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 also available on ‘The Rebuild’ podcast streams.

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.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

The quarterback competition has been turned on its ear

If Drew Lock ends up winning the starting job, today is the day fans can point to in order to identify when it happened.

Lock was poised, confident and ran the offense well against both the #1 and #2 defenses. Three things immediately stood out to me about Lock.

First, he made good decisions and executed them effectively.

Much was made of his now-infamous opening day throw. I called it “the worst throw I’d ever seen a professional QB make.” Brock Huard called it “a throw that loses you football games.” Pete Carroll called it “as bad a throw as you can make. That’s an example of ‘we’re never doing that again.’” But he quickly added that Lock has not made a single ‘bonehead’ decision since that day.

Is that Pete with his trademark overly positive perspective? No. Lock had several chances today to make dangerous throws into tight windows and considered it but he wisely checked down and found a safer option to keep the offense on schedule and moving forward. Significant progress and something that will be critical for a team intending to focus on the run game.

Late in the first half, he had the offense in field goal range but had time for one more play. He rolled to his right but there was no really good opportunity. He wisely threw the ball out of the end zone instead of trying for the low-percentage play and the team took the field goal and went into the locker room.

At another point in the game, Uchenna Nwosu came completely free off the edge and was in Lock’s face immediately after the snap. Lock coolly sidearmed the ball around him and hit Colby Parkinson in stride for a nice gain. That was a play that a seriously good NFL quarterback makes.

He also made good decisions on when to take shots. At one point he slightly overthrew a streaking Bo Melton in the deep middle. The throw was not perfect but the decision making was sound. He had enough time and protection to take the deep shot and Melton clearly had a step on his man.

It really looks like he demonstrated a high positive response to the coaching since the opening of camp. Lock appears to have ascended closer to what Pete Carroll wants. Be a good steward of the football — be patient — but make the big throw when it is available to you.

Second, Lock used his legs.

It’s almost as if he listened to Brock Huard’s podcast this week. He said Lock would have to use his legs to elevate himself in the competition.

He most certainly did that today. He bought time in the pocket, rolled out to find receivers and also called his own number on run-pass option plays at least three or four times and gained decent yardage each time, converting at least one third down. He may have found an element to contribute that differentiates him from Geno Smith.

Third, he threw into the middle of the field effectively.

Lock found the tight ends down the seam, the wide receivers on slants and running backs on check downs. These are things that can really add a dimension to the offense that has been sorely missing.

Was Lock perfect today? No. Some of his throws lacked accuracy and his timing with his receivers was not always the best. His first handoff to Walker was fumbled (although to be fair, Pete blamed Walker). Also, a drive in the third quarter sputtered.

But overall, it was an impressive display. Lock made a statement today. He’s coming for the job.

What about Geno Smith?

He had a nice drive to open the game against the #2 defense. He found D.K. Metcalf a couple times, had a nice throw to Marquise Goodwin and audibled to Penny runs that appeared to be good choices a couple of times. He brought the offense down the field and Penny ran in for a touchdown at the goal line. Smith kept the offense on schedule and made the throws he needed to.

There wasn’t much to speak positively of after that drive though.

The next drive he could not muster much of anything.

Later, he had a throw that was completely perplexing. He scrambled to his left under pressure and lofted a ball down the sideline to Goodwin that there was simply no way he could get to, yet was in bounds and catchable. Tariq Woolen with his incredible length turned his body and nearly made an incredible diving interception. Why not just throw the ball away?

Coming out of the locker room after halftime, on the first offensive play Geno burned a timeout. The team was not ready to play.

Later they lined up for a ‘four-minute drill’. The simulation was the team had a lead with four minutes to play and the offense needed to burn the clock. After a short run, Geno threw a short checkdown ball the receiver had to fall to the ground to catch and then he got ‘sacked’ on third down. About 50 seconds burned off the clock.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a real horserace. If Lock continues at this pace, he will win the job and have preseason time to develop some chemistry with his receivers.

Tariq Woolen’s star turn

Tariq Woolen played tremendously well today. With Sidney Jones sidelined with a potential concussion, Woolen got plugged into the right cornerback spot with the #1 defense and had several impressive moments.

Woolen had a couple pass breakups, consistently tight coverage and nearly got that interception off Geno Smith with a diving attempt. He had a dogged matchup with Marquise Goodwin and got the best of him more often than not.

He looked good, patiently waiting for receivers to make their break and then reacting, trusting his speed and his ability turn his hips and run. He also seemed to have a very solid grasp of when to hand off his man in zone coverage and get to his next assignment.

