My preseason 2 cents

[Sgt. Largent]

All I ever ask for with preseason games is improvement............and we saw big improvements on both sides of the ball.

O-line played much better, especially in pass protection. Defense looked far more stout, and with most of our DB's coming back next week, it should be business as usual for the D.

Tyler Lockett continues to impress me, dude looks like a 5th year player already. Fantastic decision making on returns, crisp rout running and quick as hell out of his breaks. I can guarantee you he's gonna be the breakout player on this team in 2015.

 

[seahawk12thman]

I am very encouraged by what I saw. There were three new starters and I thought they all exceeded my expectations except Nowak which I expected. I remember how Lindley (center for the Packers) struggled and made remarkable improvement as the season went on. A new center is difficult and Nowak still has to think too much instead of focusing on his attack.

Gilliam is an athletic freak and is only going to get better.

Britt looked comfortable and powerful.

I will be curious if this stays... I will say yes!!!!

 

[Tical21]

I'm surprised so many thought this was a good game for Christine Michael. He killed one play by missing a hand off and forcing Archer to tuck and run. He's still not controlling the ball all the way to the ground. He never shows power or vision. If there is no clear hole in front of him he generally runs into his blockers and falls down at first contact. He's got excellent burst, but too often he explodes into the pile instead of through it. Perhaps with more carries he could get a better feel for the blocking (when there is blocking) but he will never get enough carries behind Lynch.

I'll be very surprised if he's not one of the first cuts.

This is a very fair assessment. He does have ball control issues and got a little lucky out there. I'm not absolutely sure he was down on the second one. You're right, he sometimes acts claustrophobic when there isn't a hole. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking this is because he is just chomping at the bit way too hard right now. I think if he is able to get into a rhythm, you'll see everything slow down for him a little bit. True, he won't get those carries behind Lynch, so we either need to extend him and have faith that he'll be good once Lynch leaves, or he's going to have to get his chance for real success with another team. When he touches the ball, however, I just feel that electricity instantly, which is why I'm so high on him.

 

[WilsonMVP]

I wouldn't worry about the offense yet. There are very few zone read plays ran in the pre-season, very few roll outs etc. Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla

Once the game counts, the zone read will be back, setting up other plays off the play action. There are formations and plays that have been used since 2012 that have not even been seen yet in pre-season games.

So far it looks like the only reason the offense is running plays is because they have to.

Graham and Lockett are going to be huge difference makers.

The pass may have to set up the run some this year.

If the defensive line stays healthy, this will be the best Seahawk defense yet, with or without Kam.



My 2 cents on the pre-season so far

I was thinking the same thing. This defense missing Sherm, Kam, and Thomas has looked really freaking good allready. Cant wait to see what we will look like with all 3 back and starting.

 

[WilsonMVP]

I Might as well throw in my 2 pennies. Off the top I am not doing film breakdowns on preseason games.

Offense

1) Gilliam held up well enough for Wilson to have a pocket most of the time. I hope he showed enough to start gm 3.

2) Jimmy Graham can't block. Just have him run scat protection, or send him on clear routes on running plays.

3) The Red Zone Offense has been bad, it's only preseason, but the trends from last season continue.

4) The Evan Mathis Fantasy Island dream is still alive. They need another vet on the interior IMO.

5) Jermaine Kearse is impeding the young receivers from developing. If he were cut, I wouldn't bat an eye.

6) RW missed a couple of throws he should make, but it's just preseason.

7) It was good to see RW connect with JImmy Graham 3 times in the 2nd Q. SEA had been using him like Zach Miller for most of the preseason up to this point. He is not Zach Miller, stop it.

Defense

1) I was impressed with Shead at Corner tonight, and the rest of the secondary they rolled out given the injuries.

2) Kris Richard it going to be a Head Coach next year that is how highly I think of him, but he & Pete got out coached by Andy Reed. Having Bruce Irvin matched up with their #1 Wide Receiver Jeremy Maclin just by simply lining him up in the backfield.

3) I would like to see Eric Pinkins make it over Mike Morgan at this point. EP had a nice tackle on kick coverage as well.

4) Dion Bailey can be serviceable if forced into a starting role. I liked that a couple of Chiefs players felt the BOOM from his hits.

5) 'Tuba Rubin was playing at Nose some of the time with Mebane at 3 tech. I haven't seen that in a long time. Rubin looked great He is the best starting DT to play next to Mebane in a long time. On a play in paticualer Rubin drove the Center 3 yards into the backfield blowing up the play forcing the RB to bounce the play, allowing the defense to swarm for the TFL.

6) K.J. Wright overall had a good game, however he took a bad angle and allowed that big 3rd down run by Knile Davis that took them down goal to go.

