Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Pro Football
In copycat NFL, Seattle’s defensive scheme keeps spreading
By MARK LONG
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —
Seattle didn’t make the playoffs,
but its defense essentially did.
The scheme that carried the
Seahawks to consecutive Super
Bowls (2013-14) has become
increasingly popular around the
league. It helped Atlanta get to
the big game last year and was the
catalyst for Jacksonville’s stunning
turnaround this season. It also got
rave reviews down the stretch in
Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In a copycat league, this is the
one being emulated right now.
And for good reason. The
Seahawks rode the scheme to six
straight playoff berths between
2012 and 2016, and as more of
Pete Carroll’s defensive assistants
moved on to become coordinators
and head coaches elsewhere, they
brought it with them.
Now, it spans coast to coast.
“It really takes on the flavor
of the coaches that are doing it,
so they have their uniqueness,”
Carroll said. “But there are a lot of
similarities.”
Similar results, too.
The Jaguars ranked second in the
NFL in yards and points allowed
this season, relying on their defense
to mask offensive deficiencies. The
Chargers ranked third in scoring
defense, allowing just two oppo-
nents to top 21 points in their final
11 games. The Falcons (eighth) and
the injury-riddled Seahawks (13th)
weren’t far behind. The 49ers
finished 25th at 23.9 points a game,
but were considerably better over
the final five weeks of the regular
season. They allowed 19.9 points
during a five-game winning streak
that included victories against three
playoff teams.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive
coordinator Gus Bradley, Atlanta
defensive coordinator Marquand
Manuel, San Francisco defensive
BRIEFLY
Hermiston AD Usher
chosen as district’s
Administrator of the
Year for 2017-18
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston School District
announced on Wednesday
that Athletic
Director Larry
Usher was
selected as
its 2017-18
Administrator
of the Year, a
well-deserved
selection.
In Usher’s Usher
second
school year as the AD, he most
notably led Hermiston’s efforts
to secure membership in the
Washington Interscholastic
Activities Association to better
suit the student-athletes in
amount of travel time and time
missed from the classroom. In
a press release, the district also
cited other accomplishments
by Usher, including helping
increase student attendance at
athletic events, starting a student
pre-game tailgate party at select
athletic events, improving the
schools’ ‘Boomer’ mascot, and
increasing the use of social
media to promote events and
emphasize the school’s brand.
Usher has been with the
district since 2002 when he was
first hired as a high school social
studies teacher and coached the
varsity boys basketball team
from 2002-2010. Then from
2010-2014, Usher moved to
Sandstone Middle School where
he held titles of dean of students,
assistant principal and principal
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File
In this Sept. 2013, file photo, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, left,
and then-Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley talk in the rain be-
fore an NFL football game in Seattle. The scheme that carried the
Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowls (2013-14) has become in-
creasingly popular around the league. It helped Atlanta get to the
big game last year and was the catalyst for Jacksonville’s stunning
turnaround this season.
coordinator Robert Saleh, Atlanta
head coach Dan Quinn and Jack-
sonville defensive coordinator
Todd Wash all spent time in Seattle
under Carroll.
Bradley, Manuel, Saleh and
Wash were on the same staff in
2012. Former Oakland defensive
coordinator Ken Norton also was
there and had the Raiders playing
the Seattle scheme until he was
fired in late November.
“It’s good. It’s nice,” Carroll
said. “I love that the guys are
getting the opportunities and they
are doing stuff.”
Seattle players don’t seem as
ready to credit anyone for doing it
as well as they did while picking up
the “Legion of Boom” nickname in
2012.
“There is only one Seattle
Seahawks,” linebacker Bobby
Wagner said.
Maybe so. Seattle allowed the
fewest points (14.4) and yards
(273.6) in the NFL during the
2013 season and forced a league-
high 39 turnovers. The Seahawks
emphatically stated their case as
a generational defense — right up
there with the 1985 Chicago Bears
and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens —
with a 43-8 drubbing of Denver
in the Super Bowl. The Broncos
shattered an NFL record with 606
points during the regular season but
were overmatched on the NFL’s
biggest stage.
