Once we final talked about Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, one space of his playcalling tendencies that stood out was his extraordinarily low utilization of play-action passing. We now have 5 weeks of knowledge and Grubb continues to rely closely on straight dropback passing out of the shotgun formation.
Geno Smith not solely has the bottom play-action charge of any quarterback (per NFL Professional), he’s three share factors decrease than the subsequent quarterback (Kirk Cousins). However the situation isn’t just the shortage of play-action, it’s additionally how usually ineffective they’ve been when in use.
Smith is eighteen/22 for 183 yards and a landing, which sounds superb till you notice his Anticipated Factors Added (EPA) per go is -0.05 (good for twenty third out of 32 QBs), his yards per try is a middling 8.3, and his sack charge is an eye-popping 12% (!!!). For context, Smith’s play-action sack share was among the many lowest within the league final yr and his YPA was north of 10.
Even the play-action passing chart is usually beneath, with solely 5 passes touring not less than 10 air yards. The primary 20+ yard “shot play” all season got here final week on Tyler Lockett’s 33-yard acquire.
There isn’t a correlation between having a powerful working sport and being an efficient play-action passing staff. I’m unsure play-action can constantly work effectively if the opposite staff has no motive to imagine you’ll run the ball. Let’s not act like that is the primary unhealthy offensive line in Seahawks historical past; it’s not even the worst of the final decade. Even unhealthy offensive traces can deal with play-action (see: 2017), so it’s on Ryan Grubb to not default to a pure dropback sport when there’s no have to.
Then there’s the defensive facet of the ball, which I’ve discovered much more discouraging than the offense, which I imagine can self-correct by #runningthedamnball extra strategically and #usingundercenterplayaction extra.
These first three weeks appeared fairly cool
(All stats supplied by NFL Professional)
Bo Nix: 7-12 for 28 yards, 1 INT
Jacoby Brissett: 2-5 for 47 yards
Skylar Thompson: 7-9 for 67 yards
Nix remains to be one of many worst play-action QBs within the league, the Patriots should not have a functioning passing sport, and Skylar Thompson is extra prone to be on a UFL roster than an NFL roster subsequent yr. There have been alternatives for a extra correct quarterback to take advantage of Seattle’s second degree higher than Thompson managed.
Right here’s what occurred to the Seahawks protection after the sliders obtained adjusted:
Jared Goff: 12-12 for 229 yards, 1 TD
Mike Macdonald yesterday on 70-yard landing by Jameson Williams vs. #Seahawks: “It was only a psychological error, and we did not have a publish participant.”
This was an inverted Cowl 2 sim stress. Woolen/Witherspoon dropped two deep, whereas Jenkins blitzed and Bowser dropped again into… pic.twitter.com/BdDkk8vlUt
— Corbin Okay. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) October 3, 2024
(So as to add to Corbin’s observations, it appears to be like like Tyrel Dodson ought to be carrying Jameson Williams’ route, which might make him culpable for the protection bust)
Daniel Jones: 9-12 for 101 yards, 2 TDs
Brown will get beat and IDK why Jones’ pocket motion strikes Love to date out of the publish given the route sample. The wheel is not going to harm you as a FS I do not suppose, and also you would not nail down in a crosser in cowl 1 such as you would in cowl 3? pic.twitter.com/Y95TwbB8he
— over zone y (@cmikesspinmove) October 8, 2024
I’m not going to let you know which very related quarterback has the best EPA/go off play-action this yr.
Seattle is one in all solely a handful of groups within the bottom-tier of each offensive and defensive play-action EPA/go. If the Seahawks maintain this tempo up, this would be the worst Seattle protection in opposition to play-action since Ken Norton’s first and final seasons as defensive coordinator; sure, meaning the Seahawks are presently faring worse beneath Mike Macdonald’s protection than Clint Hurtt on this division.
The excellent news is that it’s nonetheless early and there’s time to “make it proper” on each ends of the sector. At the least defensively, unhealthy eye self-discipline and communication breakdowns (significantly on the second-level) have been huge culprits over the past two weeks. Nonetheless, with the NFC trying a hell of loads stronger than projected, the Seahawks could not have as a lot time as they want to have so as to right these points and keep away from stacking losses and erase such a promising begin.