I hope number 2 isnt true...cant we have some freaking consistency with our DC. We have what..our 3rd coach in 4 years? You would think the best defense in the NFL could have the same freaking coach year to year without having to change. It is VERY VERY annoying

 

[Hawkscanner]

OK, I'll chime in with a few thoughts as well ...

I spent a lot of time focusing on the O-Line, especially in the 1st Half. Specifically, I was impressed with what I saw from Garry Gilliam. I don't know how many of you listened to the pregame on 710 ESPN, but they were talking about how when he was at Penn State there was a thought about switching him to Tackle, as the coaching staff there recognized his athleticism. There was the belief that had Gilliam done that he would have been not only been drafted, but drafted very high. Gilliam certainly didn't disappoint tonight, as that athleticism, footwork, etc. was on display. One play in particular really stood out to me in which he walled off and was able to mirror Justin Houston well -- who of course led the league in sacks last season. It was a far cry from watching Britt getting absolutely embarrassed by Von Miller last week. Based solely upon pure athleticism and the eye test alone ... he looked FAR better and more comfortable at RT than Britt IMO. If I were Cable and was given the power to nail down my starting 5 this week -- Gilliam would be the starting RT.

In the battle for the 3rd tailback, I'd say that the competition just got a bit tighter. Rawls came back down to Earth a bit in this game -- highlighted by that absolute horrible drop of a swing pass. Got to catch the ball before you look to run. That's a rookie mistake that will get corrected IMO though. Michael OTOH, redeemed himself a bit in this game. Though I watched him make a couple of mental mistakes (he failed to pick up a blitzing defender at one point), he showed explosiveness and had one whale of a block leveling Dee Ford. I think Michael is still on the outside looking in at this point, but I'd say the gap between the 2 narrowed significantly.

Couple of thoughts on the WR battle ...

Can we say enough that Tyler Lockett (No-E) is going to be a force to be reckoned with? Oh-Yeah. I'm envisioning him in the slot becoming the Seahawks version of Wes Welker. Pair that with weapon like Jimmy Graham? Ooof! Very nice.

Norwood didn't show me a whole lot this game. Yes he did have a nice 11 yard grab, but the other times my eyes caught him, I saw a guy who didn't appear to be going all out because he knew the ball wasn't going to him. On this team, if you're not "ALL IN" in terms of your effort ... you're going to find yourself on the outside looking in real quick. I think his days on this roster are numbered.

BJ Daniels also came back down to earth a little bit IMO. He made some nice catches, but also had some miscues as well -- highlighted by muffing the punt and therefore negating what would otherwise have been a key return that could have set up a game winning FG. With Archer's showing tonight, I'm no longer sure whether or not he's going to end up making the 53 man roster.

Scooby Doo (or Anthony McCoy in this case) where were you? To me, the dude flat out disappeared in this game. A very disappointing showing for McCoy (a very physically talented TE) whom I believe is coming to the end of his tenure here in Seattle.

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED what I saw from Pierre-Louis in this game. He was all over the place making plays. I'll say it right now -- he looks very much like the next Malcolm Smith.

Shead I thought played well tonight. He had one play in particular that during the regular season I thought would have been called for face guarding, but for the most part I liked what I saw out of him. He showed decent coverage skills as a CB.

Dark horse candidate (a guy whom I believe will be on the practice squad this year) and could be one to watch for in the future -- Ronald Martin. I liked what I saw from him late in the game. The rookie from LSU really flashed, showing great ball recognition skills, closing ability on the football, and overall aggression and good tackling skills. IMO, he's a guy who's going to be on the practice squad this year and one 12's should stuff in the back of their minds for next season.

 

[seahawk12thman]

The Hawks aren't going to show anything in the passing game with The Rams and Packers out of the gate. This is why the running game is sooooo important. The Hawks will be just fine in the passing game, so expect to be underwhelmed next Saturday against the Chargers.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

OK, I'll chime in with a few thoughts as well ...

I spent a lot of time focusing on the O-Line, especially in the 1st Half. Specifically, I was impressed with what I saw from Garry Gilliam. I don't know how many of you listened to the pregame on 710 ESPN, but they were talking about how when he was at Penn State there was a thought about switching him to Tackle, as the coaching staff there recognized his athleticism. There was the belief that had Gilliam done that he would have been not only been drafted, but drafted very high. Gilliam certainly didn't disappoint tonight, as that athleticism, footwork, etc. was on display. One play in particular really stood out to me in which he walled off and was able to mirror Justin Houston well -- who of course led the league in sacks last season. It was a far cry from watching Britt getting absolutely embarrassed by Von Miller last week. Based solely upon pure athleticism and the eye test alone ... he looked FAR better and more comfortable at RT than Britt IMO. If I were Cable and was given the power to nail down my starting 5 this week -- Gilliam would be the starting RT.

