Britt to center?

[hawknation2016]

The realistic positives I see from this move:

* Opens up more snaps in training camp for Glowinski and Odhiambo at LG.

* Expands Britt's versatility. The best thing for him would be for the coaches to walk away from training camp saying Britt can play every position on the line if needed.

* Gives the coaches the alternative at center of an explosive player off the line of scrimmage. Neither Lewis nor Hunt are as dynamic off the line.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

This basically just confirms Glowinksi has beat out Britt as the presumptive staring LG.

He will not start at Center. If he does, then we really learned absolutely nothing last year.

Not true. Britt and Nowak are on totally different spectrums of experience.

We dont know what we have with Britt there, he could excel at that position.

If snapping is the only thing that is holding him back, Seahawks have the luxury of sitting him until its adequate enough. Even if he sits the whole year, he'll be valuable depth.

I dont think Britt will start unless he earns it, I think they learned not to pigeon hole players into starting roles with Nowak and Williams.

 

[pehawk]

I wonder if they'll ever consider starting different centers depending on the match up? They used similar tactics with Carp, IIRC.

On Britt overall, I still think he had a bum shoulder last year. Seemed obvious at times. I think he gritted it out for the team.

 

[Atradees]

Mastermind or Just Incompetent?

So check this out. Only defensive tackles have enough aggression to play offensive line in todays nfl because of the prolific spread offenses in the college ranks.

We dont take highly ranked players with out injury histories because ........well we havent worked with them.

They dont have the "it" factor. WHAT F IN IT FACTOR!!!

FIRE TOM CABLE. He doesnt fit here.

Justin Britt is not the center of the future. He will be the failed center because we want to try Rees at LG and Ifedi at RG. Webb at RT, and Gilliam at LT.

This adds up to the largest line we ever had and that is this years Tom Cable revelation.

 

[Throwdown]

Career life support move.

 

[Jville]

I wonder if they'll ever consider starting different centers depending on the match up? They used similar tactics with Carp, IIRC.

On Britt overall, I still think he had a bum shoulder last year. Seemed obvious at times. I think he gritted it out for the team.

I'm glad your here. I've also considered the possibility of alternating match up centers as well. So happy you volunteered to step up and offer the suggestion. Thanks :th2thumbs:

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Great post but I don't believe the comparison of the situation between Unger and Britt fits here. Yes, Unger played multiple positions on the OL at Oregon but Max Unger ended up as a center at Oregon. Actually he was rated an elite center along with Alex Mack in the 2009 draft. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/historical/520658.

It was Jim Mora who drafted him and I thought it was also Mora who shifted him to guard. Center seemed to be Unger's natural position from the get go. http://old.seattletimes.com/html/seahawks/2010527177_hawk17.html.
Not sure if Britt ever played center in college.

Very true. I feel that Unger was severely mishandled under Mora. Whenever he was placed at Center during the off-season and Pre-season, he excelled at it, only to be put back at Guard. Maybe Unger never participated in Mora's 'relentless effort' mountain runs.

 

[Shane Falco]

Whether or not they see him as a viable center candidate or just working on his versatility and skills - who knows. Other than drafting the undersized Hunt.. they sure seem to be trying to get bigger across the whole line. Would be pretty crazy having a 6'6" center. Without bothering to look it up, I wonder who the biggest successful centers in the NFL are.

 

[hawk45]

This basically just confirms Glowinksi has beat out Britt as the presumptive staring LG.

He will not start at Center. If he does, then we really learned absolutely nothing last year.

You were right about too much experimentation on the OL tanking our season last year, and you're right about this.

When you are already dealing with replacing 2 positions in a unit dependent on continuity, you should keep as much the sae as possible everywhere else, but I have no confidence that they understand that.

This year they replace 2 starters, but more like 3 since Gilliam is being moved from his position of last year. So we're already at 3 changes on the OL.

They'd do much better spreading out the changes so that at most they deal with 2 changes on the OL, but sadly the best-athlete-on-the-field mentality seems to have derailed that thought process.

