This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…
The first open camp day with the players wearing pads did not disappoint.
The competitiveness and pride – particularly on defense – were evident. Just imagine this defense finally being able to hit someone after a week of witnessing Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed and Jadarian Price bust off big play after big play.
As we talked about on Day Four, the restrictive nature of the early camp days heavily favors the offense. Add in the continuity of nearly the entire offensive roster and new Offensive Coordinator Brian Fleury wisely deciding to retain the essence of Klint Kubiak’s concepts, and that made for some potent fireworks early on.
That is likely the match that lit the stick of dynamite of today’s rowdy moments between the two squads. Leonard Williams kicked it off by tracking down A.J. Barner downfield on a pass play that was an explosive one and taking him down hard (side note – Williams running down a Tight End in practice is another example of the team intensity this year). The offense was not amused. But calm was quickly restored. On the next play, Williams and Bryce Cabledue went at it after the whistle. Derick Hall came in from behind and took Cabledue down to the ground. It flared for about 5-7 seconds and then order was eventually restored.
Usually, these things happen a little bit later in camp. It is hot, players are sick of practicing and want to be get into real games — and so fuses are short.
It is my assertion that this came earlier because this top NFL defense had been embarrassed thus far in camp and was fed up.
I will say it again: there is no Super Bowl hangover. Some had said camp so far had been ‘low energy’ or ‘boring.’ Personally, I think we have been seeing the straight-line focus and efficiency of Mike Macdonald and staff being implemented very effectively. The intensity and hunger were always there; it was just more harnessed. It was easy to see today.
Some Noteworthy ‘Promotions’ on Display
Bud Clark got a handful of snaps with the starters on defense. A nice reward for his hard work and sound play with the twos and threes so far in camp. It was especially nice to see him used in several different roles with the ones.
When he first came in, he was the deep safety while Julian Love and D’Anthony Bell roamed near the line of scrimmage. I think that can only be beneficial, as he can get a sense of a fantastic passing offense and its timing.
Later, he moved down into the box and was in the Nick Emmanwori/Bell role. Then he covered Tight Ends like Barner and Elijah Arroyo, quite effectively I might add.
Nehemiah Pritchett got his first sustained bit of reps with the ones also, lining up at the Right Cornerback spot while Devon Witherspoon stayed on the field in a nickel/slot role.
And perhaps most notable: Beau Stephens was moved up to the twos after spending most of the summer and all of camp with the threes. He slotted in at Right Guard while Christian Haynes moved over to Left Guard.
I doubt these moves represent a major sea change for the team. However, it is fair to expect all three of those players to log some important snaps for the team at some point this year. Bumping them up a level above what they had been practicing with helps them prepare to do that.
Elijah Arroyo’s Best Day So Far
On Tuesday I mused about Arroyo, wondering if he was a good fit on this team. Whenever A.J. Barner was not with the ones, they had Eric Saubert taking his spot, not Arroyo.
The team just brought in Nick Vannett, an ability match with Saubert, Barner and Kallerup. Brady Russell had also worked in the mix in drills. He feels like a misfit toy.
Today, Arroyo showed why they spent a second-round pick on him. He played with all three offenses and had great catches for healthy chunks of yards with each of them.
Sam Darnold found him on a crosser, running the route like a Wide Receiver in traffic.
Drew Lock found him after buying some time by drifting to his left and Arroyo caught it and accelerated up the field.
Jalen Milroe found him deep downfield and used Arroyo’s height and jumping ability to deliver about a 35–40-yard pass.
A couple of times after a nice catch, Arroyo let loose with a burst of emotion. Guessing there had been some pent-up frustration with his use and performance in camp so far.
Brian Fleury had him inline at times but mostly as a split out Tight End, creating mismatches with Linebackers (not fast enough) and Safeties (not big enough).
I love it when I am wrong in this way. Arroyo could be a very nice chess piece for Fleury to play with. I think the biggest challenge is working him in. Barner, Saubert, etc you can bring in and the offense is not sure of your intentions. Arroyo comes in and your hand is tipped a bit that you are essentially in a three Wide Receiver set.
We will see how he is used.
Notes & Observations
— Jalen Milroe was once again impressive today. I do not think I have seen one ‘very poor’ decision yet from him in camp this year. Last year it was daily occurrence. He is still being used with the threes, with occasionally an Arroyo or a Price thrown into the mix. More and more, what I am liking is he is not panicking. He displays patience and does not rush things. It works for him because he has a quick release and his footwork is pretty quiet when he is scanning so he is not out of position when he decides to execute.
— In the warmup period Milroe was doing a drill where he took the snap and literally froze like a statue. Feet planted like trees in the ground. When the receiver established his route, then Milroe unfroze and his mechanics were clean. It feels like one of those drills that helps root the mind in the idea that you need to stay connected to the ground to have good mechanics.
— Milroe also had a presnap sequence that was interesting. Price set up in the slot, Milroe waved him to get set next to him, then moved him to the other side before taking the snap. That is commanding your offense. I continue to believe he will in time get some reps in camp with the twos. We will also need to see if the pressure of a preseason game will crack this calm precision he is currently displaying.
— If you follow my twitter account while I post the blow-by-blow of camp, you will see a ton of ‘Price’ and very little ‘Holani.’ That was true today as well, as Price got a much larger share of snaps with the ones and then worked with the threes a bit. Even Emanuel Wilson got more snaps than Holani today. What is going on? I think the Seahawks know what they have in Holani and are using camp reps to evaluate & train the position aside from him. They ran some pass block drills again today and Holani was far and away the best of the group. It was a mixed bag with Price and Wilson. Jacardia Wright was overmatched.
— Bobby Hart has not taken any reps with the twos that I have seen. Josh Jones, Amari Kight and even Logan Brown have regularly gotten snaps there. He may just have been depth insurance and/or a message to Jones. He practices fine but the team is moving Kight and Brown from the left side to the right when they want to change up the Tackle spot with the twos.
— Julian Neal and Jake Bobo were on the field but not participating today. Irv Charles was a full participant, working on Special Teams as well as with the threes. Milroe hit him with a beautiful deep pass late in practice that made for a big play. I found this interesting – Charles is so big, they lined him up right in the middle on the kickoff coverage reps. In between Mike Morris and Brady Russell. It is very possible a guy of his size and speed can create mismatches on coverage.
— The team did a drill where a Running Back takes a pass out of the backfield and has to make the catch, turn and juke the defender. Price drew Patrick O’Connell three times and all three, left O’Connell in the dust.
