Friday, September 21, 2012

Week 2 Unsung Heroes: Alan Branch/Frank Omiyale




This is a little something I've always wanted to do.  I have a soft spot for the often overlooked and underrated.  Just been in my DNA my entire life.  It explains why I'm a Seattle Seahawks fan from NYC in the first place.  So with that in mind and heart, I want to take a look back from week to week at the unsung heroes of the previous game, win or lose.  I'll be getting NFL Game Rewind next week, so I'll be able to further analyze things like this instead of just relying on my notes from watching the games.  Lucky for me I'm starting this after a game against the Cowboys in which there were a ton of unsung heroes to choose from.  While KJ Wright and Kam Chancellor got all the attention (and rightfully so) on defense and Marshawn Lynch, Golden Tate, and Russell Wilson carry the torch for the offense, it was the play of two players along both lines that made me really take notice.

We'll start with the defense because they really stole the show.  The defensive line was spectacular in their ability to shut down DeMarco Murray and make the Cowboys one-dimensional from the early goings.  The play of the linebackers, LeRoy Hill and KJ Wright especially, was mostly based off the fact that the Seahawks defensive line was handling their business up front and keeping blockers from reaching the 2nd level.  If the Seahawks can keep this up over the entire season, this WILL be an elite defense.  KJ Wright is showing his ability to potentially be a star in this league.  He can disengage from blockers with the best of them, so it would appear that he'd succeed regardless of blockers trying to impede him consistently.  However if guys like LeRoy Hill and especially rookie Bobby Wagner can stay relatively untouched for most of the day, they are going to wreak havoc on a lot of offensive gameplans.  That starts up front of course and the Seahawks defensive line showed us that they are a top unit in the league.  Anchoring the line this week, in my opinion, was DT Alan Branch.  Branch has, in my mind, turned in to one of the great underrated acquisitions made by this regime.  There is a noteable difference when he's not in the game and this season he's even starting to collapse the pocket a little bit, which goes along with what he was saying in Training Camp about rushing the passer more.

I counted at least 4 or 5 plays where Branch drove his man in to the backfield, collapsing the pocket, and causing DeMarco Murray or Tony Romo to improvise.  His ability to swallow up blockers should pay huge dividends for the Seahawks as the season progresses.  Guys like Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin will be very thankful and productive if Branch can continue to play the way he has been so far this season, and especially against the Cowboys.  When the 'Hawks have Bryant, Mebane, and Branch in there they are nearly impossible to run against.  The 3 have great chemistry playing together and you can really see that they pride themselves on not letting the opposition gain an inch on them.  A lot of expectations have been placed on Jason Jones to be a disruptive force up the middle, however through two weeks I've got Branch right up there with Mebane as the Seahawks best defensive tackle.  Mebane had a monster game against the Cardinals, so I think he stands alone at the top for now, but Alan Branch is quietly putting together a season that will make people notice around the league.  Branch, as well as Jones, is a free agent after this season so the Seahawks will likely have to decide on which one they'd prefer to keep.  I can't see them signing both and investing that much money in to the defensive line with Chris Clemons and Brandon Mebane already on the payroll.  It'll be interesting to see which guy earns the big, long-term contract and which one will be a 'Hawk after this season.





Now for the offensive side of the ball.  The offense was able to put this game away with relative ease after breaking down the souls of the Dallas Cowboys.  The run game was able to get going and this opened up numerous bootlegs and play action passes for Russell Wilson.  What we saw on Sunday is what the Seahawks are hoping to do many more times in the future, namely on Monday Night against the Packers.  I think that ex-Packer RT Breno Giacomini was the Seahawks best offensive lineman against Dallas.  He was near dominant at times and played a great game overall.  The Seahawks busted off some huge runs to the right side and a lot of it was due to Giacomini sealing the edge.  He also did a great job of sliding down and picking up MoSweezy's(TM) assignment when they were asked to pull.  Really, a great game from the Big Russian.  However that doesn't get him the Unsung Player of the Week on Offense.  No, that distinction goes to, and I can't believe I'm typing this, Frank Omiyale.  Omiyale replaced Russell Okung and looked like an actual upgrade, as crazy as that is.  Now, we don't know for sure if Okung played hurt during Week 1, but that's what my gut is telling me.  We'll see if he bounces back this week but it's going to be tough trying to bounce back against one of the best teams in football.  Especially one that possesses one of the quickest players in the NFL, Clay Matthews.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Back to Omiyale.  Good ole' "Route 68" probably played the game of his life and he wasn't going up against some slouch.  He was going up against All-Pro DeMarcus Ware.  Ware played the game with a hamstring injury but he played with that same injury a week prior and ended up with 2 sacks against the defending champion Giants.  So this is actually a major accomplishment for Omiyale and one that might keep his job a little bit safer for now.  Omiyale has experience working under Tom Cable in Atlanta and this game against Dallas shows why Cable might have wanted in Seattle.  He reminded me a lot of Paul McQuistan when McQuistan was pressed in to action at Left Tackle last season, a recurring theme here it seems.  Solid, yet unspectacular but for the most part you don't even realize that Okung isn't in the game, which isn't meant to be a knock on Russell more as a compliment to McQuistan and Omiyale and to Tom Cable for preparing these guys in the off-season to play as many positions as possible.  Franky Boy was able to stonewall Ware for much of the day and he also showed some push in the rushing game.  While the Seahawks had most of their success running behind Giacomini and the right side they were still able to move the ball consistently while running left as well. If Omiyale shows that he is a capable replacement for Russell Okung it would be one of the more shocking developments of the season.  Throughout camps and the pre-season The Big Hurt had a rough go of things and it was looking like he'd follow Deuce Lutui and Alex Barron out the door.  Shockingly, he's still on the squad and was just one of many unsung heroes for the 'Hawks in Week 2.


Next up on the agenda, taking a look at rookie offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy and his uncommon road to the NFL and a quasi-starting spot with the Seahawks.  Not to mention, his vastly untapped potential.


  

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