A few days ago I wrote a piece calling for modest expectations in 2019.
The Seahawks have lost key, experienced players. They’re continuing to refresh the roster. This was never going to be a one-year fix.
With cap money to spend in 2020 plus a boat-load of draft picks to come — the next off-season really feels like a big opportunity to take the next step.
Hopefully the 2019 campaign will see young players developing into secure starters. If the likes of Tre Flower, Shaquill Griffin, one of the young safety’s and one or two of the receivers can take the next step and become core players — that will be a major positive.
In a Twitter exchange, friend of the blog Adam Nathan suggested Pete Carroll should be named coach of the year if the Seahawks make the playoffs.
It’s an extremely fair suggestion.
Since 2018 they’ve lost key pass rushers, their best receiver and an entire legendary secondary. The Seahawks have no business being in the post-season. It’s to Carroll’s credit that we’re even considering it a possibility. This is a roster in transition. Not a complete overhaul. Yet there’s enough to change to warrant perspective and realism. Simply having a good quarterback isn’t enough alone to guarantee playoff success (ask Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers and others).
Personally I think they have every chance to make the post-season because they’re sufficiently well coached, built, have enough remaining quality and most importantly — a clear vision on what they want to be with the personnel to match their aims on offense and defense.
If they don’t win another 10 games (or more) and reach the playoffs, it probably shouldn’t warrant much more than a shrug. 2020 is the decisive off-season. The opportunity to leap into contention.
There are two areas for pessimism when glancing at the depth chart.
The first is the secondary. There’s extreme competence, leadership and playmaking quality in Bradley McDougald. Apart from him there’s a lot of mystery. Is Shaquill Griffin finally going to develop into a quality starter? Is Tre Flowers the real deal after a solid rookie season? Who can provide a solution next to McDougald at safety? And who replaces Justin Coleman at nickel (and can they handle the gig?).
That said, if there’s one area of the team fans can trust it’s the secondary. Carroll’s track record of developing talent at corner and safety is unmatched. Despite how raw they were in 2018 — the defensive backs never felt like a striking liability.
The bigger issue is going to be the defensive line. Having traded Frank Clark — albeit for a satisfying haul — they lost their one, proven pass rusher.
Jarran Reed will miss the first six games due to suspension and yesterday L.J. Collier suffered a reported high-ankle sprain.
This is the last area the Seahawks could afford to lose bodies.
These issues really highlight how the line has been plundered in recent years. No longer can they rely on an army of pass rushers. There’s no Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, ably supported by one or two of Chris Clemons, Frank Clark or Bruce Irvin.
In 2013 they had a murderers’ row of talent on the D-line. Even in 2017 the Seahawks boasted a collection of star names (punctuated by the trade for Sheldon Richardson).
Now all of the names above have gone. Reed is out. Collier will be absent for some time.
Who’s left?
Ziggy Ansah will hopefully play the Clark role and provide a dynamic edge rush. However, he’s been inconsistent in his career to date, has had injuries and is still recovering from a bad shoulder issue.
Jacob Martin had a decent rookie season but mainly as a complimentary rusher. Is he good enough to do more? He’ll no doubt be given the opportunity given the lack of depth.
Rasheem Green had a rotten rookie season and was ineffective. He’s young and has time on his side. We need to see some signs of improvement though. He has the physical talent. He needs to do more in 2019.
Quinton Jefferson created pressure last season and did a nice job in the rotation. Is he capable of playing more than the 56.31% of snaps he had in 2018 and taking on a more full-time role?
Apart from this quartet we’re talking about a collection of journeymen or run stuffers. It’s not a unit that screams ‘Championship’. And while the Rams D-line has taken some hits over the last couple of off-seasons — their ability to rely on the best defender in the league will always make them a dangerous opponent.
This is a problem for the Seahawks. Losing Reed and Collier for some time isn’t the difference between a good pass rush and a bad one. Seattle is simply lacking overall and couldn’t afford to lose any more depth.
They almost certainly possess the finest group of linebackers in the league. Perhaps that will help alleviate some of the problems? Especially if they can rotate their group and find some creative ways to create pressure. The numbers in the secondary also suggest they might try different ways to challenge teams like the Rams (and New England’s safety-dominant scheme in the Super Bowl could be the blueprint).
It won’t be a surprise though if Seattle’s defence struggles in the passing game early in the season. And it’ll be up to the offense to pick up some of the slack.
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I think the success of the team this year will ultimately be decided by those fringe players with the most questions surrounding them. Will the guy take a big step this year or will he not even make the team/be ineffective? You mentioned many of them Rob including Martin, Green, Jefferson. I’d add Tedric, Delano, Naz. If some of these guys make the Sophomore year jump (or Junior year) expected of them, that could swing the tide to making this a capable defense.
Notice they’re all on the defense. I actually think the offense will be very good this year barring unfortunate injuries. SEA may not need a dominant defense to make the playoffs. Even an average defense will probably get them there. If they happen to field a good defense? That’s where things would get interesting.
Just cant wait to see what happens. Almost feels like a TV show. I still think the first step is to improve on the 4.9 yards per carry so we can get teams in 3rd and 6 or longer. If we cant we may have to win games 31 – 27 every week.
I wonder if, in addition to the names mentioned, Poona Ford might be a guy to ‘make a leap’ and contribute to the pass rush. He gets penetration in run game, is reasonably quick and when I think of DTs with his body type, it’s all guys that can rush the passer.
He certainly CAN develop a pass rush. Theres a notion around him that he’ll always be a run stuffer due to height, which is bogus. He probably wont be swim moving 6’8 guards, but bull rushes, rip and pulls, etc, where he can stay low and utilize his leverage, he absolutely can develop those moves. I’m glad you posted this. Poona has a higher ceiling than people seem to think.
I’ve not seen anyone suggest he has a low ceiling or that his height means he’ll only be a run stuffer.
I simply need to see him be a pass rusher to invest faith. It’s blind faith at this point to think he can be something he wasn’t in college or his NFL rookie season.
But certainly I haven’t seen anyone pigeon holing as only a run stuffer. We’ll see if he can be more this year.
I don’t think it was here. Pretty sure it was Facebook. Some of my friends have said it too.
I said the same thing in another blog. He always was good at penetration at Texas and showed some of that last year. Seattle seems to be using their LB’s to add pressure and are using Mingo at DE in passing downs in rotation as well. Kendricks has assume the SAM role. While Seattle doesn’t have the big names anymore on their D Line, I believe that with the return of Reed and Collins, they may be better that average. We need to see some game action to get a better idea though.
Nice write-up. I guess all we can do is try to be positive and just hope that the absence of Reed and Collier lead to an opportunity for a couple of the other guys to step up and prove themselves with the increased snaps they will be given.
Honestly, I think the defense will find a way. Even if it is just the scrappy dog mentality carrying them around BWagz and McDougald, a PC defense will make something happen and be OK.
I’m MUCH more concerned about the offense getting in another rut. As you say, they will need to carry the slack as the defense continues to be rebuilt. Let’s score some points in the first half of games and not put ourselves in the hole every single time needing a near-miraculous comeback.