That same season, thousands
of miles away, Bradley and Wash
were building the foundation for
Jacksonville’s current defense.
Two years later, Quinn was
implementing it in Atlanta with
some help from Manuel. Quinn’s
offensive coordinator at the time
was Kyle Shanahan, who saw the
defense every day in practice and
knew he wanted it to be part of his
rebuild with the 49ers this season.
He hired Saleh. And former Jaguars
head coach Bradley resurfaced with
the Chargers.
“It’s a very sound scheme that
starts with stopping the run,”
Shanahan said. “It makes you work
all the way down the field, so it’s
extremely tough to get explosives
on. It’s tough to go against. They
make you work for everything, and
it’s something that you don’t have
to reinvent the wheel every week.
It’s something that if you just do
over and over and over again, it’s
hard not to get better at it.”
The premise of the Seattle
defense is that it uses an eight-man
box to stop the run (one safety
positioned close to the line of
scrimmage) and a single-high
safety who can get sideline to side-
line in “cover three” (a three-deep
zone in which defensive backs split
coverage areas into three sections).
Cornerbacks play a lot of aggres-
sive, bump-and-run coverage that
works best when the four defensive
linemen are pressuring quarter-
backs. Linebackers are usually
undersized and fast.
It’s a 4-3 base defense that
incorporates many elements of the
popular 3-4.
“We are all different in our own
ways,” Manuel said. “But ... just
the understanding of methodically
making a team have to go 13, 14
plays to score and play with great
red-zone defense and understand
that taking the ball away is the most
important thing. Plays are going
to happen that are big, but if you
eliminate the ones that you know
are about to happen, offenses have
to do something else.
“You call plays that guys
understand. You can get exotic (and
create) paralysis by analysis; guys
are overthinking on the field. That’s
part of what you see in this defense.
I guarantee you in each one of these
(Seattle-influenced) defenses, guys
are flying around and playing fast
because they’re not thinking.”
Regardless of the schematics
and subtleties, the common thread
is solid — more like star — players.
Seattle has Wagner, cornerback
Richard Sherman, free safety Earl
Thomas and strong safety Kam
Chancellor, among others.
The Chargers boast disruptive
pass-rushers Melvin Ingram and
Joey Bosa, linebacker Denzel
Perryman and cornerback Casey
Hayward. They tied for fifth in the
NFL with 43 sacks.
The Jaguars had the second-
most sacks (55) in the league
thanks partly to Pro Bowl defen-
sive linemen Calais Campbell and
Malik Jackson and budding star
Yannick Ngakoue. Cornerbacks
Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye also
were the league’s top coverage
tandem, and linebackers Myles
Jack and Telvin Smith are two of
the fastest around.
The Falcons are built around
linebackers Vic Beasley and Deion
Jones, defensive end Adrian Clay-
born, cornerback Robert Alford and
safety Keanu Neal.
All of those guys nearly made
the playoffs. Los Angeles and
Seattle were among the final few
teams eliminated from postseason
contention Sunday.
The Seahawks are out of the
playoffs for the first time since
2011. The Seattle defense, mean-
while, continues its postseason
run, albeit in the form of copycats
Atlanta and Jacksonville.
“It’s a difficult scheme to go
against because it limits you on
some of the things you can do.
They specifically take certain
things away. You just have to be
creative and find some of those
basic things and be OK with some
easy checkdowns and some easy,
quick 5-yard completions because
that’s what you have a chance
for,” Jaguars offensive coordinator
Nathaniel Hackett said.
Added 49ers quarterback Jimmy
Garoppolo: “A lot of teams are
running this defense. It’s become
pretty popular in the NFL. That
Seattle scheme, it’s a good one.”
