How The 2022 Seahawks Use RPOs To Help Geno Smith
In Geno Smith's impressive performance versus the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks offense finally used Run-Pass Option plays! This proved to be an excellent complement to Seattle's balanced attack.
We saw a new schematic wrinkle from the Seahawks offense last Monday. This addition saw Seattle, and Geno Smith, punish the Denver Broncos’ defense for wanting to play two-high structure and a lot of zone coverage. Yes, finally, we have Run-Pass Option in Seattle.
Now, the “RPO” term can be triggering. That Eagles Super Bowl LII campaign really did send the concept into overdrive, with seemingly every football broadcast mentioning Run-Pass Option—even if the play was a normal play-action pass. Covered-to-the-point of error or not, RPO is highly relevant in the case of the 2022 Seahawks. It gave the week 1 offense cheap, easy yards while helping Geno Smith quarterback. These can’t-lose completions built rhythm into offensive drives.
When Russell Wilson was Seattle’s quarterback, we didn’t see him reading whether to hand the ball off or throw during a play, there was no RPO. “Russell didn’t like it,” Brock Huard of 710 ESPN Seattle said September 6th. “He would tell you that, some people around him would tell you that.”
The closest thing we got to RPO with Wilson was attached throws on running plays. These still existed with Smith, with the quarterback throwing two smoke routes to DK Metcalf.
This is an extension of the run game, the idea being to get the ball to your playmaker in some space rather than handing off into the box. If there is a one-on-one outside and off coverage; take the throw rather than handing off. Unfortunately, the second time Seattle called this versus Denver, Metcalf tried to do too much and fumbled.
Yet thankfully, we got more than the simple attached throws with Smith! We got sexy RPOs!