Britt to center?

[HawKnPeppa]

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.

So the stage is set.
Physical attributes: Check
Knowledge of the ZBS from both T and G positions: Check
A third, and hopefully sobering chance to succeed, with a family depending on it: Big CHECK for the motivational factor.

Hopefully he kills it, or at least proves to be a very-worthy backup.

 

[Largent80]

I don't know why some of you say he's the new .Net whippin boy. His job is to block, he is horrid at doing it and has been given 2 years worth of chances to accomplish his tasks. Which he hasn't done.

 

[Jville]

I don't know why some of you say he's the new .Net whippin boy. His job is to block, he is horrid at doing it and has been given 2 years worth of chances to accomplish his tasks. Which he hasn't done.

You must have missed the explanation. 8)

The reason a .net punching bag or a .net whippin boy is needed is so you people don't start eating each other.

 

[Scottemojo]

Maybe it says something about the rookies, something good, that after one rookie camp they moved Britt. It certainly doesn't say something good about Britt.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Maybe it says something about the rookies, something good, that after one rookie camp they moved Britt. It certainly doesn't say something good about Britt.

I couldn't agree more Scott. To be going into your 3rd year ... to still have a lot of question marks regarding where you could possibly fit in ... and to have guys who have just arrived apparently outshining you? No, not a good sign for Britt whatsoever.

 

[Grahamhawker]

Time to cue the Britt blocking air and falling down gifs again?

 

[RichNhansom]

Those thinking the FO is just worried about wasting a 2nd round pick might be missing the point.

Britt has been pretty injury free. He apparently has shown characteristics that the coaches like. It is a big part of why he was drafted so high to begin with and I believe a big part of why they want him to succeed.

We as fans just see the product on the field and so we judge based strictly on what we perceive as performance. We don't factor in that while he looked bad at times he was part on an O-line that was overall bad. It's hard to shine when everything around you is sucking too. This doesn't mean he shouldn't be held accountable for his play but if the coaches like his character, work ethic, leadership and willingness to learn then it makes sense to make every possible attempt to keep him around and exhaust any and every possible chance it will click for him.

Guys with the right attitude and characteristics will likely figure it out so sending him packing only to see him go to a well performing line that takes away much of the confusion and isolation a bad line causes, could very quickly look like a huge mistake.

There's lots of requirements to succeed in the NFL. If you can check 8 out of 10 boxes on a player even if one of those unchecked is performance, you don't throw them away until you are absolutely certain they are the problem and not the system or other factors that are fixable.

I'm rooting for Hunt but if we can have a player that can play any position in a crunch who has all the other intangibles, I think we are ahead of the game.

 

[BlueTalon]

Maybe it says something about the rookies, something good, that after one rookie camp they moved Britt.

That's what I'm thinking. This is more about the rookies than it is about Britt.

 

[BlueTalon]

I'm rooting for Hunt but if we can have a player that can play any position in a crunch who has all the other intangibles, I think we are ahead of the game.

Me too.

 

[jlwaters1]

I think Britt can still be a good player and am very interested to see how things turn out. I like that we've got depth at all posiitions. I hope the rookies can make some strides this spring.

 

[rjdriver]

Cleveland will pick him up and pay him 8 mill a year, seems to be the trend with our cast off linemen.

Off topic I know, but this ain't them Cleveland Browns. This new Hue moneyball team seems to have a plan developing, will be interesting to watch.

As far as Britt, hoping for the best but expecting nothing.

 

[Jville]

None of the centers on the current roster have performed to a level that approaches that of Robbie Tobeck or Max Unger. And as I recall, both Max and Robbie were subjected to merciless criticism in the early years of their careers.

Criticism was particularly relentless and vicious toward Robbie Tobeck. It wasn't until the latter years of his brilliant 14 year career that the worst of his tormentors finally shut up. Today there is some relevance in noting that Tobeck only made 5 game appearances in his first two years. And yet, he persevered and became an outstanding center. Tobeck finished with two Super Bowl appearances and one NFL Pro Bowl appearance.

