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Category: Front Page News (Page 42 of 367)
There’s a point of view I’ve spent a lot of time considering over the last few months and increasingly, I agree with it.
Mike Florio is the source of the opinion. He believes when you draft a young quarterback it’s important to pair them with an offensive minded Head Coach. That way, if the offense succeeds, you won’t lose the coach (and the offense) to another team seeking to appoint the next ‘hot-shot’ offensive mind as their leader.
Look at the Atlanta Falcons for example. They were the dominant NFC team in 2016. Matt Ryan won the MVP, playing in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. When they dumped Seattle out of the playoffs, Pete Carroll said his team had run into ‘a buzzsaw’. They reached the Super Bowl and should’ve won it.
Shanahan was then appointed Head Coach of the 49ers, where they’ve since reached one Super Bowl and another NFC Championship. The Falcons, however, collapsed once their offensive coordinator departed. Ryan never repeated his MVP form. The thing that made Atlanta such a fearsome opponent — the offense — travelled to California with Shanahan.
Further to that, consistency is vitally important. Nothing unsettles a young quarterback like a regular churn of different coordinators and voices giving the instructions.
As the Seahawks prepare to inevitably draft a quarterback in 2023, I can’t help but wonder about the best environment for that player to walk into.
Is it to join a team with a leading offensive mind running the operation — creating a two-headed monster where the QB and Head Coach are completely aligned to drive the franchise forwards (ideally paired with a proven, experienced defensive coordinator)?
Or is it to join a team fronted by a defensive minded Head Coach with a controlling vision of the team, who appoints an offensive coordinator to do essentially what he wants (with, perhaps, some willingness to be open to new suggestions as long as it works alongside the grander philosophy)?
For a lot of people, it’s a no-brainer.
I have to say, I’m one of those people.
Especially when said Head Coach has appointed a collection of underwhelming offensive coordinators, none of which have gone on to earn Head Coaching jobs themselves despite having the opportunity to work with the likes of Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and D.K. Metcalf over the years.
Yet the truth is Pete Carroll will probably be with this team until he decides he’s had enough. The timeframe of an eventual sale of the franchise aligns perfectly with his contract. It’s convenient for the placeholder owners to invest their trust in Carroll and John Schneider to see this through until a sale is completed.
Thus, when the likes of Mike McDaniel, Brian Daboll, Nathaniel Hackett, Kevin O’Connell, Doug Pederson and Josh McDaniels were appointed in the off-season — there was never any real possibility of them replacing Carroll and either working with Russell Wilson or leading the post-Wilson era of Seahawks football.
With the team floundering in pre-season and familiar concerns returning, it’s a comfortable fit to slip into a pair of envy shoes and wonder what the future could be like if this was a team being led by an offensive guru.
Of course, it’s also very easy to have your head turned by the next exciting offensive coordinator. We have to concede that aside from Pederson, none of the names above have Carroll’s track record as a leader of a football team.
I am starting to wonder a couple of things though.
Firstly, regardless of what happens in 2022, is it right to draft your next franchise quarterback without pairing them with an offensive minded Head Coach for the reasons noted at the start of the article?
Secondly, is Shane Waldron actually any good (if he is indeed still with the team next year)? And how do you properly judge him if you’re going to give him Geno Smith at quarterback — or ask him to lead a running attack that will likely face a stacked box every week because there’s no serious threat in the passing game?
Thirdly, after a really challenging 2021 season, is Carroll even going to be motivated to carry on in 2023 if this year goes as well as it’s threatening to? The Seahawks don’t get to have a 2011 season just because they plan to — ending with a bit of a flourish, developing talent and feeling close.
There’s every chance this will be a bad, bad season.
If that happens, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on Carroll. The team is already being booed in pre-season. People like me might be fully prepared to embrace a difficult year in order to set up the future. A lot of other fans are going to look at a situation where Carroll oversaw the departure of Wilson and then, possibly, led the Seahawks to the depths of the NFL, and say this isn’t acceptable.
This will be especially difficult for Carroll if Wilson’s Broncos have a great season.
Maybe he would carry on until the bitter end? Alternatively, perhaps ownership would also find itself under pressure to not be seen to be absent. After all — Jody Allen never speaks. We don’t know what the ‘plan’ is here. If she’d clarified this is a process, people would be more likely to accept it. Yet silence is often interpreted as complacency — fair or not.
