Aaron Curry: What His Presence Means

With the fourth overall pick in the draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected Aaron Curry out of Wake Forest. 

The Seahawks were elated to have Curry fall to them at No. 4, especially after trading Julian Peterson to the Detroit Lions this offseason.

Curry presence should have an immediate impact on a lackluster defense that finished 30th in the league in total defense. However, there is one man who should benefit the most out of Curry’s presence on the defense.

That man is Leroy Hill.

The last three seasons Leroy Hill has been limited to only six sacks, which could be attributed to playing alongside Julian Peterson. In his first season with the Seahawks in 2005 Hill recorded seven and half sacks. 

While Peterson was a member of the Seahawks, defensive coordinator John Marshall used Peterson mostly as the main pass rusher. That left Hill to cover wide receivers in an attempt to utilize Peterson’s natural pass rushing ability.

In his first two seasons as a Seahawk, Peterson totaled 19.5 sacks. However Peterson only registered five sacks in 2008, his last with the Seahawks. Even though the Seahawks tallied 35 sacks last season, they failed to generate a consistent pass rush from the linebackers.

The Seahawks also had difficulties in the passing game, allowing a league worst 253.9 yards per game.

With the departure of John Marshall, new defensive coordinator Casey “Gus” Bradley will implant his version of the "Tampa 2" defense this season. 

This new defensive scheme for the Seahawks could potentially open up more opportunities to blitz the quarterback especially given Jim Mora’s declaration of running an “attacking” defense, something the Seahawks have been lacking the past three seasons.    

Curry’s presence allows Hill to return to a more comfortable role of attacking the quarterback while Curry will drop by into zone coverage, thus giving Bradley more pass rushing options.  

One of Curry’s weaknesses is in his pass rush ability.

According to an article written on April 12, 2009, one scout said, “Curry’s only knock is that he hasn’t fine-tuned his pass rush. He understands the concepts, but doesn’t have the great experience to really match up against tight ends or fighting through double teams when blitzing.”

Another article says, “Watching Curry, it appears he lacks hip fluidity and doesn’t run so well when it’s not in a straight line. Not necessarily a game changer who opponents need to game plan around. Wasn’t asked to blitz a whole lot and doesn’t have great career sack totals. Because of this, Curry doesn’t have great pass rush moves.”

While Hill’s strength is rushing the quarterback, Curry is more apt to cover receivers in zone coverage.  

In his junior season at Wake Forest he set an ACC record with 254 return yards and four interceptions, including three of them for touchdowns.

With Curry, Hill could potentially return to his 2005 form and wreck havoc on opposing quarterbacks, which could be exactly what the Seahawks need to bounce back in 2009.