Below is a review of the personnel usage by the Seattle Seahawks during their second preseason game against the Chicago Bears, along with some observations and notes I took while watching the re-broadcast on the NFL Network.
OFFENSE
Quarterback Plays
Offensive Line
Seattle used three primary offensive line combinations on Saturday night.
OL |
1st-Team |
2nd-Team |
3rd-Team |
LT |
71-W.Jones |
77-F.Womack |
77-F.Womack |
LG |
68-M.Wahle |
63-P.Murray |
63-P.Murray |
C |
69-S.Vallos |
69-S.Vallos |
57-B.Claxton |
RG |
67-R.Sims |
66-M.Wrotto |
66-M.Wrotto |
RT |
75-S.Locklear*
74-R.Willis |
78-K.Williams |
78-K.Williams |
Notes: Sean Locklear logged 7 plays before leaving with a sprained knee. He was replaced by Ray Willis, who was in for the remainder of the 31 plays involving the 1st team offensive line.
The 2nd and 3rd team offensive lines were in for 26 plays apiece.
Steve Vallos led all offensive linemen with 57 plays.
Personnel Groupings - Offense, including Run/Pass %
Group |
Name |
Pass |
Run |
Total |
2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE |
Regular |
11 |
13 |
24 |
1 RB, 4 WR |
Eagle |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE |
Zebra |
15 |
13 |
28 |
1 RB, 2 WR, 2 TE |
Tiger |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 RB, 3 WR |
E |
7 |
10 |
17 |
2 RB, 1 WR, 2 TE |
U |
0 |
3 |
3 |
2 RB, 3 TE |
Y |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Total |
|
37* |
45* |
83* |
Notes: The NFL Network trimmed the broadcast by 3 Seahawks offensive plays, so I couldn’t get the personnel grouping information on those plays. They included one run and two passes.
Player-by-Player Personnel Group Count
Below is a list, sorted numerically by position (RB-WR-TE), and the number of plays they played in each personnel group, as well as a total number of plays that player was on the field for:
Player |
Regular |
Eagle |
Zebra |
20-M.Morris |
5 |
0 |
3 |
22-J.Jones |
7 |
0 |
5 |
30-J.Forsett |
6 |
2 |
6 |
34-D.Kirtman |
11 |
0 |
0 |
35-O.Schmitt |
4 |
0 |
0 |
43-L.Weaver |
9 |
0 |
1 |
45-T.Duckett |
6 |
1 |
13 |
14-J.Filani |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16-M.Bumpus |
0 |
3 |
16 |
17-T.Shelton |
1 |
3 |
9 |
18-B.Gilmore |
10 |
3 |
18 |
19-L.Payne |
11 |
3 |
13 |
81-N.Burleson |
5 |
0 |
3 |
82-J.Kent |
9 |
0 |
7 |
83-D.Branch |
0 |
0 |
0 |
84-B.Engram |
0 |
0 |
0 |
86-C.Taylor |
12 |
0 |
9 |
87-B.Obomanu |
0 |
0 |
9 |
46-J.Newton |
5 |
0 |
11 |
85-W.Heller |
0 |
0 |
0 |
88-J.Putzier |
0 |
0 |
11 |
89-J.Carlson |
19 |
0 |
6 |
Player-by-Player Personnel Group Count Cont’d
Player |
Tiger |
E |
U |
20-M.Morris |
0 |
4 |
0 |
22-J.Jones |
1 |
3 |
0 |
30-J.Forsett |
0 |
7 |
1 |
34-D.Kirtman |
0 |
10 |
1 |
35-O.Schmitt |
0 |
3 |
2 |
43-L.Weaver |
0 |
4 |
0 |
45-T.Duckett |
1 |
5 |
2 |
14-J.Filani |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16-M.Bumpus |
0 |
9 |
0 |
17-T.Shelton |
0 |
2 |
0 |
18-B.Gilmore |
1 |
7 |
0 |
19-L.Payne |
1 |
9 |
2 |
81-N.Burleson |
0 |
2 |
0 |
82-J.Kent |
1 |
8 |
0 |
83-D.Branch |
0 |
0 |
0 |
84-B.Engram |
0 |
0 |
0 |
86-C.Taylor |
1 |
7 |
1 |
87-B.Obomanu |
0 |
7 |
0 |
