Why K.J. Wright is getting ‘chills’ watching Seahawks and their defense
The Seahawks are rolling, to say the least.
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After a 2-3 begin to the season, Seattle has rattled off three straight wins and now sits alone atop the NFC West getting into a Week 9 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.
Geno Smith and the offense have dominated headlines this yr given Smith’s emergence as a star quarterback after years as a backup, however the Seahawks’ three-game successful streak would not be doable with out the play of the defense.
After opening the yr as one of many worst models in soccer, that group has been wonderful of late, together with final week’s 27-13 win over the now 6-2 New York Giants.
The return to defense actually hasn’t been misplaced on the previous Hawks linebacker KJ Wrightwho had fairly the revelation throughout Sunday’s win over New York.
“I had a moment during the game, something like chills came over my body when I was watching it,” he mentioned on Wednesday’s KJ Wright Show on Seattle Sports 710 AM. “It was like in the third or fourth quarter … There was a third down going on and I said, ‘Something special is happening here.’ And I saw the fans cheering – the fan base is finally coming around, believing and catching on to this season. It was a beautiful feeling I had.”
What Wright is seeing, he mentioned, is a defense that is lastly secure and taking part in free. Wright would know a factor or two about safeties, as he was a key a part of a number of elite Seahawks defenses within the 2010s.
“You knew something good was going to happen. It was like, ‘OK, here’s the situation: We know our calls, we know what to do, it’s third-and-8 and we know what the trend is. Something good will happen. It will be a download, I will trust my friend in this game, he will make a play and it will be a PBU or interception. Something great is going to happen,’” Wright said of his playing days. “It’s not like one thing magical would occur, it was one thing we’d apply day after day, it is the belief and the chemistry we had with one another. And I child you not, individuals have been asking me all yr, ‘Does this remind you of 2011 and 2012?’ Yes Yes. Makes. But I really felt it. I really felt it after I noticed this recreation.”
So what does being defensively assured do for the gamers and the unit as a complete?
“Belief in defense is first and foremost self-knowledge. Knowing what your responsibility is, knowing what the plan is. What is the game plan we have defensively?” Wright mentioned. “And then give it to your opponents.”
Then he has to make certain that his teammates can be in the precise place.
“OK, I have this confidence that I know Brandon Mebane is going to be in the B gap, so if I see this guy get an inch to the left, I’m going to shoot (the gap). he said. “I’m shooting him because I know he’s going to do his job and I know (fellow linebacker) Bobby (Wagner) is going to do his job, and we’re so tight, we’re so connected, that I just can move so freely. And when you’re able to move freely without thinking, when you’re able to trust your teammates, it’s just you moving in sync. You’re not even thinking about it.”
Besides seeing a safer defensive unit, what else is Wright seeing?
Overall, the scheme is the identical, with the Seahawks operating a “bear front,” which usually has three larger defensive linemen on the inside with two within the triple approach (off the guard’s shoulder) and one as a nostril sort out. aligned. above the top of the middle.
“When we have been trying in entrance of their bear, it was delicate. It was actually delicate,” Wright mentioned of the Seahawks defense early within the season. “But you go back and watch the film and you go look at these guys. They’re now getting off blocks, getting (blockers) and shedding and making their plays.”
That has helped the linebackers, particularly Jordyn Brooks, Wright mentioned.
“Look at the linebackers. I saw Jordyn Brooks be able to get in the backfield to get a TFL, he said. “… I love how these guys are still on the bear front. What they’re doing is they’re playing it more aggressively. They are using their strengths to attack, get off blocks and make plays. We want to play two high safeties, so there is an extra gap up front. So what (the defensive line) has to do is pick up (the block), throw it and make the play.”
Speaking of Brooks, Wright is more than happy along with his recreation total.
“The largest query I had with this defense was who’s going to be the man to maintain everyone on the identical web page? There are 70,000 followers (screaming at dwelling), a brand new defensive coordinator, new scheme. How will this safety work correctly? And after they informed me Jordyn was going to be the person, I used to be like, ‘OK, I want the communication to be proper, psychological errors, I do not wish to see them,'” he said. “And he’s been absolutely off. He’s just communicating extremely well, showing things. You could see him and (safety Quandre Diggs) communicating throughout the game. So when I look at Jordyn, what he’s doing for this defense, I really like what I’m seeing.”
Listen to KJ Wright’s full present at this hyperlink or within the participant under.
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