We're left with hoping an easy early schedule mitigates their head-scratching decision-making.

If they don't go with Lewis at C early in the year then they really do not know what they are doing.

 

[LolaRox]

So let me get this right... they want someone who hasn't excelled at doing 1 thing (blocking) to now succeed at doing 3 things (calls, snapping, and blocking)?? Its obvious to everyone that they made a mistake with Britt and now hoping to just get something out of him.

It sure seems Cable has a problem with Patrick. Last year he got scraps for playing time in preseason and then had to watch Nowak struggle in front of him for weeks. I believe Pete had to step in and make Cable sit Nowak - no proof, just a feeling I got from listening to Pete's weekly press conferences.

Cable's stubbornness likely cost the team playoff seeding and I hope that doesn't happen again this year. I am quite tired of Cable and wish he would get away from this team.

 

[chris98251]

I wonder if they'll ever consider starting different centers depending on the match up? They used similar tactics with Carp, IIRC.

On Britt overall, I still think he had a bum shoulder last year. Seemed obvious at times. I think he gritted it out for the team.

There are some positions you can do that with, some you should not. Would you swap Wilson out depending on the defense you were facing? That's how important I think a Center is for making calls and continuity as well as a QB's comfort level with snaps and the line calls made to protect him.

 

[AgentDib]

So let me get this right... they want someone who hasn't excelled at doing 1 thing (blocking) to now succeed at doing 3 things (calls, snapping, and blocking)?? Its obvious to everyone that they made a mistake with Britt and now hoping to just get something out of him.

It's pretty reasonable to be skeptical about whether Britt can handle the calls and snapping aspect, but his struggles in blocking can only be helped by this move. The center ends up doing a lot of combo blocks, and if Britt does win the job then he'll spend most of the season helping with double teams or taking on linebackers. Those are the two things that Cable has mentioned positively about Britt. Defensive schemes try to isolate pass rush DT's one on one with guards and Britt's strength and size is a lot more important against a defense like Arizona's 3-4 than his pass blocking technique.

 

[pehawk]

Britt will certainly add some fire to center competition.

 

[kearly]

This is the best time of year to try things out. Seattle values versatility and at this point, Britt's only real hope of making the team is as a versatile backup. He has 2+ years experience in the offense, it makes sense to try it.

 

[BlueTalon]

This basically just confirms Glowinksi has beat out Britt as the presumptive staring LG.

He will not start at Center. If he does, then we really learned absolutely nothing last year.

You were right about too much experimentation on the OL tanking our season last year, and you're right about this.

When you are already dealing with replacing 2 positions in a unit dependent on continuity, you should keep as much the sae as possible everywhere else, but I have no confidence that they understand that.

This year they replace 2 starters, but more like 3 since Gilliam is being moved from his position of last year. So we're already at 3 changes on the OL.

They'd do much better spreading out the changes so that at most they deal with 2 changes on the OL, but sadly the best-athlete-on-the-field mentality seems to have derailed that thought process.

We're left with hoping an easy early schedule mitigates their head-scratching decision-making.

If they don't go with Lewis at C early in the year then they really do not know what they are doing.

I disagree with most of this. Under normal circumstances, I would agree that continuity on the O-line is important, but these are not normal circumstances. Given that we lost two starters from the O-line, and we were disappointed with much of the overall performance of the line last year, now is exactly the time to start from scratch and assemble the best O-line we can. Continuity is only a plus if you like the status quo.

I am excited to see what comes from these moves. What we are setting up is a situation where hopefully, in a couple of years, we will have continuity on the line with something that is really worth continuing.


Britt may or may not work out at center. Great if he does, but I'm not holding my breath. Either way, I trust Pete & John to keep the best linemen at final cuts. I'm certainly not worried about them keeping him or anyone else on the roster just because they invested a draft pick on him.

 

[pehawk]

This is the best time of year to try things out. Seattle values versatility and at this point, Britt's only real hope of making the team is as a versatile backup. He has 2+ years experience in the offense, it makes sense to try it.

