Half of the O-line set already

[MontanaHawk05]

Definitely a downer when a player exhibiting major deficiencies one season shows in the following preseason that any offseason strengthening, conditioning, and studying he did appears minimally beneficial. Nevertheless, I'll be watching the guy closely the next few games, hoping he finds ways to compensate for his flaws. I remain hopeful for the guy.

Agree. Although my hope is very dim.

Ifedi is the same exact player he was at A&M with the same exact mental and technical deficiencies he showed coming out. The quicker they admit he is the backup on the right side the better this line will get.

Full disclosure: I was an Ifedi critic when he came out. I really hated his tape. I definitely argued against his perceived quality. I never felt like I saw what those that felt he was a worthy 1st round talent were seeing. I did concede that he had the measurables and the athleticism that would likely make him a top 64 pick. And also conceded that those traits would be like catnip for Tom Cable and we'd draft him with our top pick.

I felt like it was watching a vehicle accident unfold at the beginning. Before the collision.

Once a Seahawk, I felt obliged to eat those criticisms and see where professional coaching could take him. It's possible that my intrinsic skeptic nature prevented me from succeeding at that.

That all said, I look at Ifedi now and the only thing I hear in my head is: "If you're going to fail, fail quickly". A coin of phrase often voiced by John Schneider. I look at him now and I don't see any manifestation of his athleticism at all. I hope I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. But I also don't want to scuttle an entire season in a short championship window in order to confirm what I think I see. What we all think we saw last year.

Cable grabs a lot of guys for measurables and raw athleticism. I remember Kearly talking about how Okung's long arms would enable him to "cheat" his way to competence while he developed technique. Fant, same deal to an extreme.

So it's good to see them having grabbed Pocic now. It shows that they might be getting sick of their philosophy.

 

[KitsapGuy]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/gbellseattle/status/898248596180434944[/tweet]

 

[sutz]

So, now it's like 3/5ths set.

 

[IndyHawk]

Fant has Big Walt teaching him..That is good enough for me

 

[Bobblehead]

I heard the interview, he didn't say, they were "set" on the left side, he said they were "Healthy"on the left side.

Healthy, what ever that means, I take it to mean they are without any injury.

Brock and who ever went on and on about how the left side is set now with Joekle at LG and Fant at LT. But Cable clearly said healthy.

But.. reading previous threads, I guess that means they are set at those positions.. never mind.

 

[hawk45]

Amazing how they finally draft a more polished player in Pocic and he immediately comes in and begins pushing Cable's athletic puppy love Ifedi for a starting position.

I hope Ifedi works out because Pocic looks like he'll be strong no matter where he plays, but drafing these athletic blank slates with a learning curve longer than their first contract is something I hope Pete and John are wising up to. If you're not going to produce players worth a second contract then why not cycle guys through who are as close to finished as it comes these days instead of going in the exact opposite direction.

A) Spread college offenses result in players less NFL-ready
does not inevitably lead to
B) BASKETBALL PLAYERS WHEEEEEE

 

[NFSeahawks]

Can we all just agree that Ifedi was a pretty bad lineman last year because he was a pretty bad lineman.
Glow at guard historically stacks up better than Ifedi at guard or tackle. Let Pocic be the right tackle since hes a better overall lineman. Too much stuff going on between the ears with Ifedi, its unfortunate but it happens.

 

[hawk45]

Can we all just agree that Ifedi was a pretty bad lineman last year because he was a pretty bad lineman.
Glow at guard historically stacks up better than Ifedi at guard or tackle. Let Pocic be the right tackle since hes a better overall lineman. Too much stuff going on between the ears with Ifedi, its unfortunate but it happens.

Co-signed.

 

[Smellyman]

Can we all just agree that Ifedi was a pretty bad lineman last year because he was a pretty bad lineman.
Glow at guard historically stacks up better than Ifedi at guard or tackle. Let Pocic be the right tackle since hes a better overall lineman. Too much stuff going on between the ears with Ifedi, its unfortunate but it happens.

Co-signed.

notarized.

 

[Hawkscanner]

One think helping Fant in his second season—in addition to his own mental and physical development—is playing next to Joeckel, a fifth-year veteran who has starting experience at both guard and tackle.

