I have these voices in my head (which shouldn't surprise anyone) and decided to just mic them today to show you my internal debate on DT Alan Branch, recently released by the Cardinals and signed by the Seahawks.

What to Do with Brandon Mebane

After months of suspense, the Conundrum has finally been resolved. DT Brandon Mebane, one of the most underappreciated talents on the team, has been re-signed by the Seahawks, who have avoided what could have been the worst mistake of this offseason: letting him go and relying on Alan Branch.

Mebane's contract is for 5 years, $25 million. That's pleasantly manageable, considering Seattle had to beat away offers from Denver, St. Louis, New Orleans, and who knows who else. It's in keeping with John Schneider's excellent haggling work so far this offseason, no doubt helped by Mebane's latent desire to remain in Seattle.

It's still, however, disproportionate to the unremarkable production Mebane achieved in his last two years playing out of position. That's why I'm mildly stunned that Seattle kept him. All through his contract year of 2010, he didn't seem to be producing anywhere near enough (1 sack, 1 QB hit) to justify a bigger payday. Mebane's return is big for Seattle, but not if he just keeps getting used the same way.

Which suggests one of two possibilities to me:

1. Pete Carroll and John Schneider are chumps.

2. Pete Carroll and John Schneider are planning some changes for the defense.

Lockout Hangover: Seattle's Defensive Free Agents

Continuing a look at Seattle's own free agents waiting to be re-signed, starting with the most important.


Brandon Mebane, DT

Mebane, now a full free agent with the new CBA voiding his earlier third-round tender, is an above-average defensive tackle who exceeds the usual definition of "jack of all trades": he can do everything, but can also do most of them well. He's also the only player that qualifies as anything like a starter at 3-tech defensive tackle; the next best still on the roster is Barrett Moen. Coupled with Mebane's experience with Seattle's schemes, this should theoretically tie Seattle's hands and make him a shoo-in to be resigned.

Alas, that may not be. Inexplicably, the Seahawks have refused for two years now to play Mebane at over tackle, where he has an established record of success in both pass-rushing and run-stuffing. Both were diminished when Seattle moved him over to under tackle and replaced him with Colin Cole, an exclusive run stuffer whose inability to rush the passer continues to hold the defense back. Pete Carroll's gap tweaking did little to alleviate this. With his mis-use clouding his performance, Mebane is made to look less valuable than he is.

The league isn't fooled. You shouldn't be either.

Lockout Hangover: Seattle's Offensive Free Agents

The long, dark lockout is extinguished at last.

To those of you who were enjoying the blog's initial run earlier this spring, I do apologize for my unannounced absence. I got discouraged from writing by a lot of factors, such as the pall cast by the lockout over any kind of real news or analysis for the offseason. When I started 17 Power, I'd regarded the offseason as an opportunity instead of an obstacle, a chance to fill the void with off-the-beaten-path opinion, but I hadn't envisioned trying to do so without the help of any actual football developments.

Plus, some genius back in April decided to over-click my Google Adsense advertisements (you might have noticed their disappearance back in April), prompting Google to assume that I was abusing them for the revenue and pull them. That sucked.

But...I'm back. Nothing keeping me down now. Our beloved Seahawks are going to get talked about again, and I'm gonna be part of it. I hope you'll be around to enjoy my bizarre blather and participate in the discussion, as we charge headfirst into the craziest NFL free agency likely to be witnessed in our lifetimes.

Adam Schefter is reporting that free agency will return Friday. Contrary to earlier reports, Seattle's free agents will hit the market at the same time as everyone else. Still, they're as good a re-entry point as any.


Matt Hasselbeck, QB

Let's just...save this one for later.


Chris Spencer, C

After years of dismissal from media and fans alike, Spencer steadied himself out in 2010 and became the team's most consistent lineman. That's not damning with faint praise, either. "Consistent" may not have made Rob Sims popular with fans after 2009, but I daresay a lot of people wish he'd stuck around after 2010. He's now doing well in Detroit.

Seahawks Re-Sign RB Washington, Tender DT Mebane

In what ranks amongst the best possible news of the Seahawks offseason, the Seahawks have re-signed RB Leon Washington to a four-year contract.

