Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has made it exceptionally clear all season this team prefers to play in their base 4-3 defense, as opposed to going to nickel which forces either K.J. Wright or Mychal Kendricks off the field.
While the Seahawks played a heavier dose of nickel on Thursday against the Rams, Carroll was quick to point out it was primarily because of the three two-minute drives the Rams had – and not because of a defensive change philosophically.
That is bad news for the playing time of nickel cornerback Jamar Taylor, who was cut and then signed a week later to be the team’s primary nickel this year. Even after a good game on Thursday, it doesn’t sound like Carroll plans to get him any additional playing time.
“He did a good job,” Carroll said on Friday. “Don’t know how many plays he played, but because we had three two-minute drives, that’s why he got a lot of plays. We probably would’ve been more based than that. He did fine. He had a couple nice plays.”
Taylor will never be mistaken for Justin Coleman, Seattle’s star nickel over the past two years who signed with the Lions this offseason.
Coleman’s departure and the healthy return of both Wright and Kendricks allowed the Seahawks to make the decision to run a base-heavy defensive scheme, even against high-octane passing offenses like the Cardinals and the Rams.
While Taylor nearly had an interception on Thursday – which Carroll said “would’ve been a phenomenal play for him to make” – it’s clear at this point the Seahawks will only use nickel when necessary, making Taylor’s role a much smaller one than originally anticipated.
