Is Pete embracing being outside his comfort zone?

[tarlhawk]

Pete loves to engage in team bonding activities that put many rookies and younger players to being outside their comfort zones while still allowing them to "be themselves" as individuals. This is part of our Seahawk culture without compromising established standards. What is going on with Pete?


Pete's rep as a dinosaur who seems "unaware" of the current "passing and even more passing" atmosphere has earned a bonafide "step" in the right direction as our recent drafts and free agent "blue chip" signings reflect a clear emphasis on addressing the PASSING game...even our RB stable has leaped in the direction of serious WR4 options as alternatives to Noah Fant.


In 11 personnel sets the reality of this typical 3WR formation is transformed/morphed into serious 5WR options when those 11 personnel use DK/TYler/JSN/Fant and either RB2 (Charbonnet) or RB3 (McIntosh) as WR1/WR2/WR3/WR4/WR5. Early in camp K9 seems to recognize losing snaps to his fellow RB team mates who "catch better" or block better in pass pro. Our improving O-Line and spread offense "fit" of Geno at QB screams of matching Kyle Shanahans offensive juggernaut in 49ers personnel with Ram's McShay's understudy Shane Waldron being the architect of our own. Pete can now trust his time and efforts be spent on fashioning a defense designed to shutdown such a dynamic modern offense.


We didn't match the high draft capital that filled the elite 49er front...but FA signings of Uchenna last year and Dre'Mont Jones this year have quickly closed the gap especially in the wake of adding back to back years of 2nd round edge defenders Boye Mafe and Derick Hall. In the "background" is Darryl Taylor who each of the past 2 years has been tabbed to be our D-line/edge "X" factor. To pile on this fast developing pass rush we hired a Pass Rush "Sensai" Coach...BT Turner. This solid grouping will make it hard to get an individual to gather all the attention but as a group I imagine they will make it quite uncomfortable for our opponents QB to stand still and set his feet in the pocket.


But Pete and John didn't just ratchet up our pass rush...they hired Karl Scott to shape and mentor a diverse young cadre of secondary ball hawking/football popping mix of safeties and corners. Many of these players are not confined to single roles to excell in...I think Jamal Adams set Pete and John on this method of assembling "how do we utilize unique passion/athletic skill sets"?


Several years back I lamented Tre Flowers as an example of exposing players not really suited for switching into man coverage based on what offenses were being presented...our new secondary has that capability. QB opponents like to use motion to determine whether defense is showing zone or man coverage "pre-snap" but we now have personnel who can shift Pre snap looks into Post snap coverage hesitation for the QB resulting in the popular term of "coverage" sacks.


Since the NFL as a whole has shifted to lighter/quicker LB or even "hybrid" LB...many teams whose passing doesn't quickly translate into early 10 Pt+ leads become vulnerable to punishing runners and heavy athletic guards/centers washing out lighter "would be" tacklers and opening cut back lanes or just plain wide open holes. Sadly our own defense got a steady dose of such nightmarish runners forcing tacklers to have poor angles of attack and pursuits from behind.


Our offense although much improved still suffered in creating sustained first downs out of 3rd down opportunities making the "clock" our enemy as the game progressed. With passing now clearly forcing its way forward without compromising ball security (offered by a balanced running attack)...we have exciting sharpening on both sides of explosive offense against dynamic "shut down" coverage...each side now has the tools to challenge each other well before we take the field. Go Hawks

[Aseahawkfan]

I don't buy the strategy stuff. Pete keeps up on strategy, schemes, and the like.

Our downfall has been mostly due to bad draft picks and talent loss. You can't go from one of the most talented teams in the NFL where other teams are poaching your role-players to no one wants the players you let go. Bad talent decisions led to a complete jump off the cliff on defense. Offense is all that kept us competitive the last 6 years or so. If they don't get the defense turned around starting this year, Pete's head should be on the block.

[NorthHawk]

The question posed by the title is something that I've been wrestling with for a while.
It's a 180 degree change in some respects, so is that a philosophy change at the end of his coaching career?

Consider he allowed the Offense to open up when the Defense was absolutely terrible then shut it down when it improved and went back to his old style of Offense. Have what we've been seeing a result of him knowing that our Defense was in trouble so to have a chance to win he allowed the Offense to evolve into the 21st Century? Or is it a real change of heart? I hope it's a change of heart, but I'm not 100% sure.

On Defense is he committed to the Vic Fangio 3-4 that has been so successful for Fangio everywhere he's gone but the success not duplicated by his disciples? We wanted Ed Donatell for DC last year but he went to Minnesota and their Defense was pretty bad, but there are others who also haven't had the success Fangio has, so maybe it's Vic Fangio that's the key to the defensive success and not the scheme. After a decade of success using his 4-3 Under scheme, and much success in the college ranks with it, I have to ask if Pete's fully committed to this scheme change. One if his former players on a podcast (can't remember who) alluded to Pete going back to his old defense. Does that player know something? He's occasionally at team facilities so maybe he has some inside info - or maybe it's just his opinion. But if we have another year of bad play, the chances of continuing on with the 3-4 will probably be lessened.

It's going to be an interesting year or two.

[tarlhawk]

The question posed by the title is something that I've been wrestling with for a while.
It's a 180 degree change in some respects, so is that a philosophy change at the end of his coaching career?

Consider he allowed the Offense to open up when the Defense was absolutely terrible then shut it down when it improved and went back to his old style of Offense. Have what we've been seeing a result of him knowing that our Defense was in trouble so to have a chance to win he allowed the Offense to evolve into the 21st Century? Or is it a real change of heart? I hope it's a change of heart, but I'm not 100% sure.

