Off Topic » Seahawks snap counts: Chris Carson plays less

Seahawks snap counts: Chris Carson plays less www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com , not more Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s reality, but for the first time in nine years I really have to question what Pete Carroll is saying. Yeah, I know that he’s had questionable quotes and supposed decisions in the past and I’m forgetting or ignoring those right now, but this feels like the most active of his questionable answers. When asked why running back Chris Carson disappeared from the game in the second half and only got six carries, Carroll claimed it was because he was “gassed” from having to “double dip” and play special teams.“He’s a fantastic special teams guy, so he just had to stay in there,” Carroll said (per Gregg Bell of The News Tribune), “That was not the design going into the season. But this week he just had to do it, and had to help us out. We’ll play him more. There was nothing about his play that kept him out there. We just didn’t get enough chances, and I wanted to get Rashaad (Penny) going a little bit and see where he is and see where he is in his development.”So let’s get this straight:Carson was gassedCarson had to play on special teams, contributing to him being gassedNothing to do with his playWanted to see where Penny is in his development by giving him fourth quarter carries in the fourth quarter of a road game down one possession(I don’t think they ran the ball one time in the third quarter?)Okay, interesting. Now let’s go to ... Chris Carson:Wait, Carson didn’t say anything about being “gassed.” He didn’t mention special teams at all. Said nothing of a last minute decision by Carroll to give Penny some preseason developmental snaps. Carson claims that this was the plan ... the whole time?Remember, after last week’s game in Denver (again, Carson was apparently too tired at Mile High to play as many snaps as he wanted to), Carroll claimed that Carson would get more of the workload moving forward. Instead, Carson got 19 snaps on offense, compared to 20 for Penny by the end of the game. And I think Penny played pretty well in that fourth quarter (a plan to have a fresh-legged RB in the fourth quarter is not a bad one, but it’s not even what Carroll ever claimed to be doing) but why did Carson lose opportunities almost immediately? Why did he finish with six carries? Why did the offense keep passing over and over again in the middle of the game — a one possession game — when they couldn’t successfully pass the ball against a Khalil Mack-led pass rush?And how many special teams snaps did Carson officially get?Two.Maybe that number is inaccurate, but if it’s accurate, Carroll is saying that Carson gets too tired to play after 19 snaps, six carries, and twice running down the field to cover on a punt or kickoff. Yikes. That’s pretty scary for Carson, if true. He’s a professional athlete.If it’s that way in September, how many snaps will Carson be able to handle in December? Or is it just the “game plan” all along? Here’s the rest of the snap counts:Joey Hunt filled in for Justin Britt on 11 snaps. Would be interesting to see how those 11 plays went.Will Dissly is obviously the number one tight end. He does seem to be really good, but it’s also another bad sign for Nick Vannett, who played 21 fewer snaps. The former third round pick is potentially fighting for a roster spot before next season, if not sooner. I mean, I know that seems a little obvious, but Vannett seems really unremarkable and had 23 yards on five targets. When Ed Dickson returns, it could push Vannett off the active roster.David Moore had 20 snaps but no official targets. He did draw a pass interference penalty on the defense.Penny, 20 snaps. Carson, 19. C.J. Prosise .... 18? So Prosise had virtually the same number of snaps as Penny and Carson? When? He’s clearly in there to block, as he had zero carries. How good of a gameplan is it when you’ve got a running back whose presence makes it CLEAR that he’s not going to carry the ball? Shaquill Griffin, Austin Calitro, Akeem King, and Bradley McDougald played all 66 defensive snaps. Earl Thomas missed one snap. I don’t know that Calitro was a glaring weakness? Overall, the defense is just a lot slower without Bobby Wagner. It’s not necessarily one player’s weakness so much as it is having a guy who is a Hall of Famer and the difference on the field that he makes being missing. Mychal Kendricks played 54 snaps just days after signing.Barkevious Mingo played 53 snaps, which means that defensively they were using three linebackers way more often than they were three corners. That’s not a strategy or snap count result we’ve seen often in the recent past. Justin Coleman played only 20 snaps.Shamar Stephen got 43 snaps, compared to 12 for Nazair Jones, who was inactive last week. We all liked Jones a lot, so I wonder what the coaches don’t like about him right now, at least compared to Stephen. Poona Ford got 15.Dion Jordan got only 14 snaps after Carroll saying his playing