I’m not sure his development timeline should necessarily be advanced just yet, but he appears to my eyes to be further along than I reckoned he would be.

Game Notes

— Penalties, penalties, penalties. False starts, delays of game, holdings, defensive offsides. Procedural penalties abounded today. Jake Curhan got at least two false starts for jumping early. Let’s hope they get these things ironed out. Soon.

— Kenneth Walker again looked fantastic. After the fumbled exchange, Walker calmed down and ran with a burst you love to see. On one run, he got to the second level and completely juked an incoming Josh Jones and gained more yards. His touchdown run was a seamless effort that he made look easy with a quick cut to the outside:

K9 doing K9 things 💯#SeahawksCamp x @boeing pic.twitter.com/aju9zKRNZq

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 6, 2022

— Dareke Young had several catches and looked comfortable in the offense.

— The edge rushers looked great today. Darrel Taylor, Boye Mafe, and Uchenna Nwosu all displayed burst off the line, power and bend. Pete Carroll’s comments yesterday about Boye Mafe being used primarily in pass rush packages are a welcome relief. In his post-draft comments, he had mentioned that Mafe had more of an aptitude for linebacker play whereas Tyreke Smith was more of a pass rusher. Thank goodness they’re focusing on Mafe as a pass rusher.

— Jacob Eason laid a claim for the Dumbest Throw of Preseason crown. Deep in his own territory, he took the snap, had a rusher in his face and from his own end zone he threw it to…I don’t know who. He just flipped the ball away but in the middle of the field, with no offensive player within 5 yards of the throw. A defender made a diving catch for an interception at the 3-yard line. Thankfully the play was nullified by a defensive penalty.

Although I’ve often spoken of a willingness to just ‘roll with what they’ve got’ at quarterback, I also have a small confession to make.

I was rooting for Drew Lock.

Not because I have any great faith in Lock. At Missouri he had tools and plus athleticism but he also flashed a decent amount of erraticism. Despite being touted as a first round pick, he dropped deep into round two. His career in Denver never really got going. Then he left.

The idea that he would come to Seattle and propel his career to a level he’s so far been unable to reach in college or the NFL was always fanciful.

I still liked the idea of giving him a shot. The one thing Lock retains is a tiny amount of unknown. A ‘what if?’ factor that Geno Smith simply does not possess.

We know what Smith is. He is a player who has proven to be thoroughly mediocre. It’s possible the Seahawks are the sole reason he remains an actual NFL player.

He’s been in Seattle since 2019, signing a series of cheap backup contracts. Since his rookie deal with the Jets, these are the contract amounts he has signed for:

2017 — $1.2m (Giants)
2018 — $1m (Chargers)
2019 — $805,000 (Seahawks)
2020 — $1.2m (Seahawks)
2021 — $1.2m (Seahawks)

Now he has agreed a deal technically worth $3.5m in terms of cap hit but with only $500,000 in dead money and a base salary of $1.26m.

Smith has thrown 32 career touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He has a career quarterback rating of 75.7.

He turns 32 this year. The ship has long sailed on any lingering potential. He is what he is. A player who, but for the Seahawks, might struggle for a backup job somewhere else. After all, in recent years he has remained on the market for a long time before eventually returning to Seattle.

There’s been a strong PR attempt to try and make more of his spell as a starter last season. Some fans have even started to drink the Kool Aid.

The truth is he was bad.

He had a brief cameo against the Rams which sparked some interest as he launched a comeback before he turned the ball over to end the game.

He did nothing in a half against Pittsburgh before Pete Carroll opted to run the ball down the throat of the Steelers. They couldn’t stop the run, paving the way for a strong second half by the offense. Yet another Smith turnover ended any hopes of a win in overtime.

Smith was absolutely woeful against the Saints — his only touchdown ‘drive’ being totally reliant on one big 84-yard play by DK Metcalf.

And then there was his only win — against the worst team in the league (Jacksonville).

The idea of watching 17 games of Geno Smith in 2022 is enough to create a migraine. It won’t be much fun. Not unless the Seahawks can recreate or better their virtually unstoppable running attack from the end of last season, making life improbably easy for Smith.

Let’s be clear — that is what they are banking on. There’s almost no chance they’ll be going into games relying on the arm of Smith. They are hoping he can manage games with the run thriving.

Ultimately he is the 2022 answer to Tarvaris Jackson. In 2011, everyone could see that Jackson simply wasn’t good enough. Yet he was respected by the team as they transitioned to the future and when Marshawn Lynch started to run effectively, the team clicked.