A parting, mutually, might not be totally out of the question between team and Head Coach — forcing some action where ownership would be facing a huge decision they’d need to get right. Then again, I’m not sure Carroll would be placing his future in the hands of Geno Smith and Drew Lock if he felt like he wasn’t going to get a chance to draft a quarterback in 2023, whatever the results of 2022.
I appreciate this is all a bit premature and some will, not unfairly, accuse me of overreacting to pre-season. My counter, at least to the second part of that, is there are two types of pre-season reaction. When a good team underperforms, it’s easier to give them the benefit of the doubt. When a team led by Geno Smith underperforms — leaving its starters on the field for a half and not scoring a point on offense, tackles appallingly on defense and plays special teams like a bunch of random strangers — question marks are far more legitimate.
I fear for the Seahawks in 2022 and thus, I also fear for the impact on Carroll’s reputation in Seattle.
I admit I think a big call had to be made either way with Wilson and it was good that the franchise didn’t try and stumble on for another year. I also think a big opportunity remains to rebuild through this 2022 draft class and the 2023 group upcoming.
Yet I think Carroll’s recent statement that, basically, the ‘competition’ aspect of pre-season is now over and they’re resorting to getting everyone ready for week one is something of an admission of how far away they are from being a functioning team. Every effort is being put into not being embarrassed in primetime, week one, against Russell Wilson and Denver — because that would be incredibly damaging.
If that happens anyway — watch out. Things could get ugly quickly. Patience with Carroll could wear thin. The Wilson trade doesn’t buy you time like you had in 2010 to build a team. It actually creates pressure to show you can move forward — to show positive signs, if nothing else, minus the one player who kept you competitive for so many years.
I’m not completely writing the Seahawks off, though. I accept there’s a chance they can develop and grow, even if the wins don’t come. A 2011-style season is not out of the question and would be a positive result.
Yet I am not currently getting a 2011 vibe — aside from the comparable quarterback situations. People will suggest there’s maybe some recency bias involved in that opinion — but I do remember the 2011 off-season somewhat fondly. The lockout ending right before the season enabled the Seahawks to add three big names, at a cost, in free agency (something they’ve avoided doing again since then). This year there’s been very positive vibes around Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant, plus the two young offensive tackles and Boye Mafe. I’m not sure it’s quite as comparable to the emergence of Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman and K.J. Wright — plus the arrival of Brandon Browner.
In pre-season they were quite competitive in 2011. They won two games against the Chargers and Raiders and narrowly lost to Denver by three points. They also lost to the Vikings in a game that was 13-7 with two minutes to go.
Again, it’s pre-season. I appreciate trying to compare pre-seasons will induce some mocking comments. I also do think the Seahawks have felt messy, uncompetitive and shambolic in this 2022 pre-season so far. How else do you explain being 24-0 down to the rebuilding Bears, who benched most of their starters after the opening exchanges?
Right now I’d predict Seattle is a shoe-in for a top-10 pick. Which, in my opinion, wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. Yet I do have reservations about the best way to proceed if that comes to fruition. And I do wonder how fans will react to it if the season goes that way and Wilson’s Broncos excel.
Ownership, the front office and Pete Carroll can’t assume people will tolerate a bad product when the message consistently is to play down the nature of this rebuild or in the case of Jody Allen, not say anything in years other than one statement about your unwillingness to sell the team at the moment.
Essentially, this either can’t be as bad as many of us are starting to fear. Or there has to be the kind of honest, open communication with the fan base — aka, true leadership — that this franchise has sadly lacked for too long.
And if tough decisions need to be made, certain people should be prepared to make them.
Let’s hope it doesn’t have to come to that.
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3:39am
That’s how long I lasted. Then I figured — balls to it, I’m writing the review now.
As appealing as the fourth quarter was, I’d had enough. Half an eye was probably too much as I began to type.
That was absolutely dreadful.
Forget that it’s pre-season week two for a moment. Even forget this is a rebuilding team playing on a short week.
The Seahawks were totally unprepared to play this game today against a comparably retooling opponent. They couldn’t function. Everything was bad.
It was a repeat of last week, only minus the eventual settling down and gradual improvement.
If nothing else, Chicago looked organised and functioning (until a couple of their own special teams snafu’s late on).
