#1 Defense vs #1 Offense

[Cane Dynasty]

Fwuck dorito!

 

[sfcane2]

I agree that he was probably unhappy with the lopsided nature of the game but it's hard to legislate what Seattle does so well, which is play strong at the point of attack with fast and aggressive players executing effectively at the second level. Most teams that are that strong at the line are slow on the back and vice versa. Glad they didn't call the game tightly, as that would have negated some of Seattle's advantages. I was also impressed that they kept the scheme simple. Sherman said today they basically played Cover 1 or Cover 3 with a few different pressures up front. In their case, the scheme is simple, it's all about elite athletes executing flawlessly.
That secondary definitely intimidates while playing within the rules.

They play within the current rules interpretations in the playoffs. I'm not confident Goodell won't push for a change. He doesn't care about eliminating an historically great defense or that the rules changes make sense. Many analysts say Seattle knows they won't be called for 10 or 12 flags against the cornerbacks so they are willing to accept 2 or 3 in return for playing on the edge of the rules. Roughly 10 years ago after a Colts/Patriots playoff game in Foxborough the same situation arose after the Colt receivers were mauled. Manning and the Colts complained bitterly and sure enough the changes were implemented the following season. Defensive penalty numbers soared throughout the league. I don't have the specific numbers in front of me but it considerable, and well known in Las Vegas. It lasted only a couple of seasons and then the penalty numbers retreated to prior levels. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again, if not more dramatically.

Here's an article that references what I'm talking about:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=1771047

While typically true, what effected Manning more than the physical play was the inability to stretch that defense out vertically. They were sitting on literally almost all of the horizontal stuff. If Manning or anyone wants to beat that defense, start running Power more often to get that Safety deep into the box and then beat them down the middle of the field (or with a QB running). San Francisco had the recipe. CK impatiently lost that game.

So frustrating watching that last play with Kaepernick. There was no one within 10 yards of Patton. He was wide open and Davis was also open. Although can't be too critical as he played so well the first three quarters. Feel good about next year with a healthy Lattimore and Carradine added to the mix. Hopefully they trade up to get Watkins or Lee.