“I think there’s something to that,” Cable said. “We’ve talked a lot about (Joeckel’s) calmness and his experience level and some of the things he has faced in his own career—not much different than George in a lot of ways other than that he had a football background. So I think it’s having a great, positive effect in regards to their communication, being able to settle (Fant) down, keep him kind of on point.” [urltargetblank]http://www.seahawks.com/news/2017/08/16/tom-cable-%E2%80%9Cvery-excited%E2%80%9D-about-what-he-has-seen-seahawks-offensive-line[/urltargetblank]

A similar rationale is why we are seeing a lot of Oday Aboushi at guard on the right side. Bringing in a couple of experienced veterans for both guard positions may very well accelerate the growth and development of their young tackles.
[urltargetblank]http://icestream.bonnint.net/seattle/kiro/2017/08/c_brockandsalk081617_10021502.mp3[/urltargetblank]

I'm personally glad to hear Cable voice exactly what I've been saying for a couple of months now -- that Fant was going to be the LT ... and Joeckel this team's starting LG. AND that the real value in having Joeckel in there at LG is for the experience factor and how he can be a real "coach on the field" for Fant during games (as it were). Even if Joeckel is only here for this 1 season (which I completely expect) ... his presence, combined with the coaching Fant has received from Walter Jones, is IMO going to end up paying off BIG TIME for George Fant and for this team.

 

[Ruminator]

What I hope to see this year is our OL playing well all four quarters, including Q1 and Q2. The last couple years experienced linemen whoops in the first quarter or half before they somewhat hunkered down in the second half and started protecting the QB better. Not that this occurred in all games, but was a sorely needed improvement. I also hope the OL is ready to do their job starting Week 1, as it also seemed that in the last couple years it took a few games for them to get a few things figured out.

 

[HawkGA]

Rather than looking at athleticism, maybe the coaches should pick the players who can best pass off stunts.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Why are they so convinced Fant is ready at LT? He was super raw last year and got blown up a number of times.

Has he improved that much in the off season that he is a lock or will he go through Justin Britt type growing pains during the season?

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Why are they so convinced Fant is ready at LT? He was super raw last year and got blown up a number of times.

Has he improved that much in the off season that he is a lock or will he go through Justin Britt type growing pains during the season?

I don't expect him to be ready. But I expect him to be greatly improved.

These next 3 preseason games should provide a good test for him. And the opponents in weeks 1 through 4 in the regular season really shouldn't offer elite level rushers for him.

One thing I did note last week, was that his mobility doesn't appear to be compromised with the added bulk. His agility and footwork are his greatest asset. I want to see how his added strength and size allows him to handle the bull rush, which admittedly he struggled with last season.

Ultimately, it seems fair to me to consider this season for Fant much like we do with other rookies. Get him in games and get on with the growth process. Fant's development is to me the key factor in turning the corner with our offensive line. It's not at all unlikely that by week 10, Fant could literally be our best OT on the club. Based on actual performance and not by tantalizing potential.

I still expect some growing pains. I'm not sure I expect Britt level growing pains. I think Seattle is grooming him in a much better way in 2017 than last year. Which I'd expect since we didn't really have him in our plans last year to begin with. So much of our OL strategy this offseason has been to accelerate Fant's growth. And to his credit, he's answered the call this offseason with the work he's put in.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Why are they so convinced Fant is ready at LT? He was super raw last year and got blown up a number of times.

Has he improved that much in the off season that he is a lock or will he go through Justin Britt type growing pains during the season?

I don't expect him to be ready. But I expect him to be greatly improved.

These next 3 preseason games should provide a good test for him. And the opponents in weeks 1 through 4 in the regular season really shouldn't offer elite level rushers for him.

One thing I did note last week, was that his mobility doesn't appear to be compromised with the added bulk. His agility and footwork are his greatest asset. I want to see how his added strength and size allows him to handle the bull rush, which admittedly he struggled with last season.

Ultimately, it seems fair to me to consider this season for Fant much like we do with other rookies. Get him in games and get on with the growth process. Fant's development is to me the key factor in turning the corner with our offensive line. It's not at all unlikely that by week 10, Fant could literally be our best OT on the club. Based on actual performance and not by tantalizing potential.

