How to beat Seattle

[eoxyod]

So yeah, Seattle is 2-2 but we know that Seattle is generally a better team than that. To assume they are overrated is dumb, but they are obviously very flawed as anyone watching football would notice. Their OL is absolute garbage and their receiving corp is not reliable.

Now attacking Seattle's defense is quite difficult because they are loyal to the cover 3, believe in it, and have the best secondary in the league. Their LB corp led by Wagner is solid and their edge rush is good when they're on. So where does the team attack? That answer comes from Jeremy Hill and Marvin Jones. Obviously the offense will use varying formations and Seattle's CBs stay in their spots, so AJ isn't going to be locked on by Sherman. However, in base sets this would be the case. Now Cary Williams, the CB opposite Sherman, is not good. He's just not good. So there are a couple ways to attack this with big plays. As a note I didn't make this diagram but it's good to bring up.

This can be used the same way it was used vs the Ravens on AJ's 80 yard TD. Now the Ravens were play cover-1 man, but if you can have Eifert and AJ on the right side, where most of the attention would be drawn. Kam would most likely pick up on Eifert but the other side would be left to Cary Williams on Marvin Jones and Earl Thomas on Sanu, with the chance of him being drawn towards the Eifert/AJ side. Jones can beat Williams easily on that.

As for Jeremy Hill, Seattle's interior D is weak. If they attack Wagner and Kam, Seattle is light on powerful defenders. I would imagine they will stay with the double T-G pull to push our power running on them. So I think we can get most of our success there. Especially since, while Dalton has been crazy good this year, is bound to have a regression game. I don't mean he'll throw 3 ints and be awful, but he won't be the crazy good QB we've seen the past 4 weeks, especially playing against an elite secondary.

Onto our defense; we can beat them easily if the team stay disciplined. These corners can beat Seattle's WRs. If Iloka is healthy, he can survive against Graham and the team is actually relatively good against TEs, despite what the narrative is. I could see the team applying extra pressure often. Have the DL apply disciplined pressure to keep Wilson in the pocket. The ends stay on contain, Geno eats up the interior, and Peko plays back to read screens and mini-mirror RW. Any blitzers run free to do their thing. Hopefully, the team can (should) keep pressure with 4 men so they can keep a spy on RW. The Seahawks OL is hot garbage so Geno and Dunlap should eat.

Regardless of all those words, I still imagine the game won't pass 30 points and it's gonna be real close

btw I wanna thank Ryan for inspiring me with this on twitter

[grampahol]

Pete Carroll: OMG OMG OMG..Whatamigonnado?

I'm speculating, but I'm guessing they pound Hill and Gio till they draw safties in then bombs away!
Then again Marvin and Hue haven't called me for my opinion yet. Operators are standing by!

You left out something ..Score more points. That often works.

[Big Boss]

Take away Russell Wilson's running game.

[eoxyod]

(10-07-2015, 06:51 PM)grampahol Wrote: Pete Carroll:  OMG OMG OMG..Whatamigonnado?

I'm speculating, but I'm guessing they pound Hill and Gio till they draw safties in then bombs away!  
Then again Marvin and Hue haven't called me for my opinion yet. Operators are standing by!

You left out something ..Score more points.  That often works.

(10-07-2015, 06:55 PM)Big Boss Wrote: Take away Russell Wilson's running game.

Thank you for your contributions

[GreenCornBengal]

So far this season the Hawks haven't faired well against TE's... granted Chancellor was gone for the first 2 games, which probably played a role.

They obviously have to start by covering AJ and then Eifert, which leaves Jones and Sanu open to make plays. They will certainly try to stop the running game as well, but we simply have too much.

Sanu could have a large amount of passes dinking and dunking down the field, and every yard will be earned.

Gio has looked great recently, so I would test what I have with Gio against their run game, and also throw short passes to whoever is open. Hit some deep throws to Marvin Jones, and avoid Sherman at almost all costs (although burning Sherman on a long TD would be just awesome).