46-J.Newton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
85-W.Heller |
2 |
0 |
3 |
88-J.Putzier |
0 |
0 |
0 |
89-J.Carlson |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Player-by-Player Personnel Group Count Cont’d
Player |
Y |
Total |
20-M.Morris |
0 |
12 |
22-J.Jones |
0 |
16 |
30-J.Forsett |
0 |
22 |
34-D.Kirtman |
0 |
22 |
35-O.Schmitt |
2 |
11 |
43-L.Weaver |
0 |
14 |
45-T.Duckett |
2 |
30 |
14-J.Filani |
0 |
0 |
16-M.Bumpus |
0 |
28 |
17-T.Shelton |
0 |
15 |
18-B.Gilmore |
0 |
39 |
19-L.Payne |
0 |
39 |
81-N.Burleson |
0 |
10 |
82-J.Kent |
0 |
25 |
83-D.Branch |
0 |
0 |
84-B.Engram |
0 |
0 |
86-C.Taylor |
0 |
30 |
87-B.Obomanu |
0 |
16 |
46-J.Newton |
2 |
19 |
85-W.Heller |
2 |
7 |
88-J.Putzier |
2 |
13 |
89-J.Carlson |
0 |
29 |
Notes: With Bobby Engram out 6-to-8 weeks, Courtney Taylor is expected to take over as the starting flanker. As a result, Taylor went from playing 17 plays against Minnesota to 30 against Chicago. Nate Burleson, who is now the team’s #1 wide receiver, played in half as many plays against Chicago as he did against the Vikings one week earlier. Ben Obomanu’s playing time stayed about the same (19 last week, 16 this week), while Jordan Kent’s playing time increased from 16 plays to 25 plays.
In the Slot
I charted the number of times each player lined up as a slot receiver. With Bobby Engram out for 6-to-8 weeks with a broken bone in his shoulder, this data may shed some light on who could fill that role in 3-wide sets in his absence.
Player |
Slot |
Total |
% |
16-M.Bumpus |
28 |
28 |
100.0% |
17-T.Shelton |
6 |
15 |
40.0% |
18-B.Gilmore |
3 |
39 |
7.7% |
19-L.Payne |
2 |
39 |
5.1% |
81-N.Burleson |
0 |
10 |
0.0% |
82-J.Kent |
2 |
25 |
8.0% |
86-C.Taylor |
4 |
30 |
13.3% |
87-B.Obomanu |
14 |
16 |
87.5% |
Notes: Obomanu’s snaps all came in the first half, with Bumpus’ coming in the second half.
DEFENSE
Against Minnesota, Seattle used 12 different defensive personnel packages. Due to the heat and availability of more players on Saturday night, that number climbed to 15 against the Bears. There were six “Base” packages (4 DL, 3 LB, 4 DB), seven “Nickel” packages (3-4 DL, 2-3 LB, 5 DBs) and two “Short Yardage” packages (4-4-3).
Package |
Pass |
Run |
Total |
Base-1 |
10 |
4 |
14 |
Base-1a |
1 |
3 |
4 |
Base-1b |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Base-2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
Base-3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
Base-4 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
Nickel-1 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
Nickel-1a |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Nickel-1b |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Nickel-1c |
6 |
0 |
6 |
Nickel-3*3*5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Nickel-2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Nickel-3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
SYS-1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
SYS-2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Total |
34 |
20 |
54 |
Notes: Three defensive plays were left out of the NFL Network re-broadcast.
