Quick, name the Seahawks’ top sack man. Here’s why it’s...Rasheem Green?
Quick, name the Seahawks top sack man.
It’s not Jadeveon Clowney. He’s been too hurt.
It’s not Ziggy Ansah. He’s been hurt more often than Clowney.
It’s not even rookie first-round draft choice L.J. Collier. He’s been inactive in street clothes for much of his debut season.
It’s...Rasheem Green?
Last year, Green was the likely answer to another question during Seahawks games: Who is THAT?
He was basically invisible in his rookie season. The third-round pick had no impact.
What a difference a year—plus a couple of key injuries opening opportunities—make.
The versatile, inside-outside defensive end leads Seattle (11-3) with four sacks entering Sunday’s home game against Arizona that the Seahawks must win to stay on track for the possible first-overall playoff seed in the NFC.
Green has done more than just sack quarterbacks four times in limited, rotational playing time. He’s won faceoffs at the snap with offensive linemen and wrecked running plays. He’s hit ball carriers instantly to force fumbles.
He’s been the kind of surprise contributor teams need to win division titles. The Seahawks are wins Sunday and next weekend at home versus San Francisco from doing that.
“He’s doing great. I’m just happy that he’s been such a factor now,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s really playing consistently at run and pass, which is great. Forcing fumbles and being active in the backfield rushing the passer. He’s playing multiple spots. He’s grown into it.
“He’s a big part of what we’re doing. And I’m really fired up for him.”
Especially because the Seahawks need him for the all-important pass rush, the factor that emerged last month to finally begin forcing turnovers and change Seattle’s season.
Clowney is doubtful to play against Arizona. He’s probably going to miss his second consecutive game because the core-muscle injury he’s trying to play through isn’t getting better.
Left unsaid: the Seahawks need Clowney more next week against the 49ers, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and San Francisco’s varied offense in the division-title game next week. The Seahawks feel they’ve got Green to get after Arizona’s rookie Kyler Murray, the NFL’s most-sacked QB (46 times in 14 games).
Ansah has missed the last two games with a nerve issue in his neck that may be related to the shoulder surgery he had 12 months ago that ended with time with Detroit. Ansah has missed five of the first 14 games overall, and has 2 1/2 sacks all season. Seattle’s win at Philadelphia Nov. 24—when he had 1 1/2 sacks, two tackles for loss, two hits on quarterback Carson Wentz and one forced fumble—has been the only game Ansah has had the impact the Seahawks expected he would.
They signed him in May to a one-year contract that could have been worth up to $9 million, but the 30-year-old Ansah won’t see many of those performance and weekly-availability bonuses in his deal.
Ansah is expected to play Sunday against the Cardinals.
Green will play. And lately that’s been a great deal for Seattle.
“I feel like I’ve taken some steps forward. I’ve gotten more comfortable,” Green said.
Green is still just 22 years old; he finish his career at USC while he was only 20. So a lot of his growth is natural, the maturation of a young man into a grown one.
A lot of it is also what Carroll—all NFL coaches, really—see as the biggest growth for any pro player: between the first and second years of their careers.
His latest sack last weekend in the Seahawks;’ win at Carolina was an example of Green’s growth.
He sped off the defense’s right edge and raced at Panthers left tackle Dennis Daley. Green countered the rookie’s first move of two punches at him with two quick rips of his hands then a burst rush to Daley’s outside. The left tackle was flailing as Green went past him and tackled Carolina quarterback Kyle Allen before he had a chance to throw the ball.
Green credited his film study of Daley in preparation for last weekend’s game for that play that forced the Panthers to punt and allowed Seattle to maintain its 20-7 lead in the second quarter.
“It was just knowing how he shoots his hands, and just having my hands ready to counter for him placing his hands,” Green said. “When he picked them out I knew he was going to shoot them again, so I already in my mind was going to cover it.”
Carroll and general manager John Schneider are getting huge production with Green at rock-bottom cost.
Clowney is costing Seattle $8 million this season at the end of the contract it inherited from Houston while trading for him Sept. 1.
Ansah’s is getting $6 million guaranteed.
Green’s second-year salary on his rookie contract: $639,000.
He is thriving in a mini version of the role Pro Bowl sack man Michael Bennett had in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl seasons of 2013 and ‘14. He rushes from an outside, end position on early downs. Then on third-down passing situations, Green often slides inside as a hybrid “three-technique” tackle in the gap between the guard and center. With Clowney and Ansah out lately, Shaquem Griffin and Collier have been getting more time as the outside rush ends on third downs as Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. try to maintain pressure with a patchwork pass rush.
The varied roles are old hat for Green. He was an inside-outside end at USC.
“It’s not too challenging,” he said. “I’ve played lot of three-tech in college. I really didn’t play on the edge. I feel like my background playing on the interior, and the coaching I get, that’s helped me learn the edge a lot quicker.
“And this year, J.D. (Clowney) and Ziggy have been great. And coaches have been having me adjust better. The combination of things has helped me be more comfortable.
“And grow.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 12:43 PM.