In the battle for the 3rd tailback, I'd say that the competition just got a bit tighter. Rawls came back down to Earth a bit in this game -- highlighted by that absolute horrible drop of a swing pass. Got to catch the ball before you look to run. That's a rookie mistake that will get corrected IMO though. Michael OTOH, redeemed himself a bit in this game. Though I watched him make a couple of mental mistakes (he failed to pick up a blitzing defender at one point), he showed explosiveness and had one whale of a block leveling Dee Ford. I think Michael is still on the outside looking in at this point, but I'd say the gap between the 2 narrowed significantly.

Couple of thoughts on the WR battle ...

Can we say enough that Tyler Lockett (No-E) is going to be a force to be reckoned with? Oh-Yeah. I'm envisioning him in the slot becoming the Seahawks version of Wes Welker. Pair that with weapon like Jimmy Graham? Ooof! Very nice.

Norwood didn't show me a whole lot this game. Yes he did have a nice 11 yard grab, but the other times my eyes caught him, I saw a guy who didn't appear to be going all out because he knew the ball wasn't going to him. On this team, if you're not "ALL IN" in terms of your effort ... you're going to find yourself on the outside looking in real quick. I think his days on this roster are numbered.

BJ Daniels also came back down to earth a little bit IMO. He made some nice catches, but also had some miscues as well -- highlighted by muffing the punt and therefore negating what would otherwise have been a key return that could have set up a game winning FG. With Archer's showing tonight, I'm no longer sure whether or not he's going to end up making the 53 man roster.

Scooby Doo (or Anthony McCoy in this case) where were you? To me, the dude flat out disappeared in this game. A very disappointing showing for McCoy (a very physically talented TE) whom I believe is coming to the end of his tenure here in Seattle.

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED what I saw from Pierre-Louis in this game. He was all over the place making plays. I'll say it right now -- he looks very much like the next Malcolm Smith.

Shead I thought played well tonight. He had one play in particular that during the regular season I thought would have been called for face guarding, but for the most part I liked what I saw out of him. He showed decent coverage skills as a CB.

Dark horse candidate (a guy whom I believe will be on the practice squad this year) and could be one to watch for in the future -- Ronald Martin. I liked what I saw from him late in the game. The rookie from LSU really flashed, showing great ball recognition skills, closing ability on the football, and overall aggression and good tackling skills. IMO, he's a guy who's going to be on the practice squad this year and one 12's should stuff in the back of their minds for next season.

I am with you on this part. If the other team can key in on someone that is not gonna get the ball by them not "Ballin out", then that is one person they dont have to worry about covering. It is a weakness that will be exploited.

 

[cover-2]

Here are a few of my observations from the game.
1. It was interesting to see that our defense played a fair amount of 3-4 defense. I'm not a fan of it personally.
2. DT Jesse Williams got a lot of reps at DE, even when we were lined up in the 4-3 defense. Maybe the coaching staff plans on using him like they did with Red Bryant.
3. Gilliam had a solid night at RT.
4. Ty Smith looked good when he was lined up outside. He was able to stay on his receiver's hip down field.

 

[vin.couve12]

As for the Irvin/Maclin play.....know your alignments.

Maclin came out of the backfield. He wasn't lined up out wide and the coaches told Irvin to go play man coverage. KC CREATED the mismatch.

That said, again, if I'm watching film with Irvin on that one I just tell him to knock his D in the dirt and be done with it. He can't get open in that 5 yard press window if you put him on the ground.

 

[vin.couve12]

[vine]eDdbEKwnDMB[/vine]

This is the play a couple of us noticed where KJ ran into his speed limitation. This vid was supposed to depict how stupid it is to try and crackback on Bane, but KJ messed up here. He needs to take a better angle on this one. He's quick, but not that fast.

Still, he made quite a few good reads this game and looked to be back to his 2013 form. 2014 was kind of ugly too often. Hopefully he continues to look like the former.

 

[Tical21]

Here are a few of my observations from the game.
1. It was interesting to see that our defense played a fair amount of 3-4 defense. I'm not a fan of it personally.
2. DT Jesse Williams got a lot of reps at DE, even when we were lined up in the 4-3 defense. Maybe the coaching staff plans on using him like they did with Red Bryant.
3. Gilliam had a solid night at RT.
4. Ty Smith looked good when he was lined up outside. He was able to stay on his receiver's hip down field.