The deal comes across as quite cheap next to the large contracts being paid to other champion returners:

Player	Contract	Per year
Josh Cribbs	3 yrs, $20M	$6.7M/yr
Devin Hester	4 yrs, $41M	$10M/yr
Leon Washington 2011	4 yrs, $12.5M	$3.1M/yr
Leon Washington 2010*		$5M/yr

*The cost to the Seahawks also pales in comparison to what the New York Jets offered Leon before the trade to Seattle. Leon's contract with the Seahawks is fair to Leon and appropriate for what Leon is - a special-teams stud with huge potential to outplay 2nd-string status, but a 2nd-stringer nonetheless.

Decoding John Schneider

Seahawks GM John Schneider graciously dropped us a few small bones today as he spoke to reporters at the Combine. In these days of CBA limbo, we're desperate for any scraps that fall from the table, are we not?

I wanted to take what we heard and turn it over a little bit in my mind. Not that I have any idea what Schneider is really thinking, but hey, we're all doing this, right?


On Matt Hasselbeck:

Brandon Mebane Drawing Interest of Other Teams

No teams have been identified, but several have apparently told NFL.com's Michael Lombardi that they're hungrily investigating Seattle defensive tackle Brandon Mebane.

Teams have told me that if the Seahawks allow Brandon Mebane to hit the free-agent market, he will be highly sought after. Young defensive linemen with some rush ability are a rare commodity in free agency.

Mebane is one of the league's under-the-radar talents. He broke out in 2007 largely because of the injury of someone higher on the depth chart (in this case, DT Chuck Darby), which is commonplace in the NFL. Mebane took only a season to establish himself as an excellent nose tackle, capable of collapsing pockets, stopping the run, and even sacking a few quarterbacks with 7.5 sacks in 26 games up until the end of 2008.

Afterwards, the Seahawks decided to switch Mebane to the under tackle position. He has played capably there but not excellently, as the position doesn't take advantage of his unusual tools. His production, and more importantly the production of the entire defensive line, has not been the same since. It's not Mebane's fault, not in my eyes.

Player Types: The Pete Carroll Dictionary

No, I can't tell you who the Seahawks will be drafting, not specifically. But I can tell you what they will be like. Or, more correctly, I will let Pete tell you exactly what HE is looking for at every position.

All Carroll quotes are direct, and taken from the transcript of a coaching seminar on the 4-3 under defense that he has used for quite some time now.

First, the LEO, or Elephant position defensive end:

"The open side Defensive End has to be one of your best football players. Size does not matter as much. We want an athletic player who can move around."

This appears to be a fungible position to an extent. I am sure that if a truly special player who met this standard AND was both a special pass rusher and excellent run stopper was available, he would be selected early in the draft, but that seems unlikely this season. Key words to remember for the Leo position (stand up defensive end) are "one of your best football players" and " athletic player who can move around."
 

Second, the nose tackle:

The Brandon Mebane Conundrum

Hey, Kip here. You might remember me from Seahawks Draft Blog. I'm really tight on time this year, so I can't contribute terribly often either here or at SDB, but this is a topic I've had on my chest for a few weeks and since Brandon (Adams) asked me to contribute, I figured this would be a good place to start this topic.

When Pete Carroll brought his "Leo" defense to Seattle in 2010, it didn't officially change Seattle from a 4-3 to a 3-4 team, but in some ways, it was a step in that direction. Seattle's previous 4-3 defenses featured two pass rushing defensive ends who could perform reasonably well against the run, a pass rushing defensive tackle (known as the 3 tech), and a single gap run stuffing defensive tackle (known as the 1 tech).

Though technically still a 4-3, the "Leo" concept is a bit more unbalanced. The strong side (usually left) defensive end needs to be death to the run while also collapsing the pocket, but isn't expected to be a consistent pass rusher who generates sacks. The strong side defensive tackle, who manned the 3 tech in the previous defense, becomes a two gap player, something that is generally only found in 3-4 defenses. A two gap player does not shoot a gap, but instead directly engages a lineman and protects the gaps on both sides of him. The 3 tech role still exists, but was moved from the strong side to the weakside. Finally, you have the Leo position off the weak side end, and this is where almost all of the pass rush is generated from.

As with any scheme change, you will have players who benefit and others who suffer.