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Brady hendersonESPN
RENTON, Wash .– Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has put Shane Waldron in the spotlight.
The team interviewed candidates for offensive coordination in mid-January, research in which coach Pete Carroll heavily involved Wilson at his request.
Through several sets of Zoom sessions, Wilson was able to feel the knowledge that Waldron absorbed in seven seasons under the guidance of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Sean McVay, whose Los Angeles Rams come to Lumen. Field Thursday night (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox / NFL Network).
But Wilson wanted to see how a guy who had never coordinated or called up games at the NFL level would think on his feet. He had Waldron put on his imaginary helmet and picked up his imaginary game sheet.
“I asked him to call several series for me,” Wilson said. “‘We’re down seven, let’s go, first shift’ … I wanted to hear him call her.”
Waldron knew his home crowd: a head coach who demands offensive balance and favors ball protection, a quarterback who has an affinity for fast tempo and the control it gives him. When Waldron had the chance to call a reader, he got the Seattle offensive to work in fast-paced mode.
“All the time,” Carroll said. “Yes, he knew who he was selling to. He did a good job.”
The coach and the quarterback have been sold. Carroll picked Waldron in what could be the biggest hiring of his tenure in Seattle. This will go a long way in determining whether the Seahawks can return to the Super Bowl after five early playoff outings, as they nearly repeated their title as world champions seven seasons ago.
And given how much Wilson’s long-term confidence in the organization depends on what happens in 2021 after a tumultuous offseason in which both sides flirted with a trade, Waldron’s hire will have a significant impact. on Wilson’s future in Seattle.
There is a lot to do on the first offensive coordinator.
“Waldron is the perfect mesh of what Pete Carroll ultimately wants in an offense,” said Jake Heaps, former Seahawks quarterback and Wilson’s personal trainer, “which is an offense focused on the running game – which means that it starts there and everything else is based on that – and with what Russell Wilson’s desire has always been, which is to give him more responsibility to make calls on the line of scrimmage, to add tempo to offense and not wait for 2 minute situations to increase tempo or put defense on your heels by approaching the line of scrimmage faster.
“Having a new perspective in terms of offensive philosophy as well. That’s what Shane Waldron brings to the table.”
Increase the tempo
Carroll has long admired Mike Shanahan’s version of the West Coast Offensive and, going back to her days at USC, sought out coordinators with a close connection to her. Waldron worked under McVay, who worked under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan when he was leading the Washington offense.
Although Waldron shares the Shanahan lineage of many of his predecessors, his hiring was very different from that of Brian Schottenheimer.
Carroll brought in Schottenheimer in 2018 to revive the Seattle racing game and work directly with Wilson as a de facto coach. But Carroll didn’t want a wholesale diet change, so he asked Schottenheimer to keep the majority of his playbook.
While there is some delay, Seattle is running a mostly new system under Waldron, which borrows heavily from McVay. There are more opportunities for receivers to be involved in the running game on the on-the-fly sweeps. The focus is on the short and intermediate throws, which the Seahawks believe they missed when their offense hit a wall in the second half of last season.
And there’s more of the fast tempo that Wilson loves – even in situations where the clock doesn’t require it. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Seahawks made the sixth-highest number of games this season in which the ball was broken within 30 seconds (real time) of the end of the previous game. They were 20th in such plays last season.
Ask him about the design of a given game and Wilson will play it close to the vest, saying he doesn’t want to reveal too much. But ask her the merits of a rushed style and you’ll get a different answer.
He will explain the strain this puts on the defenses, keeping them on staff and tiring them out. He will explain how this replicates the urgency that has served Seattle’s offense so well in late-game situations, as Wilson has the most fourth-quarter / overtime returns of any quarter since entering the league. league in 2012.
And that gives Wilson the freedom to call plays on the line of scrimmage. It could be with a one-word call when they try to break it quickly, or a beep after Wilson identifies the defense.
“I’ve always been curious about what the Rams are doing, particularly with a high pace,” Wilson said. “… When [GM] John Schneider, Pete and I talked about who the guys could be, that was one of the things that stood out. For me that was something that really mattered in the sense of how could we be slightly different? What can we add? How can we continue to challenge? “
Heaps called Sunday’s victory over the 49ers a perfect illustration.
The Seahawks worked their way through five straight three-and-outs, finally got a first down and immediately picked up the pace on their first touchdown. They hastily returned in the second half, scored 21 more points and left Levi’s Stadium with a win that could have changed the season.
Wilson was sacked three times in the first five practices against the 49ers, but was not sacked after that.
“It wears down the defensive line,” Heaps said. “These are really the guys that you try to keep on the pitch so that you can exhaust them in the running game and also their passing rush gets stagnant because these guys are tired and they are not able to go. at full speed. So these are the different ways you can counter some of these issues that they’ve had in the past, other than just having a better staff. You can do that with your plan and using your pace to your advantage. “
Can Wilson be conquered?
Prior to this season, Waldron had called several times in Rams scrum and preseason games. There was also the year he spent as offensive coordinator at Massachusetts High School in 2011, between stints as post coach with UMass and the UFL Hartford Colonials.
By all accounts, the low-key Waldron has shown he can handle the chaos of an NFL game.
“One thing I love about Shane is that I’ve never seen him go crazy,” said wide receiver DK Metcalf. “He’s always a cool head, a cool head and very encouraging. It’s great on game day. And the way he communicates on the sidelines is always positive, as is Russ. They are the perfect one for the other.”
The comments came after a stress-free victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Game One of the season. What about a loss?
“Shane is super consistent every day,” Wilson said after Seattle fell in overtime to the Tennessee Titans in week two. “He’s balanced. He’s focused on what we need to do. He and me marry those thoughts together in such a great way.
The Seahawks will need more than their lineup coordinator and quarterback. That was not the problem last year. Wilson appreciated the way Schottenheimer pushed to open his attack and how he pushed back when Carroll held him back at the end of the year. These philosophical differences and Seattle’s offensive fall in the second half led to Schottenheimer’s departure.
Two weeks after Seattle hired Waldron, Wilson expressed unrelated frustrations with the organization. They were in a better position at the start of free agency, but the length of that harmony largely depends on what happens the rest of the season.
Will he take fewer hits with faster passes and an upgrade (right guard Gabe Jackson) from last season’s line? Will Waldron adapt better than Schottenheimer if opponents start defending differently? Will Carroll call back the infraction if something goes wrong? Will they finally overcome their division bump?
Depending on how that goes, the Seahawks and their franchise quarterback could be back at the same crossroads this offseason.
They believe Waldron is the right coordinator to get the most out of Wilson and his talented collection of talented players. But given the uncertainty beyond 2021, it must happen quickly.
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