The Seahawks were atrocious.
The special teams in particular highlighted that. It was a horror show last week and it was worse tonight.
You had the Justin Coleman cock-up, costing 20-yards of field position because he couldn’t stand in the right spot under no pressure. Jason Myers missed another field goal. Cade Johnson muffed a punt leading to a Chicago touchdown. There were big kick returns for the Bears.
What exactly have they been doing in camp on special teams?
There were a ton of penalties and mental mistakes. Charles Cross — so impressive last week — looked absolutely terrified tonight. He had four false starts and a holding penalty. He was hardly alone though. Gabe Jackson basically turned the ball over by giving away a ‘hands to the face’ flag on a fourth down conversion. Seattle then punted on 4th and 12.
The Seahawks finished with 13 penalties compared to Chicago’s three.
The offense didn’t function aside from a couple of nice runs. I suppose it’s a positive that the runs happened, given how important it’ll be in 2022. But this was beyond ugly. It was unwatchable.
Geno Smith was hardly the singular problem but neither does he inspire anything. The ESPN broadcast worked especially hard to promote his claim to start but this is what games will be like when they don’t dominate with the run. He is severely limited and will never elevate the offense. On the days when things are not rolling, he is not going to carry you through.
A quarterback, even a point guard, has to be able to get things going. They have to provide a bit of inspiration. Not just struggle along when things go south.
Everyone loves to mention the Jacksonville game last season but nobody mentions the awful New Orleans performance. That’s what is coming.
The muffed punt to end the first half, followed by the boos from the sparse crowd, summed it up. Yet they started the second half with a penalty, a three-and-out and then gave up an easy touchdown drive to Nathan Peterman.
That’s about as bad a performance as was physically possible tonight. It’s hard to think of anyone who improved their stock. Abraham Lucas maybe?
Look — we all know what this season is. And I maintain I’m comfortable enduring this season to max out draft position and hopefully get a quality, young quarterback in the 2023 draft.
That doesn’t mean this team and staff are shielded from criticism though. This was a disgraceful showing.
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Geno Smith is basically confirmed as the starter
The quarterback ‘competition’ is starting to feel like a dog and pony show.
For all the talk of the race being on, Pete Carroll’s language suggests otherwise.
Take Saturday’s opening pre-season game. Any enquiries into Drew Lock, or the QB battle in general, were brought back to Geno Smith’s performance. In two separate press conferences, Carroll has referenced that Smith ‘could’ve been 10 for 10’ in terms of completions.
Lock received a more lukewarm review.
Then, on Tuesday, Lock was given an opportunity to play with the starters in practise from the get-go. A first during the pre-season. He was even declared the starter against Chicago. Yet Carroll also stated, clearly, that Smith was still ahead of Lock and in pole position to win the job.
Now that Lock has tested positive for Covid and will miss the Bears game, the writing is on the wall. The competition is all but over.
Lock will only have one more pre-season game to impress. Even if he excels against Dallas on the 26th August, he’s not going to overtake Smith is he? It would’ve already taken a strong outing against Chicago and building momentum.
Carroll is unlikely to hand the keys to Lock off the back of the final pre-season game.
So Geno Smith will be Seattle’s starter. Lock will likely only get an opportunity if Smith performs especially poorly during the season.
It remains the case that there are a couple of ways of looking at this.
Firstly — for all the fair criticisms of Smith — he is a convincing communicator. His statement at a press conference recently that he ‘had Drew’s back’ whatever the outcome of the competition was an inspired line. It’s probably more impactful than any throw he’s completed over the last few weeks.
Leadership is a key aspect of quarterbacking. That line, timed to perfection, perfectly illustrated Smith’s leadership chops.
Lock doesn’t come across poorly during interviews but neither is he particularly impressive or convincing. You can imagine Smith leading this team. He speaks with conviction and authority. I suspect the locker room will be fully behind him because of this aspect, even if there’s a general indifference towards each players’ performance.
Given this is a season where the Seahawks will talk a lot about competing (but ultimately settle for development), having someone who is highly respected in the most important position is understandable. It might cause more issues than it’s worth to change on the basis of ‘upside’ or ‘the unknown’ — despite my own preference for those things.
