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The Seattle Seahawks will have a tall task on their hands dealing with the New England Patriots front seven, featuring tons of players peaking at the right time. Seattle’s key to stopping their plan is anchored by center Jalen Sundell.
Since coming back from injury in Week 15, Sundell has been one of the best centers in the NFL. His above-average athleticism is especially surprising considering he went undrafted out of an FCS school just last year. Once you see Grey Zabel and him play together, though, it’s easy to see why North Dakota State was a championship contender every year.
At 6’5”, 300 pounds, Sundell moves extremely well in the run game. He’ll consistently find a way to get an angle on defensive linemen in just a few steps, and linebackers who are smaller than him despite having to move in space with a bigger body. However, his biggest foes in the run game will be ready for him in the Super Bowl, too.
Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams should’ve been last year’s Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles as he played the best game of his career while going up against the Kansas City Chiefs and All-Pro center Creed Humphrey. He had two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown. The Patriots paid big money for him this past offseason, at 4 years, $104 million, and he came on especially strong in the playoffs after missing Weeks 12-17. Luckily, Sundell’s size and athleticism gives him a chance to cope with Williams, who features the same- but if last year’s Super Bowl performance against Humphrey proved anything, it’s that Sundell will need to communicate with Zabel to account for Williams, and double-team him when it gets dicey inside.
In the second level for New England, linebacker Christian Elliss has been playing out of his mind the second half of the season. Another undrafted FCS product of the University of Idaho, he’s earned New England head coach Mike Vrabel’s trust as a modern scheme fit with his speed and physical instincts. He puts himself in especially good positions to make plays, and his battle with Sundell will be crucial to the how the Seahawks run game works next Sunday.
If you were to tell Sundell that he’d be starting the Super Bowl two years ago, or even one year ago, it’d be a massive surprise to most in his position- but he carries himself and communicates like a veteran. Those qualities have allowed him to take his talents to this position, and Seattle shouldn’t take him for granted going into their first Super Bowl in 11 years.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks: C Jalen Sundell key to stopping Patriots in Super Bowl LX
Continue reading...
Since coming back from injury in Week 15, Sundell has been one of the best centers in the NFL. His above-average athleticism is especially surprising considering he went undrafted out of an FCS school just last year. Once you see Grey Zabel and him play together, though, it’s easy to see why North Dakota State was a championship contender every year.
At 6’5”, 300 pounds, Sundell moves extremely well in the run game. He’ll consistently find a way to get an angle on defensive linemen in just a few steps, and linebackers who are smaller than him despite having to move in space with a bigger body. However, his biggest foes in the run game will be ready for him in the Super Bowl, too.
Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams should’ve been last year’s Super Bowl MVP for the Philadelphia Eagles as he played the best game of his career while going up against the Kansas City Chiefs and All-Pro center Creed Humphrey. He had two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown. The Patriots paid big money for him this past offseason, at 4 years, $104 million, and he came on especially strong in the playoffs after missing Weeks 12-17. Luckily, Sundell’s size and athleticism gives him a chance to cope with Williams, who features the same- but if last year’s Super Bowl performance against Humphrey proved anything, it’s that Sundell will need to communicate with Zabel to account for Williams, and double-team him when it gets dicey inside.
In the second level for New England, linebacker Christian Elliss has been playing out of his mind the second half of the season. Another undrafted FCS product of the University of Idaho, he’s earned New England head coach Mike Vrabel’s trust as a modern scheme fit with his speed and physical instincts. He puts himself in especially good positions to make plays, and his battle with Sundell will be crucial to the how the Seahawks run game works next Sunday.
If you were to tell Sundell that he’d be starting the Super Bowl two years ago, or even one year ago, it’d be a massive surprise to most in his position- but he carries himself and communicates like a veteran. Those qualities have allowed him to take his talents to this position, and Seattle shouldn’t take him for granted going into their first Super Bowl in 11 years.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks: C Jalen Sundell key to stopping Patriots in Super Bowl LX
Continue reading...