Based on everything that is being said, Smith is the de facto #1 without much of a competition because it appears he is the alpha in the QB room. Listening to press conferences by Lock and Smith today, it’s pretty clear Smith is the big voice in that room. He’s a better communicator.

It’s not a huge shock given his experience both in the league and with the team. Yet none of the noise from training camp so far suggests Drew Lock is doing anything to tilt the balance towards the unknown.

I would still rather find out if Lock has anything than submit the fans to a season of Smith. The writing’s on the wall though. Short of a horrible pre-season (which Smith has shown he’s capable of) combined with Lock excelling, this will be Smith’s gig.

I don’t anticipate the Seahawks bringing Jimmy Garoppolo into the equation if he’s released. I’m not even sure Garoppolo would want to bolt for the big rival up the road if he is released. The Giants would seem like a reasonable alternative bet, or the Texans, if he does depart the Niners.

Thus, the Seahawks will go into the season with not just the worst QB situation in the league — but arguably one of the worst in a decade.

Seahawks red-zone scrimmage:
Geno Smith 0-4, Homer drop, 1 quick out spiked into ground in 1s vs 1s

Drew Lock 2-4, 2 offensive false starts on his hard counts in 2s vs 2s.

No touchdowns in 10 tries from inside the 10-yard line, including the 2 false-start penalties

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 1, 2022

Practice over for the day, and as noted earlier, it was a really tough day for the offense. Offense got almost nothing downfield in pass game in any team drills.

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) August 1, 2022

Performances like this today might push the Seahawks closer to Jimmy G.

The ability for this offense to function will be totally dependant on the run. All eggs have been placed in one basket. And off that, the QB’s will be expected to deliver big plays.

As I’ve said many times, I am comfortable with embracing the suck. The priority in 2022 should be to develop your young offensive line (please stop wasting time with players not named Abraham Lucas at right tackle) and your defense — while trying to retain consistency in the run.

Improve the pass rush, create more turnovers, set the table for 2023 and beyond.

The 2011 season showed what is possible and that should be the blueprint.

It’s also encouraging to hear positive reviews for players like Coby Bryant. The Seahawks need those young studs to emerge, as they did 11 years ago.

I genuinely hope the front office is taking that view of things. That they appreciate and understand the situation and acknowledge this is just a year to develop and move on from, rather than kidding themselves that they can be anything more than mediocre.

My slight fear is that Pete Carroll is incapable of viewing things that way and might actually be investing faith in Geno Smith. If that’s the case and it goes as poorly as you’d expect, what then? A repeat of the 2010 and 2011 seasons where a horrible game of musical chairs occurs at the position — involving an ageing Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst, then Jackson and Whitehurst?

Because while I and I’m sure many other fans are prepared to swallow a dose of reality for the 2022 season and spend a few months thinking about the quarterback draft class and the future — a lot of fans won’t be prepared to do that.

Back-to-back losing seasons, having traded away the star player, will not sit well with a lot of people. Especially if you’re trying to sell them a year of Geno Smith.

This isn’t a rabid fan base that will turn quickly and aggressively. Yet it is a fan base that isn’t afraid to make themselves heard on a Sunday. They’re also especially vocal on Twitter — which remains a small and noisy platform that wields more influence than it probably should.

Thus, I still think the unknown of Lock creates some intrigue and mystery (and perhaps patience?). I wish he would get more first-team reps and a proper opportunity to compete. At the moment it feels like it’s already Geno’s job.

Isn’t it at least worth seeing if Lock really is as bad as Denver thinks?

Or maybe the Seahawks already have the answer?

Finding out is more fun than watching Geno Smith, that’s why I hope pre-season games might deliver a turn in this battle. I’m fully, 100% prepared though to accept we’re going to be watching a soon-to-be 32-year-old journeyman plodder leading the Seahawks through a very difficult, ugly season of offense.

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Seahawks’ WR DK Metcalf is signing a three-year, $72 million extension that includes $58.2 million guaranteed, per source. Deal includes $30 million signing bonus, the highest ever for a WR. Metcalf will be a free agent again at 27 years old.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2022

It was vital the Seahawks agreed terms for Metcalf.

As we’ve discussed previously, there was no justification for this dragging on deep into training camp. There were plenty of precedent setting deals to use as a framework, including similarly productive players drafted in the same range (A.J. Brown) and other top performers.

