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The Average OL in Seattle is ~6'4". Russell Wilson is 5'11" but his *eye* level is at best 5'7". Crack out a ruler for yourself if you're curious but eye-level to head height is ~4-6 inches.
I've made the following figure to scale, *painstakingly* to illustrate this point.
All distances in both dimensions are scaled with the OL as the reference for the y dimension.
The angle θ is the angle between the top of the OL and Russ' eye level relative to the horizon.
All distances in both dimensions are scaled with the OL as the reference for the y dimension.
The angle θ is the angle between the top of the OL and Russ' eye level relative to the horizon.
We can solve for that angle as follows:
Basic Trig: Tan θ = d/(5 yards *3 feet/yard * 12 inches/foot)
Tan θ =(9-12)/180.
Θ ~ 2.86- 3.81 degrees @ 5 yards.
As you can see, it's impossible to see DK and Tyler even with their arms waving in the air even at 10-15 yards
Basic Trig: Tan θ = d/(5 yards *3 feet/yard * 12 inches/foot)
Tan θ =(9-12)/180.
Θ ~ 2.86- 3.81 degrees @ 5 yards.
As you can see, it's impossible to see DK and Tyler even with their arms waving in the air even at 10-15 yards
But what if we double the distance to the OL?
Basic Trig: Tan θ = d/(10 yards *3 feet/yard * 12 inches/foot)
Tan θ =(9-12)/360.
Θ ~ 1.4-1.9 degrees @ 10 yards
You practically halve the angle and guess what? There are DK and Tyler's arms!
Basic Trig: Tan θ = d/(10 yards *3 feet/yard * 12 inches/foot)
Tan θ =(9-12)/360.
Θ ~ 1.4-1.9 degrees @ 10 yards
You practically halve the angle and guess what? There are DK and Tyler's arms!
Which means, as you increase the distance between Russ and the LOS you also *increase* his ability to view the intermediate middle of the field.
So why don't they do that? Well it's a multi-fold problem.
So why don't they do that? Well it's a multi-fold problem.
@VigManOnCampus did some work last season that showed that deeper drops invite pressure more.
Makes sense because you're in essence shrinking the angle that DE's need to turn to get to the QB and increasing the space for OTs to cover. https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/how-drop-depth-affects-our-view-of-quarterbacks/
Makes sense because you're in essence shrinking the angle that DE's need to turn to get to the QB and increasing the space for OTs to cover. https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/how-drop-depth-affects-our-view-of-quarterbacks/
There's also a time component to getting to that deeper depth and the time that it takes the ball to get from QB's hands to receiver. That *also* increases with distance giving DBs better chances to break on the ball.
Additionally there's also the fact that Russ both according to this study, charting and our eyes is even more likely to hold on to the ball to wait for a big play which would invariably lead to horrible, back-breaking sacks.
Anecdotally, one of the biggest changes that OC Brian Schottenheimer implemented with Russ is reigning in his drop depth. No longer are we seeing many of the 10,15, 20 yard sacks that became a thing in 2016-17 and the yards/sack has gone down steadily since.
By my eye, even in the Rams game there weren't many super deep drops with Russ setting up ~6-8 yards back. What was happening was guys being pushed back towards him (obscuring sightlines) and no escapes up and out because of how DE's were rushing.
Put simply if the seahawks want Russ hitting the short/intermediate middle of the field, find a big guy with nice hands and get better interior protection and hope he trusts the offense
When DCs are talking about keeping Russ in the pocket, they're obviously talking about the magic plays that he and others like Mahomes and Rodgers can make but they're also talking about muddy/tight pockets because even if he could throw over his OL, he can't actually *see*
I'd also like to add that because light is a funny old beast, that things like the size of the umbra and penumbra cast by thee OL will be affected by these same angles and maybe has an effect on vision but i'm no optics expert.
