Why Randall Cobb Should Be the Seahawks' Primary Defensive Concern

Green Bay Packers slot receiver Randall Cobb isn’t just a slot receiver. He’s not just a punt returner either.

He’s both of those things wrapped into one threatening, dynamic bundle. He accelerates out of his breaks quickly, moves even faster when changing direction with the ball and will often line up in the backfield.

He needs to be the Seattle Seahawks’ focus during the NFC Championship Game Sunday. Stopping Cobb means removing a significant and multi-faceted element from the Packers offense, allowing attention to shift elsewhere.

But stopping or even limiting Cobb can't be done through physical punishment alone. That’s a familiar method of defensive stonewalling for the Seahawks, one championed by safety and human hammer Kam Chancellor during the divisional round. Containing Cobb calls for a more nuanced approach due to the multiple ways he can gather yards in chunks.

He can do it a little more conventionally with terrific hands while tip-toeing the sideline.

Or he can morph into full punt returner mode following a short target. Cobb finished with 556 yards after the catch during the regular season. That was the fourth most among wide receivers, and the seventh highest total overall.

He also finished 2014 with the most receiving yards from the slot. It wasn’t even a little bit close either, with Cobb 232 yards ahead of his closest competition, according to Pro Football Focus.

Receiver	Slot percentage	Yards	TDs
Randall Cobb	87.3	1,067	12
Jordan Matthews	92.4	835	8
Marques Colston	75.6	715	4

Seattle’s task now is to slow a receiver who can be deployed in multiple ways, and scored the only touchdown allowed by the Seahawks over the last two games between these teams.

Back in Week 1 that mission mostly went well during an eventual Seahawks win, with a few notable hiccups as Cobb showed why he’s always a looming threat and matchup problem (he finished with six receptions for 58 yards).

In that game the Packers leaned heavily on a play we’ll likely see often Sunday afternoon in different variations.

Late in the first quarter Cobb lined up in the right slot with Seahawks nickelback Jeremy Lane across from him. The Packers tried to set up a natural pickoff of Jordy Nelson’s slant to free space for Cobb, which worked only partially. Lane fought through it and was able to stick with Cobb as he worked toward the sideline.

Lane matched Cobb nearly stride-for-stride, so quarterback Aaron Rodgers was forced to lob a far-shoulder throw even higher than he would have liked. It was going to be either a spectacular catch by Cobb or a routine incompletion.

That’s exactly the scenario a cornerback wants to force. If the catch is made, then you give the opponent whichever standard respect greeting suits your style (I prefer the silent nod), and carry on to the next play. But if your man ends up skying with one hand while grasping at nothing, you’ve done your job.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

But much like the shrewd poker player who takes a conservative approach and then suddenly drops a mammoth re-raise, the Packers are all about the long con.

They showed Lane that outside route with the pick off Nelson (or “rub” in football language) early, hoping he would offer even a slight cushion if the same play began to develop later.

That’s what he did on 3rd-and-5 in the second quarter when Cobb lined up in the left slot and then sprinted toward the sideline, with Nelson again stepping in Lane’s direction to the inside. This time it was all a lie, though, as Cobb stopped abruptly after two steps.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

In an instant Cobb was going the other direction. And Lane? He was spinning.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

With Lane lost and turned around Cobb had created plenty of space for an easy completion that he turned into a drive-extending 11-yard gain. Lane was beaten there by both deception, and Cobb’s ability to change direction quickly.

Although he’s still targeted deep at times, Cobb makes his money by turning short throws into long gains. A quick throw functions as a long handoff for both Cobb and the Packers offense. Of Cobb’s 91 receptions this season, 63 came either behind the line of scrimmage or within 10 yards, according to PFF.

Like a running back hitting the hole, he quickly diagnoses the positioning of a defender after securing the ball, and then attacks appropriately. The key to defending Cobb in that situation is simple enough in theory, yet little is truly simple with him. A defender needs speed, both mentally and physically.

The slot cornerback (which will be a combination of Lane and Tharold Simon this Sunday) needs to do his own diagnosing and react rapidly when Cobb is targeted short. Then he needs to spring toward the receiver as the ball is in flight, preventing Cobb from making even a single move.

That’s what Lane did in Week 1 during a goal-to-go play when Cobb received a quick strike from Rodgers. The ball hasn’t arrived in his hands, and already Lane is breaking fast.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Nelson was acting as Cobb’s lead blocker on the play. The aim was to have Cobb round the corner into the end zone, which would have been well within his reach if Lane trailed by even a half step. But there was no hesitation by the nickelback as he wrapped Cobb up for no gain.

Lane allowed only six yards in coverage that game and a passer rating of 64.6 (both per PFF). He spent most of his evening lined up across from Cobb, whose 23-yard reception came when he found a hole behind linebacker Bobby Wagner with the Seahawks in zone coverage.

Seattle will need to neutralize Green Bay’s most versatile threat by duplicating that effort.

Packers running back Eddie Lacy wasn’t healthy in Week 1, and Rodgers was limited as a passer when cornerback Richard Sherman wasn’t targeted in coverage once. That won’t happen again, and now in addition to Nelson the Seahawks secondary will also have to deal with quickly emerging rookie wide receiver Davante Adams.

A run defense that allowed only 81.5 yards per game during the regular season can confidently contain Lacy. And the league's best pass defense (185.6 yards allowed per game) rarely struggles with vertical threats.

But Cobb brings a different skill set, and a unique blend of receiver and returner, with a small sprinkle of running back. If the Seahawks can make all three Cobbs irrelevant or close to it, they’ll have a shot at completing the first successful title defense since 2005.