Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks rookies combined for 132 snaps in Week 3. This was a decrease from the previous week, but this was due to the offense overall playing fewer snaps than in Week 2. The class achieved positive results, and we saw our first UDFA on the field, with Jared Ivey taking 12 snaps on defense.
All data used in this article was taken from PFF.
Let’s analyze some of the key plays from this game!
I think the PFF numbers against the Steelers were more negative than the reality of Zabel’s performance. Against the Saints, he recovered, yielding only one pressure (1 hurry) and had the fourth-best run-block and pass-block grades with 66.6 and 75.9, respectively.
His first contribution was gaining 15 free yards on a play where we were going to kick a field goal. Bryan Bresee’s blunder revived the drive and ended in a touchdown.
Good mobility, good vision, and a good impact on the LB to open the gap. If Cooper Kupp had been able to maintain the block longer, the gain would have been greater.
The Saints call a simulated pressure on this snap. Zabel is alert, passes the defender to Charles Cross, and helps the center by making a big impact and keeping the DT away.
On this play, he lines up against Bresee again. The defensive back attempts a spin move, but Zabel has fantastic footwork, manages to move laterally, mirroring the opponent, and then showing a good anchor (did the referees forget to call illegal use of hands at the end of the play?!)
He positions himself correctly but misses contact, allowing the defender to infiltrate the backfield and almost make the tackle if it weren’t for Ken Walker’s magic.
Injured.
He started the game with good blocks. This time, he had no targets, and as the game progressed, he began to make mistakes when blocking. This resulted in the fourth-worst run-block grade (49.7), ahead of only Abe Lucas (49.5), Jake Bobo (37.2), and Anthony Bradford (27.7).
This is an example of good blocking in motion, progressing, and advancing to the next level. His and Jake Bobo’s execution could have been better, especially the WR on this play.
There’s a one-on-one with the defender, and his technique is poor. The edge was already threatening the inside gap; he didn’t adjust and quickly lost the block, in addition to nearly committing a holding.
In the second half, the Seahawks basically only called runs and basically the same type of runs. They could have given him a few snaps. He only came in for a 3-yard run.
NFI List.
He had three receptions for 32 yards and a receiving TD. He also returned a punt 95 yards for a TD. This was...
