The Seattle Seahawks’ OTA practices last week were open to media members, which offered them the first glimpse of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s scheme.
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Of course, it’s difficult to glean too much from practices at this stage of the offseason. No live contact is allowed, teams are still early in the process of installing their playbooks and new players and coaches alike are still adjusting to their surroundings.
But even with all that in mind, former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus liked what he saw at OTAs from Kubiak’s Shanahan-style offense, which is known for its wide-zone blocking scheme and play-action attack.
In particular, Bumpus said it was refreshing to see the connectivity of Kubiak’s system and how everything ties together.
“I saw the vision,” Bumpus said during Friday’s Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “I literally saw the vision of Kubiak and this offense. … I saw a wide zone. I saw a wide zone to a screen. I saw a wide zone look to a reverse boot over the top. You just see the connection from play to play to play.
“It was just refreshing to see not necessarily new concepts, but concepts that connect,” he added. “… It’s OTAs, (so) take it for what it is. But the vision was there and it was fun to see it unfold.”
The connectivity of Kubiak’s scheme is something other analysts have highlighted, too.
Back in January, when Kubiak was interviewing for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky described it as a “butterfly effect” during an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. Orlovksy said the attachment from play to play is the biggest difference between Kubiak’s system and the one run by former Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb last season.
“In that (Shanahan coaching) tree that Klint comes from, that scheme, the most fundamental part of it is everything looks the same,” Orlovksy said. “There is always a butterfly effect to a play call, and things are always constantly attached. There’s a consistent sequencing of events. You’re painting a picture so often in that scheme, rather than writing a letter.
“And Ryan Grubb’s stuff (last) year, I do think that there was, we’re gonna call this play, and then we’re gonna call this play, and then two quarters later, we’re gonna call this play,” he added. “There wasn’t a lot of attachment to, all right, we called this, and we have these three things off of it that are gonna look the same or were set up because of.
“I think that’s the fundamental difference.”
Listen to the full Four Down Territory segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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