I don’t know what they need to do to get that done, but they have to do it. Is it somehow a necessary price we have to pay in order to “establish the run” or something? I am really not looking forward to the pitchforks coming out again on our play-calling this season, be it aimed at Schotty or PC. But we do have every right to expect our offense, led by the highest paid player in the league, to produce.
I am betting there will be some DL additions to the roster at the cut down. Which teams may have surplus DL talent where we might find a quality addition for depth?
I would say JAX, PHI, CHI, HOU, LAC, SF, MIN, BUF would be the ones to watch
And we might even see some activity before the cut down date. Ansah and Collier are question marks due to injury. From what we have seen so far, we can’t count on Green. There are still some FA DE pass rushers out there. As it stands right now, the D line depth looks mighty thin.
Is it still possible we trade for someone? Even though it’d be very unlikely Clowney is still available. We don’t even need a player of his caliber just someone to pick up the slack with the absence of Reed and Collier.
Probably a slim chance for Clowney but with the Texans’ baffling shuffle in the front office, resulting in the “winners” in the power struggle being the ones favoring not signing him to a long-term deal, there might be an opportunity there to make something happen.
But it’s a big risk to take with trade compensation, as you can’t do anything about signing Clowney until the season is over and young pass rushers are crazy expensive, moreso when they reach FA.
A Clowney trade is still very possible!! Teams are probably just waiting to see if Houston gets desperate.
IMO it’s all shaking up for someone to steal Clowney for a 2nd rounder. Or he will be a free agent next year.
Hey Cole: One more thing that makes Clowney a possibility for Seattle is the fact that they have so many draft picks next year.
If I’m reading it right OTC says Seattle is $20,241,902 under the cap. Should be able to get Clowney’s salary in there.
Why would we trade for Clowney? We aren’t trying to contend this year.
Yes, we are trying to contend, whether they trade for Clowney or not.
Well Rob, you’re hitting the ground running again this season, good deal.
Yeah, as always, injuries play a significant role in helping define the success potential for every team. It was my hope that with a new health/training group on staff that the conditioning changes would help this team minimize the inevitable. It’s too early to tell how effective they’ll be, and injuries at this time of the season aren’t necessarily on the team staff as much as the individual athletes training discipline. And even with the best efforts of both staff and player, stuff happens.
One other member of the ’13 defense that merits mention is Dan Quinn. Ken Norton is not a dud, but he’s also not a Quinn or even Bradley. He’s a terrific position (linebacker) coach, and with the talent this team has in that position it will be a benefit, especially if those backers need to take up some of the front line slack. But, as I mentioned a couple times last season, Norton just comes up that little bit short in D Coordinator skill at the highest levels. Unfortunately, that’s where the Rams have another advantage in Philips beyond the on field talent. That being said, my hope is that the collective minds of the entire Defensive coaching crew will have enough talent to field a group that will be prepared at their absolute best each game. That’s what it’s going to take this year with the currently known performance expectations of the existing players. We of course will hope that young guys will blossom, and older guys will perform to career high levels, and maybe we get lucky with available personnel down the road………………..but that’s a hefty parlay to bet on.
Still, it should be a year of mostly enjoyable football. If Russ can gain confidence in some of the other receivers now that Doug is no longer there for him, the offense will be, at least,. respectable. They click, and Schotty grows in the job, and it could be even better. I have a feeling this is going to be a fingers crossed year.
DC doesn’t matter that much because the DC will just run Pete’s scheme anyway. And it’s not like Atlanta under Quinn have been killing it on defense. As long as we have Pete, Norton’s shortcomings as a defensive coach don’t matter as much as they might in Oakland or somewhere else.
It was inevitable that the defense regressed to the means. It wont be for a lack of trying or emphasis from PC, but IMO the days of having a top 3-5 D, probably even top 10, are over. Maybe they don’t need to be. But than again, so much of this teams makeup was built on generational talents (Bam Bam, ET, Sherm, etc.) making game changing plays. Its hard to see where those plays are gonna come from outside of BWagz.
Agree 100%. This season I think will make it abundantly clear that we live and die by Russell Wilson. A defense is just a bonus.
GB, PIT, NE mold here we come.
Great summary. I’ve seen this sad denial note play out so many times…generational talents followed by ongoing insistence of “two years away.”
For whatever reason that’s the popular framework, whether college or pro or football or basketball. Every fanbase that briefly held at or near the top due to supreme talent level, then slipped for a few years, always prefers to think it is only two years away from resurgence. Meanwhile I can’t remember more than a handful of times it actually played out that way, and in those instances it’s more often college than pro, since college is exponentially more available to quickly restock that elite manpower.
That Baltimore example from the prior thread is more typical of how it plays out in the pros. Besides, if truly two years away then the springboards are already on the roster, via recent Pro Bowl caliber early round connects. I don’t detect that with Seattle, but I’m not supposed to detect it. That two-year mantra is more hopeful than logical.
Regardless, the Seahawks are always intriguing with Carroll and Wilson. I don’t mean to be a downer. You’re a Crowd team now. I hope those Cream seasons were fully appreciated. As a Canes fan I taped and saved virtually every game from our glory years because I knew darn well it held no birthright or sensibility to continue.
Lot of truth to what you’re saying re: regression to the mean on the defense
At the same time.
Andy Reid and Sean Payton have both been great developers of offensive talent and done it over time.
No reason to think that SEA can’t develop talent as we have in the past. One of the things I would remind people of is SEA has consistently developed defensive talent but because of the CBA some of the talent has moved on.
So to expect to be #1 in defensive points against for nearly half a decade that’s too much to ask but for SEA to be 3-4 PPG better in 2019 or 2020 than in 2017 and 2018 I don’t think is unreasonable.
Fella’s it’s most likely that SEA has developed their safeties and back-ups for a few years already. We just don’t know who they are yet.
And what we’re working on now is developing the slot corner position and DEPTH.
More likely that SEA has developed great LB’s in Wright and Wagner and that 2 of the future LB’s are on the roster now. Be they Shaq49, Burr-Kirvin, Barton or Martin? Who they’ll be who knows.
That we’re likely to develop them based on past outcomes? True.
Any team with Pete coaching and Wilson quarterbacking will have a high floor. He is a good coach.
But the roster looks like it does because Pete made many mistakes. He kept players past their due dates, made win-now decisions instead of win-forever decisions, and allowed the receiving unit to become decimated because he was more concerned with the run game. (Yes, I know all the reasons they felt they had to address the run game. It is still true to say that the run game largely fixed itself with free agent line acquisitions, a healthy Carson, and new OL coach. Throwing an entire draft at it wasn’t necessary.)
Although I disagree with your assessment, Rob, you have said this offseason that Seattle was the best rushing team in the league last year. There is no reason to think it will drop off this year. And we know that a great offense can vault a team into immediate contention (check out the defensive DVOA of the final four).
