3.11.2011

HawkLinks

Brandon Mebane has been given a third-round tender.  To me, this says that the Hawks want to keep him but will not keep him at too high a cost.  Derek Stevens over at The Blue Bird Herd wrote a good piece advocating against franchising Mebane (a forgone conclusion at this point) and illustrates why losing Mebane might not be the end of the world (because Pete Carroll has him playing the wrong position).  It's also a position review of the Defensive Tackle/Nose Tackle spots as well that sheds some light on the Hawks' needs.  The Blue Bird Herd blog is a really well written and researched blog and Derek Stevens seems to really know his football.  I had never really heard of it until just recently, but it's definitely worth checking out.

Since I did a piece on Pete Carroll's offensive philosophy, it's only natural that you as a fan should read up on his defensive philosophy as well.  In a three part series by Damien Lynch from Foul Weather Fans.  Very interesting and one any Hawks' fan should read.  A couple notes of interest about this series of articles:
-It was written before last season, so it's fun to see where Lynch projects each player and what their strengths would be for each position.  Overall he demonstrates good foresight into this for the most part.
-It spells out why Brandon Mebane is a good, if not great 1-Tech player but not ideally suited for the 3-tech position, (which, according to Pete Carroll, is supposed to be "your premier interior pass rusher" and be able to beat the center and guard consistently to get to the QB), and coincidentally is exactly the argument that Derek Stevens of Blue Bird Herd makes in the link I posted above.
-The author notes that Earl Thomas would be a great candidate for FS in Pete Carroll's defense (this was written before the draft had happened last year), and even included a picture of him in the article.  Very good sir!  Two Points!

Brandon Adams over at 17Power pointed out another great article about the Brandon Mebane Conundrum at his blog, written by Kip Earlywine (raddest name ever, by the way). I'll quote from there but you need to check out the article in full. Here's a paragraph that sums up the thesis:
Brandon Mebane is not a natural pass rushing defensive tackle. He is natural at dominating a single gap, penetrating into the backfield, getting hits and tackles behind the line of scrimmage and stopping the run in the process. What Mebane doesn't have is anything resembling elite pass rushing technique, aside from a super-quick first step. When tasked with the "1 tech" role in 2007 and 2008, Mebane was arguably the most valuable defender on the team in that time frame. In 2008 alone, he had 5.5 sacks and 18 QB hits, all of this while essentially acting as the 4th pass rusher. This misguidedly caused Seahawks coaches to think Mebane would be better in a pass rushing role, but just the opposite, the lack of pass rush support turned Mebane into a non-factor. He had only 1 sack and 1 QB hit in 2010 while playing a pass rush position.
John Clayton has a new potential free agent guard to keep your eye on: Davin Joseph.  He may be more attractive to the Hawks because he is much younger than a Robert Gallery and could be more durable. Check out the story here.  I'm intrigued.

With the Seahawks looking to possibly upgrade at the right tackle position come April's draft, it makes sense to get to know a few of the prospects.  Meet Gabe Carimi.  Says he's the best tackle in the draft.  Could be on the Hawks' radar at #25, if he lasts that long.


2 comments:

  1. Kip Earlywine wrote an excellent piece for 17 Power also, about why Mebane belongs at the 1 and not the 3. (If I may: http://17power.blogspot.com/2011/01/brandon-mebane-conundrum.html)

    Frankly, Seattle would be foolish to keep Cole and throw Mebane away. That lowers the team's talent quotient and ignores a quick and proven solution: play Meebs where he belongs and FIX THE SPOT that Ruskell merely tried to patch.

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  2. Brandon, thanks, I KNEW I had seen another article about this but couldn't remember where I saw it. I updated the HawkLinks with that article linked for people that haven't read above yet.

    The more I read about Pete Carroll's defense the more I wonder what their plan for Mebane is. He's obviously a really talented football player but his lack of pass rush at the 3 tech probably seriously hurt the hawks this year, and much of the onus for that probably fell on the secondary, because they kept giving up big plays. THe thing is, though, is pretty much any NFL QB can pick apart a defense if given time.

    Hopefully they'll take some action at that spot so Mebane can do what he's best at.

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