KIRKLAND - This is the seventh installment of "Coach’s Corner", as we talk to a different member of the Seahawks coaching staff each week. In those talks will be a series of questions from Seahawks.com, and the coaches will explain how they prepare for each game.
Quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn is in his seventh season as a Seahawks assistant and 10th in the NFL. Zorn, a member of the Seahawks Ring of Honor from his career as the Seahawks first quarterback from 1976-84, returned to the Seahawks in 2001 following three years as quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions. He had been an assistant one year prior to that with the Seahawks as well – his first in the NFL following two years as quarterbacks coach at the University of Minnesota, three years as offensive coordinator at Utah State, and four years as quarterbacks coach at Boise State.
Zorn, 53, finished his career leading the Seahawks in every passing category, and has been instrumental in developing current Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck into a Pro Bowl quarterback, and tutoring Seneca Wallace into the backup role and this Sunday’s starter in Hasselbeck’s absence. His swashbuckling style as a player has translated well into the Seahawks staff, and he consistently offers creative approaches to move the ball.
He works very closely with offensive coordinator Gil Haskell and head coach Mike Holmgren establishing the first and second down passing game, off-setting blitzes, and third-and-long situations. Additionally, his communication with offensive line coach Bill Laveroni is paramount for continuity in schemes. He runs the meetings with Hasselbeck, Wallace, 2004 third-round draft choice David Greene, and free agent signee Gibran Hamdan.
"Coach's Corner" with Jim Zorn
We have so much we’re doing game week, there’s not a lot of time to start the week before. So the whole package starts on Monday morning. Now, our quality control coach on offense, Gary Reynolds, starts a week or even two weeks getting things broken down on tape so that we have a lot of information Monday morning. That way we’re not having to break things down to get it prepared; it’s already prepared so we can begin seeing what we believe can work.
On Monday we’re watching the tape on our own, creating our own ideas of what will work, and then a couple of times during the day the whole offensive staff comes together to talk about the defense: individual players, individual schemes, and then we go back to work on our own to figure out some of the base things we’re thinking about. Really, what we’re dedicating ourselves to is first and second-down concepts - things that Mike’s going to call on first and second down.
Tuesday, we get down to some serious stuff on all-day game plan. I’m working on blitz, first and second down ideas, and I’m trying to formulate some of the things to talk to the quarterbacks about – things to expect, coverages – how they look, what’s different about them and unique. I really concentrate on Tuesday evening on first and second down blitz packages. By Tuesday night, we have the plan-up on the board that is first and second-down thoughts. And then you come back and revisit it and cross some things out. We fine tune it, and by the time we give it to them on Wednesday, it’s not completely etched in stone; but it’s hardening.
The Monday and Tuesday schedule is all committed to getting all the information to the players in meetings before noon and Wednesday practice. We didn’t exhaust them, but they are fully into the game plan Wednesday. I start with them at 8 o’clock on Wednesday morning on the blitz along with Bill Laveroni. We talk about how we’re going to do things and how we’re going to communicate them.
After practice on Wednesday, we’ve formulating third down. From Wednesday morning to Wednesday evening, each of the coaches with their individual responsibilities have figured out their calls. I’m responsible for third-and-long and third-and-extra long. We all formulate ideas, and on Wednesday night we talk about all those ideas with Mike – goal line and short yardage as well.
Thursday is when we install it, talk about it and execute it, and now we’ll go back to red zone, more blitz, and nickel.
That makes Friday a very difficult practice because they don’t wear pads - we do our red zone stuff, but we also clean up anything that we want to review on all the areas and situations.
Mike can do anything he wants. If he wants to put something in on Saturday, then he can and we do it to the best of our abilities. What we do is take things out - things that don’t work. If it didn’t look right or somebody didn’t understand it, there’s no use in forcing that on anybody. If you can’t sell it to the player and he just doesn’t quite figure it out, it’s not that he’s insubordinate. Sometimes things just don’t look good. You think, "Gosh, I thought it would be good," but it wasn’t. Those are the ones that you want to get out Friday afternoon after everything is said and done.
Gil will say, "I’m taking this out or that out." Or another coach will say, "This play didn’t look good in practice – I wanted it in there, but it never looked good. I’m taking that out and this is what I’m putting in." So a play can get inserted to replace another play, but rarely does that happens.
Saturday we do another blitz drill in the walk-through and we do the mock game where we go through all the game situations. That’s when we get the last-minute look at what we’re doing.
The only difference this week with Seneca playing instead of Matt is I was very conscious of not putting in exotic plays. Things that are hard to call as far as wild formations. To try to get a certain guy in a certain position, we’ve tried to keep that easier for him. We’ve cut out maybe five plays just to keep the number down. Other than that, there was nothing really different. There wasn’t anything in there where we said, "Matt could run this, but Seneca can’t." We’re fully confident he knows this offense.
I take pride in trying to do a good job and I'm proud where Seneca is, but I also have expectations. I will be disappointed with anything else but a great game and excellent execution against the Chiefs.
That’s what my job is all about.
This & That
Floyd Womack played guard on the scout team Wednesday, with his left knee rapidly improving. “I felt good – no pain,” Womack said. “But it’s been so long, I still have to get my legs under me to play.” He said he should be fully ready next week...Wide receiver Bobby Engram dressed but did not practice, running shuttle drills in a continuing mode to regain his strength and weight from a bout with viral thyroiditis. He isn’t expected back until next week either. Same goes for running back Shaun Alexander, who has begun running on the treadmill and is expected back for the Nov. 6 Monday night game with the Oakland Raiders. Matt Hasselbeck was off crutches from his sprained right knee and riding the stationary bike to keep his cardio up...Right tackle Sean Locklear was downgraded from probable to questionable with a sprained left ankle, as Tom Ashworth continued to work with the first team. Neither linebacker D.D. Lewis (turf toe) nor defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs practiced and both are questionable for the game against the Chiefs on Sunday.