I was just happy the Seahawks took the lead. I didn’t realize that I—and you—were watching a turning point in NFL history.
It’s called a pop pass—the Seahawks’ first touchdown last Thursday, where Russell Wilson faked a handoff, then moved forward as if he were going to run, then flipped a pass over two defenders to a wide-open Ricardo Lockette, who broke one tackle and scored.
When Auburn used a pop pass to beat Alabama last year, one longtime college coach told SB Nation’s Ian Boyd it was “the most significant thing to happen in college football” last season. It’s no less significant now that Pete Carroll has brought it to the NFL.
The play makes Russell Wilson a dual-threat player in all directions. Quarterbacks have always stepped backwards and thrown, or run sideways and thrown. But Wilson ran forward and threw. This, as Carroll might say, is a big frickin’ deal.
The play comes from northwest Arkansas, which, strange but true, is one of football’s innovation centers. Go read Boyd’s “Evolving the Option: The Pop Pass and the Future of Football” for the whole story, but here’s the short version: Auburn coach Gus Malzahn started as a high-school coach in Arkansas, where he pioneered a multiple-option attack that fellow Arkansans are still tinkering with. There’s a school in Arkansas that gives their running back the option to pass. Is the world ready for quarterback Marshawn Lynch?
Probably not. But you do wonder if football will evolve as basketball has: away from filling traditional positions and toward playing whoever has the most talent. Basketball has asked, Why put a player on the court who can’t shoot? Will football now wonder, Why put a player on the field who can’t throw?
Carroll has already embraced the anti-positional approach with his defense. Other NFL teams employ specialists like the shut-down corner who isn’t expected to tackle or the mammoth defensive tackle who only plays the run. But on Carroll’s defense, everyone is expected to tackle, to defend receivers, and to rush the passer.
After his touchdown pass to Lockette, you saw Wilson turn and point to the Seahawks’ sideline. He was pointing at Carroll, who saw Auburn run the pop pass play last December and thought it could work for the Seahawks. So if you want to see what the Seahawks offense is going to do next, get in front of your TV on Saturdays. Or get a plane ticket to Little Rock.
sportsball@seattleweekly.com