So why is that you don’t expect Seattle to contend this year? They have an elite quarterback and an elite running game.
The answer is fairly obvious. Pete’s philosophy requires that all the moving parts are good to very good. A great running game can’t win on its own the way a great passing game can. A good defense can’t win without a good offense, especially with modern rules (an historically great one, like Denver, can, but not merely a good one). Meanwhile, differently focused offenses, offenses that are more concerned with space and less concerned with physicality, are making their teams contenders despite their defensive flaws.
You may say those teams have more receiving weapons and better pass blocking lines. That Seattle can’t do that with their personnel. But who built the team in his image? The reason Seattle doesn’t have those guys is because Pete has failed to get them. The draft this year might just be an admission that the receiving unit was in trouble, but the line is still not designed for a modern offense. That’s on Pete.
In his quest for robustness against the loss of any one player(i.e. the quarterback), he has created a system that has to be firing on all cylinders. It is ironic twist of fate that the consequence of Pete’s desire not to rely on the quarterback is that he is overly reliant on many other factors.
I don’t agree that Seattle depleted its receiver group or neglected it. In 2013 and 2015 they spent first round picks in trades for playmakers. They paid Baldwin handsomely twice and gave Lockett a deal that many called an overpay a year ago. They spent a second round pick on Paul Richardson in 2014. They’ve positively thrown resources at their receiver group.
This season they threw plenty of draft capitol at the position… and even brought in RFA and Vet help in the last few seasons. I have no doubt the offense will be fine, it is the defense that gives me pause.
No we tried to win a championship. With Richardson and Brown.
Everything right with that. Sometimes you do the right stuff and it doesn’t work. That’s FINE
What amazed me is that SEA pulled the plug rather quickly in 2018 got the turnaround competed and ought to have won the playoff game.
Stop crying.
I am in love with this corner class.
Only seen 2 games of his, but I’m really feeling this dude. Just competitive as hell.
TCU CB Jeff Gladney (6’0, 185 lbs.) 13 PBU, 41 tackles, 32 starts, tied for 2nd in the nation when targeted for lowest completion %. Locks down the much bigger Hakeem Butler in this clip.
Jeff Gladney vs Iowa St. (2018):
https://youtu.be/2ygbXoIvx7c
U followin Jim Nagy…? 😉
https://twitter.com/JimNagy_SB/status/1156548126678945799
Haha. Nagy’s great.
Actually there was this article on SI about how all these teams came to TCU this draft season to check out their prospects and talk to HC Gary Patterson about him combating these RPO and BIG 12 concepts we see in the NFL. Scouts liked the mental makeup of his defenders. Said usually they spend 1-2 hours with his guys but this year it was 3-4 hours.
On a sidenote. I cant recommend this corner class enough my man. Elite, elite talent.
I should probably add that Patterson talked about playing 3 safeties at once and his ’50’ defense. Thinks the new en vogue position all the NFL teams will want will be the ‘5 star/tool’ safety like Derwin James.
Do you think that’s what they are going for with Marquise Blair? obviously to a less elite standard. I’ve been thinking his best fit right now is as a specialised third safety, especially for teams like the Rams/Cards/Bengals that use/ will use a lot of those BIG 12 concepts.
You mentioned the Rams. For me at least, Seattle’s draft this year seemed to be with the Rams in mind and adding pieces to help beat them. So I’d like to think it’s a possibility with Blair.
He just fits Seattle’s scheme to a ‘T.’ Really excited for him and Delano this year.
I’m a big fan of ‘lano too, looking forward to seeing what they can put together with this group.
V is Grant Delpit one of your guys? Iirc you pointed him out in the past. He’s now reached the holy top 10 of the sportsline mock draft.
Oh yes. For me, him and Iowa’s AJ Epenesa are the 2 best defenders in this draft.
Delpit is a top 5 type of talent and a really good shout from you in regards to these ‘5 star/tool’ safeties. Epenesa has DeForest Buckner, who I whiffed on big time, written all over him.
https://twitter.com/BringBackKalas/status/1156645277794734088
Good lord what a goal.
while I agree that we probably wont lead the league in sacks. I have faith in the young guys to step up and perform well. martin says he will get 12 sacks and I believe him. everyone was pretty high on green when we drafted him, but now? sure hes a question mark but isn’t all that talent still in him? Ziggy if healthy will be good. naz seems to make plays when hes in(although the sample size is small). not sure why he was in the dog house last year. Jefferson is a solid rotational guy. plus we will be able to stop the run this year. I think our dline will be ok to good.
the secondary should be better too with shaq entering his 3rd year, flowers playing just his second year at cb should be better. the slot is a bit of a question mark but as you said pete can coach up the secondary, so not too worried about that. the safetys should also improve with t2 most likely starting his second year, mcd is good, and the rookies blair and ugo should be able to contribute right away. especially blair. shead back! and that’s good. im feelin good about the secondary.
im not saying we will go undefeated or anything but I think a 12-4 record with a top 10-15 d and a top 10 O is very attainable. I mean if we can go 10-6(shoiulda been 12-4) with last years team, then I see no problem goin 12-4 this year with a much more talented team. go hawks
I’m excited to see how far Wilson and the O alone can take us. Probably playoffs. And that’s really good. If next offseason gets us into the top 15 Defenses, that could be the difference between divisional round and superbowl.
If the Browns makes the playoffs, lock for coach of the year. To much press about them to not get it, especially if they win the division.
PC and JS will never quite get their due, until well after they quit the NFL.
PC might make the HoF in some distance day and JS has many more chapters to write on his resume. The NFL loves to promote the new, spicy, hot coaches…. but even BB, JS, SP and AR do not get enough credit for how consistent of HC they are… year in and year out.
Has anyone picked up any blurbs on Rasheem Green? I read daily recaps and watch some of the press conferences and I just don’t hear much about him.
I heard Dave Wyman complimenting him in the early training camp broadcasts for being very consistent with his form during practice, and that tends to translate to the field. Note that this is the team’s broadcast, but I think Wyman has some neat insights. I’m optimistic for Green personally, he’ll reach physical maturity with a year or two of NFL experience under his belt, and he’s about to get a ton of reps lol.
Cha he’s just a baby he’s nearly 2 years younger than rookie LJ Collier I don’t think SEA can expect much from him this year. If he can come on late like Poona did last year that’s be good I think.
What concerns me is Naz Jones. He seemed to make a difference when he played and then nothing. We need all the help we can get on DL.
I was thinking the same about Green, so much potential and seems like a forgotten man. Wr and dL are so rarely good in there first year, and as much as I like L.J. I doubt he’s much if any better than Green was last year. I think with the way teams are over paying for sacks now, that it might be a financial strategy to try to get a bunch of guys that get you 5-10 sacks a year rather than two that get you 10-15 with the bonus that they play run defense as well. What really is really concerned to me, and I’m not sure why nobody is talking about it, is how Reeds run defense tanked hard last year, yeah he had 11 sacks but was an absolute liability in the run game. Is he a DT or a 5 tech? His Pff rankings was a 78 last year making him the 59 best Dt in the league out of 122 eligible. Poona’s rankings was a 91 for some reference. Reed has so much potential as an all around DT, hope he reemphasizes run defense this year. Maybe there something in how they are scheming him now, that I’m not aware of, but yikes. If the team run defense tanks after week six, he may not be back IMO.