At the same time, Geno is still Geno. He’s still the player with a career passer rating of 75.7, a touchdown/interception ratio of 34/37 and as he nears his 32nd birthday, it’s a legit possibility he wouldn’t still be in the NFL if it wasn’t for the Seahawks.
They’re probably not going to be much fun with Smith starting, which is the cross a lot of fans will have to bear. Games or wins will need to be earned in the trenches. Seattle will need to win up front — with the pass rush and running game likely dictating whether they have a shot week-to-week.
Personally I don’t mind that too much. It might seem wildly old-fashioned, uncool and against everything the frustrating world of the NFL on Twitter has become to say this. Yet I like physical football in the trenches. I enjoy watching teams run the ball well. I like great defensive line play.
I enjoy exciting, creative passing games too. But if given a choice, I probably would choose a classic Alabama vs LSU slog that finished 9-6 than a Big-12 game that finished 55-52.
Something in between is the ideal, rather than the two extremes, but you get the point.
As a consequence I’ve never felt compelled to be overly negative about Carroll’s brand of football. It does require, however, a proper ‘point guard’ to be enjoyable. I fear Smith will never produce that. I sense the game against New Orleans last season, where he couldn’t move the ball for toffee, will be witnessed more often than a routine win against Jacksonville (the worst team in the NFL last season).
Yet there were some encouraging signs from the O-line and D-line against Pittsburgh — plus the running game was motoring on.
So the Seahawks will give themselves an opportunity to be in some close games and they may sneak a win or two more than people are currently predicting. This is going to be a 2011 type season where there will be some absolute stinkers — but if the running game thrives and if young players emerge, the Seahawks will likely finish as a relatively competitive upstart unit.
Two things seem very certain though. Geno Smith is going to be Seattle’s starting quarterback and the Seahawks will know their top, 100% priority is going to be finding their next franchise quarterback in the 2023 draft.
A gentle reminder that Kentucky’s season starts on the 4th September. Miami begin the night before. Bring on the Will Levis and Tyler Van Dyke showcases.
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J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is now a Seahawk
It felt somewhat inevitable that Ugo Amadi would be cut before the season started, unless he had a sparkling training camp.
His cap hit was $2.7m and moving on saved $2.5m. It’s not the most expensive deal but it was still too much for a player who hasn’t shown enough.
A safety in college, Amadi never really found a spot in Seattle. It’s telling that the Eagles are now listing him as a ‘DB’. That’s part of the problem. He’s not a particularly good nickel corner. He’s not convinced anyone to stick at safety. He can’t play outside and he isn’t a deatbacker type.
So what is he?
As a nickel in 2021 he earned a 43.7 PFF grade which felt warranted. He simply wasn’t very good.
You can carry a versatile depth piece on a cheap rookie deal. When they start costing nearly $3m, it’s time to move on.
The Seahawks have signed Justin Coleman (who played poorly in Pittsburgh) but could also give Coby Bryant a season at nickel or utilise Marquise Blair in that spot. Either way, they’re clearly comfortable with the options they have.
It was reported earlier in the day that Amadi would be cut. This is one of those moments where the Eagles saw an opportunity and the two teams came together to strike a deal before his release.
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside has been a bust in the NFL. A former second round pick, he’s simply too stiff and robotic. He showed that in college too — he just had a knack for making contested catches and winning 1v1’s.
He’s not particularly fast (4.50) or explosive (34 inch vertical) and there’s nothing spectacular about his profile.
The chances are he won’t amount to anything in Seattle. It’s not the best situation for him that he’s bulked up to 237lbs for a switch to tight end and now the Seahawks want him to play receiver again. Arcega-Whiteside was 225lbs at his combine.
Yet given the pending departure of Amadi anyway, why not have a look at a player once drafted seven spots higher than D.K. Metcalf? Especially when the team has a few injuries at receiver and (quite rightly) isn’t risking Metcalf or Tyler Lockett in these pre-season games.
He may well be cut in a week or two. We’ll see. It’s a shot to nothing.
These are the kind of moves where the Seahawks have struck gold in the past. There’s nothing wrong with having a look.
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With pre-season games, there a whole bunch of qualifiers to consider as you form an opinion.
You constantly have to weigh up good performances vs opponents faced, or acknowledge sloppy starts often happen during the first outing of a long season.
