Duane Brown: Mike Solari’s playbook will utilize Seahawks’ linemen better
May 31, 2018, 1:11 PM
The Seahawks offensive line showed improvement in 2018. (AP)
(AP)
The Seahawks’ offensive line has by and large relied just on zone blocking schemes during Pete Carroll’s tenure as head coach.
That won’t be the case in 2018.
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Veteran lineman and four-time Pro Bowler Duane Brown told 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton that under new offensive line coach Mike Solari, the Seahawks are adding some pages to the playbook.
“Last year we were pretty much emphasized on zone scheme,” said Brown, who came to Seattle from Houston in a midseason trade in 2017. “We still have zone concepts in our packages, but we also have power schemes and things that are more downhill. … We have everything. We have some man blocking, we have some double team things and gap schemes, we have zone schemes. I think we have a great assortment of runs and packages in this system. I think we’ll be able to throw defenses off balance.
“We have some big, powerful guys on this line, so we’re able to utilize them more.”
The switch to Solari as offensive line coach is something Brown believes will be valuable not just for himself but especially the younger members of the Seahawks’ O-line.
“Mike Solari’s been great for us so far. Great demeanor, great approach to the game,” Brown said. “He’s all about detail, technique, and I think myself I’m buying into it. It’s changing my techniques and things I want to improve on. We have a lot of young players who I think will benefit a lot from his way of coaching. He really hammers points down every day and I think we’ll be a very much improved group.”
In particular, Germain Ifedi especially could make a significant improvement, according to Brown.
“I think Mike Solari is going to benefit Germain a lot with the system and just with his coaching style,” he said of Seattle’s 2016 first-round draft pick, a Houston native Brown befriended while playing for the Texans. “He’s very, very physically gifted, but some of his technique and things needs to (be) polished up and he’s done a great job of that so far. He can really fire off on guys. You don’t find many guys that are 6-7 and 330 pounds that can move the way he can but also strike the way that he can, so I’m looking forward to see what he can do.”
Brown spoke about much more, including what impresses him about second-year player Ethan Pocic, with Clayton. You can listen to the full interview in this podcast of Clayton’s Thursday show.
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