Very happy to see the blog is back in full swing after a well deserved break for you Rob!! It’s an exciting time as teams gear up for the start of a new season. The Hawks are hopefully full of optimism and ready to get after it shortly. There’s no use worrying about Reed’s suspension or a number of other things out of anyone’s control. Every team experiences setbacks, even the mighty Patriots, so next man up needs to get after it!
I’m hopeful the pass rush isn’t a complete black hole this year, and the Ziggy is healthy and beastly. Young guys have to step up for sure, but suspect Norton will try to create more pressure with the LB’s this year. Bobby is a very good rusher and so is Kendricks. Here’s hoping Shaquem and Barton have some pass rush skills as well.
The secondary should be passable, with decent improvement from Shaquill and Flowers. Hoping Blair is the real deal at safety, but he may need some seasoning before stepping into a starting role.
Go Hawks!
Anyone else happy that all of the Sonics have finally departed OKC?
“The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.”
Me. Houston getting Westbrook to go with Harden is a chef’s kiss for Sonics fans. I don’t feel bad for OKC whatsoever. Thats their karma for stealing a franchise.
I love it. Sonics 4 life here. I was more of a Sonics then Hawks fan before they were stolen… then Pete came along and saved my sports soul. Go Hawks!
Same. I was more into the Sonics as well. Not being too much of a Holmgren fan probably had something to do with it. I named my dog after Kemp & a cat after Payton.
I was a yuge Sonics fan. SRO attendance at the 1995 & 1996 playoffs when Payton ran the offense that went through the triumvirate of Kemp, Perkins and Schrempf
I will probably be bitter about that heist for all time. To see that entire journey from inept front office to traitorous ownership, to the bottoming out & then addition of all time talents, to the ‘move’ & the absolute fury that came with it, to a young incredibly talented team on the welcome mat of a 10 year dynastic reign, to…
Now, with not a mf’in thing to show for it except 34 draft picks in the next 5 years because you possess a skilled gm. I like Presti, nothing against him. I liked the players, nothing against them. But the politicians, owners, Stern & OKC can pound sand.
With everyone out of there finally I might be able to watch an nba game again. The sting is gone.
Schultz didn’t have to sell, but chose to sell. He didn’t have to allow the sale and move, but allowed it. Stern is a flaming pile piece of crap. He allowed multiple franchises to move during his time in office and I’m not totally convinced the overall health of the NBA is better for it. There was a time when the NBA was a rival of the NFL in popularity, but that is long in the rearview mirror. Allowing teams to tank for multiple years and have incredible poor product during the regular season is hurting the brand long term. Honestly, I do not love the 3 point a pallooza that is the modern NBA…. if you go back and watch 60 or 70 NBA (even show time Lakers) it is so much fun to watch… now it is unwatchable IMO until the playoffs.
(At least the NFL game are mostly competitive and compelling to watch throughout the regular season and have been outstanding as of late in the playoffs)
Whoever is against 0kc whenever where-ever no matter the stakes is my favorite whatever in the world.
Charlie is 100% right.
Schultz was underfunded and he took a huge profit at the cost of our team. That Brooklynite made his fortune off of Pete’s coffee and Seattles good name. Sold us down the river.
What he could’ve done was just to buy his investors and figure out a long term solution since that was his stated goal in buying the team.
POS.
Kenny is probably pretty well aware, but this Oregon O-line is just bursting at the seams with NFL talent and at just about every spot. Chance Warmack’s little brother, Hanson in the middle, Throckmorton at T, Sewell in the 2021 class, but LG Shane Lemieux is fan-f***ing-tastic! Gonna circle Lemieux’s name.
Vol12,
Would you be able to give us their names and probable year(s) they are draft elidable?
Do you see any other OL in PAC12 with quality OL prospects as well in 2020 or 2021 draft classes??
LT- Calvin Throckmorton (6’5, 315 lbs.) 2020 eligible
LG- Shane Lemieux (6’4, 315-320 lbs.) 2020 eligible
C- Jake Hanson (6’5, 300 lbs.) 2020 eligible
RG- Dallas Warmack (6’2, 330 lbs.) 2020 eligible
RT- Penei Sewell (6’6, 340 lbs.) 2021 eligible
6th O-lineman: Brady Aiello (6’7, 315 lbs.)
Udub’s OT Trey Adams is a 1st rounder based on talent. If he can ever stay healthy that is. I really like their C Nick Harris even if he is undersized.
Stanford LT Walker Little has top 20 hype, but I don’t see. IMO he’s overrated. Not at the level of Georgia’s Andrew Thomas or Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs.
I could see Nick Harris sticking around for a long time, even if its only as a Joey Hunt-esque player. UW’s recruiting has really picked up the last few cycles, I think they’ll be putting some solid guys into the league.
As much as it pains me to say, WSU also has a pretty spectacular line – only gave up 9 sacks last year. Liam Ryan and Fred Mauigoa are really good, and their RT Abraham Lucas was a freshman all-american.
The HC and his staff are hell of recruiters. They are also good at developing talent once it shows up on campus. The only position that could be argued they have had lackluster results was at the QB position, but they have 2 very good guys this season.
They have been placing multiple guys into the NFL every season they have been at UW. When you get a reputation for placing men in the NFL, more and more high quality players will give your program a shot.
I can’t help myself but to point out that Throckmorton has a huge red flag when it comes to being drafted in the NFL. “Throckmorton has his sights set on applying to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon.” I mean, where is your heart at bro? Doesn’t sound ‘all ball’ to me, lol.
‘Doctor Throckmorton… Paging Doctor Throckmorton.’
It will be interesting to see Oregon’s OL vs Auburn’s DL. Should be a fun strength vs strength matchup. Down, down Ducks! Even though it goes without saying.
I agree. Am really looking forward to that game.
I live in the PNW, but not really a Wazzu, Udub, or Ducks fan. I don’t dislike any of the schools, just grew up a Huskers fan in the era of the Tommy Frazier (my all time favorite CFB player), Grant Wistrom, Lawrence Phillips squads. Have also rooted for ‘Bama since the Shaun Alexander days. 🤷♂️
Am I the only one who would be completely comfortable with Geno Smith as the back-up QB this season? So far so good in camp from early training camp reports.
From what we’re hearing we all would. But that’s the problem of perspective here.
#1 we haven’t seen either him or Pax play and
#2 RW has only missed a series or 2 in 7 seasons almost making the back-up QB position seem like a nice afterthought.
The bigger issue with the Collier injury is 2020. It is not uncommon for a DL to need a year of ‘seasoning’, and this year, the non ‘target’ year, was a great time to get it. If there are no setbacks, he should still be able to get this by digesting enough film and soaking in coaching before getting in about half the season.
