Grass Teams
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Raider free safety / hit man Jack Tatum, who wrote a book, and John Madden, who wrote about fourteen, revealed that the key to Oakland's talent acquisition was that the Raiders always avoided "turf players." They wanted players who were "grass players." They didn't want twinkle-toes athletes who used finesse to step around the action. They literally sneered at finesse players, and believed that such players would always chicken out at some point or other.
You can make an argument that they were right. In the 1970's, and into the 1980's, the Super Bowl was almost always won by Cellblock D teams. Bill Walsh's 49'ers carried on the tradition after the Raiders, Steelers, and Cowboys were done: he built the 49'er dynasty on a vicious secondary led by Ronnie Lott, and some truly objectionable line-blocking techniques.
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=== Quarterback ===
In his book They Call Me Assassin, Tatum lamented the fact that the pre-Stabler Raiders were always doomed to lose in the playoffs, because Daryle Lamonica was a wussy. "The Raiders would never have won anything with Lamonica," he stated flatly.
That should give us a feel for it. NFL teams need to look at their quarterbacks as tough, tough players. Jay Cutler is a real problem for his team. So is Mark Sanchez.
In that light, we can rejoice in the noises that the Seahawks are making about Russell Wilson. "He's a tough kid" is a cliche, a vague one. But down on the field, he's one of those guys who carries his own 12-inch chain into the junkyard rumble. Which also explains why Carroll put him in there so quickly this preseason.
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=== Tailback ===
I didn't quite understand why so much money for Marshawn Lynch. At that time I didn't quite get it, just how rough Pete Carroll is willing to play it.
The other team's opportunity for payback comes when your ballcarrier is being held up by one or two guys, and now here comes the rest of the defense in to inflict pain. But Marshawn Lynch, UNIQUELY, is the attacker when two powerlifters are hanging on to him. Lynch creates a situation in which the Seahawks are never on the receiving end of the give-and-take; he makes it impossible to intimidate the Seahawks when the other team's turn arrives to deal out pain.
Under what circumstances, exactly, would Marshawn Lynch back down? He wouldn't in any circumstances, up to and including death. Literally.
This is part of what makes Carroll's vision possible. Hence the huge contract.
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=== Receivers ===
Rice, Tate, and Baldwin are poor receivers compared to the weapons featured by our rivals. Wilson is achieving these miracles despite receivers who cannot get separation. Imagine if Russell Wilson had a true feature receiver.
But Rice, Tate, and Baldwin hang on to the ball, and they stick their noses into the slant patterns, and they extend their arms for the ball even when they know they'll be hit. What was that TD slant last game, where a WR stuck his arms wayyyyyyy out to just snag a Wilson bullet as he crossed the goal line? Many receivers are electro-shocked against extending that way.
The wideouts are the most fragile links in the chain, the people who can be strung up like pirates in the bay and displayed as a warning not to ignore the aspect of professional respect. Carroll has the toughest wideouts in the NFL. It costs the Seahawks yards in the short-term, but wins them the war in the long term.
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=== Defense ===
Game after game, my family yells at the TV in the first quarter as the opponent drives from its 20 to the Seahawks' 40. They're throwing underneath, and the Seahawks are allowing it, and then they are exploding to the football and delivering retribution. The bruises are piling up.
Do the Seahawks have any player on defense, starter or backup, who has an, um, suburban background? Is there even one?
Carroll's idea is supa-fast, lethal hitters, and the second half of the game is his. The second half of the season is his. As Jack Tatum revealed, when you can inflict ENOUGH punishment, eventually, the offense's will to win will be warped.
To Dr. D's amazement, he has watched this occur, again and again. Teams lose interest in the game against Carroll's teams. The 4th quarter is starting, and they want to go home. It sounds like a cliche, but this year you can watch it occur.
And then, after the other guys say No Mas, You Can Have It, that's when he runs his fake punt.
See you next time, right?
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=== Playoffs ===
A major reason that Duran quit, in Leonard-Duran II, was that after about five, six rounds Sugar Ray was taunting and Duran could do zero about it.
Fans hear, "Nobody wants any part of the Seahawks." True, that does refer to the fact that the Seahawks are getting better every week. But there's another dimension to that. Win or lose, it's never any fun, this kind of game.
There's a larger, on-going war, one that spans several years. When Harbaugh protested wanly after the game, "We'll wake up and we've still got a half game on the division," that was pathetic. It was something you'd say after you surrendered. Hey, we still get cable TV under the terms of agreement.
What he should have been talking about was, we'll see them in the playoffs at our place. And guess why he didn't issue that challenge?
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