Oh good point about Williams! Unfortunately though, from what I saw, he wasn't able to wreak much havoc playing outside, and even got flatbacked pretty good on a play at the goal line. I can't tell if it is a good thing or bad thing they are trying him out there. We already have capable young backup in Marsh and Clark, and you saw Irvin playing some LEO as well. Maybe we're concerned about our interior run defense and are hoping Williams can help with that some on early downs. I just didn't see it though. Red was immovable. You simply couldn't run stretches, sweeps or power at him because he just made a big pile of bodies at the hole. I do miss that, but I don't know that Williams brings the ability to do that.

 

[vin.couve12]

Jesse Williams was never going to be a good interior player and certainly never going to be a NT/1 tech. If you put on his college tape you'll see that he's always spend a ton of time on the ground. He's top heavy like Big Red and doesn't have very good balance. He's going to make it as a 5 tech or possibly a 3 tech where he can penetrate or not at all.

 

[Tical21]

[vine]eDdbEKwnDMB[/vine]

This is the play a couple of us noticed where KJ ran into his speed limitation. This vid was supposed to depict how stupid it is to try and crackback on Bane, but KJ messed up here. He needs to take a better angle on this one. He's quick, but not that fast.

Still, he made quite a few good reads this game and looked to be back to his 2013 form. 2014 was kind of ugly too often. Hopefully he continues to look like the former.

I'd have to look at the play pre-snap, but typically it is the end's job to set the edge, not KJ's. He's supposed to come up and fill, not play from the outside in. So, yes, speed certainly would have helped him, but that play isn't supposed to be allowed to get so wide. For him to be where he was in that play, it must have been a power or counter to the weakside. To me, that is the where I would try to attack our front to try to make a big play. If you can get the end blocked, we've only got one LB on that side of the field. I'd be asking more about what happened to the LEO.

 

[Subzero717]

Christine Michael sucks

 

[HomerJHawk]

Fire Bevell.

that is all

 

[cover-2]

Here are a few of my observations from the game.
1. It was interesting to see that our defense played a fair amount of 3-4 defense. I'm not a fan of it personally.
2. DT Jesse Williams got a lot of reps at DE, even when we were lined up in the 4-3 defense. Maybe the coaching staff plans on using him like they did with Red Bryant.
3. Gilliam had a solid night at RT.
4. Ty Smith looked good when he was lined up outside. He was able to stay on his receiver's hip down field.

Oh good point about Williams! Unfortunately though, from what I saw, he wasn't able to wreak much havoc playing outside, and even got flatbacked pretty good on a play at the goal line. I can't tell if it is a good thing or bad thing they are trying him out there. We already have capable young backup in Marsh and Clark, and you saw Irvin playing some LEO as well. Maybe we're concerned about our interior run defense and are hoping Williams can help with that some on early downs. I just didn't see it though. Red was immovable. You simply couldn't run stretches, sweeps or power at him because he just made a big pile of bodies at the hole. I do miss that, but I don't know that Williams brings the ability to do that.

Williams was good against the run at DE and DT. There was one play where he blew up a running play as the DE, he pushed his man three to four yards into the backfield causing the RB to drastically alter his course and the RB was tackled for a loss.

Williams has gotten a lot of reps that last two games considering he just had a significant surgery just a couple months ago. I think he is only going to get better and should be a big contributor if he stays healthy. Going into this preseason I didn't think he was going to make the roster due to his surgery and previous injuries.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I haven't seen anyone mention Irvin, he had a terrible game.

Next time he wants to pop off on Twitter and whine about his option not getting picked up, just show him a tape of this game. I counted three bad angles on tackles, resulting in 7-10 yard runs.........and awful coverage on the TD.

Inconsistent, thy name is Bruce Irvin.

 

[hawknation2015]

I haven't seen anyone mention Irvin, he had a terrible game.

Next time he wants to pop off on Twitter and whine about his option not getting picked up, just show him a tape of this game. I counted three bad angles on tackles, resulting in 7-10 yard runs.........and awful coverage on the TD.

Inconsistent, thy name is Bruce Irvin.

He looked like he didn't care to be out there.

 

[Mick063]

I haven't seen anyone mention Irvin, he had a terrible game.

Next time he wants to pop off on Twitter and whine about his option not getting picked up, just show him a tape of this game. I counted three bad angles on tackles, resulting in 7-10 yard runs.........and awful coverage on the TD.

Inconsistent, thy name is Bruce Irvin.

Brock Huard invested some effort in explaining how Irvin could really set the edge, immediately followed by Irvin failing to set the edge. The timing could not have been worse for Huard.

Kind of sums up Irvin's career for me. Unpredictable. You don't know when he will be good. You don't know when he will be bad.