Dude will fight, claw, sweat to earn that center spot. He'll put a few new SAM's on blast too. This move could be about igniting fires in others as much as Britt.

 

[brimsalabim]

Good grief Cable is concerned about guys getting to their 2nd level blocks when they haven't demonstrated the ability to make their first level blocks.

 

[Hawkscanner]

So he hasn't learned to block and now he has to learn to snap the ball AND block?

Good luck with that.

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And make line calls

Absolutely. And have I agree with Hasselbeck's take on this as well -- this DOES reek of a last ditch effort to find Britt a spot on this football team. He doesn't have the skills to be able to play tackle ... and I don't see him having a realistic shot of starting at either guard spot. The Hawks appear to like the idea of starting Ifedi at RG ... and Glowinski would clearly appear to have the inside track to the LG spot. What else is left? Center -- and hope that he can show enough competence at it in training camp to warrant a spot on this roster as a possible versatile back-up. I'm very skeptical as well that it'll end up working in the end ... but after all, this is the offseason and the time of year where you play mad scientist and experiment with these kinds of things. This is what you call due diligence. You don't give up on a 2nd Round pick unless you've exhausted all possible avenues and he shows that he just flat out can't do what this team needs him to do. For sure, I wish him all the best of luck, but yes this does feel like a last ditch effort in terms of him being a Seahawk.

 

[el capitan]

Tom Cable framed the announcement today as follows .......

“The thing I love about it is we’re going to be spaced right in our level of maturity in the system and our background of it,” Cable said, “and then we plug in some young guys with it. It should be fantastic.” ..........................

............................ Cable said it was Britt’s experience with the Seahawks that led the move.

“I think that’s what enables us to do it, the fact that he is well-versed in our system two years now,” Cable said. “He’s played tackle, he’s played guard, kinda understands it. The issue for him will be getting him comfortable and confident snapping.” link >>> [urltargetblank]http://sports.mynorthwest.com/124408/seahawks-shifting-justin-britt-to-center-from-right-guard/[/urltargetblank]

That one word really leapt off the page when I read this. Two years in the system and he "kinda understands it", hardly a glowing endorsement.

This just reeks of one last attempt to try and get value for money out of what looks like a wasted 2nd round pick (not that is necessarily a bad thing, better to try than to just cut him I suppose).

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

I don't know where Joey Hunt ranks athletically. I have not see anything posted along those lines. He is undersized so his NFL level durability figures to be tested.

I am not sure what to make of the perception that Drew Nowak was more athletic than Patrick Lewis. I thought they were similar athletically. I did think Nowak was longer and better at getting to the second level .... so maybe that had something to do with it.

I liked Patrick Lewis two years ago when he made his first appearances. I thought he brought a different, though more limited, look to the center position. However, he looked slower and heavy footed going into his second season in Seattle. Patrick is someone whose conditioning and movement needs to be at its best for 2016. And althought his range is limited and durability is questionable, they need him to compete regardless of his fate.

Hold over center project Will Pericak is the biggest unknown factor. Although, it's is my understanding that his athleticism is better than both Lewis and Novak.

There is also the often discussed Kristjan Sokoli project. The state of his development is a mystery for most of us.

And now added to the list is .net's designated 2016 punching bag ..... Justin Britt

All in all ... the competition at center appears to be wide open! That's never a bad thing. :th2thumbs:

Id think Hunt would be more like the Russell Wilson of Center. For some reason the short and stout have the better injury luck.

My own thoughts on Britt, is thier 5 reasons this could work.

Reasoning:

1. Maybe its not Britt in the doghouse but Patrick Lewis once again. Or Both.

2. I feel like the team thinks Glowinski is the best OG on the team, but they are also adamant about starting Ifedi with Odhiambo, and probably Sokoli at that spot too.

3. And why not see what Britt has to offer at OC, its pretty much drafting Connor McGovern or Joe Dahl, except Britt has 36 starts of NFL experience out of 37 possible games, knows the system, playbook, QB, players as well as Cable.