On Defense is he committed to the Vic Fangio 3-4 that has been so successful for Fangio everywhere he's gone but the success not duplicated by his disciples? We wanted Ed Donatell for DC last year but he went to Minnesota and their Defense was pretty bad, but there are others who also haven't had the success Fangio has, so maybe it's Vic Fangio that's the key to the defensive success and not the scheme. After a decade of success using his 4-3 Under scheme, and much success in the college ranks with it, I have to ask if Pete's fully committed to this scheme change. One if his former players on a podcast (can't remember who) alluded to Pete going back to his old defense. Does that player know something? He's occasionally at team facilities so maybe he has some inside info - or maybe it's just his opinion. But if we have another year of bad play, the chances of continuing on with the 3-4 will probably be lessened.

It's going to be an interesting year or two.

Nice reasoning I think our assistant coaching hiring over the last four years has signaled a willingness to change with Pete's inherent understanding of the direction of the NFL coupled with his strong beliefs in what defines a winning culture while giving your team the best chance to win on the field. Hiring Shane Waldron and Andy Dickerson away from the Rams preceded a strong shift to a spread offense. Hiring Sean Desai while promoting Clint Hurtt preceded a shift to major elements of a 3-4 look but so far has only resulted in still using many 4-3 fronts but personnel suited to a 3-4 so actually we are in the middle of a hybrid 3-4/4-3 under. Karl Scott has been a key hiring for implementing a sharper increase in coverage...Woolen had elite skills as an athlete but Scott accelerated him from being labeled a "project" to a high caliber corner. BT Jordan may just be the mentor to unleash a young plethora of budding pass rush talent into a powerful force of QB pressure. I seldom see any credit given to the coaching changes that have been tasked with transforming our recent influx of talent base.

[NorthHawk]

I said during last year that we should be giving big props to the OL coaches getting two rookie OTs ready for the NFL. It's a huge change coaching up 1 new OT, but being successful with two is almost unheard of, or at least very rare.
Defensively, I'm not sure we can applaud their efforts just yet. Normally on Defense the team comes together very quickly, but we had troubles all year, so we are now resting our hopes on this new crop of draftees.

As far as Pete keeping up with the times, I'm not sold that he has. At least not yet. A few years ago he said he was talking to John Wooden, the extremely successful college basketball coach and they were talking and Pete asked about
if he ever changed his philosophy. Wooden's answer was you can't because it's part of who you are. Pete at the time said he was in agreement with that. So maybe the core philosophy has remained but the schemes have changed. I think that is quite possible but it sure took him a long time to catch up - if he has.

[tarlhawk]

I said during last year that we should be giving big props to the OL coaches getting two rookie OTs ready for the NFL. It's a huge change coaching up 1 new OT, but being successful with two is almost unheard of, or at least very rare.
Defensively, I'm not sure we can applaud their efforts just yet. Normally on Defense the team comes together very quickly, but we had troubles all year, so we are now resting our hopes on this new crop of draftees.

As far as Pete keeping up with the times, I'm not sold that he has. At least not yet. A few years ago he said he was talking to John Wooden, the extremely successful college basketball coach and they were talking and Pete asked about
if he ever changed his philosophy. Wooden's answer was you can't because it's part of who you are. Pete at the time said he was in agreement with that. So maybe the core philosophy has remained but the schemes have changed. I think that is quite possible but it sure took him a long time to catch up - if he has.

I see you have reasonable doubt...caution is always the safeguard of too much emotional swing...here's my additional take:

We have a very young team and have self-inflicted a full roster churn of much of our defensive front 7...when you apply this to an NFL schedule noted as the 11th hardest based on how our opponents fared in 2022...you can see a wider window between expected floor and hopeful ceiling so I'm putting my trust in Pete and his assembled coaching staff to make every game exciting in 2023 so playoffs and beyond within range when you finish with at least 10 wins.

If we win against the Rams at home on 19 Nov then our SB crystal ball will be the following 4 game contender/pretender stretch of the 49ers twice and Dallas and Philadelphia "thrown in"...our floor will be defined by how well we play leading up to 19 Nov. Go Hawks

[NorthHawk]

I think we will know what this Defense is all about after the first 4 or 5 games. If the transition to the 3-4 isn't working, will Pete abandon it for something he knows much better?
That remains to be seen, but our Defensive coaching staff hasn't been very productive for the last 4 or 5 years. Granted, the players were a big part of it, but coaching and game planning as a big part, too.
We can only hope this draft and off season means the team defense turns the corner and starts to become a bigger part of the team success.

[tarlhawk]

Our front seven determines our vulnerability to the run and we kept only Uchenna and Taylor with upgrades in run defense filling the other 5 spots. The fan base seems alarmed we didn't target Nose Tackles via free agency and upper draft selections...but we should all be wearing "don't panic" badges taking into consideration NT is a position of strong physicality and less about "learning technique".

We have plenty of time to scout other teams in pre-season "with pads on" to snare a plug and play NT off of 53 man cuts. Scheme and gap responsibility/discipline will go further in turning around our rush defense. Get an explosive consistent offense out there and we will stop having worries of an inability to shutdown an opponents running game.

[Aseahawkfan]

The front seven set the tone for the defense. If a team can run on you, they know they have you by the falls. It's why Pete likes a strong running game and why he should be working a lot harder to get a strong run defense. If a team can run on you, you are going to get bullied and lose control of ToP, can set up the pass using the run, and you wear the opponent down by keeping their defense on the field.

Pete knows this. Every NFL coach knows this. So I hope they have this part of the defense at least shored up for a top 15 run defense or we're going to have another year of getting worked.