I’m interested to find out what his “unique“ injury actually was. Also, we sure need him on the line as soon as he is ready.
Probably just one of the many bones in your foot that doesn’t usually get fractured. It happens. Trust me lol
4 weeks is the usual recovery time but I could see 4-8 too. If I had to guess I would say 4-6.
But usual recovery time for what? Can’t really even guess atm if we don’t even know what the actual injury is.
Pete said upper foot sprain. That’s just another bone in your foot. I’ve had the same injury and 4 weeks was my recovery time. It just takes rest. I can say that it’s easy to aggravate, but he should be back by week 5 at the latest.
Mine happened from a really unusual running posture due to skateboarding. I was staring at the ground 3 inches away from my face while running at full speed. It’s not abnormal due to the injury being more serious, it’s just more of a “freak” thing that you dont see often.
To my understanding that’s the only way to get an upper foot fracture. Bending your foot in a weird way. But it’s still a foot fracture.
I kicked a ball at the same time as another player when I was 20, suffered a painful sprain and didn’t fully recover for months.
Sprains are very, very hard to work out in terms of recovery time. Hopefully Collier isn’t out too long.
I did the exact same thing. I couldn’t even trot across the street for 6 months, and it took well over a year to be pain-free. Those can be tricky injuries, especially when you’re carrying 260 pounds. Let’s hope it’s nothing similar. Give that man some nano bubbles stat!
#1 Glad to see y’all. I really enjoy the community. Hope to enjoy every day this week and a preseason game on Thurs.
Our DL depth and excellence will be problematic.
Every reason to believe our run defense ought to be improved. And even if it isn’t… meh we’ll be OK.
But the necessary pass-rush to close out games 85% chance or greater that we don’t have that.
As far as tempering our expectations. On one hand I agree entirely this year we have so many early games on the east coast I want to say in 2018 or 2017 that almost all of our east coast games were later. On the other I think our coaching staff deserves credit for their excellence.
The defensive game plans last year were really unique and well executed. Congrats Coach Norton you deserve so much more credit.
I really thought the offensive play calling was good too. With some small quibbles of course but SEA being an established team and professional ought to put us in good standing
Right now I would say SEA is a tier 2 or tier 3 team. I’d guess that there are maybe 6 teams that are going to be tier 1 and be in the superbowl hunt for 2020
Last year I though SEA did great to become a solid tier 2 team and our goal was to become tier 1 Obviously losing established stars is not the way to get there.
But SEA pulled a freaking rabbit from their hats to put us ahead of most teams going into next year. So well done.
But there’s no reason not to TRY to shock the world this year and then repeat it next! SEA-HAWKS!
Javon Kinlaw will be a 1st rounder. He still has plenty of room on his frame. He could be a Calais Campbell type.
Suppose the Hawks can stumble / bumble their way to 4 – 4 half way through the season. Maybe the offense can win a couple for them. In the 2nd half they get Reed, Ansah and Collier back on the D-Line. With a decent D-Line 6 -2 would not be out of the question and they’re back in the playoffs. That’s not just fishfull winking, but a real possibility.
Guys like Green, Jones, Ford, Marsh and Jefferson will all be that much better for their work in the 1st half of the season.
The dark horse WRs watch:
“Two of the offensive standouts from the Seahawks’ scrimmage were receivers Jazz Ferguson (four catches, two touchdowns) and Keenan Reynolds. Ferguson’s TDs came on the final two drives, both from Geno Smith. He showed great concentration on the first one when Smith under threw a deep pass into the wind that appeared to be an easy interception for Tre Flowers, but the ball bounced off his hands and Ferguson stayed with it. The undrafted rookie dropped 12 pounds after showing up to rookie camp overweight, Pete Carroll said. Reynolds is competing for one of the final roster spots and has seemed to outplay seventh-rounder John Ursua (one catch) and UDFA Terry Wright to this point. “He continues to do good stuff,” Carroll said of Reynolds.” ~ Brady Henderson ESPN
If the Seahawks are willing to let Jarran Reed walk after this season they must have a plan (A-X) for the DL.
Would they be willing to throw the big bucks at KC’s Chris Jones? He’ll be costly as all get out but what an add that would be. He’ll be fresh off a Super Bowl victory as well.
I can’t see it. Not for Jones. But I doubt he gets out of KC anyway.
Highly unlikely for sure. Mostly I’m very curious how the FO views Reed. In the past they have aggressively extended ‘core’ players prior to their final year. Maybe Reed’s 2019 production has moved his price higher than they’re willing to commit to without a second ‘confirmation’ season. But if he goes 10+ sacks (pro-rated) again that would only seem to move his fetching price even higher. What I’m suspicious of is that they believe the allegations against him are true & that they will quietly let him walk without publicly addressing it. I guess it will all come out in the wash.
Equally unlikely to reach the 2020 FA market & coming with an astronomical price tag would be the Jags Yannick Ngakoue. As unlikely as it is that he will be available/signed, do you/anyone like his fit as a potential Hawk?
I’m wary of free agent pass rushers purely because the cost is ridiculous these days. I think you have to try and collect a solid, veteran rotation and try to draft a star.
Am I the only one that believes our D-Line depth issues are because the front office did barely anything to address the D-Line during a draft that was supposedly supposed to be D-Line heavy.
We traded our best Dlineman for picks that could have been used on someone in this draft, and we picked L.J. Collier who is not even on the same park coming out of school as Frank Clark was, and drafted Christmas in the 6th round to go with him. There were options out there for us when we picked. We were not forced into picking those guys.
There has to be a reason for this. They must have felt that their secondary was worse off than there D-line, either that or they believe that you make your d-line better by secondary play, instead of making your secondary better by d-line play. I mean something has to be going on. We were already thin on the D-line before we traded Clark. Just my frustrated two cents
Or were there more D-lineman they wanted, but the board moved in another direction.
Volume 12 said.
“Or were there more D-lineman they wanted, but the board moved in another direction”
Strongly agree.
It’s hard to accuse them of neglecting the DL when they took a DL with their first pick.
It was a good DL draft but the options ran dry very quickly.
They got some nice looking prospects at other positions. In a normal year, no way Metcalf would be there for the taking at the bottom of round #2. His impact most likely would be much higher than any DL they could come up with at that point. Overall, they strengthened the defense with some legit depth, minus DL. As Rob mentioned, they did drop a high round draft pick into a DL prospect, so they addressed part of their needs. They might have thought they could plug holes with quality FA DL as well…
…my assessment, the team is overall in a much better place than it was 12 months ago. Will it win a SB in 2019/2020…. we will see.
Any thoughts on Nazir Jones being a contributor to the pass rush? Last year seemed very weird, considering how much he flashed his rookie season, but couldn’t get on the field for a variety of reasons it seems. Could be a prime opportunity for him to get legitimate rotational snaps.
Secondly, do you think Seattle might toy with more 3/4 defensive alignments with Mingo getting Edge rushing snaps?
I think they’re going to try everything and anything. Because right now the D-line and pass rush looks like a problem.