One way or another, the two sides had to come together. Financially it made sense for Metcalf, playing on a wildly outdated rookie deal. For the Seahawks, they committed to the player when they didn’t trade him pre-draft.

On paper it looks like a shorter deal so that Metcalf can reach the market again quicker than some of his peers with a bigger up-front commitment of $30m guaranteed. I am in no way shape or form a cap ‘expert’. If anything, I’d describe myself as the opposite of that. However, on first glance it looks like a good compromise for both parties and a contract that makes a lot of sense.

We’ll wait to see the finer details but this looks like a win-win situation.

I can’t wait to watch Will Levis throwing him the ball in 2023.

Meanwhile, here are some training camp observations from Curtis Allen after day one:

What I saw of the players with injury questions

Tyreke Smith opened camp on the PUP list. Pete Carroll said after practice that he ran well today in a separate workout and could be off the list soon.

That follows with what I saw today. His reason for being on the PUP appears to be of the less-concerning variety. He tailed the defensive end/pass rusher group through all their drills without his helmet on but seemed loose and even danced a little to the music playing.

Tre Brown appeared but seemed less-active to me than Smith. Carroll also said he should be off the PUP soon but just based on my viewing, Smith is closer to being ready to practice.

D’Wayne Eskridge took some punts but did not participate in the scrimmage. Carroll said he had some hamstring tightness.

Quandre Diggs looks fantastic. He did not wear any kind of leg or knee brace and was a full participant in warmups and drills and played in the scrimmage. At one point he did a backpedal drill and looked very comfortable really giving it a go. It appears he has recovered very well. Now it is the mental aspect of re-trusting his legs and making his reads.

Rashaad Penny – not injured but always an injury concern – looked great. He has always been a really good-looking athlete, so I am stating the obvious. But I did not see any hesitation or lack of burst in his first day out. He ran hard, ran through the line (a light-tackling type scrimmage to be fair) and when he cleared the crowd he accelerated all the way to the end zone multiple times. At one point Diggs gave chase and could not catch him.

Rookie Report

The Seahawks had a great draft class this year and it shows. All of these guys have a ‘wow’ factor just by the way they look physically and the way they carry themselves in warmups and practices.

Cross and Lucas just stand out, even when warming up in the OL group next to gigantic human beings Greg Eiland and Stone Forsythe. They are built differently, have a different fluidity and confidence about them. They get into their stances with a more athletic posture than the others do. That’s the best way I can put it.

They did not come out and stone pass rushers or flatten anyone in the scrimmages but remember, it is the first day of camp and they did not wear pads. The future looks bright at the tackle position.

Kenneth Walker also has an uncommon build. Standing next to similarly sized players like Josh Johnson and Darwin Thompson, you see the difference immediately. They’re all listed about the same on the roster sheet but Walker has tree trunks for thighs and broad shoulders to carry a load.

He looked great in the scrimmages. He trusted his reads and hit the hole without hesitation at times. In other reps, he showed what we saw in his college tape: take the snap and a step, hesitated to let a block clear up and then accelerated strongly. He also ran to daylight as soon as he got through the DL and had DB’s chasing him down the field. A welcome sign after being lightly chastised by Pete Carroll for not being in the best of shape in minicamp.

Boye Mafe also looked the part of a pass rusher. He did warmups with the LBs but shifted to drills with the DEs — a welcome sight. Even watching him do low-key hand-fighting drills with a coach was enjoyable. At one point they did a drill requiring players to bend around a blocker and Mafe did it seamlessly and fluidly without losing much speed. Players like Aaron Donkor and Vi Jones struggled to do the same drill even half as well.

The rookie star of the day without a doubt in my mind was Cobe Bryant. He just has “it” – a great package of size, speed, skill and confidence. In drills he was lining up off the WR a good three yards. He has that quality where he trusts his instincts and doesn’t panic as a WR is coming at him with 3 full steps and is about to make his break. He is positioned well, trusts his ability and reacts well. In the scrimmage, Drew Lock threw a pretty nice deep ball to a streaking Bo Melton but Bryant was right there step for step to knock it away at the last moment. Textbook.

I am not going to anoint him a starter at LCB based on one practice. But he is not going to just give the job away without a fight. Particularly if he keeps stacking practices like today’s.

Tariq Woolen is a tantalizing prospect. You know about the size, the arm length, the speed. What surprised me was the fluidity with which he moved in drills. He had better hips and footwork than I realized. The rawness might come from his lack of time reading coverages and building instinct so he can react in a timely manner.