I think about the times and trials of a recent Seahawk tackle and then guard James Carpenter .... and all he went thru. I have doubts about how well he would have continued with his development if Seahawk coaches and teammates had of dismissed and given up on him. Carpenter's success is a tribute, in part, to the great community support that lives in the heart of the VMAC. An all in environment, they never gave up on him. Today, James continues to write his on going story with the New York Jets.

I constantly hear the words "it's not how you start ..... it's how you finish. And yet those words fail to instill comprehension in the mind of everyone. I wonder why?

As a Seahawk fan, I've had the pleasure of witnessing a lot of great individual stories that have culminated in great career finishes over the last 40 years. Those stories and their accompanying lessons continue to inspire and entertain.

Go Hawks!

 

[QuahHawk]

Tells me they are just about done with him. I am hoping for the best and maybe it will work out for him.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[vin.couve12]

Pete's press conf today says that this is about getting the best players on the field and also has a little bit to do with experience and having the best communication with Cable. I don't know that it's the real world truth, but that's what is being said.

I really do find the sheer number of Centers we have as well as the ongoing competition to be a bit of an oddity for Patrick Lewis. He's really a pretty solid player and if you go back to last camp, many of us were wondering why he wasn't getting as many reps as some of the other guys. Someone even asked Pete as much last season when we finally put him in there during the season and things seemed to shore up and he didn't really seem to know why and that it was almost just an oversight.

I kind of wonder if there are other factors than actual on-field game play when it comes to Lewis' experience in playing for the Hawks. Does he butt heads with Cable? Does he get lazy in the offseason? Well all know about competition being the theme and all that, but it just seems like there's some sort of underlying story there.

 

[SouthSoundHawk]

 

[Overseasfan]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ks-moving-britt-to-center-on-reshuffled-oline

This article makes it seem like they actually have Britt in mind as the starting center. Could just be the assumptions of the writer or it could be the reality.

Curious to see how this develops.

 

[LolaRox]

I kind of wonder if there are other factors than actual on-field game play when it comes to Lewis' experience in playing for the Hawks. Does he butt heads with Cable? Does he get lazy in the offseason? Well all know about competition being the theme and all that, but it just seems like there's some sort of underlying story there.

I think there is definitely something else to the Lewis/Cable story. It will be interesting to see who gets the 1st team snaps at center when the whole team is together. Based on play and experience PL has earned the 1st team snaps to start the off season ( at least in my mind) and if someone actually takes his job then so be it.

I just don't want to see the mistakes of last off season repeat themselves and some of the 'coach speak' I'm hearing sounds too familiar.

We'll see.

 

[jammerhawk]

We'll see if Britt actually moves to C.

Seem a bit like the hokey pokey dance here as the OLine coach tries to move him around to see if there is any position he can play creditably on the OLine. Right, left, centre, out.

Britt has nice size and toughness but seems to struggle with his responsibility to actually block. Let's hope that perhaps he's been doing offseason footwork drills b/c that film of him whiffing and then falling down in pass pro last season was certainly an indictment of his limited physical skills, he looked slow, clumsy, and foolish all in one short clip.

Nobody would be more pleased to see him find a position he can actually play with creditable ability on the OLine, however I see him as a backup or out.

 

[HawkGA]

Pete's press conf today says that this is about getting the best players on the field and also has a little bit to do with experience and having the best communication with Cable. I don't know that it's the real world truth, but that's what is being said.

You could tell me this is a last gasp to save Britt's career or you could tell me Cable hate Lewis so much he is bound and determined to find a replacement. I would equal weight on either being correct.

 

[pehawk]

Pete's press conf today says that this is about getting the best players on the field and also has a little bit to do with experience and having the best communication with Cable. I don't know that it's the real world truth, but that's what is being said.

You could tell me this is a last gasp to save Britt's career or you could tell me Cable hate Lewis so much he is bound and determined to find a replacement. I would equal weight on either being correct.

Word. Cable has a an old-school, stubborn, "I like my guys" streak. He certainly has a doghouse.

Anyway, this was fun guys. I really appreciate you having me over. Lets try and do this more often. Gotta run...