Ken Norton Jr.'s 'Wolves:' How Seahawks' Defense Beat Cardinals' No-Huddle Attack

The Seahawks' defense schemed up some smart ways to attack the Cardinals' offense in Week 18. The team's official YouTube channel showed the process behind defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr's play-calls and coaching. Matty F. Brown breaks down the "wolves" pressure that hurt Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray's no-huddle attack.

The 2021 Seahawks mic’d-up segments were still filled with wholesome goodness, but featured less juicy, nerdy, scheme nuggets for Xs and Os degenerates than past years. Thankfully, a schematic morsel did feature in the final all-access episode of the season. The Week 18 edition contained delicious insight into the methods of Seattle defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.—as a tactical mind and as a coach.

“Hey Brooksy,” Norton started, talking to second-year linebacker Jordyn Brooks. “You almost had a shot on the 'wolves,' I like it when it’s no huddle, because they don’t have time to do all the changes. They locked in to their stuff and then it should be open all the time. When it’s regular, they can see it, they do all the checking, but it’s no huddle, you get it in right [turns and points to Cody Barton] it’s on all day, it’s on all day.”

Note: the clip should start at 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

Firstly, Norton’s player management in the clip is interesting. He succinctly taught Brooks, making his 17th start of the season, the strategic thinking in-game. For Brooks to continue his development into an elite linebacker, his football knowledge and intelligence must keep advancing.

Norton made sure to finish by holding Cody Barton accountable to his role. The fill-in middle linebacker was making his first start of the season in the absence of Bobby Wagner. Barton, like when he stepped in early for the injured Wagner in Week 17 versus the Lions, was responsible for relaying Norton’s calls to the rest of the defense and adjusting the defensive front mechanics based on the offense’s formation.

So what was the “wolves” play-call and what does it teach us about Norton as a schemer? Well, the clip of Norton arrives after footage of Josh Jones’ third down pass breakup. Yet, the play the defensive coordinator was referencing actually arrived on second down.

pic.twitter.com/mkg9FaaqBb

— Ultra Rare Tape (@UltraRareTape) January 12, 2022

On the 2nd and 7 play, the Seahawks aligned in their base bear front defense called “stick," placing five defenders down at the line of scrimmage. The Cardinals, going no-huddle after a three-yard gain on first down, decided to keep only their five offensive linemen in pass protection and block the defensive front with a man scheme, going "big on big."

Seattle’s “wolves” play-call was likely a word-associated deal and it makes sense that the defense has one-word play-calls for fast-paced attacks. It may very well have been referring to the weak nature of the unit's pressure. The Seahawks dropped their typical LEO pass rusher, Darrell Taylor, into coverage and rushed typical SAM linebacker Benson Mayowa off the boundary edge along with Brooks, at WILL linebacker, blitzing the A-gap. This was a 3-deep, 3-under fire zone.

The alternative instructive meaning behind “wolves” could just have been a reference to Brooks being the rusher. Looking at the rest of the defensive structure, with the MIKE, Barton, to the right of Brooks, it would made sense if Taylor was technically the SAM and Mayowa technically the LEO: SAM-MIKE-WILL. This discussion is the beauty of this bear, 3-4-esque defensive vision with two SAM/LEO types out on the field—things get confusing for the offense working out who the true fourth rusher is. The aforementioned first explanation of "wolves" is the most likely given Seattle, when running cover 3 from base bear, has the LEO to the field and keeps Brooks' speed into the boundary for some weak hook issues.

Bryan Mone, at nose tackle, took his rush path to the right of the man-blocking center, while Rasheem Green, on the left of the defense, rushed the B-gap, occupying the guard. This opened up room for Jordyn Brooks in the A-gap. The Cardinals essentially wasted their fifth guy, the tackle, who had no one to block with Taylor dropping into hot to 2 pass coverage.

To pick this up with their blocking scheme, Arizona would have needed to keep their running back in the pass protection scheme. Instead, James Conner released into the pattern. Kyler Murray was able to find Conner in the flat just before Brooks brought him down for the sack.

This checkdown, essentially throwing hot from the quarterback, is a valid counterpunch from the offense, yet letting a rusher clean through the shortest—and quickest—route to the quarterback is never a preferred choice. You can tell that from the reaction of right guard Max Garcia, who visibly panicked and hastened while managing to get hands on Brooks after contacting Green.

Safety Quandre Diggs was the hot to 2 defender into the boundary. With Murray forced into the quick throw while backpedaling away from Brooks’ rush, Diggs was able to rally to the football and make the stop for a very short one-yard gain, bringing up a pass-first 3rd and 6 situation (this would, thanks to A.J. Green’s offensive pass interference penalty, become the 3rd and 14 that Josh Jones succeeded on).

pic.twitter.com/mkg9FaaqBb

— Ultra Rare Tape (@UltraRareTape) January 12, 2022

There was one other occasion that the Seahawks called in their “wolves” 3-deep, 3-under fire zone pressure (as nickel became more needed than base personnel).

pic.twitter.com/ujeOpybFng

— Ultra Rare Tape (@UltraRareTape) January 13, 2022

Again, Arizona decided to go fast on offense and Seattle faced another second down—this time 2nd and 6. The Cardinals chose the other option for their five-man pass protection versus the five-down look from the Seahawks’ “stick” bear font—a full-slide towards Carlos Dunlap.

Dunlap instead dropped on the play, with Seattle shading the deep middle 1/3 of Ugo Amadi over to Dunlap’s side in order to compensate for the defensive end’s coverage style. While Arizona was able to pick up Brooks coming through the A-gap, their five-man pass protection slide to Dunlap meant that Mayowa was unblocked.

Murray wanted to work the in-cut of his tight end, Zach Ertz, to the field. Instead, the quarterback had Mayowa clean in his face and he was subsequently forced away with his eyes and feet. 

Murray checked down to his releasing running back, Jonathan Ward, with another backpedaling toss. Cornerback D.J. Reed and Dunlap were able to rally to the throw.

While the inside Dunlap was slow in space and Reed did not bring his man down on the outside, the play ended in similar fashion: a miserly two-yard gain, creating a 3rd and 4 that Seattle forced an incompletion on. 

pic.twitter.com/ujeOpybFng

— Ultra Rare Tape (@UltraRareTape) January 13, 2022

“Wolves," then, was an example of Norton’s gameplan for Arizona’s no-huddle attack. As the defensive coordinator explained to Brooks and Barton, it exploited the Cardinals’ rapid style, attacking the lack of adjustments possible and therefore the predictability in the running back releasing with only big-on-big or full-slide protection possible. This was particularly valuable on the second down and distance, where run and pass were still both likely possibilities.

While the two “wolves” plays did not result in sacks, the pressure dictated where the football could go, resulting in minimal yardage and third downs that allowed Seattle to focus largely on defending the pass.

The Seahawks surrendered just four explosives in this game, and the defense allowed just 23 points—16, really, if you factor in Arizona being given the football at Seattle’s one-yard line after Russell Wilson’s interception. Entering the matchup, the Cardinals' offense had been averaging 28 points per game. 

Often criticized, Ken Norton Jr. ended the 2021 season with some of his best stuff.