I also liked that he didn’t mind getting physical with a WR on a run play in scrimmage. Add a little snarl to that size and speed and the Seahawks may have found a gem.

Best thing I saw today: The pass rush

Again, this was not a padded practice but the pass rush provided all kinds of trouble for the offense in the scrimmage whenever they tried to call a passing play.

Interior lineman Shelby Harris and Quentin Jefferson were a big problem for the centers and guards – Harris at one point ran a swim move so well it was like he was covered in Vaseline and accelerated to the QB. Jefferson likewise had the pocket moving back into the QBs lap.

Uchenna Nwosu came screaming off the edge and was right in Geno Smith’s face and deflected his pass. He got an attaboy fist bump from Pete Carroll for that effort.

If it had been permissible to sack the QB today, the pass rush would have gotten 4 or 5 sacks in about 15-17 pass rushing reps.

Let’s not dwell too much on what that means for the offensive line. Just bask in the glory of the Seahawks fielding a real pass rush.

The quarterback battle

It looks like Geno Smith is still in the lead, as Pete Carroll reaffirmed in his press conference.

He got more scrimmage reps with the #1’s than Drew Lock did.

They ran the ball a lot in the scrimmages so there were not very many opportunities to really see what the QBs can do. They had maybe 15-20 total passes between the three QB’s and the pass rush was right in their face frequently, so it is hard to judge.

But I’m going to do a little bit of that anyway.

Geno Smith looked like Geno Smith. When he has a snap and throw for a small gain, he’s fine. He hit Bo Melton right between the numbers on a quick slant (Melton dropped it but Geno did his job). He found Colby Parkinson leaking out to the weak side and he was able to turn upfield and gain 5 or 6 yards. He hit Noah Fant also inside for a nice gain.

When he is called on to handle a rush and make decisions, that is where things get tricky. His processing speed still does not seem NFL starting QB caliber and he rushed some throws. That said, he did have a dandy of a play where he moved to his right to escape pressure and found Tyler Lockett doing the scramble drill like only he can for a big gainer over Sydney Jones.

Drew Lock. I’m not sure what to say. He had some impressive throws in warmup drills. The ball zips out of his hands and pops to the receiver. He did have the nicely placed deep ball to Melton that Bryant batted away I noted above but that was about it for the scrimmage.

He did not get many reps with the #1’s, and based on today’s scrimmage I did not see a single thing that made me think that was an error in judgement on the leadership’s part.

He looks like he lacks confidence to me. Geno may not be a superstar but he warms up and practices with purpose and gives off a vibe that he is here to win the job. Lock looks unsure of himself and carried himself somewhere between disinterested and unconcerned, assuming he’s going to win the job because of his skillset (I’ll admit it was hard to get a read on him).

Today in the scrimmage he had maybe the worst throw off the worst decision I’d ever seen a professional QB make. He took the snap, moved left to evade some pressure and as approached the left sideline, had a choice to accelerate upfield and gain a few yards with his legs or throw it.

He chose both. After he crossed the line of scrimmage, he launched a wobbly duck across the field to a teammate who was streaking down the far-right sideline – a cardinal QB sin to be sure – and to make matters worse, he was adequately covered. It had the look and feel of a guy just reasoning ‘what the heck, might as well try something crazy to dazzle them at the end of scrimmage.’ The ball fell to the ground and the horn mercifully blew after that awful display, ending the scrimmage.

It was one bad day for Lock. I’m not condemning him forever based on it. But when Pete Carroll keeps going back to the well that Geno knows the offense and therefore has the pole position on the starting job, at this point I totally get it.

Random observations

— I could be totally wrong but it appears the Seahawks have asked the DT’s to slim down a bit. Al Woods and Quentin Jefferson look lighter to me. Mone again displaying effort to turn his back and chase runners down. Maybe this is part of moving to a 3-4, having interior players that are quicker?

— Cody Barton at MIKE and Jordyn Brooks at WILL in scrimmages

— Eskridge, Fuller and Swain fielded punts among others

— The tight ends lined up as halfbacks next to the QB in shotgun and/or were used in motion more than once. That was good to see some creativity there.

— Pete Carroll talked about this maybe being the fastest Seahawks team he’s coached. I get it. Adding Walker, Woolen, Marquise Goodwin, even Abe Lucas and his sub-5.00 40 to Metcalf, Eskridge, Penny and Lockett does seem enticing.

— The crowd there was a fraction of the fans that showed up last year. I understand completely that the star power has taken a hit this offseason but still, I was shocked at the low attendance.

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