Harvin in space the key to offensive success

In losing Golden Tate to the Detroit Lions in free agency, many thought losing one of their best offensive weapons, on a team many believe to be carried by their defense, would be bad news for the Seattle Seahawks. Last night was just one game, but we saw how effective they can be offensively with some fantastic play calling.

A quick glance at our premium stats from last night's game will show you that, with the exception of just four players, nobody on the Seattle offense had a particularly standout game. What really stood out though, was how well they used Percy Harvin, something which Seahawks fans have been teased about since the team traded for him, with him seeing just 68 snaps in the regular season and playoffs last year.

He finished the season opener against the Green Bay Packers 100 yards of total offense on 11 touches and, other than two missed tackles forces on runs, didn't have to work too hard for it, with the Seahawks game plan putting him in an excellent position time and time again. Let's take a look at two of his longest plays of the night.

On 1st-and-10 with 8:37 left in the first quarter Harvin took the ball off right end on a Jet Sweep and, with linebacker Julius Peppers freezing on the fake to Marshawn Lynch, and a solid block by Zach Miller on Morgan Burnett left him with an easy 13 yards and a first down.

Then, on 2nd-and-12  with 13:39 left in the second quarter, they brought Harvin across the field on a deep crossing route, leaving him one-one-one with Burnett in a matchup the safety was never likely to win. The result? A 33 yard completion that came about as a direct result of the Seahawks taking advantage of a matchup problem for the Packers.

Those plays account for 46 of his 100 total yards, and highlight just how effective the Seahawks offense can be with smart play calling putting their playmakers in a position to succeed. When you thrown in the league's most difficult running back to tackle in Marshawn Lynch, as well as a viable running threat in Russell Wilson, Seattle has some dangerous options in their backfield and last night was just a snippet of how they'll be deployed this season.