Monday we took our first step into looking at each and every article

of the collective bargaining agreement of the NFL as the slow portion of the offseason sneaks closer. Here we’ll move right..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteField Gullsa Seattle Seahawks communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsSeahawksOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections VideosCoffee and CigarettesGame AnalysisThe Numbers GameCigar ThoughtsFiled under:The OffseasonCap ClassroomAn Article a Day of the CBA: Article 2 Governing Agreement and how the Patriots can hire a Tom Brady owned companyNew Byron Maxwell Color Rush Jersey ,15commentsPDTShareTweetShareShareAn Article a Day of the CBA: Article 2 Governing Agreement and how the Patriots can hire a Tom Brady owned companyPhoto by Harry How/Getty ImagesMonday we took our first step into looking at each and every article of the collective bargaining agreement of the NFL as the slow portion of the offseason sneaks closer. Here we’ll move right along to Article 2, which is the governing agreement of the collective bargaining agreement. Article 2 is comprised of five separate sections, most of which are fairly basic, and much as we saw in Article 1, more along the lines of formalities necessary in any 300+ page legal document than digging too deep into specifics. Sections 1 and 2 of the CBA, entitled Conflicts and Implementation, respectively, simply lay out the parties covered by the CBA and that all parties will use their best efforts to follow the rules as laid out. These parties include the NFL, the NFL Players Association, the NFL Management Council, players and teams. Skipping ahead to Section 4, it is the section which effectively lays out that the CBA is the law of the land for the duration of the term covered by the agreement. In short, any subject for which rules and regulations are covered in the CBA can only be changed by mutual agreement of the parties involved. In contrast, Section 5 covers the topic of rounding, in order to make life simpler for the accountants tasked with calculating the financial sums due to players or teams under the CBA. In short, any and all amounts which are to be calculated under the CBA, such as minimum salaries, qualifying offers (ERFA tenders Sebastian Janikowski Color Rush Jersey , etc), player salaries and such, are all to be rounded to the nearest $1,000 for the sake of simplicity. Now, sliding back up to Section 3, this is a section which has inadvertently gained a significant amount of indirect attention in recent years, specifically as it relates to the New England Patriots and their relationship as a customer of TB12. TB12 is, of course, the nutrition and health company partially owned by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and it is this relationship which has brought forth many online accusations of the Pats circumventing the salary cap by paying Brady under the table. In any case, the language of Article 2: Section 3 is as follows:In short, when running their business, as long as teams do not violate the terms of the CBA, they are free to run things as they see fit. That means that if a team has an outside agreement, such as the one the Patriots have with Brady, with a player on the roster, as long as it complies with the CBA’s regulations on the salary cap and other relevant regulations, it is perfectly fine under the CBA. Specifically Dontae Johnson Color Rush Jersey , as it relates to Brady’s TB12 venture for which the Pats are a customer, the NFL has stated, “We are aware of the arrangement and have not determined that there is any violation of the CBA.” and at the same time the NFLPA maintains the position that there is no salary cap implications from the Brady agreement. Thus, if the Seattle Seahawks wanted to do something similar with Russell Wilson or one of their other players, as long as the agreement doesn’t violate the rules and regulations laid out by the CBA, then there is no violation. Now, one can call into question how well Brady’s agreement with the Pats was vetted by the league, but as for the official position of the NFL, the NFLPA and the Patriots, the Brady deal is above board. The Seattle Seahawks got funky last Monday. Ken Norton Jr. stunted hard, unleashing wild, looping blitzes. His defense looked like Kris Richard’s Seahawks with 3-down linemen looks. On the back end, the coverage was also a complete change up. Seattle predominantly ran two-high safety pass defenses that turned into either match quarters, cover-2 man or bracket man. Single-high, cover-3 and cover-1? This was only witnessed against heavier personnel and formations.Here’s what Kirk Cousins (probably) said at half time:Yes, in addition to the Seahawks’ distractingly lurid ACTION green uniforms, their defensive scheme was also