Prep Basketball
Dawgs drop third straight game on the road
BOYS BASKETBALL
Hermiston gave up 26
points in fourth quarter
to continue skid
Hermiston
AC Davis
60
74
East Oregonian
YAKIMA — After a forgettable
weekend at the Cresent Valley Invi-
tational — where Hermiston went
0-2 — the Bulldogs opened 2018
on the road once again.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs
made a trip across the border to face
AC Davis and suffered a 74-60 loss
at the hands of the Pirates.
“(I) saw better things tonight,”
head coach Casey Arstein said, “but
you’re not going to win games by
giving up 26 points in the fourth
quarter.”
Despite the loss, Hermiston did
some things well. The Bulldogs
(4-7) held Davis’ studs to only 32
combined points.
The Pirates (8-2) were led by
sophomore Earl Lee III (18 points)
and senior Alexander Delgado (14
points) on their way to their third
consecutive victory.
Down only six points at the half
and trailing 31-25, Hermiston came
out of the break scoring 16 of its 60
points. The early second half efforts
were thanks to a seven-point third-
quarter performance from junior
Ryne Andreason.
Andreason finished with 12
points on the night behind junior
Cesar Ortiz, who had a team-high
16 points.
The Bulldogs entered the fourth
quarter only down 48-41 but some
mental mistakes led to a handful of
turnovers that Davis was easily able
to take advantage off.
Hermiston will not prepare for
its first home game of 2018, a 7 p.m.
Friday matchup with Silverton.
———
HERMISTON 15 10 16 19 — 60
AC DAVIS 13 18 17 26 — 74
HERMISTON — C. Ortiz 16, R. Andreason 12, A.
James 10, J. Ramirez 10, A. Earl 4, C. Smith 3, A.
Mendez 3, B. Davis 2.
AC DAVIS — E. Lee 18, A. Dlgado 14, I. Evans-Kim-
ble 12, C. Kelley 11, B. Williams 10, J. Reyes 9.
3-pointers — HHS 9, DHS 6. Free throws — HHS
13-18, DHS 4-4. Fouls — HHS 11, DHS 13.
College Football
Likely top picks Rosen, Darnold declare for NFL Draft
Associated Press
Within 30 minutes of one another,
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and
Southern California quarterback
Sam Darnold announced they will
enter the NFL draft.
The Los Angeles rivals have a
chance to be the first two quarter-
backs taken and possibly among
the first few players off the board in
April.
Joining Rosen and Darnold
in announcing NFL intentions
Wednesday was Oklahoma offen-
sive tackle Orlando Brown, another
possible top-10 pick.
Rosen’s decision was no
surprise. He has started for UCLA
since his freshman season, though
injuries cost him most of his sopho-
more year and this season he did not
play in the Bruins’ Cactus Bowl loss
against Kansas
State because
he was being
treated for a
concussion.
He passed
for 9,301 yards
with 59 touch-
down passes
and 26 inter-
ceptions in his Rosen
college career,
but
UCLA
never even so much as won a bowl
game during his time there. He was
close to fired UCLA coach Jim
Mora. but Rosen said he discussed
his decision with new Bruins coach
Chip Kelly. After playing for three
offensive coordinators in three
seasons at UCLA he decided to
move one. In his statement, Rosen
said attending UCLA was “the best
decision of my
life.” He also
promises his
mother
that
he’ll
return
to Westwood
to finish his
degree.
There was
more
uncer-
tainty
about
Darnold
Darnold . He
was a third-
year sophomore this past season
after sitting out as a redshirt as a
freshman.
Darnold took over as the Trojans’
starting quarterback four games into
last season as a redshirt freshman.
He won the Rose Bowl in his first
season with a record 453-yard,
five-touchdown
performance
against Penn State, and he led the
Trojans to their first Pac-12 cham-
pionship since 2008 this season.
He passed for 7,229 yards with 57
touchdown passes and 22 intercep-
tions in 27 games behind center for
the Trojans.
Brown is the son of the late
former NFL player Orlando Brown,
who was nicknamed Zeus and
played for the Baltimore Ravens.
The younger Brown is 6-foot-8 and
345 pounds, and an All-American
this season.
