The Seattle Seahawks are sitting at 2-2 four games into the 2018 season, and though many teams would love to be at .500, the team is clearly a shell of the dominant force they were just years ago.
Along with the defense, the offensive line is one major reason for that.
After giving out a massive contract to QB Russell Wilson, the Seahawks have chosen to cut spending on their offensive line, and Wilson is paying for it. The offense has become almost predictable, so much so that fans are figuring out they can predict Seattle’s play-calls based on an obvious tell.
Alright, I’ve worked through the charting. This is SUUUUPER simple charting. I’ve looked at whether or not Ifedi has one leg back, as a pass set, or both feet underneath him. Like these two examples. pic.twitter.com/8mHqurTJEn
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 3, 2018
This is what I found. When Ifedi sets up in a pass set with one leg behind him, or with his feet kind of aligned, but still a bit behind, the Seahawks pass the football over 90% of the time. On the other hand, when Ifedi’s feet are aligned, they run the football over 75%. pic.twitter.com/Tw8yOmeiib
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 3, 2018
100% of Seattle’s play action attempts came when Ifedi had his feet aligned, which makes sense, since that is when he is faking a run. On 66% of their play action attempts, Ifedi had one hand in the dirt.
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 3, 2018
I only charted Ifedi, but I noticed several times during the charting that I could also often tell whether they would run or pass by looking at what Duane Brown was doing. I’m sure you could study them even closer in detail and be even more successful in predicting run/pass
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 4, 2018
For whatever reason, the Seahawks clearly don’t care whether they tip off the defense in terms of whether or not they are running or passing the football.
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 4, 2018
So basically, what I am saying is, that you have a mid-ish 80’s percent chance of guessing run or pass for the Seahawks by ONLY watching Ifedi’s feet. That’s not even taking into account what the 4 other guys on the OL are doing.
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 4, 2018
Also, and this is not something I charted, just a feeling I got. But I think I would often be able to tell when Ifedi is the backside down blocker on a zone run, when he has aligned feet, and looks down the line pre-snap. Noticed that several times.
— Magnus Bendixen (@BendixenNFL) October 4, 2018
