SAN FRANCISCO — When Mike Vrabel looks into the trenches, he knows his offensive line is going to need to be sharp against the Seahawks if they want to leave Super Bowl 60 with a win.
Seattle’s defensive line was very effective during a 14-3 regular season, as the Seahawks led the NFC with 267 pressures, getting to the quarterback on 38.9% of dropbacks.
In Santa Clara on Thursday, Vrabel said Seattle often only needed four rushers to pressure passers, and the Patriots coach pointed to how well they execute stunts and line games as a catalyst. He knows his offensive line needs to handle those games on the biggest stage.
“It will be a huge factor in the game,” Vrabel said. “They are really good at it. That’s a strength of what they do. That’s how they are able to apply pressure with a four-man rush, is they can straight rush and guys work off of each other, but then guys work well together to get somebody else free or even be the guy that gets free. They pick, they drive to the quarterback and they make it difficult on you.
“So, that will be a huge factor in the game,” Vrabel reiterated, “our ability to protect those in passing downs and passing situations, and not let the guy get to the back hip of the lineman, and then be able to drive, and then you create a two-on-one.”
Vrabel believes the Seahawks play with a relentlessness that shows up on film. As such, Patriots ballcarriers will need to be vigilant when it comes to ball security on Sunday.
“There’s an identity that they play with that they believe in, and they put on tape,” Vrabel said. “When you have talent that plays with great technique and that plays with the type of effort that they do, that gives you a chance to really separate yourself and be special. So, I think they’re a great example of that. They’re talented… they play with the technique that we talk about. You see them play with the effort that we talk about. They’re a good tackling football team. They’re not afraid to come and attack the football, and so they’ve done that really well this year.”