Fits:

1. Not too long ago in 2009, the Seahawks drafted a 2nd round collegiate LT and immediately moved him RG with mixed results. In 2010, Carroll moved this player to OC but that player suffered a season ending injury. One could say that thus player wasnt valuable his first two years. In 2011, took a hold of this player and by 2012 this player was considered one of the best at his position. Obviously this player is Max Unger. Im just saying Unger took the long road as well before finding his way. Britt could be a similar player, he has experience at LT, LG, RG, RT. Hes played them the throughout his collegiate and Pro career. Thats experience that could be taught in a classroom but having a center that has lived it and understands all positions imo has much better chance of being a quality conductor

2. Britt has consistently excelled at only two things, 1. Combo Blocks, 2. Being a Hunter in the 2nd Level. Both are two things that are important traits in the ZBS especially at OC and Britt does them well. If Britts positives in Run Blocking is severely outweighed by his negatives in Pass-Protection then moving to OC will consistently help his flaws.

Im not rooting for Britt by any means but if OC can be his best position im rooting for that. Seahawks seem to be done with long-term projects at O-Line in Wilsons Franchise era they still have 3 in Sokoli, Perciak, and Schwenke. But they now seemed to be investing in short-term projects that have actual O-Line acumen.

If thats the plan to stabilize the O-line long term , im all for it.

We'll see how it shakes out.

Great post but I don't believe the comparison of the situation between Unger and Britt fits here. Max Unger was a center at Oregon. Actually he was rated an elite center along with Alex Mack in the 2009 draft. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/historical/520658. It was Jim Mora who drafted him and I thought it was also Mora who shifted him to guard. Center seemed to be Unger's natural position from the get go. Not sure if Britt ever played center in college.

No matter how many times people point this fact out -- that Unger was a DOMINANT center in college -- in just never seems to stick in people's minds.

I went too far with the Unger comparison.

Either way moving Britt to OC, and giving him a shot would have been no worse drafting McGovern or Dahl and giving them a shot.

And I dont think many of us would have bat an eye had the Seahawks drafted McGovern or Dahl and said "meet your new center"

Which is ironic for all the animosity Hunt got for actually being a true OC with elite intangibles, ZBS experience, and highly regarded performances.

Britt, McGovern, and Dahl all likely would have to learn to snap and call protections.

But only 1 player of the 3 has 36 NFL starts, 18 at LG, 18 at RT. Not mention LT, RG experience he got in college.

Only 1 player of the 3 has ZBS experience in Cable's system. Only 1 knows the playbook, Wilson, scouted NFL opposition, I could go on an on.

Point is moving Britt is no worse that drafting McGovern or Dahl for the position but Britt's learning curve looks substantially smaller.

I dont know how many of you hating on this move even wanted McGovern or Dahl or would have welcomed them at OC. I just know they were popular prospects that had the projections to be kicked inside and snap.

At this point with Britt, the more value you can get out of him the better, if he ends up taking to the position, awesome. If he doesnt you know he can be depth elsewhere.

This is a project but its no where near as complicated as it was with Sweezy, Nowak, Sokoli and others trying to transition from DT. Britt has plenty of experience to make this work.

The real question is how much does he want it, how much will he put in to achieve, and how far will he push himself to compete for it?

Its like his whole world is hanging in the balance and he needs to step up and earn it, the team is giving him one more shot to earn his place, what is he going to do to earn it?

I just feel that if he doesnt come into TC in the best shape of his life, stronger than ever, rehearsed and ready to dive in full head of steam, hes already lost.

And for someone with a wife, kid, and one on the way thats perplexing to say the least.

Its definately a kick in the butt for Britt but just as well its not the biggest project or transistion the Seahawks have had. And it could definately be a good fit for him considering his strengths and weaknesses especially compared to what weve had last year.

And the formula is simple... All Britt has to do is put in the work and earn it. Whether or not he does is up to him. I just feel though if he doesnt throw himself into this opportunity with everything he has its highly possible the team could cut ties with him.

This is pretty much a test. Compete. Compete. Compete.