I think in essence, we simply have too much on offense.... for any team really. It will be interesting to see how Seattle plays it, but they can't stop everyone. Unless Andy looks like 2014 Andy, we should be able to move the ball effectively like we have the previous 4 games.

[Johnny Cupcakes]

I'm really not very worried about their offense.  I think that the Bengals will be able to slow them to a near stop by applying the same pressure that they've applied for most of the season. The only o-line that we've went up against that is comparably bad is San Diego.  I think that if they want to throw in a few more blitzes than usual, this is a team to do it against.  Of course, you have to worry about Wilson pulling off great plays where most QBs would be sacked, but I'll give up a big play for a few drive stalling sacks.

I'm more worried about their Defense, which is under-rated even though people consider it one of the tops in the league.  Eifert and Green could be nearly completely shut down by Chancellor, Thomas, and Sherman, so I wouldn't be surprised if you're right and Jones has a big game against Williams.  But Green has been lining up in the slot more this year...I think that could make a difference here, just by getting him off of Sherman.

Keep it balanced and stay with the run, and I think it could work really well for us.

[Bengalstripes9]

Great breakdown. The Hawks offense doesn't scare me, but their defense will be a real test. This game is a litmus test for our offense and Andy Dalton. There are mismatches that can be exploited because of our depth. If everyone is able to get involved on offense, and we take care of the ball, we'll be turning some heads at 5-0

[Element]

thanks coach

[*rfaulk34*]

My question is; do they pull a LB on D and replace him with a safety or DD to spy on Wilson?

[BengalChris]

Seattle is beatable. I know that to be true 100%.

It comes down to our team doing what it takes to beat them. I'm hoping.

[Emphasis]

Offensively, I believe the Bengals have to utilize all of their weapons and take advantage of any opportunities. Obviously our offense has multiple talented players, and we shouldn't have too much of a problem getting someone open and spreading the attack.

For the defense, as long as they can keep pressure on Wilson and keep the running in check, I think we'll bode well. I think we can handle Seattle's air attack ( or lack thereof) rather well. Hopefully this isn't the game in which they magically utilize Graham to his potential.

[Interceptor]

Seattle's base '4-4' defense has the big CBs taking away the outside routes and pushing them towards Earl Thomas in the middle.

[zygrot24]

If the turn over gods smile on us we win. IMO it's as simple as that

[*Synric*]

I agree attack with Jeremy Hill in the middle, but I'd like to add force their corners to tackle in the open field with different WR screens. The bengals have some very good blocking WRs and are known to line their star TE and first round tackle split out as well.

[treee]

I'm curious how our pass rush in general is going to attempt to contain Wilson. I'm pretty sure we're going to rely on pressure up the middle to get Wilson running around and use Dunlap and MJs athleticism to chase him down. As far as offense goes, I agree that chances are Andy statistically is probably going to come back down to earth. I think motioning Gio out to WR will play a big role in exposing the coverage in this game. Andy is smart enough, if he knows what the D is doing, to put the ball in the right place. This is probably going to be the most "chess match" type of game we've had all year, so it will definitely be enjoyable for fans of both teams.

[SunsetBengal]

Agree with Eoxyod, open them up by exploiting their weak link in the secondary, then punish them with the power game.

[EatonFan]

(10-07-2015, 06:42 PM)eoxyod Wrote: So yeah, Seattle is 2-2 but we know that Seattle is generally a better team than that. To assume they are overrated is dumb, but they are obviously very flawed as anyone watching football would notice. Their OL is absolute garbage and their receiving corp is not reliable.

Now attacking Seattle's defense is quite difficult because they are loyal to the cover 3, believe in it, and have the best secondary in the league. Their LB corp led by Wagner is solid and their edge rush is good when they're on. So where does the team attack? That answer comes from Jeremy Hill and Marvin Jones. Obviously the offense will use varying formations and Seattle's CBs stay in their spots, so AJ isn't going to be locked on by Sherman. However, in base sets this would be the case. Now Cary Williams, the CB opposite Sherman, is not good. He's just not good. So there are a couple ways to attack this with big plays. As a note I didn't make this diagram but it's good to bring up.

