Schlereth: How Seahawks’ D limits offensive play-callers

The Seattle Seahawks have been among the best teams at pressuring quarterbacks this season.

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They finished the regular season third with 180 pressures and tied for seventh with 47 sacks, both of which are the top marks among NFC teams in the postseason.

But they don’t have anybody whose sack total this year jumps off the page.

No Seahawks ranked among the league’s top 30 in sacks. Instead, it’s been a collective effort. Uchenna Nwosu, Byron Murphy II and Leonard Williams shared the team lead with seven sacks apiece, DeMarcus Lawrence added six and 17 players contributed at least 0.5 sacks.

The balance Seattle’s defense has across the defensive front is part of what makes playing it so difficult, and it greatly limits what offensive play-callers can turn to, according to FOX analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth.

Schlereth, a three-time Super Bowl champion, highlighted the challenges Seattle’s defensive front creates for offenses when describing why he believes the Seahawks are the most complete team left in the playoffs to Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Monday.

“Defensively, we know how physical they are, we know how good they are – the ability to shut down the run, the ability to rush in waves,” Schlereth said. “And they don’t have that one dude that’s just like, oh, how are we gonna block (him)? They got four guys. You’re just like, how are we gonna block these four guys?”

Schlereth explained that when a team has one stud pass-rusher to worry about, there are ways to game plan that help offensive linemen slow that player down. But when a team has to worry about all four pass rushers on every down, it not only makes life difficult for the offensive line, but it also starts to limit what offensive play-callers can do.

“There are four dudes or five dudes on the field, and they rotate guys, that can all win there one-on-ones. That’s incredibly difficult as an offense because then you gotta pick and choose, and you gotta pick, hey, which guy are we gonna double team? Or how many guys can we double team on this one?” Schlereth said. “And if we do that, then obviously we can’t get enough eligibles out on the field and we’re only running two or three guys (on routes), maybe two guys (run routes) and one guy checks out late (after blocking).

“So it really limits your playbook. It takes your playbook from whatever it is and it shrinks it down by about 50%. And that’s how you have to play the Seahawks.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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• What national voices are saying about Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold
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