Any review has to be taken with a pinch of salt. I’m not going to pour over PFF grades and try and form serious views off the back of this Pittsburgh game. These are merely observations having finally watched the full thing on Sunday.
Typical Seahawks
Curtis Allen commented in the build-up that he was interested to see how prepared Seattle was for this contest. I shared that intrigue — especially with a new defensive coaching staff and a renewed focus.
Therefore it was a bit disappointing to see a familiar issue in the first half.
The Seahawks have a tendency to start flat in the Carroll era. That was definitely the case again here. They’ve also had a tendency to claw their way back into games — and that was also evident too.
Yet undoubtedly, for me at least, the need to ‘chase the game’ so frequently has cost at least as many games as the mantra ‘it’s not how you start it’s how you finish’ has won. This has particularly been the case in big playoff games.
The result of this pre-season opener was not important but it was disappointing to see a first quarter so maddeningly poor. I won’t blame the young cornerbacks for struggling in their first NFL action but Justin Coleman played like he’s close to the end.
Geno Smith and the offense couldn’t move the ball. He classically burned a timeout then took a sack to end one drive.
The tackling started appallingly and never righted itself.
Special teams appeared discombobulated — in coverage and on the Aaron Fuller brainfart as he tried to field a punt.
They didn’t look particularly organised or ready to play. I’m not sure whether the Steelers were that much better or whether they simply benefitted from this. Yet it would’ve been nice to see a little more control over the game in the first half, rather than the habit re-emerging of needing to improve as the game progresses.
After 12 years of this trend I think this will forever follow Carroll’s Seahawks and it’s tough s**t if you’re hoping for anything else. I’ve long felt the ‘it’s how you finish’ mantra could be refined to include something about not giving yourself a mountain to climb first. Seattle’s hiking boots are well-worn by now.
Geno Smith benefitted a little too much from his TD drive
I watched the first half live and felt Smith was having a poor game until his drive before half-time. The lights suddenly switched on and he moved the ball well. I can’t recall if this was due to a quicker tempo (I’ll need to watch it again) but his final act of the game was a score and that last impression seemed to stick. A lot of the mediocre play that came before it faded into the distance and he got quite the thumbs up on Twitter.
On the other hand, I thought Drew Lock looked pretty good to start. He led an immediate scoring drive, then another (plus a two-point conversion) and appeared sharp and on course to ‘win’ the contest of quarterbacks. Yet he finished with an ugly sack/fumble that lost the game and as with Smith, that final impression stuck.
I think the truth is both players look like a similar level of quality. And that is going to make for a mind-bending level of frustration when the regular season kicks-off for a lot of people.
With the way Carroll spoke after the game, I suspect he’s almost certainly decided internally that Smith is the starter for week one and it’d take something pretty special to change that.
The rookies looked very good
Visitors to this blog during the college football and draft season will know how high I was on Abraham Lucas. At one point, after the Senior Bowl, I also argued it wouldn’t have been a stretch to take Boye Mafe with Seattle’s original first round pick, had they not made the Jamal Adams trade.
For me they both warranted consideration in the first round and it was an absolute home-run to get both on day two.
Lucas looked outstanding, admittedly against a Steelers’ pass rush minus its best player. He blocked with physicality, agility and an edge. He knew where he needed to be — whether it was creating a pocket, latching on to linebackers at the second level or dominating 1v1. He looks every bit a long term answer at right tackle. I celebrated that third round pick with gusto when it happened and this was a really promising first look at a player with massive potential.
Mafe, meanwhile, looks every bit the athletic, physical phenomena his testing suggested. He was fast, explosive and exciting off the edge. He finished with two sacks including a sack/fumble. While many have talked about his raw qualities — I think it’s overdone. Watch him at Minnesota with the way he used his hands and power. He was tremendous at the Senior Bowl — winning in a variety of ways and looking like a natural rusher in the process. Watch his fumble last night. He used his hands brilliantly, then dipped around the blocker and finished. Textbook.
Right before this play he also made a crucial effort-tackle on a big special teams return by Pittsburgh, possibly saving a touchdown.
Mafe’s closing speed on the Kenny Pickett fourth-down sack was stunning. Look how quickly he covered ground.
He’s a scary player, with elite physical qualities.
The idea of Mafe and Taylor producing book-end pressure is by far, for me, the most exciting prospect on this roster currently. There isn’t a duo with their potential around. The Seahawks could’ve struck gold here with two second round picks. It’s a tantalising thought, after years of mediocre pass rushing.