I still expect some growing pains. I'm not sure I expect Britt level growing pains. I think Seattle is grooming him in a much better way in 2017 than last year. Which I'd expect since we didn't really have him in our plans last year to begin with. So much of our OL strategy this offseason has been to accelerate Fant's growth. And to his credit, he's answered the call this offseason with the work he's put in.

I hope your right. All off season last year there was talk about grooming Gary Gilliam's potential into a LT from RT and in the end he ended up in the dog house and struggling at RT. I'm hoping Fant works out better. If not, I hope they have a plan in place especially if Joekel is set as the LG- I don't want Joekel moved and having to plug to gaps.

 

[Seymour]

Why are they so convinced Fant is ready at LT? He was super raw last year and got blown up a number of times.

Has he improved that much in the off season that he is a lock or will he go through Justin Britt type growing pains during the season?

I don't expect him to be ready. But I expect him to be greatly improved.

These next 3 preseason games should provide a good test for him. And the opponents in weeks 1 through 4 in the regular season really shouldn't offer elite level rushers for him.

One thing I did note last week, was that his mobility doesn't appear to be compromised with the added bulk. His agility and footwork are his greatest asset. I want to see how his added strength and size allows him to handle the bull rush, which admittedly he struggled with last season.

Ultimately, it seems fair to me to consider this season for Fant much like we do with other rookies. Get him in games and get on with the growth process. Fant's development is to me the key factor in turning the corner with our offensive line. It's not at all unlikely that by week 10, Fant could literally be our best OT on the club. Based on actual performance and not by tantalizing potential.

I still expect some growing pains. I'm not sure I expect Britt level growing pains. I think Seattle is grooming him in a much better way in 2017 than last year. Which I'd expect since we didn't really have him in our plans last year to begin with. So much of our OL strategy this offseason has been to accelerate Fant's growth. And to his credit, he's answered the call this offseason with the work he's put in.

I don't think we need to wait until week 10. Fant beat out Joeckel for LT and I doudt Ifedi is better at tackle right now than Fant is. Sadly....I say he's the best tackle right now, unless Pocic happens to be better but they want to make him a guard since we only have about 100 of those. :roll:

 

[RW92]

One think helping Fant in his second season—in addition to his own mental and physical development—is playing next to Joeckel, a fifth-year veteran who has starting experience at both guard and tackle.

“I think there’s something to that,” Cable said. “We’ve talked a lot about (Joeckel’s) calmness and his experience level and some of the things he has faced in his own career—not much different than George in a lot of ways other than that he had a football background. So I think it’s having a great, positive effect in regards to their communication, being able to settle (Fant) down, keep him kind of on point.” [urltargetblank]http://www.seahawks.com/news/2017/08/16/tom-cable-%E2%80%9Cvery-excited%E2%80%9D-about-what-he-has-seen-seahawks-offensive-line[/urltargetblank]

A similar rationale is why we are seeing a lot of Oday Aboushi at guard on the right side. Bringing in a couple of experienced veterans for both guard positions may very well accelerate the growth and development of their young tackles.
[urltargetblank]http://icestream.bonnint.net/seattle/kiro/2017/08/c_brockandsalk081617_10021502.mp3[/urltargetblank]

I'm personally glad to hear Cable voice exactly what I've been saying for a couple of months now -- that Fant was going to be the LT ... and Joeckel this team's starting LG. AND that the real value in having Joeckel in there at LG is for the experience factor and how he can be a real "coach on the field" for Fant during games (as it were). Even if Joeckel is only here for this 1 season (which I completely expect) ... his presence, combined with the coaching Fant has received from Walter Jones, is IMO going to end up paying off BIG TIME for George Fant and for this team.

I just hope his injury isn't too serious. Because Odhiambo is sad. If we put him at the left tackle spot, the "Blind Side" for Russell, God help us. He can't pass block at all. What a shame for Fant. He looked so good.

 

[mrt144]

Dude, who knew that Fant, in his 2nd season would be the barest of threads holding my pessimism on OL at bay.