[ad_1]
Before Russell Wilson, the face of the Seahawks was the man who was the former Seattle franchise quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck. So who could be better positioned to provide an overview of what Wilson and the Seahawks offense did in Wilson’s Season 10 opener with Seattle?
Heaps: Breaking Russell Wilson’s TD passes in Week 1 win
Lucky for you, the Matt Hasselbeck Show debuted Wednesday morning on 710 ESPN Seattle, and the host Mike Salk took the opportunity to hear Hasselbeck’s opinion on the Seahawks’ offense in their 28-16 win over the Colts in the first week of play last Sunday.
It’s no secret that Wilson wanted to be sacked less this season, as he was third in the NFL in 2020 with 47 sacks, and fixing that is something new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been tasked with. As Wilson took three sacks on Sunday, Hasselbeck focused on protecting the quarterback in Seattle’s game plan.
“One of the things that was probably insisted on was that Russell wasn’t getting sacked that much,” he said. “You talk about how they scripted the first 15 plays the night before – and I would sit at those meetings with the (the appellant) all the time, and instead of saying, ‘Hey, what are your seven or eight favorite passes in the first 15 plays? ‘ they’d start with “Hey, these are the games the offensive line is going to love,” you know? ‘Are you okay with that?’ And it’s a great way to visualize the game plan.
“If you look at how they started this game, they released the ball quickly, they released the ball on time and there were quite a few points. And really, I think that’s probably the thing I would say fit. So they probably came into this game, maybe in the offseason, saying, “We have to have fewer sacks.” Because as mobile as Russell Wilson, he has been sacked far too much. I mean he was in the top five for sacks last year, which is pretty rare because he’s Houdini there.
Pete Carroll at 70
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll turned 70 on Wednesday, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Hasselbeck knows Carroll well because his last season with the Seahawks was Carroll’s first with the team. Salk asked why Carroll continues to be successful.
“I think because he is ready to change, to adapt and to grow as a person and a coach,” Hasselbeck replied. “I know as a quarterback when you look at your schedule you’re like, ‘Oh, who have we got? Oh, we have this team. Who is the coordinator? Understood. This guy will never change, here’s what he does. I don’t think you can say that about Pete. … He seems to be adapting and changing, and I think that’s one of the reasons they’ve been so successful.
There is another factor that Hasselbeck pointed out.
“The pieces of the puzzle that you have on a coaching staff – kind of a good cop, bad cop – there’s real science to that. Some people have mastered it, and I think Pete Carroll is as good as there is.
The Matt Hasselbeck Show airs 9-10 a.m. every Wednesday during 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk Show. Listen to the first episode in its entirety at this link or in the player at the top of this article.
Rost: Two reasons the Seahawks’ 1-0 start is different from last year
[ad_2]
Source link