Base Packages
Pos |
Base-1 |
Base-1a |
Base-1b |
LDE |
55-D.Tapp |
55-D.Tapp |
59-B.Atkins |
LDT |
99-R.Bernard |
93-C.Terrill |
99-R.Bernard |
RDT |
92-B.Mebane |
94-H.Green |
92-B.Mebane |
RDE |
95-L.Jackson |
95-L.Jackson |
52-J.Babin |
SLB |
98-J.Peterson |
98-J.Peterson |
98-J.Peterson |
MLB |
51-L.Tatupu |
51-L.Tatupu |
51-L.Tatupu |
WLB |
56-L.Hill |
56-L.Hill |
56-L.Hill |
LCB |
23-M.Trufant |
23-M.Trufant |
23-M.Trufant |
RCB |
21-K.Jennings |
21-K.Jennings |
21-K.Jennings |
FS |
24-D.Grant |
24-D.Grant |
24-D.Grant |
SS |
25-B.Russell |
25-B.Russell |
25-B.Russell |
Base Packages Cont’d
Pos |
Base-2 |
Base-3 |
Base-4 |
LDE |
59-B.Atkins |
59-B.Atkins |
59-B.Atkins |
LDT |
93-C.Terrill |
60-K.Brown |
60-K.Brown |
RDT |
94-H.Green |
94-H.Green |
94-H.Green |
RDE |
52-J.Babin |
52-J.Babin |
52-J.Babin |
SLB |
58-D.Lewis |
58-D.Lewis |
49-D.Sartz |
MLB |
44-D.Hawthorne |
44-D.Hawthorne |
44-D.Hawthorne |
WLB |
50-L.Laury |
50-L.Laury |
50-L.Laury |
LCB |
32-K.Hobbs |
32-K.Hobbs |
32-K.Hobbs |
RCB |
26-J.Wilson |
31-O.Lowe |
31-O.Lowe |
FS |
39-C.Wallace |
39-C.Wallace |
33-K.Johnson |
SS |
36-J.Adams |
36-J.Adams |
36-J.Adams |
Nickel Packages
Pos |
Nickel 1 |
Nickel-1a |
Nickel-1b |
LDE |
55-D.Tapp |
55-D.Tapp |
98-J.Peterson |
LDT |
99-R.Bernard |
93-C.Terrill |
99-R.Bernard |
RDT |
95-L.Jackson |
94-H.Green |
92-B.Mebane |
RDE |
98-J.Peterson |
95-L.Jackson |
52-J.Babin |
LB |
56-L.Hill |
56-L.Hill |
56-L.Hill |
LB |
51.L.Tatupu |
51-L.Tatupu |
51-L.Tatupu |
LCB |
23-M.Trufant |
23-M.Trufant |
23-M.Trufant |
RCB |
21-K.Jennings |
21-K.Jennings |
21-K.Jennings |
NCB |
26-J.Wilson |
26-J.Wilson |
26-J.Wilson |
FS |
24-D.Grant |
24-D.Grant |
24-D.Grant |
SS |
25-B.Russell |
25-B.Russell |
25-B.Russell |
Nickel Packages Cont’d
Pos |
Nickel-1c |
Nickel-3-3-5 |
LDE |
55-D.Tapp |
55-D.Tapp |
LDT |
93-C.Terrill |
99-R.Bernard |
RDT |
95-L.Jackson |
95-L.Jackson |
RDE |
98-J.Peterson |
LB1-51-L.Tatupu |
LB |
56-L.Hill |
LB2-98-J.Peterson |
LB |
51-L.Tatupu |
LB3-56-L.Hill |
LCB |
23-M.Trufant |
23-M.Trufant |
RCB |
21-K.Jennings |
21-K.Jennings |
NCB |
26-J.Wilson |
26-J.Wilson |
FS |
24-D.Grant |
24-D.Grant |
SS |
25-B.Russell |
25-B.Russell |
Nickel Packages Cont’d
Nickel-2 |
Nickel-3 |
59-B.Atkins |
59-B.Atkins |
93-C.Terrill |
93-C.Terrill |
94-H.Green |
94-H.Green |
52-J.Babin |
52-J.Babin |
50-L.Laury |
50-L.Laury |
44-D.Hawthorne |
44-D.Hawthorne |
32-K.Hobbs |
29-M.Floyd |
31-O.Lowe |
31-O.Lowe |
26-J.Wilson |
32-K.Hobbs |
39-C.Wallace |
33-K.Johnson |
36-J.Adams |
36-J.Adams |
Notes: Josh Wilson lined up in 17 of the 19 plays Seattle used a nickel package. Kevin Hobbs was the nickel corner on the other two plays. Julian Peterson was lined up at RDT on one play in the “Nickel-1c” package with Lawrence Jackson at RDE. On Seattle’s lone sack, Jackson drew a double team from the RDT position, which along with Peterson’s speed rush, created a very wide lane for Hill to streak through to get at Rex Grossman.
Short-Yardage Situations
Pos |
SYS-1 |
SYS-2 |
LDE |
55-D.Tapp |
72-N.Tafisi |
LDT |
93-C.Terrill |
60-K.Brown |
RDT |
94-H.Green |
94-H.Green |
RDE |
95-L.Jackson |
52-J.Babin |
SLB |
98-J.Peterson |
49-D.Sartz |
MLB |
51-L.Tatupu |
44-D.Hawthorne |
WLB |
56-L.Hill |
50-L.Laury |
CB |
23-M.Trufant |
32-K.Hobbs |
XS |
39-C.Wallace |
39-C.Wallace |
FS |
24-D.Grant |
33-K.Johnson |
SS |
25-B.Russell |
36-J.Adams |
I’ll be tracking this data for the remainder of the preseason, so if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to send them to me here.