Every year, players last longer than they should. Frankly, it’s barely believable Lucas and Mafe lasted as long as they did. More fool the rest of the NFL.
Generally I liked the defense playing with aggression. It was a pretty vanilla gameplan (understandably) but they still brought pressure from different positions. If this is a sign of things to come, sign me up for that.
The offensive line did a good job
The key to this season is to develop in the trenches and build on the success of the running game. This will set the table for drafting a quarterback next year.
The Seahawks ran for 159 yards and made it look easy at times. The starters and backups all performed well. There’s talent and depth within this group, with the potential to produce a unit for the long term.
How good does that sound?
It was also good to see Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer contributing. Homer looks bigger and more physical, yet he’s retained his quickness. Seattle’s running back group is attractive.
The other really noticeable thing was Charles Cross. He needed to gain good weight in the pro’s and he looks a lot bigger, without any negative impact on his blocking.
Final thoughts
The key takeaway is that while the sloppy first half and horrendous tackling are issues — the areas the team needs to develop in 2022 all shone enough to be reasonably pleased. Again, it’s worth repeating, this season is about setting the table for a new, young quarterback to eat in 12 months time.
My hope for the game on Thursday against Chicago is that the tackling wildly improves, the Seahawks start better, looks like a more settled and prepared outfit and that the team builds on its success up front.
The Bears are in the middle of perhaps an even bigger rebuild than Seattle. So this should be an opportunity for players to impress.
To finish — it was good to watch a pre-season game that wasn’t a flag-fest. The NFL needs to make these games as digestible as possible — not use them as teaching tape for the regular season. Also, well done to the Steelers for playing ‘Half Mast’ by Empire of the Sun in their stadium. What a wonderful track.
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This is a guest post by Curtis Allen
The Quarterback Competition
It remains a tight battle with Geno Smith still getting first crack at reps with the #1 offense.
After warmups and some drills, Smith took the starting offense through some scrimmaging while Lock worked a bit with the second team on another field.
However, as the practice progressed and the team came together — Pete Carroll mixed it up a bit, rotating in some of the top WRs like Lockett and Metcalf to work with Lock and also giving him some reps with the top offensive line.
I am certain it would be shrugged off as contingency planning to make sure he could mix and match for the Saturday preseason game against the Steelers but I think it is becoming evident that Carroll really wants to see Lock playing with the top players to get a taste of what he can do with them.
That can also be seen by the drills that Carroll had the team run today. Almost all of them called for passes and good decisions by the quarterback.
They started with a red zone drill. Geno had a nice touchdown throw to Lockett (with great protection as Lockett cleared traffic) and what probably should have been another one to Metcalf if not for yet another brilliant play by Woolen to fight the ball loose (see below).
Lock was more than his equal though. He had an absolutely brilliant touch throw to Lockett for a score. Lockett was lined up to his right and streaked down the sideline. Lock lofted it perfectly into Lockett’s arms in tight coverage. A complete dime.
If that wasn’t enough, he had another touchdown to Lockett on the very next play. Although to be fair, this was the easiest touchdown throw Lock ever had. Lockett had pantsed his defender and gave Lock a wide open target for a pillow-soft toss to him for an easy score.
The passing continued in a ‘third down’ drill. The offense had all of their plays as third downs. Third and 4, third and 7, third and 10, that kind of thing. Didn’t matter if you converted, the next play was a third down with a new distance. Their job was to convert them, the defense’s job was to stop them.
Geno Smith got the first crack with the starting offense vs the starting defense. It was a mixed bag.
On one play, Metcalf was lined up to Geno’s right against Bryant. He completely smoked him and was wide open for a quick slant. Geno did not process the play fast enough and got “sacked” by the defense.
However, on the very next play, Geno hit Will Dissly in the seam for a beauty.
Later in a similar drill, Smith found Metcalf in the middle for a nice gain. He followed it up by staring Lockett down on a third and long and then overthrowing him on the sideline.
He hit Ken Walker with a nice little seam pass that he took and rocketed down the field on. He was then off target on a third and 6 crossing route to Cody Thompson.
You get the idea.
Lock sparkled with the 2’s against the 2nd string defense.
