The 49ers play the Seahawks Sunday night in Seattle. In the meantime, I’ll break down the key matchups. To read part 1, click here.
DE Bruce Irvin vs. OT Anthony Davis
The Seahawks’ nickel rush, especially Irvin, will be tough to handle, especially on turf, especially with crowd noise.
Offensive tackles are the last to move when offenses use the silent snap count, which the Niners will be using because of the crowd noise. Guards can see the ball begin to move from their peripheral vision, but that does not extend to the tackles.
Even if the guard and tackle hold hands, the tackle won’t move until the guard drops his hand, so the tackle movement still is slower than the guard and definitely slower than the opposing d-linemen.
If I were Seattle, I would match up Irvin against Anthony Davis and beat him with speed off the corner. Then, use that tactic to set up an inside move once Davis over commits and leans outside in anticipation of Irvin’s speed.
Advantage: Seahawks
Comments are closed.