time would be ramped up this week. It really wasn’t.Tedric Thompson got 13 snaps with the defense sometimes going with three safeties. He played nearly as much as Coleman Seattle Seahawks Womens T-Shirt , which is really surprising.Jacob Martin played 23 snaps on special teams? Think of how gassed he must have been. Prosise played 12 special teams snaps and 18 on offense, giving him 30 snaps. Of all players, this was not “too much” for Prosise. So what’s happening with Carson, or is it really the answer at all?Seahawks on tape: Simeon Thomas Scouting Report For the past two years, I’ve scouted for the Inside the Pylon Draft Guide. Led by Dan Hatman, who has thorough experience in NFL Front Offices, the guide has introduced me to a plethora of prospects. In 2017 I reported on running backs and defensive backs. This year, I focused solely on defensive backs.One player I scouted for the 2018 product was Seattle’s most recent addition to their roster—Simeon Thomas. In the pre-draft process, Thomas screamed Seahawks. At 6ft 4, 190lbs with 35” arms, at his pro-day he jumped 39” vertically and ran a 4.46 seconds forty-yard dash. Furthermore, the scheme he played in was one which would ease his transition to Seattle as it contained elements of their scheme. Thomas had reportedly visited the Seahawks prior to this year’s NFL Draft. Pete Carroll’s tantalizing draft clues even hinted at selecting Thomas, before the Cleveland Browns decided to take him at Round 6, Pick 14.Now released by the Browns, Thomas has been claimed off waivers by Seattle.Below is my scouting report on the man who will compete for the Cornerback #2 position. Enjoy! Simeon Thomas Scouting ReportPosition: CornerbackOverall Grade: 5.75 (Athletic, priority free agent)Games Watched: 2016: vs Boise State, @ Georgia Southern; 2017: @ Texas A&M, @ Ole Miss, vs Georgia SouthernCollege: Louisiana-LafayetteYear: RS SeniorAge: 24 (Sept. 22, 1993)Height: 6034Weight: 190Arm: 35 1/4Hand: 9 1/8RAS: 7.2610-Yard Split: 1.60 (pro day)40-Yard: 4.46 (p)3-Cone: 7.00 (p)Short Shuttle: 4.28 (p)60-Yard Shuttle: DNPBench: 4 (p)Vertical: 39” (p)Broad: 135” (p)Flags: Age, Character and Football Character Bio:24-year-old that played one complete season in his four years at Louisiana-Lafayette. Missed the first two games and last game of 2017 due to academic ineligibility. General studies major. 1 of 13 players accused of on-campus theft in April 2017. Missed the first nine games of his redshirt sophomore season due to academic ineligibility. Redshirted his sophomore year. Freshman year he missed the game against Akron due to “lack of practice preparation.” Has two brothers and one sister. Cousin, Kermit Whitfield, plays for the Cincinnati Bengals and was a four-year letter winner at Florida State. Cousin, Marvin Bracy, was a two-time All-USA high school track and field team selection, is a three-time U.S. national champion in the 60-meter dash, and played football at FSU. Medical History: None of significance.Scheme Fit: An incredibly long corner with a 4.47 forty, Thomas suits a step-kick press Cover 1 and Cover 3 scheme similar to that of the Seattle Seahawks, where he can hold receivers at the line, half turn and bail downfield. He can then use his length to squeeze receivers to the sideline or the deep middle safety, and play the ball downfield.Positives: Length and HeightJam Strength Willingness to be PhysicalRun SupportNegatives:Open-Field TacklingTransitional BalanceHalf-Turn FootworkGuessing on RoutesIntermediate Zone Route DisruptionPlay-Making Instincts1-Year Projection: Thomas is a very raw player technique wise, but his willingness to be physical and his ability taking on blockers makes him a potential special teams contributor. 3-Year Projection: After two years of learning the technique of the team that drafts him, such as being consistently good in press, Thomas can be a functional starter. His lack of play-making instincts will limit his ceiling.Summary: Spent time at both right and left corner, often playing on the boundary side and rotating in and out of most games. Utilized various techniques, such as a half turn and shuffle rather than a backpedal, plus a kick-step and buzz-step press. Mainly played off-man coverage with a 5-to-7-yard cushion, head-up press, or quarters with a strong inside shade. Excellent measurements for a corner: massively long with huge wingspan and tall height. The Good (Good < Very Good < Excellent < Rare):Excellent jam strength from press. In both press-man and press quarters, he is very good at squeezing the receiver to the sideline on go routes with excellent physicality and subtle hand fighting. Good at adjusting his quarters zone on quarterback rollouts. Has very good closing speed potential, and even when beat he stays in step with the quickest and fastest of receivers. Very good length allows him to be a very good swatter of the football, and when in phase with the receiver he is very good at knocking passes incomplete. Good diagnosis of fake screens to his side, playing to his assignment rather than cheating. Very