The climate is ripe for someone to really step up and make an impression. Looking at you, Naz, Green, QJ.
It certainly is. I hope someone can step up. It’s a bit concerning for the 2019 prospects, however.
Texans cut D’Onta Foreman…
A player I never liked at Texas
Fair enough, though IIRC it seemed you disliked the weak defenses he faced more than the player himself. 🙂
Either way, I just mentioned him because he fits PC’s size mold. Seems the Texans were just tired of his injuries and some unprofessionalism (tardiness, etc.) So that doesn’t bode well for him moving forward either. Honestly, kind of surprising to hear about, given his gritty background. But anyways, we know PC loves himself a reclamation project…
Just a follow-up: Colts claimed him off waivers.
53 a few days before game 1…
QB (2) – RW, Geno Smith
Notable Cut – Paxton Lynch
RB (5) – Carson, Penny, Homer, Prosise, Bellore (FB)
Notable Cut – McKissic, Scarborough
OL (9) – Brown, Iupati, Britt, Fluker, Ifedi, Fant, Pocic, Jones, Simmons
(Hayes on PUP)
Notable Cut – Hunt, Roos, Nkansah
TE (3) – Dissly, Vannett, Hollister
(Dickson on PUP, PC said today evaluating whether they need knee surgery on him)
WR (6) – Lockett, Brown, Moore, Metcalf, Jennings, Reynolds
Notable Cut – Darboh, Ursuah, Ferguson
OFFENSE (25)
DL (9) – Mitchell, Ford, Ansah, Mingo, Woods, Jefferson, Green, Martin, Marsh
(Reed suspended 6 games, Collier on PUP or IR return)
Notable Cut – Naz, Christmas, B Jackson
LB (6) – Wagner, Wright, Kendricks, BB-K, Barton, Shaquem
Notable Cut – Calitro
CB (5) – Flowers, Griffin, Thorpe, King, Shead
S (5) – McDougald, Hill, Blair, Thompson, Amadi
Notable Cut – Luani
DEFENSE (25)
ST (3) – Ott, Dickson, Myers
I don’t think Dickson and Collier’re eligible for the PUP list at the start of the season – I’m pretty sure you’re only eligible for that if you were on the PUP to begin training camp.
You’re right. I always forget that. Good catch.
Prosise – cut
I can’t see Seattle betting a roster spot on a guy who has been unable to stay healthy for the better part of 2 seasons now. He already is slightly banged up this season…. McKissic has a chance to stick.
I keep getting the feeling the LB Griffin will not make the team and Naz will make the team.
WR is still wide open in my opinion. I would not entirely rule out them bringing in another TE, if they pile up more injuries at that position. Tough break for Dickson. Loved the guy.
My list is borne more from what I think the team will do than what I think they should do. If I had my way Prosise would’ve been traded for a bag of used jockstraps long ago. But PC has hung onto him and sees an explosive talent in him. Schott went out of his way to praise him more than once this offseason.
Cha that’s a solid 53 well thought out. Mine looks very similar right now.
Does anyone know what kind of injury or anything about 4th round pick Phil Haynes’ status?
Sports hernia.
Won’t be surprised if he starts the season on the PUP.
Thanks Rob. I couldn’t find any info about him.
“No question” is not that term I would use regarding the D-Line. I would use the term Questionable instead.
Why?
Well, because the way I see this team, the success of the 2019 depends on 3 questions:
1. CBs taking a step forwards – I believe that drafting his brother, all the media hype surrounding the brothers and the well documented amount of help Griffin extended to help his brother in his first steps joining an NFL team had an adverse effect over his preparation for the season and practically took away most of that 2nd year leap. I hope he will make up for it this year. Flowers on the other hand had a fantastic season for a rooky safety play CB in the NFL. I fully expect him to take a big step forwards this year. Combined, iff all works well, should provide us with the type CB play we have been used to under PC.
2 Health on the OL – All the signs are pointing to finally having a dominant top 5 OL. Everything is there for a run heavy offense – continuity, synergy, leadership, talent, SIZE….It should be a major pillar of strength for the offense as long as most of those guys will be out there for most of the games. Too mant injuries will deprive us of that dominant advantage.
3. The progress of the 2nd year D-linemen – This connects to the article above. A year ago, nobody would imagine Reed becoming a double digit sacks DT. There are 3 2nd year defensive linemen with possible potential to take that big step forwards and become key contributors. There is Poona Ford who surprised everybody with the quality of play he exhibited towards the end of the season and could become a key factor. Jacob Martin pressure % was one of the highest in the NFL and he might emerge as a very effective speed/twich pass rusher on passing downs. Green has all the tools to become that inside/outside big pass rusher. If 2 out of the 3 realize their potential and take that big step forwards joined by Ansah, Marsh, Reed (10 games) and helped by Mingo/Griffin/LBs, this could end up being a solid pass rushing group.
Yes, it is far from a sure thing. But, it is not totally out of the scope of possibilities. It is a question that those players will need to answer entering their 2nd year in the NFL. Clark had 3 sacks his rookie year (like Martin) and 10 sacks his 2nd year, could Martin do something similar? Britt has been gushing about how hard it is to stop Poona Ford, could he become a penetrating disruptor? .Can Green rise to his physical potential?
Like I said, if two of the 3 questions get a positive answer we should be fine. Hence – its “Questionable” rather than “No question”….
I like the thoughts, a few disagreements though.
I don’t see this Corner group having the potential of a return to the LOB days. Sherm was a very rare breed with his ability, especially when it comes to creating turnovers. Even with all the decent corners we’ve had in this scheme Sherm stands alone as the best by a considerable margin and it’s no surprise. He’s a HOF guy. That said this group is very athletic, they seem bought in and I hope they can be a lot better this year. I’m also low key very excited about the safeties we drafted, I think Ugo has a real shot at winning the FS job.
I think the Oline has no shot of staying healthy, too many injury prone guys. However, I do like the depth a lot, Fant and Jones are very nice as tackle depth, hopefully Simmons or Haynes can be healthy at Guard because i have no desire to see Pocic starting at guard again (then again we’ve seen the 3rd year being a step forward for Olineman in the past). I’d also try and keep the highly underrated Hunt on the roster.
I think this pass rushing group is destined to be below average this year, and whilst I’m excited to see what the young guys can do, when you’re relying on people like Marsh, QJeff and Mingo as starters and primary pass rushers you’ve got a problem. For me it’s about how far off average they are.
I still think this is a 10 win team despite all the issues, Pete and Russ are too good not to be there abouts. I am mostly very excited about the offence taking the next step; second year of Schotty after an underrated debut, I’m buying all the way in on DK (even if I recognise the pure statistical production will likely disappoint some) and the run game is all the way back which, as we well know, is absolutely massive for this team.
Whether the young defensive linemen develop or not, depth is still a clear issue.
The argument isn’t that there aren’t players from last year that can take a step forward. Nobody can look at Seattle’s line and make a case for the depth being good. Especially given Collier’s injury, Reed’s suspension and the unknown on Ansah’s health.