deceiving. The result was a rattled, confused $84M quarterback who double-clutched and missed throws. Norton Jr.’s gameplan was completely different to what the Minnesota Vikings would have prepared for in the days leading up to their 21-7 defeat. The now fired John DeFilippo struggled to figure out ways to move the football. Seattle popped off the screen in more ways than one on Monday Night Football. What this article will cover is the bracket/bandit coverages. In Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs D.J. Fluker Color Rush Jersey , the Vikings have the deadliest receiving duo in the league. The Seahawks limited them to 76 and 70 receiving yards respectively. Zero touchdowns. That’s not bad at all, especially when you factor in garbage time production.In the first quarter, Seattle befuddled Minnesota’s opening script and didn’t allow a single Thielen or Diggs reception. Let’s get to their second drive of the game.Bracket/Bandit #1The Vikings came out in an 11 personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end and 3 wide receivers), empty shotgun set featuring two wingbacks. They were lied to pre-snap by the Seahawks’ 3-1-7 big seven defensive back (bandit personnel) defense on this 3rd and 12.It looked like a cover-2 man press defense. Instead, Seattle rushed just two of their players. Jacob Martin, lined up at left end, dropped as his green dog assignment required him to stop his rush and cover the releasing man one-on-one.Meanwhile, in the deep secondary, Delano Hill bracketed Thielen over the top. The coverage saw Griffin and Hill double cover Thielen. The other safety, Tedric Thompson, was assigned Diggs deep. Diggs had to contend with the man coverage of Justin Coleman, walling from the initially sugared Akeem King and Thompson: triple coverage. Cousins first looked at Diggs, expecting the middle of the field to be open. He quickly progressed, given the safety movement and immediate two-man plastering. His second read was Thielen’s in-breaking deep route outside. The underneath and over the top layers smothered Thielen, making this even less preferable of a throw.Checking that Martin had dropped with the flat route checkdown, Cousins panned to the other side of the field and the checkdown of Dalvin Cook in the flat. Bobby Wagner, in man coverage over the running back Barkevious Mingo Color Rush Jersey , dropped him for a loss. (The refs made a very strange call on Wagner here, but the coverage still worked beautifully.)Bracket/Bandit #2The bizarre flag on Wagner kept Minnesota’s drive alive, only for them to stall in similar fashion on the next third down—a 3rd and 12. The Vikings plumped for an 11 personnel shotgun trips formation; the Seahawks once more responded with a 3-1-7 big bandit (7 DBs).The assignments were similar, as was the result. King walled Diggs’ skinny post route, along with the man-to-man press coverage of Griffin and the bracketing of Hill. On the opposite side of the field, the isolated Thielen had Thompson work his way over the top to double cover him above Tre Flowers. It was this safety movement that Cousins first observed. Correctly choosing to move to his next read, Cousins again saw a triple-covered Diggs. He went for the one-on-one the defense produced. Coleman worked well on Aldrick Robinson’s wickedly angled vertical route, staying easily in phase with the receiver.Up front, Jarran Reed managed to command a double-team (benefited by pre-snap sugaring) that saw Martin get a one-on-one with right tackle Brian O’Neill. Beating him for speed to the corner, Martin dipped through and registered a hit on Cousins. Hurried, Cousins’ pass fell nowhere near the intended receiver and Coleman’s sound coverage. Change-Up Seattle’s ability to adapt to their opponent is a massively underrated aspect to Pete Carroll’s genius as a defensive coach. Undoubtedly, Norton Jr. had influence on the scheme too. The Seahawks’ near-perfect execution had Cousins reeling: they went to match-quarters stuff for the rest of the game and it was similarly effective.Said Cousins:The proactive measures neutered the Vikings’ offense of any tangible threat. It was deadly, like Nolan Ryan’s circle change-up after a ton of scorching fastballs. Minnesota was left looking silly.Bobby Wagner reflected on the Bandit coverage post-game:Here’s what Carroll thought of the schematic tweak: With a playoff run now nearly certain, it’s comforting to know that Seattle has ways of taking lethal receivers out of games. Cousins was persistently forced to his tertiary read and he looked shell-shocked in the big moments. A stifling defense that imposes that level of psychological stress on a quarterback is something that screams SEAHAWKS IN DECEMBER. The astonishing part is we can think that about this rebuilding iteration of Carroll’s Seattle. I’m in!