Postby Shoreline Steamers » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:57 pm
So it looks like everything is coming into focus with the coaching staff, though my initial reaction is "meh". Which is disappointing.
Ken Norton Jr - D. Coordinator - He's worked with Carroll and the Hawks in the past, and did some good things with their linebacker corps. However, we all know how his stint as the DC in Oakland ended up. Not too pretty. Will getting back together with Carroll produce better results? At least he seems likely to bring a little discipline, which is a quality I was looking for in an effort to cut down on some of the penalties. Overall though, didn't have me fist-pumping with excitement.
Mike Solari - O-Line Coach - Another coach who was once with the Hawks returns for a second stint. At first glance it seems likely that he'd want to employ a heavy zone-blocking scheme, though I don't think that fits Seattle's personnel very well and hopefully doesn't come to pass. I'm really not sure what to expect here, but cutting down on penalties is again job #1a with this group while keeping Russell upright is #1b. We'll see if he's up to the task.
Brian Schottenheimer - O. Coordinator - Uninspiring hire at first glance, though I did hear an interesting interview with a NYJ beat writer who was there when Schotty held this position with the Jets. The QB's he oversaw were Chad Pennington (whip-smart, noodle arm), Brett Favre (played through in injured shoulder that season), and Mark Sanchez (enough said).
It was pointed out that the offense they ran with Pennington took advantage of spread formations and lots of pre-snap movement to expose the defense's intent. The passing game was predicated on getting the ball out quickly, and shorter throws to maximize Pennington's strengths and hide his deficiencies as much as possible. When Favre came in, he basically told Schottenheimer that he didn't want those spread formations. "Put a WR on each side and line up a TE and let's go!" Again, the offense was changed to fit the style of play of his QB. With Sanchez, the Jets tried to have a balanced offense until they realized that their best WR's were Santonio Holmes (in his last somewhat productive season) and Jeremy Kerley. Additionally, Sanchez just wasn't very good at reading a defense. When they tried to go run-heavy, they found that Shonn Greene was a mediocre option at best. Overall, the offense tanked.
The "silver lining" takeaway from all this? At least Schottenheimer tried to tailor his offenses to the strengths of his personnel, and his schemes were markedly different for each QB he worked with. Additionally, he never really had a great QB at his disposal, and now he does in Russell Wilson. So there is at least hope that the offense will improve in 2018, though I don't feel confident in predicting that now.
14 Team, No-PPR, 20 Man Roster, TD Heavy, TD = 6, FG = 3, Start: QB, 2RB, 2WR, TE, Flex, K, D
QB: L. Jackson, B. Purdy, T. Lance
RB: J. Mixon, N. Chubb, A. Dillon, J. Cook, K. Mitchell, J. McLaughlin, Z. Evans
WR: J. Chase, C. Godwin, D. Johnson, J. Reed, C. Tillman
TE: TJ Hockenson, D. Njoku, B. Jordan
14 Team, .5 PPR, 18 Man Roster, Rush/Rec TD = 6, Pass TD = 4, FG = 3, Start: QB, 2RB, 2WR, TE, Flex, K, D
QB: L. Jackson, T. Tagovailoa
RB: B. Robinson, K. Walker, R. Stevenson, K. Herbertl
WR: C. Olave, T. Higgins, B. Aiyuk, N. Collins, Z. Flowers, M. Mims
TE: K. Pitts, D. Njoku