This can be used the same way it was used vs the Ravens on AJ's 80 yard TD. Now the Ravens were play cover-1 man, but if you can have Eifert and AJ on the right side, where most of the attention would be drawn. Kam would most likely pick up on Eifert but the other side would be left to Cary Williams on Marvin Jones and Earl Thomas on Sanu, with the chance of him being drawn towards the Eifert/AJ side. Jones can beat Williams easily on that.

As for Jeremy Hill, Seattle's interior D is weak. If they attack Wagner and Kam, Seattle is light on powerful defenders. I would imagine they will stay with the double T-G pull to push our power running on them. So I think we can get most of our success there. Especially since, while Dalton has been crazy good this year, is bound to have a regression game. I don't mean he'll throw 3 ints and be awful, but he won't be the crazy good QB we've seen the past 4 weeks, especially playing against an elite secondary.

Onto our defense; we can beat them easily if the team stay disciplined. These corners can beat Seattle's WRs. If Iloka is healthy, he can survive against Graham and the team is actually relatively good against TEs, despite what the narrative is. I could see the team applying extra pressure often. Have the DL apply disciplined pressure to keep Wilson in the pocket. The ends stay on contain, Geno eats up the interior, and Peko plays back to read screens and mini-mirror RW. Any blitzers run free to do their thing. Hopefully, the team can (should) keep pressure with 4 men so they can keep a spy on RW. The Seahawks OL is hot garbage so Geno and Dunlap should eat.

Regardless of all those words, I still imagine the game won't pass 30 points and it's gonna be real close

btw I wanna thank Ryan for inspiring me with this on twitter

Peko be a spy?!?  I think Russell Wilson could run around Peko twice before he'd even get a hand on him.

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

This game... 

Seattle is not the team they were the past two years, obviously.

Thing is, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Seattle.

Pete Carroll knew coming into the season that the Seahawks were not going to be able to rely on Marshawn Lynch forever. They pursued Jimmy Graham, clearly to make the passing offense more potent.

It is taking the team a few games to adjust, this is true.

HOWEVER, this does not mean that Seattle is incapable of lighting up a scoreboard.

The best defense in the NFL will be on the other side of the field on Sunday. They are always capable of scoring. 

The Seattle offense is adjusting to a new offense that Pete Carroll believes gives them the best chance to win. If I am the Bengals, I gameplan for a worst case scenario, and that is a repeat of the Super Bowl from two years ago.

Seattle will not like being an underdog, and I believe they are still the team with the most potential to completely dominate any team in the league on any given Sunday (over New England, Green Bay, and ourselves - and maybe Denver).

They will be mad. They will be aggressive. They will be trying to blow us "Bungals" out of the water from the start. Prepare for it, Marvin. 

[BFritz21]

Their offensive line is weak. Wilson has been running for his life when I've watched.

Give the ball to Hill 25 times or more this game. Don't have our main set be from the shotgun as it's been in the past game or two because we won't be able to scare them with the pass or make them respect it without establishing the run.

Line Andy up under center and fed the ball to Hill (and Gio some), and then beat them with short-to-medium passes.

Establish the lead and play move-the-sticks for the rest of the game. Force them to play catch-up, which then, with their offensive line being garbage, we can eat Wilson alive.

[Joelist]

So long as our DL stays in their run fits and when pass rushing stays in their gaps Wilson's lack of a good OL will haunt him. His play extending ability comes from defenders losing gap discipline. And Lynch likewise relies on DLs not setting the edges properly.

Offensively this will be a good game to spread the ball around to multiple receivers - which we happen to have. Also power run on them and be sure to chip Cliff Avril at least. No doing like we did against the Rats when we had Eifert try to block Dumervil.

Really if we avoid turnovers and dumb flags we have the edge here. The Seahags are not the same team on the road that they are at home, and are going on a short week from a game they did not play well in and only won courtesy of a hideous piece of officiating.