The Seattle Seahawks stuck to their guns defensively on Sunday, playing a lot of their 4-3 base defense despite the air raid offensive attack put forth by Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.
Part of the reason they feel comfortable keeping three linebackers on the field, even against four receiver sets, is the emergence of SAM linebacker Mychal Kendricks as a blitzer.
Kendricks’ ability to get to the quarterback on a blitz was readily apparent on Sunday, as he recorded 2.0 sacks for a loss of 15 yards.
“I was really fired up about Mychal,” coach Pete Carroll said after the game. “We played a lot of three linebackers on the field today because those guys are good players and we like playing that way. Mychal really showed that he can be a factor doing that. He’s playing out like a nickel guy. Love that he was able to have an effect today.”
The other reason the Seahawks have stayed in 4-3 so much this year is simply that they don’t have enough confidence in the players – namely Jamar Taylor – who were brought in to replace star nickelback Justin Coleman after he signed with the Lions this offseason.
While Taylor has been fine in the action he has gotten, it’s clear the Seahawks want to be a heavy linebacker based team this year.
As long as Kendricks continues to display the ability to get to opposing quarterbacks – and can at least hold his own in coverage – expect to see a lot more games like this one from Seattle’s linebacker corps.
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