Chalk Talk: How Harvin, Seahawks got off and running
Feb 7, 2014, 11:54 AM | Updated: Feb 28, 2014, 5:39 pm
By Brady Henderson
The Seahawks got more than a wide receiver when they traded three draft picks to Minnesota for the right to give Percy Harvin the richest contract in franchise history. They got one of the NFL’s most versatile offensive players.
Finally healthy after missing all but two games in his first season in Seattle, Harvin was able to put his full set of skills on display in the Super Bowl. He did it all, starting with a 30-yard gain on a fly-sweep handoff on the Seahawks’ second offensive snap. That play is the focus of this season’s final edition of “Chalk Talk” with Brock Huard.
The situation: A safety on the first play from scrimmage spotted Seattle a two-point lead, and after Marshawn Lynch gained 3 yards to set up a second-and-7 from Denver’s 39, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell pulled the Swiss Army Knife out of his pocket.
The play: Having lined up mostly in the slot during his two games this season, Harvin was split out wide to the right before Russell Wilson sent him in motion across the formation. He took the handoff, got a block from Doug Baldwin and nearly took it the distance, barely stepping out of bounds as he was spun around by safety Duke Ihenacho.
More coverage of the Seahawks’ win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
| • Recap | Stats | Photos | Highlights | Interviews | • O’Neil: What we learned from Seahawks’ win | • O’Neil: Seahawks ‘D’ continues domination in title win | • O’Neil: Seahawks’ Super Bowl MVP? Take your pick | • Henderson: Title extra sweet for Harvin, receivers | • Henderson: Russell Wilson makes history in victory | • Henderson: Malcom Smith takes MVP honors |
The statement: The Seahawks ran the same play in their divisional-round playoff game. Well, almost the same play.
“We used it in the New Orleans game, but we did it out of a different formation. We were in a shotgun,” Bevell said. “We just put a different wrinkle on it. We thought it was something that was going to be there, and we were able to get a nice gain out of it.”
While it produced 30 yards – and then another 15 when Seattle ran it again later – Bevell said it also opened up other plays for Seattle’s offense and left the Broncos on their heels.
“It just kind of showed that you better pay attention to where Percy is,” Bevell said. “Then we were able to do it again, and then we kind of had a couple things off of it as well. So it had them thinking and had them trying to adjust. We really wanted to be offensive, we really wanted to put the pressure on them, kind of moving them around and doing the things we did. I think they were over there trying to adjust to it.”
