Football

Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning QB is exactly the sort of informative analysis that most shows, be they sports or some of the car shows excorated below. I think he nails the Seattle-Washington game:

Washington at Seattle: Last week, Tuesday Morning Quarterback noted the Redskins' defensive performance improved late in the season because Washington's cornerbacks were hurt, which forced the tastefully named Gregg Williams to give the corners safety help and, in turn, prevented Williams from calling blitzes. I cautioned, "Elite corner Shawn Springs is expected back for the upcoming Washington at Seattle contest. For heaven's sake, tastefully named Gregg, don't use that as an excuse to go blitz-wacky." Springs played, Williams resumes his blitzing ways, and surely as the night follows the day, blitzes were Washington's downfall.

Seattle's opening possession, the Seahawks faced third-and-4. It's the first expected-blitz down of the contest, first test of whether the tastefully named Gregg can resist the urge to go blitz-wacky. Aaaaaiiiiiiiyyyyyyeeeee! Big blitz, 37-yard completion to Darrell Jackson. Now Seattle leads 7-3 and faces third-and-3, six-man blitz, 31-yard completion to Joe Jurevicius. Now Seattle leads 14-3 and faces second-and-8, another blitz, another 37-yarder to Jackson. Now the play that ended Washington's season: Seattle leads 17-10 with 5:17 remaining and faces third-and-6. Six-man blitz and blocking back Mack Strong, 17 rushing attempts on the season, takes a draw for a career long run of 32 yards. A few snaps later, it was 20-10 and Washington's goose was cooked. At Seattle when the Redskins played conventional defense, things went well; when Washington blitzed, the Blue Men Group gained yards in big bunches. And how many sacks or interceptions resulted from Washington blitzing? None.

I hope Carolina will blitz like crazy, in which case, more plays like this would occur:

Sweet Play of the Week: Seattle holding a slim 7-3 lead in the third quarter, the Seahawks faced third-and-3 at midfield. Washington blitzed six, no rusher getting anywhere near Matt Hasselbeck, thanks to excellent blocking including from Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP Walter Jones. Joe Jurevicius ran a quick stop. Hasselbeck saw there was no safety behind Jurevicius and motioned him to streak up the field; 31-yard completion and Seattle takes a 14-3 lead on the possession. It was strictly a "go down to the lamppost and cut toward the blue car" play.

His likewise critique of Pittsburg's blitzing also seems right, although my knowledge is a little too shallow to rebutt.