This is a guest post by Curtis Allen
A 9:45am practice today challenged the players’ body clocks and energy after the Football Fest on Saturday but they responded well with a spirited practice session that got a bit chippy.
Geno Smith Returns to Practice
A sigh of relief swept over the VMAC and its fans as Geno Smith stepped out fully dressed for practice this morning. The gap between Smith and Sam Howell is still considerable, even with Howell improving over the last three days while getting first team reps with the loaded Wide Receiver group.
Smith stepped on the field and showed absolutely no limitations in practice, taking several long throws in warmups and putting his signature spin and zip on the passes. In drills, we witnessed the same thing: throws placed accurately, giving the receivers the ability to run after the catch. Some throws even led them to gaps that were open.
In a Red Zone drill from the 10-yard line, Smith showed touch, accuracy and the ability to know when the rifle one in and when to float one over the defense. Simple slants from both the right and left side were well placed with appropriate speed. They allowed the receiver to use their body to box out the defender and present a clean target. Later he found Cody White in the far corner with a perfect touch pass over the defender.
That was the good. Smith also had plays in this same drill and later in the full scrimmage against the top defense, where he was indecisive and could not make good choices as the pass rush closed in on him. He forced a throw to Jake Bobo — who was coming back to the line of scrimmage to present his quarterback a target — but Tre Brown read his eyes and broke on the ball to get a pass defensed. Later, after hesitation, he threw a desperation heave to see if D.K. Metcalf could jump out of the gym to get it but he was not able to.
As good as Smith has looked in practices when they warm up and do passing drills, he still seems to have a real issue making decisions and getting rid of the ball in an effective way when throwing under pressure.
The final scrimmage of the day showed that. The defensive front gave the offensive line all kinds of trouble, forcing Smith to make decisions quicker than he would like. Dump offs were plentiful and on one rep, Smith tried to force a play under pressure by throwing off his back foot deep to a well-covered Metcalf down the sideline, hoping he could make a play. It fell incomplete as the defender had position and easily batted it away.
It appears the key offseason narrative is starting to take shape.
The Seahawks Must Find a Way to Get This Offensive Line to Work
Mike Macdonald has confirmed more than once that they are looking for players to step up and that not all the starting jobs on the line are locked down. Center has particularly been an area of focus, with Olu Oluwatimi getting the bulk of reps with the top squad today. But Nick Harris stepped in and had a good chunk with them Saturday for Football Fest.
That rotation, the line’s performance in scrimmage drills and the fact that the team is apparently still negotiating to bring Connor Williams in say a lot.
Macdonald is clearly not happy with the line’s performance thus far. Getting into the third full week of camp and broadcasting that jobs have not been won yet and considering outside help are strong indicators of that.
In a way, it is comforting to hear these remarks and reports from the team. It shows they are serious about competing and are not just going to cheer a player on and hope he transforms into a serious NFL player right before our eyes like the team has in the recent past.
There is still an important chunk of offseason to go.
Some optimistic thoughts on the line:
It is possible that this line has just taken longer to gel together.
It is also possible that the defensive unit has been so good that secretly hidden on this roster is the middling offensive line that we have been craving. A line that can be better than what we have seen against defenses that are not as deep and talented as the Seahawks are.
That theory will be put to the test Saturday against the Chargers — who have Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack on the edges — but no dominating presence on the interior (with apologies to Poona Ford.)
They then will play Cleveland and Tennessee, two teams that have very healthy defensive lines.
The next three weeks will tell us a lot about this offensive line, and where this team is going this season.
It also should be noted that the running game is never a real known entity until the unit gets a full taste of game action. An effective and creative running game will take a lot of pressure off Smith and the pass-blockers. Paired with a defense that looks quite effective, those two things could carry a lot of weight while the offensive scheme and the pass protections work themselves out.
It is not comfortable to have such a big open question at this point in the offseason. However, this coaching staff has proved its mettle in a very short period. They appear to have installed a new culture in the building, demanding accountability and excellence from their players. All their comments show that they realize the line could be their Achilles heel this season. How they address it will be fascinating to watch.
Other Practice Notes
— Another huzzah for Byron Murphy. He still looks fantastic. He played with the twos in an early scrimmage, then joined the ones for the final scrimmage. Watching him stand up two interior blockers so his mates can run free is so impressive. He did that again today and Sam Howell had nowhere to scramble to as the middle was plugged. Later against the ones he steamrolled Laken Tomlinson into the backfield and on another play Smith had no choice but to dump the ball off to Kenneth Walker, and Murphy turned tail and ran to track him down. The play got 4-5 yards but Murphy’s effort was impressive.
— No Dre Jones and no Jerome Baker again in practice today. The defense looks great even without those two but smart teams will be able to exploit the fact they are not on the field. Get well soon, fellas.
— In Red Zone drills, the offense is showing a look where they bunch receivers to the quarterback’s right and give the defense mixed signals about who is doing what, hoping one of the receivers will pop free. It is an interesting concept. But if there is a traffic jam and Smith must wait for someone to come free, it will become a problem. On those drills, just letting your receiver beat his man and throwing the ball with anticipation appears more effective.
— Christian Haynes took some center snaps at the Senior Bowl and that is great. But the Seahawks (to my knowledge) have never lined him up there. Every scrimmage and drill, Haynes has been at Right Guard, his natural spot. I hope the team does not turn to him in desperation to fill the center spot. Particularly without a full summer or camp of work there.
— Tre Brown is still very strong looking. His matchups with D.K. Metcalf are appointment watching. Neither is giving an inch, and it would be hard to say who has won more matchups at this point. Every single time Metcalf makes a nice play, the next time Smith goes to him, Brown shuts it down with his own fine play.
-The Cornerback group is an intriguing roster question at this point. Brown, Woolen and Witherspoon are locks. Burns has had a very good camp and provides versatility. Bryant could move over from safety if needed, and the Seahawks drafted D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett. Could Mike Jackson be the odd man out?
-Ken Walker has fire and isn’t shy about letting defenders know about it. He and Woolen had to be separated after Walker was tackled with a facemask tackle.
-Brady Russell keeps having good days at Tight End. Today he had a handful of reps with the top offense. It is hard to gauge his blocking, but the Seahawks do appear to like has skill in the passing game. With Fant and Brown locks, and Jack Westover looking good so far, can the team afford to keep a fourth and/or fifth Tight End on the roster?
