This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

What an incredible transformation the Seahawks offense has gone through this season.

Gone are cornerstone players Geno Smith, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.  Those three were at the top of both the stats charts and the salary cap charts for years.

In their place have come Sam Darnold, the emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year and Cooper Kupp.  Together, they have changed the locker room and thus the team outlook considerably.  New (and soon to be former) Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak has managed in a single season to marry these talents to his concepts beautifully. 

With the addition of continuity on the Offensive Line, the support of a solid running game, the offense has gone from a very boom-or-bust unit to one that can win games for the team when called upon.

They will be facing a very good defense against the Patriots on Sunday.

In a sense, the Patriots are not unlike the Seahawks defensively: they may not have a superstar talent, a singular player that forces Offensive Coordinators to game plan around them.  What they do feature is solid talent at every level, starting with the interior Defensive Line, some opportunistic Cornerbacks and a Coordinator that knows how to scheme and game plan very well.  Vrabel is instilling his trademark fundamentals and as a result the defense leads the NFL with fewest missed tackles.

The expensive addition of Milton Williams in Free Agency has paid off handsomely.  He pairs with Christian Barmore to anchor the defense.  Williams’ impact on their run defense is profound.

If they have a weakness, it is in generating pass rush.  On the season, they are on the high-blitz (#10 most)/low-pressure-generation (#24 most) spectrum, often needing to commit extra resources to the pass rush.  They gamble that they will disrupt the passer quicker than he can find and exploit the vulnerable matchup.  They currently have one player in the top 50 pressure generators – Harold Landry – and his status for the game is in question with a knee injury (he was limited in practice Wednesday and missed Thursday).  They have three in the top 100 (the Seahawks have six).  They did take advantage of the Chargers’ decimated Offensive Line in the Wild Card Round, sacking Justin Herbert six times and generating a very healthy 29.5% pressure rate.

They are solid, disciplined and creative.  It will be a very fascinating challenge for Klint Kubiak.

We talked about how the Seahawks’ defense can win the game.

Now it is the offense’s turn.

Attack the Defense with Creativity in the Run Game

As we mentioned above, this defense can defend the run very, very well.  The Seahawks rely on the running game as much as any team in the NFL, clocking in at #3 in terms of running the ball in their offensive mix.

Something’s got to give.  There is a bit of an unstoppable force / unmovable object dynamic in play here.  More so with Zach Charbonnet out for the season with a knee injury, leaving Kenneth Walker as the primary back.

The Seahawks will not suddenly abandon the run.  There will be running between the tackles at times, even with the two monster Defensive Tackles on the field at the same time.  However, some creativity is in order so they can attack this defense in different ways.

The first way is to take advantage of personnel matchups.  There can be an element of “throw to set up the run” involved here.  Barmore and Williams “only” play about 60% of the snaps.  If the Seahawks can work their game plan out and get some traction, there will be opportunities to spread the defense out and run on lighter formations.

Kenneth Walker is known as a speed back but his determined running in the NFC Championship game showed he is not afraid of lowering his shoulder and getting the tough yards.  It will be advantageous if they can manipulate the game script to run when their stout tackles are not on the field.

The second way is to throw the ball behind the line of scrimmage and let your playmakers create.  It might be time to dust off this bunch formation play with Kenneth Walker (or Rashid Shaheed).  Or something similar.  A couple of plays like this – or the standard screen pass – might loosen up the defense a bit and get them thinking laterally instead of up field.  The Seahawks feature excellent downfield blockers in Cooper Kupp, A.J. Barner, Eric Saubert.  And you just know that Grey Zabel is more than willing to pull and hit someone.

The third (and most effective) is this: attack the edges of the defense.  It is no secret that the best way to minimize the impact of inside strength is to run away from it.  The Seahawks employ the Wide Zone as well as any team, and there are many ways they can run on the edges to create space for Walker to pick up some meaningful yards.  This is not just an idea to avoid running at the tackles.  The Patriots have shown they are vulnerable to this kind of attack.

Have a look at this play the Ravens ran with Zay Flowers:

The Patriots are well-coached on defense, so as you can see, there are several defenders in the neighborhood.  Flowers cannot just walk into the end zone.  But between the misdirection and pulling blockers out in space (ready and willing to move some bodies), the Ravens have a successful play schemed up.  Have a look at Isaiah Likely (245lbs) send Dell Pettus (200lbs) flying with a block to clear the way.  It is not hard to imagine Barner or Saubert doing the same.  The rest is Flowers weaving and dodging through traffic.

The Seahawks ran this exact play with Shaheed recently so do not be surprised if they pull it out of the playbook for a change of pace.

Attack the Middle of the Field in the Passing Game

A lot has been said about Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis.  They are very good corners but they can be beaten and the Seahawks will not hesitate to target them in the passing game.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is such a multi-functional weapon defenses cannot just match one cornerback to him for the whole game.  The way the Seahawks move him around pre snap and deploy him in so many different types of routes, he is going to get his targets and catches.

It is not just using Smith-Njigba as a target but he can be a decoy to pull focus.  He is so good, when he motions or adjusts before the snap, he will usually draw the attention of two or three defenders.  Klint Kubiak loves to use his “gravity” to pull defenders to him and then burn them with routes to those exactly open spots from the Tight Ends and Cooper Kupp.  This is where the Patriots can be exploited.  Craig Woodson (133.9 pass rating conceded) and Marcus Jones (102.2) have each been burned for seven touchdowns in coverage.  Working the field on quick slants and in-breaking routes can really give the offense some traction and momentum for when they want to take a deep shot.

There is good reason to think the Offensive Line will give Sam Darnold enough time to work.  When they do, some of these problem defenders will uncover.  If Darnold can find them at key times, it will make the offense explosive.

Watch Ladd McConkey get away from Jones for a 20-yard gain after Herbert gets good protection from six men in the pocket.

Here is Dalton Schultz hanging out in the flat and then rumbling for 42 yards after C.J. Stroud finds him.

I will say this again.  Give Klint Kubiak a week off, and he will cook up ways to burn defenses.  The Seahawks put 31 points on the Commanders in the first half and then 24 in the first half on the Niners after bye weeks.

Game Notes

— Early is the keyword.  The Seahawks offense needs to be aggressive early in the series and early in the game.  The Patriot defense concedes 5.75 yards per play on First Down, with a 102.1 passer rating and a 70.1% completion rate.  In the first half, they are middling at best on defense: 4.4 yards per rush, a 103.5 pass rating and 7.1 yards per pass.  They tighten up in the second half (Vrable is very good at making halftime adjustments) and later in the down.  The Seahawks can make the game much easier for themselves with some early success.

— Once again, poise is a huge key.  Sam Darnold needs to be poised and take care of the football.  He rose to the challenge in the NFC Championship game in a supreme way.  Now for the biggest game of his life, he will need to replicate that kind of play.  The Patriots like to try and disguise blitzes, with the “we’re going to rush six or seven” look pre snap and then drop three of them into coverage.  Having the vision, patience and perseverance to see these and locate where they are clogging the passing lanes will be very important.  As is his poise in the pocket when the rush is coming.  Again, something he did very well in the last game.

— Special Teams note: Marcus Jones can be a Shaheed-like presence in the return game.  They absolutely cannot let the Patriots get any “cheap points” with a return touchdown.  This will allow Vrabel to coach up all kinds of scenarios for the Seahawks to deal with.  Chaz Surratt is back for the game and kick coverage guys Mike Morris, Drake Thomas and Tyrice Knight will need to be at their best.  They also will need to be very alert to any trick plays to try and steal a possession.