good appetite for contact, makes him a willing block shedder and tackler in run support. Good run fit awareness and very good approach angles in the box Seattle Seahawks Hats , approaches from outside-in rather than surrendering the last point of contain. Takes good open-field pursuit angles. Good tackling form, with head out of the way, his shoulder making the contact and good wrap. His length helps him tackle through stiff arms. Very good block shedder, fulling extends arms, attacks downhill and does so violently. Very good play strength, his length helps him make contact with opponents first when taking on blocks and he hits from a sunken position, which allows him to knock offensive players over. The Bad (Marginal < Adequate < Solid):Needs to move better with his jam, he got caught lunging in which caused struggles running downfield and receivers using his momentum against him. Focusing on one technique at the next level will benefit him, Louisiana-Lafayette appeared to have a mishmash of techniques/teachings. Oversteps with receiver’s jab steps when trying to mirror them at the line of scrimmage. Only a solid buzz step, with the steps varying in length and his body height going “jerky”—needs to stay at a low height rather than bobbing up and down. Adequate half turn technique and footwork, often crossing his feet. As a result he gets caught on the back of his feet and is unable to maintain the cushion, seeing faster receivers burn past him before he can even get close to transitioning. It also forces him to take additional, added steps that reduce his ability to break on balls underneath or stuff like deep outs or comebacks in off-man. Click-and-close is also slowed by getting too upright in his shuffle, reducing his ability to explode. Adequate transitional balance, with adequate, rigid, and high hips often seeing him stumble and/or lose a lot of speed when flipping his hips to run downfield with receiver. This allows the receiver to get on top of him. His high hips also make his speed turn very cumbersome and essentially a recipe for getting burnt. His squeezing of receivers to the sideline appeared far more inconsistent in 2017. In intermediate zones such as hook-curl, possesses adequate awareness of receivers, lets them pass through his zone without disrupting them. Also loses the location of receivers when the route goes in behind him. Adequate deep zone positioning and keys, struggles to read from #1 to #2 and bisect two vertical routes in his deep zone. Adequate zone eye discipline, keeps eyes on the QB and allows receivers in behind his deep quarter. Adequate eye discipline and patience in man coverage, glances back at the quarterback rather than keeping his attention on the receiver during short and intermediate routes, which naturally affects and reduces his reaction times to receivers’ cuts. His eye discipline is adequate with motion into the backfield, such as orbit. Gets caught peeking which slows his reaction to the snap. When he does react fast to routes, it is often because he guesses in his route diagnosis rather than correctly identifying the pattern. This causes issues on double moves but also with not staying square to the line of scrimmage in press when the receiver has not clearly declared—locks his hips and gives the receiver an open path. This is not so much of an issue when the receiver releases outside, but inside it is a massive flaw. For instance, on the goalline he guesses on the fade, allowing the slant inside of him. Adequate timing of reaching in to play the ball when not in phase with receiver on over the shoulder catches, needs to read the eyes of the receiver. He is slow to adjust and play the ball in mid-air. Also mistimes his jumps to play the ball when in intermediate zones. Adequate playmaker—he is keen to play the receiver rather than the ball and missed numerous interception chances, some of which were gifted to him. Adequate hands, with the radii often too wide, allowing the ball to hit one hand or go right through them. On the rare occasions where a blocker does get arms on him first, he is an adequate dis-engager who needs a move and plan to rid him of the arms—be it a club, swim etc. When taking on blocks he needs to learn the right moment to disengage and not get sucked into the blocker for too long. Solid open-field tackling, often fails to break down and gets left in the dirt by a move. Only solid competitive toughness, at times he rallied to the ball and other times, notably when down in games, he lacked hustle. Highlight TapeEvaluating a player based on highlights is a terrible process. However, it is an effective way to gain an idea of their style of play:Fit in SeattleThomas is immediately behind the rest of the competition due to his late arrival. He must learn the Seahawks’ cornerback technique, which is going to be especially hard in-season. Playing catch-up will be hard, but he has the athletic tools to make it work. (Just note the scheme fit section of my scouting report) However, Thomas’ lack of ball skills is a major concern.