When Shaq26 played on the easier side we loved his performance. Now that rookie Flowers is playing over there we’re loving his performance. DB is tough and DB on the right side is even tougher.
Every team in the league needs better CB play and depth. SEA is fortunate enough to have 2 young starters returning that bodes well for our improvement.
“Griffin extended to help his brother in his first steps joining an NFL team had an adverse effect over his preparation for the season and practically took away most of that 2nd year leap”
Seriously? It had nothing to do with Sherman leaving, ET missing the season and Griffin changing sides?
A question?
Would it make sense to have a FB group for this site? It would probably be WAY too much work but if it was at all possible
I could see some advantages though. Pictures, videos, links, color and more people could possibly have access to this great information with just a few more clicks vs more work on Robs part.
I’d be concerned about trolls but if you make the closed group invite only I’d hazard it could easily have 400-500 active members. As an incredibly erudite group of self selected posters would engender some great conversation.
Something to consider?
Possibly. Is there enough interest? I’m happy to consider anything if there’s enough demand. Heck I’d consider running the blog as a full time gig if I thought we could make it work.
Here are my thoughts.
FB has some things going for it.
You can have a good group/conversation with very few people.
The cost is only the time to copy/paste/link your articles.
There are no $$$ costs.
FB’s networking would allow the participants here to add a friend or 2 that are not as they’re surely there.
As far as running the blog as a full time gig…
Don’t see why not? Imagine that’d come down to where you get paid, how much and how consistently.
Of course I’ve been thinking about this for a while but look at John Clayton… Lost his national gig but has seemingly just added some others. The radio program, writing for 710. radio interviews and segments.
Rob S. Clayton done a 20 min chat on SEA football for like 6-7 years at 4pm on 710 radio in the middle of drive time that’s gotta be something.
Or B Huard he supplements his NCAA gigs with his radio show 6am-10am plus preptime?
Mind you I know you know this stuff as its really the work you do I’m not talking down to you more so talking about a baseline of information in your niche. Just saying.
PFF is going HEAVY into content creation on YT as well. It’s good but its not AS good as some of their previous stuff. But it’s daily and just like anyone else they get paid by the views.
I think that’s important to you as I mentioned to you previously I quoted your work from 2012 when you suggested Bobby Wagner might be a target. Nailed it! So to get some value out of your older content creation would be nice.
Brett Kollman is fulltime on his own. I think primarily based off of youtube. I just looked at his website I guess made by Wix, the video is beautiful but I’m not sure it has the features and links that you’d want. In terms of linking to your articles, podcasts etc.
Rob S. You are a dang good journalist and one of the best in the northwest when in comes to covering SEA. The followers you have are quality they ask questions with some knowledge already and exhibit a much deeper understanding and patience.
I see no reason NOT to start a FB group for Seahawks draft blog or maybe one page for the blog which would be open and maybe one for the forum that might be closed. Closed is important because you don’t want employers monitoring FB posts during work hours LOL
The other thing I wanted to say Rob S. Whatever you do is PERFECT by us. In terms of time off or during training camp or even the season. You’ve signed on to be Seahawks draft blog and you’re doing a great job of that we know all this other stuff is EXTRA and most of it is caused by your excellence and our enthusiasm.
Thanks
Are you suggesting porting the whole thing over to Facebook or doing it in addition to the blog?
I’m not sure I like either idea.
I’m not on Facebook but it feels like all the permissions and upkeep would make it a lot of work. And if it’s in addition to the blog, “splitting” the community between the two sites doesn’t seem wise.
When the TNT Blog went to FB for comments to be posted it literally died. I’ve never had a FB account. I love the blog the way it is. I know things are always changing but as Chuck Knox used to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
@Cha
Porting the whole thing over?
Absolutely not. I’m saying in addition to.
If you’re not on FB there is a lot of important context that’s lost here. Interestingly enough I’d like to post some screen shots to show give context but I don’t know if this forum supports that? And I don’t currently have an active website to post them to.
My bottom line position is I am supporting RS as the content creator and trying to share my perspective to show my appreciation for the efforts. I think he can get more bang for his buck by being on more platforms.
Rob,
Not sure if you addressed this specifically somewhere else and I missed it, but what are your expectations for Mingo as an edge rusher? I took a look through the archives and you were pretty high on him coming out of LSU as an undersized edge rusher. It seems that most places he’s been (including his first season in SEA), teams haven’t utilized him as a pure pass rusher instead choosing to deploy him as a rush backer in a 3-4 or SAM LB. I’m sure it’s not coincidence that this happened in each stop and if he had a huge upside as an edge rusher, one of his earlier teams would’ve used him in that role. Still, I saw it brought up somewhere that he’s the same age Clemons was when SEA acquired him. Maybe Mingo could pop for 6-8 sacks as a LEO? He supposedly worked over Jamarco Jones pretty good during the scrimmage for 2 sacks.
Mingo was picked high in the first round to be a pass rushing DE. He had 3 sacks in his first 3 games. He had less than 10 sacks in the next 90 games.
Can he surprise us all and pop 6+ sacks? Sure he can, he has the length, speed and motor to do it.
However, considering his record at it, it would certainly be a BIG SURPRISE.
Fooling Jones on 2 consecutive plays with the same inside fake is more of a statement regarding where Jones is right now as an NFL left tackle rather than a preview of Mingo’s potential.
Not to nitpick, but Mingo was drafted by CLE and used as a rush OLB since they ran a 3-4 defense. According to PFR, he was listed as a LB for all seasons in CLE and his subsequent one year stops in NE and IND. We also know he was a SAM last year for SEA. Mingo has never really been solely featured as a DE.
That being said, I think it’s highly unlikely he gets a bunch of sacks out of nowhere. Just bringing up the topic for discussion.
My expectations for Mingo are extremely modest. He hasn’t done anything as an EDGE to date in his career and I think he’s getting work there now because Seattle’s depth is weak at pass rush and they’re overloaded with linebackers. They’re trying to find him a role. It makes sense to try this. If he offers anything at all as a pass rusher that’s great and they don’t want to lose his special teams value (they love him on special teams).
I hope he works it out and has an impact. I’m rooting for him, as with the rest of the team. But I’m not getting my hopes up.
Something that gives me hope about the state of the defense and some of these players who have yet to emerge is the recent comments from the Colts GM, Chris Ballard, who is being widely celebrated these days. Who knows, it could be fluff, or he could be wrong, but if you missed it he was asked recently in an interview which of his colleagues deserves more recognition, and he answered Schneider — specifically going on to praise his picks on defense over the last two drafts, and saying that he thinks we are poised to “dominate on defense again.” Seems to me that he had his eye on many of the same players, at the very least.
That is interesting, I’ve been watching Indy and I feel that they’ve taken many of the players Rob has identified as well.
Personally I HATE what they’ve done by tanking twice. But their picks have been good.
