Excerpts from Danny Kelly’s article on Field Gulls
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HC Pete Carroll said that first and foremost, when scouting potential cornerbacks, “One, we want fast guys, and long guys, that’s what we’re looking for.”
“Then,” added Carroll, “they’ve been indoctrinated into the system.”
Indoctrinated. Carroll is a guy that chooses his words carefully. Indoctrinated typically has a negative connotation, but in this context, it makes complete sense. It’s why Seattle’s corners all “look the same” somewhat.
“Kris Richard and Rocky Seto have done a fantastic job of training them,” said Carroll. “They’re really, really, strict.”
“The way they step, the way they challenge at the line of scrimmage, the way they finish in the things that we teach,” said Carroll. “This is a long, long process, to get these guys to where they are. But, now they’re in the system, and it doesn’t matter who steps in and plays. It’s impressive.
“So, it’s a process, but it’s kind of a systems thing for us.”
A systems thing. It’s a process. A long, long process. It doesn’t matter who steps in and plays.
Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times wrote about the Seahawks’ step-kick technique of press coverage the other day, something that I hadn’t heard about specifically in the past. It’s fascinating, and illustrates what Cary Williams was talking about.
Jenks was writing about Tye Smith, Seattle’s 5th round pick, and said: “The Seahawks teach a press coverage technique called the step-kick, which is pretty much just like it sounds. At the snap of the ball, while a receiver shimmies at the line, the Seahawks want their corners to step with one foot and wait until the receiver starts moving up the field. A corner pretty much has to stand there, like a defender in basketball watching a guy crossover and fake but not going anywhere.”
What that requires more than anything is patience, and it is something that most of Seattle’s cornerbacks have struggled with in the past, from Tharold Simon to Byron Maxwell to DeShawn Shead. It will take Smith time to get comfortable trusting the technique and himself, and on day one he looked raw. But that isn’t unusual or unexpected, and the Seahawks have a good track record of teaching corners that skill.
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Something of interest….. “Cary’s doing everything,” Carroll said on Tuesday. “He looks very much the part of the kind of play that we anticipate on his first day against somebody. But still, he gets it. He’s smart, he’s really dedicated, he hasn’t missed a trick. He’s been on everything. It’s early and all that, but I anticipate he’s going to play like we saw on film, if not better. That would be good enough to help us play winning football.”