The first play was a third and 10 and Lock had his countdown clock working perfectly. As the rush collapsed the pocket, he saw the middle of the field had been vacated and bolted. He got his 10 yards and slid untouched.
He hit Colby Parkinson on a third and 4, scrambled to his right and hit Penny Hart on the sideline on a third and long and found Cade Johnson with a laser for another first down.
Later in a similar drill, Myles Adams burst through the line. He coolly sidestepped him and delivered a strike.
He was not perfect though. Shortly after, he was flushed from the pocket and when moving right, was inaccurate with a throw to a receiver. It would not have been a first down anyway. But Lock threw it at his feet and it was not pretty.
At the end of the drill Lock was “sacked” but this one appeared to me to be a great job by the defense, more than anything Lock did or did not do. The coverage was tight and the pass rush bottled him up.
I would give Lock a slight edge in scoring today’s practice. He did not make any foolish decisions (one pass looked bad but his receiver slipped and fell) and he stayed in the pocket an appropriate amount of time. That is another way to say his processing was better than Geno’s today.
But he again used his legs to make things happen and the TD throw to Lockett was a standout. I guarantee Pete Carroll will remember that one.
Notes
— Play of the day:
Always Compete‼️ @_Tariqwoolen #SeahawksCamp x @Boeing pic.twitter.com/eDYB0q8FPR
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 10, 2022
Tariq Woolen hand fighting with D.K. Metcalf. It seems like every practice Woolen is doing something impressive. On this one, Metcalf gets two hands on the ball but Woolen refuses to give up and ends up forcing the incompletion.
— Honestly, what I took from this is, this shows that Metcalf is going to get regular practice work in probably his weakest area: contested catches. Both Woolen and Cobe Bryant have demonstrated an aptitude for ball skills so far in camp. Even if they do not get on the field immediately, this can only help the team by getting Metcalf some top-flight practice in this area.
— Speaking of the young corners, I would rather not have Sidney Jones and Artie Burns both injured but this could be a blessing in disguise. It is very possible Pete Carroll will be forced to give his rookie corners all the snaps they can handle in practice and in preseason with the top defense. This could advance their development and bear unexpected fruit later in the season and next year.
— With that in mind, of note is Cobe Bryant did get some work in at nickel but also moved back out to his traditional LCB role later in practice. I appreciate widening your skillset and contributing to the team any way you can, but with the injury situation at corner, it may be most beneficial to have Bryant just focusing on LCB for now.
— Boye Mafe came out early and worked on handfighting drills for pass rushing once again. It is nice to see he is taking his role seriously and working hard to improve. Again, a couple players eventually joined him in the drills but Mafe was clearly a cut above.
— Jake Curhan started with the ones but as practice progressed Abe Lucas moved into the spot.
— Nick Bellore is not a punchline. In the linebacker drills he breezed through the agility drill and destroyed the blocking sled, turning it on its side. The other linebackers gave it a token push. Make all the “I’m in the ‘get off my lawn’ phase of my career” jokes you like. He’s here to show the kids how a professional practices.
— Jamal Adams had a seriously head-scratching moment today. Lining up in a scrimmage, he was out of position and had to be adjusted by Cody Barton to a spot to Barton’s right – not unlike where the MIKE would line up. But once he got set and the ball was hiked, he had a brilliant play. It was a run to his side and he easily knifed through traffic and if he had been allowed to fully tackle in a game situation, he would have blown up the runner for a loss. I’m not sure whether to call that a positive or a negative but the end result was good.
— Pete Carroll appears to be begging one of the young wide receivers to step up and be a punt returner. They all bobbled or mishandled at least one punt in practice today. I get why they had Freddie Swain and David Moore taking punts in previous seasons with a seeming mandate of ‘for goodness sake, just don’t cough up the ball.’
— It looked like Travis Homer pulled something in a run, maybe a hamstring or groin. He limped off and didn’t return but also did not immediately seek out the trainers.
— Ryan Neal did not practice but no longer had the boot on. The ankle injury may not be as bad as thought.
— Now Tyreke Smith appears to have hurt his other hip. He did not participate in practice once again. I am grateful the NFL has adopted the rules allowing players to go on Injured Reserve and come back to play in the same season. With the depth the Seahawks have, he may be a nice choice to stash on IR for a few weeks until he gets up to speed.