I give Indy major props for pulling it off. They had a plan and executed it. Now they’re on the verge of being a power house
Rapsheet just tweeted that Collier has a chance to play Week 1. That’s welcome news if true.
Definitely would be good news.
This brings up a point I’ve been thinking about. With the new training staff this year, I wonder if they’re being even more cautious than usual with some of the soft tissue injuries? It just seems like there are a lot of guys sitting out of practice sessions for a day or 2 and then are right back on the field. There also seem to be more veteran rest days mixed in. Maybe a bit of a change in philosophy with the new staff?
Wouldnt surprise me, but we can’t rush him back. He’s a rookie, but having talent in the rotation late in the season will be key for a playoff push. He needs reps, but reps at less than 100% aren’t much better than bench reps
Preseason game #1 (for Seahawks) is 2 days away!
How I’m going to watch preseason game 1.
I’m going to focus not on who plays the best but on the players I feel are on the periphery for making the first 53
Look for the little things. And mentality. Guys who are fighting every play but not necessarily getting on the stat sheet. Penetration and gap responsibility on the front seven. Awareness in the backend. Consistent blocking effort from the wideouts and catching technique, winning the redline etc.. Communication on the OL and also how they bounceback from bad plays because preseason OL play is ugly. Try to put yourself in the RBs head and follow his reads. It’s easy to rip off chunk plays behind your OL, but making that tertiary and cutback read is a better representation of ability. A lot of spots are gonna be won in practice and the film room. How is their performance against other backups and 3rd string going to translate against Aaron Donalds and Richard Shermans of the world
I’m going to be sure to remember how inaccurate Geno Smith is for sure and cut the pass catchers some slack and look for them to make difficult adjustments to the ball.
I’ll focus on the DL for sure on defense. I want to see these DTs surprise us. And I want to see guys like Green, Martin, Marsh, Mingo, Griffin.
Other than that, I’m just going to see who stands out to me. I’m recording the game so I’ll go back through and watch the other stuff and whatever stuff people point out
Also I’ll be watching the backups OL, particularly the guards and centers. I want to see if anybody stands out from the rest, because I feel like weve all lumped them all together, and I hope we’re wrong.
How WRs can adjust to inaccurate balls.. and more importantly make the catches that hit them in the hands. That is what to watch imo. Scramble drills and off schedule plays could be fun.
In general how the OL holds up vs the Denver DL and how the Seahawks DL get to work vs the Broncos OL. Echoing Kenny, gap integrity and penetration (or lack of it) will be key.
Overall, how the younger 3/4/5 string guys are communicating with each other on the field.
This Xavier Turner guy is interesting.
https://youtu.be/M2LtvuR6oKQ
5’10” 230 lbs
40: 4.52 (chris carson 4.58)
Bench: 26 (Carson 23)
Vert: 33.5 (CC 37)
Broad: 117 (CC 130)
3 cone: 7.1 (!) 7th among RBs at the combine right behind Travis Homer and Benny Snell.
So hes a little less explosive than Carson but bigger, faster, has really good vision and knows how to use his blocks extremely effectively. Tough to tackle. Probably has a high football IQ and has an ideal frame for pass protection. Possible FB. Reminds me of Mike Alstott in his running style lol. Obviously he played against scrubs, but he has the physical tools to play in the NFL. I’m gonna be watching him tomorrow. Could be another RB steal.
Notes from PC’s press conference today for Game 1:
-Geno Smith will start tomorrow. No RW – wants to get as much time evaluating backups as possible. Game 1 isn’t much action for starters anyway.
-Ugo Amadi will play nickel
-Metcalf will play
5th string TEs*
‘Geno Smith will start tomorrow.’
To do what?
lol. Not get RW injured appears to be his purpose.
Geno’s got some kind of injury but it’s playable. So they’re going to play him tonight then do the surgery or whatever. They at least wanted to get a look at him in game action.
The Giants are just an incredible franchise.
‘(Sterling) Shepard has been wearing a yellow jersey that is supposed to alert Manning not to throw the ball to him and defenders not to touch him…Manning has thrown the ball to Shepard repeatedly and defenders have made contact with him more than once.’
“Any time we’re practicing, we have to be smart,” Shurmur said. “That’s the fine line between trying to get your work in and being smart.”
Guess which side of the line you’re on, Pat ?
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO
Jermaine Kearse breaks his leg on the first play of the preseason for the Lions. Just sick about it.
You literally HATE to see it
That was a damn good red zone stop for us. Backups vs starters.. 1 thing that sticks out so far is everybody is playing with grit on defense. Love it!
Anybody else really want Bo Scarborough to make the team?
I’d be happy letting mckissic and procise go so we can keep bo and jazz!
I wish we could keep Jazz.. him and DK in the redzone would be pretty cool.
He’s making his case, that’s for sure.
Does anyone else think the hawks might offer Paxton an extension so we can trade him for a pick or two like Green Bay and New England does with their backups?
Lynch has to make the team first. He looks good in part because he’s playing against a lot of guys who aren’t going to make the final roster.
I get that, but watching geno almost throw 2 picks, miss some reads, and look confused honestly. I’d rather go with Paxton. Yes it was against 3,4,5 stringers but he poise and ball control is what really got my attention. Geno just seems athletic is all to me and not much else. I’d rather not have another t Jax or Boykin as a backup. But then again maybe Paxton will fall apart against tougher competition
PC Post-Game Presser Notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1mFAgCuuWk
In General
– This game was all about the young guys. Happy for them. First time tackling and hitting full speed.
– PC’s favorite thing about the game was the statement made by the ST unit. They are going to place the ball and excel in coverage.
– 18 penalties. Gotta clean that up and we will.
Offense
– Jazz Ferguson had a big night. Defense had to adjust their coverage to keep him from dominating. There were “reasons” he didn’t get drafted. He came in 10-12 lbs. overweight the first time, then took it serious and came in fit. We’re giving him a shot.
– PC just introduced RB Xavier Turner to the team after the game.
– Paxton did a great job, had a strong run for TD. He’s a load to bring down. Lit up the whole team.
– Geno “played solid too…” Has a cyst on his knee that needs removed. Not serious, but has bothered him. 5-10 days out. Possible they bring in another QB to practice.
– DK was just a hair away from spectacular. Got his heel clipped and off his fingertips. But he showed he can burn.
Defense
– Marquise Blair is a ball player. Was scrambling tonight. Is a hitter, aggressive, tough. Loved what we saw from him, learned a lot about him and can work with that. Decided to switch shoulders on his hit that seemed to bring his helmet into the tackle, but it was close to being done right. He improvised a blitz that worked out the first time, then he tried it again (on his own) and they dumped the ball in the flat for a big gain.
– Jacob Martin and Mingo put pressure on.
– Cody Barton was on a pitch count because he hadn’t practiced that much the past 2 days.
– We want to see which safeties can blitz. Shead’s safety was nice.
Injuries
– George Fant sprained his ankle. “Legit”. We’ll see what that means. Unfortunate.
– Scarbrough got hit on the hand, had x-rays, nothing broken, just bruised.