Kyle Whittingham’s Utah program has sent a lot of estimable talent to the NFL over the years, and you don’t need to remind Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll of that fact. Two Utes — linebacker Cody Barton and safety Marquise Blair — combined to give Seattle a big defensive play against the Chargers in their final preseason game.
With 12:30 left in the first quarter, defensive coordinator Ken Norton sent both Barton and Blair on an all-out inside blitz, and Chargers quarterback Chase Daniel couldn’t handle it. Barton ‘faced Daniel for the sack/fumbler, and Blair was right there to scoop up the ball and take it in for six.
MARQUISE BLAIR ‼️
Gotta love a defensive touchdown 😏 pic.twitter.com/4lqdoL1wEf
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 29, 2021
It was a nice move for a Seattle defense that’s trying to get back to anywhere near the glory of the Legion of Boom days, and perhaps Blair and Barton, who were selected in the second and third rounds of the 2019 draft, respectively, can contribute to that. Having different defenders blitz is also important for this defense, because as much as safety Jamal Adams became an impact blitzer for Seattle last season, Seattle’s pass defense tended to fall apart when Adams went for the quarterback and didn’t get there.
And yes, the primary reason I wrote this article was that, as a fan of My Cousin Vinny, I could not resist sticking “Two Utes” in a headline when it was appropriate.
