Grubb's shotgun killer?

"Seahawks OC doesn't understand the OL problems" says former NFL guard

If there’s ONE stat about Ryan Grubb’s first season as the Seahawks offensive coordinator that you should paint on a sign and stick in your yard, it’s this one:

In 2023, Geno Smith averaged 23 shotgun pass attempts per game and had 4 shotgun snaps for every 1 under center snap.

In Grubb’s first season as OC, Geno is averaging 38 shotgun passes per game and 10 shotgun snaps for every 1 under center.

According to retired Pro Bowl guard Mark Schlereth during an interview with Seattle Sports this week, Grubb’s overusage of shotgun calls is as much of a reason for the Seahawks poor offensive line play as anything else: “Show me a team that gives up seven sacks and I’ll show you a team that has a coordinator that doesn’t understand what the problems are up front.”

For the most part, Grubb’s name hasn’t been brought up positively or negatively, but that’s mostly because of the shadows being cast by Geno Smith and the defense. Now the results aren’t there, the offensive production isn’t there, and it’s a valid question of how much Grubb’s sometimes-extreme imbalance as a playcaller (run vs. pass, shotgun vs. under center) is holding the Seahawks back.

Here’s another comparison:

• Geno in shotgun this season: 213/313, 9 TD, 10 INT, 26 sacks, 86.3 rating

• Geno under center: 20/29, 2 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 113.1

Maybe Schlereth has a point.

What else did he say about the Seahawks?

The full interview can be watched here, but I will transcribe some parts below.

Schlereth noted that the Seahawks offensive line was “really bad” against the Rams, and here’s his explanation on why being under center matters:

“Because when I’m under center and we run play action, linebackers have to step up. In shotgun, linebackers can see the backfield much cleaner than if you’re under center. The QB turns his back to the defense when you run play action under center, and in shotgun you don’t.

So the ball never truly gets hidden. In shotgun, defenses tend to play high to low, meaning they get deeper drops and take away intermediate routes. When you’re playing under center, linebackers play about a yard closer to the ball and then when you turn your back to the defense, they can’t help but step up, same with safeties, and so you create a bigger space between the linebackers and the deep coverage. So it creates easier throwing windows and quicker throws and in turn helps the offensive line.”

Dave Wyman, a former linebacker, agrees about shotgun being easier to read. What are your thoughts on shotgun vs. under center?

Key Points from Mark Schlereth:

• On chemistry, continuity: “As long as all 5 OL are doing the wrong thing together, it will be a successful play.”

• On OL penalties: “When you get a lot of penalties as an offensive line, what it tells me is you’re out of position. You’re either out of position because you don’t have good feet or hands, or because you’re dumb and you don’t understand where your help is, how to use people’s body presence, or how to funnel people where you want them to go.”

• On Geno: “Because he feels so much pressure, he speeds up…When your clock speeds up, your feet speed up, and the timing of the offense is set to the QB’s feet…I think he’s so sped up, he’s forcing the ball, he’s early when the receivers aren’t open yet, and he’s making some bad decisions.”

A second Geno opinion

One more analysis I want to share this week comes from Bryce Coutts (HawkZone Rundown Podcast) on Seahawks Forever. Bryce sheds more light on what to do/not to do as quarterback, starting with Geno’s pick-six to Rams rookie Kam Kinchens:

“I work with quarterbacks and I’m an offensive coordinator. My rule of thumb with my quarterbacks is that if you’re getting pressure from your front side and the guy is within 2-3 steps of you, you need to either take off or you need to just eat that ball and just give up on that play. What happened on the one to JSN on the first red zone pick, Geno is trying to throw the ball with Jared Verse bearing down on him and Verse makes contact with his elbow on the throw, so he can’t get as much on it.

Geno can’t do that.

He knows that pressure is coming…He had no rotational force on the ball because his feet weren’t set, so he’s basically throwing with all arm strength. The slightest contact is going to completely kill that ball’s velocity and there it went right to the defender sitting there. If he eats that ball, it’s second down.”

It’s not all negative criticism, there’s plenty more said about Geno’s all-around performance and that’s linked to the correct timecode right here:

Just like offensive line, there’s so much more nuance to playing the quarterback position than simply, “Did the quarterback overthrow him or did the receiver run the wrong route?”, so any additional context about the right way to play it that might help explain interceptions (by any QB) when you see them happen in the future is the takeaway from this explanation by Bryce.

Hopefully in the future the context is about Geno throwing a touchdown…from under center.

Bonus: 3 easy steps to rebuild the offensive line

Seaside Joe 2047