Auburn cornerback Carlton
Davis, linebacker Jeff Holland
and tailback Kamryn Pettway
announced they are skipping their
senior seasons to enter the NFL
draft.
Also, WSU’s Hercules Mata’afa,
and Florida State’s Ryan Izzo said
they are passing up their final
college seasons to enter the draft.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Thursday
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 3:00
p.m.
Nixyaawii at Echo, 7:00 p.m.
Stanfield at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Riverside at Nyssa, 6:30 p.m.
Silverton at Hermiston, 7:00 p.m.
Joseph at Echo, 7:00 p.m.
Imbler at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Heppner at Union, 7:30 p.m.
Condon/Wheeler at Mitchell/Spray, 7:30
p.m.
Ione at Dufur, 7:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m.
Griswold at Cove, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Baker at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Vale, 4:30 p.m.
La Grande at Nyssa, 5:00 p.m.
Union at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m.
Elgin at Heppner, 5:30 p.m.
Imbler at Weston-McEwen, 5:30 p.m.
South Wasco County at Condon/Wheeler,
5:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at Helix, 5:30 p.m.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
Thursday
Mac-Hi at Enterprise, 5:30 p.m.
Stanfield at Umatilla, 6:00 p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 6:00
p.m.
Nixyaawii at Echo, 6:00 p.m.
Friday
Riverside at Nyssa, 5:00 p.m.
Imbler at Pilot Rock, 6:00 p.m.
Ione at Dufur, 6:00 p.m.
Helix at Cove, 6:00 p.m.
Joseph at Echo, 6:00 p.m.
Powder Valley at Nixyaawii, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday
Baker at Mac-Hi, 3:00 p.m.
Irrigon at Vale, 3:00 p.m.
Elgin at Heppner, 4:00 p.m.
Union at Pilot Rock, 4:00 p.m.
Imbler at Weston-McEwen, 4:00 p.m.
South Wasco County at Condon/Wheeler,
4:00 p.m.
Powder Valley at Helix, 4:00 p.m.
PREP WRESTLING
Friday
Echo, Heppner at JO-HI
Riverside, Irrigon, Heppner duals
Mac-Hi JV at Mountain View JV Invita-
tional
Mac-Hi at Rollie Lane Invitational
Saturday
Pendleton at Brunner Invitational
Riverside, Irrigon, Heppner at Riverside
Rumble
PREP SWIMMING
Saturday
Pendleton at The Dallas
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Friday
EOU at Evergreen, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
BMCC vs. Big Bend CC, 4 p.m.
EOU at Northwest, 7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Friday
EOU at Evergreen, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
BMCC vs. Big Bend CC, 2 p.m.
EOU at Northwest, 5:30 p.m.
Basketball
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W
L
Boston
31 10
Toronto
26 10
Philadelphia
18 19
New York
18 20
Brooklyn
15 23
Southeast Division
W
L
Washington
22 16
Miami
20 17
Charlotte
14 23
Orlando
12 27
Atlanta
10 27
Central Division
W
L
Cleveland
25 13
Detroit
20 16
Milwaukee
20 16
Indiana
19 19
Chicago
13 25
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W
L
Houston
27
9
San Antonio
26 13
New Orleans
19 18
Dallas
13 26
Memphis
12 26
Northwest Division
W
L
Minnesota
24 15
Oklahoma City
20 17
Denver
20 17
Portland
19 18
Utah
16 22
Pacific Division
W
L
Golden State
30
8
Pct
.756
.722
.486
.474
.395
GB
—
2½
11
11½
14½
Pct
.579
.541
.378
.308
.270
GB
—
1½
7½
10½
11½
Pct GB
.658 —
.556
4
.556
4
.500
6
.342 12
Pct
.750
.667
.514
.333
.316
GB
—
2½
8½
15½
16
Pct GB
.615 —
.541
3
.541
3
.514
4
.421 7½
Pct GB
.789 —
L.A. Clippers
17 19 .472 12
Phoenix
15 25 .375 16
Sacramento
12 25 .324 17½
L.A. Lakers
11 25 .306 18
———
Wednesday’s Games
Houston 116, Orlando 98
Philadelphia 112, San Antonio 106
Washington 121, New York 103
Brooklyn 98, Minnesota 97
Miami 111, Detroit 104
Boston 102, Cleveland 88
Milwaukee 122, Indiana 101
Toronto 124, Chicago 115
Golden State 125, Dallas 122
New Orleans 108, Utah 98
Denver 134, Phoenix 111
Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers, late finish
Thursday’s Games
Golden State at Houston, 5 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
NCAA
Men’s Basketball
Top 25 Schedule
Wednesday’s Games
No. 24 Flordia State 81, No. 12 UNC 80
No. 25 Clemson 74, Boston College 70
No. 13 Purdue 82, Rutgers 51
No. 17 Kentucky 74, LSU 71
Georgia Tech 64, No. 15 Miami 54
No. 8 UVA 78, Virginia Tech 52
No. 7 Oklahoma 109, Oklahoma State 89
Thursday’s Games
Houston at No. 9 Wichita State, 4 p.m.
(ESPN)
Maryland at No. 1 Michigan State, 5
p.m. (FST)
No. 4 Arizona State at Colorado, 5:30
p.m. (PAC12)
No. 29 Cincinnati at Temple, 6 p.m.
(ESPN2)
No. 14 Arizona at Utah, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 19 Gonzaga at Pepperdine, 8 p.m.
(ESPNU)
Pac-12 Schedule
Wednesday’s Games
No games scheduled,
Thursday’s Games
No. 4 Arizona at Colorado, 5:30 p.m.
(PAC12)
No. 14 Arizona at Utah, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
UCLA at Stanford, 7 p.m. (FS1)
USC at Cal, 7:30 p.m. (PAC12)
Women’s Basketball
Top 25 Schedule
Wednesday’s Games
No. 1 UConn 96, ECU 35
Kansas State 60, No. 12 West Virginia 52
No. 6 Baylor 89, Iowa State 49
No. 8 Texas 84, No. 20 Oklahoma State
79
Thursday’s Games
No. 18 Iowa at No. 13 Maryland, 3 p.m.
Auburn at No. 7 Tennessee, 4 p.m.
(SECN+)
Kentucky at No. 19 Texas A&M, 4 p.m.
(SECN)
No. 4 South Carolina at Ole Miss, 4 p.m.
(SECN+)
No. 22 Michigan at Wisconsin, 4 p.m.
Minnesota at No. 10 OSU, 4 p.m.
No. 11 FSU at Clemson, 4 p.m. (ACCNE)
No. 17 Duke at No. 3 Lousville, 4p.m.
(ACCNE)
Miami at No. 2 Notre Dame, 4 p.m.
(ACCNE)
LSU at No. 15 Missouri, 5 p.m. (SECN+)
Arkansas at No. 5 Miss St., 6 p.m. (SECN)
Hockey
NHL
Wednesday’s Games
Detroit 2, Ottawa 1, OT
Chicago 5, N.Y. Rangers 2
Thursday’s Games
Florida at Boston, 4 p.m.
Carolina at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m.
San Jose at Toronto, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Vegas at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
New Jersey at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Calgary, 6 p.m.
Anaheim at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Columbus at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Nashville at Arizona, 6 p.m.
Football
NFL
Wild-card Playoffs
Saturday’s Games
Tennessee at Kansas City, 4:35 p.m.
(ESPN/ABC)
Atlanta at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m.
(NBC)
Sunday’s Games
Buffalo at Jacksonville, 1:05 p.m. (CBS)
Carolina at New Orleans, 4:40 p.m. (FOX)
Golf
PGA TOUR
SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAM-
PIONS
Site: Kapalua, Hawaii.
Course: Kapalua Resort (Plantation
Course). Yardage: 7,452. Par: 73.
Purse: $6.3 million. Winner’s share:
$1,134.000.
Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. (Golf
Channel); Saturday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel);
Sunday, 6-10 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Justin Thomas.