Week 1 preseason thoughts

Vetamur

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MLOhawks":kdyhtcux said:
kearly":kdyhtcux said:
Only watched it 1.5 times, but here's what I got.

Both QBs played better than I thought they would. Boykin's inexperience is obvious, but he has some natural QB instincts and felt less raw at QB than you would expect. The touch on his deep ball was impressive. Now if only he could learn how to spike a football. Both guys suffered significantly from a sub-replacement level group of running backs and receivers, as Seattle is super thin at both positions currently due to minor injuries.

It's preseason for Pete too. He blew an obvious opportunity to challenge when Alex Smith converted a 3rd and 9 on his first drive. The receiver caught the ball while airborne and his second foot was clearly out of bounds. No challenge from Seattle, instead they have 12 in the huddle and take a stupid penalty. Ware gets the easy TD on the next play, but if Pete were paying attention, it would have been 3 points and not 7.

It's just a preseason game but boy did the D-line look bad, both starters and depth looked pretty awful. Spencer Ware looks way faster than he did when he was a Seahawk but there is no excuse for having your starting defense getting their asses kicked the by a 2nd/3rd string RB. We all know that having Kam and Bennett out is a big deal but it shouldn't have been THIS BIG of a deal. The pass rush was essentially non-existent as well.

I've always been a big skeptic of moving Clark to DE/LB. Clark is good at blowing up a ZBS running game and he's good at controlling gaps, but these are DT skills not DE skills. This game was a chance to convince me there is some logic to the move, but if anything it only reinforced my feelings. Clark was a total non-factor despite playing a lot of snaps. He totalled just one pressure that I know of. Yeah, it's really early but we all remember what he did really early in 2015. Unfortunately, Seattle has had Clark lose so much weight that he's already penciled in for this role rest of season, it's a real bummer.

I get that Seattle has seen a ton of Alex Collins in practices, but it was a real headscratcher for me that Collins totalled just 4 touches in this game. It's a very limited sample size, but Collins played EXACTLY like I thought he would. When he gets a head of steam, he can push for that extra yard as well as anyone. He'll be a great short yardage back for us. Unfortunately, Collins tied his shoes with Robert Turbin's shoelaces, and if you get even a tiny piece of Collins in the backfield before he makes those first couple steps towards the hole, he will go down with alarming ease. That's a problem, because our current OL talent and Cable's scheme means that backfield penetration on obvious running downs will be an issue our RBs have to overcome.

Haush was money. Jon Ryan, fresh off of his Jim Gaffigan audition, had a pretty good game as well.

Tyvis Powell was gifted a pick and fell down for no reason, potentially costing himself a real shot at a pick six. He had some head turning plays on specials though. He may have already made the initial 53 man roster based on his performance today.

I hate to say it, but Kenny Lawler didn't look like an NFL player today. I also don't believe for a second that he weighs 203 pounds. If he bulks up next offseason, I could see him having a chance. But the only way he makes the 2016 roster is if the rest of our WR depth is shambles.

Richardson played and didn't get hurt which was nice. But he didn't stand out as much as I thought he would either. Mixed bag.

I've always thought that Zach Miller was an exceedingly generous comp for Nick Vannett, but today it looked like a dead on comparison.

I didn't watch the OL super close, but I did see one play where Glowinsky dominated his block to set up a 9 yard run by C-Mike.

Britt seemed to do an okay job in the run game, but failed with stunt pickups just like before, allowing pressures that led to punts. He hasn't changed.

Jarran Reed looked exactly as expected. Gap sound, but a non-factor in the pass rush and struggles to penetrate into the backfield vs. the run. I think he is an okay player but I am starting to understand why he fell as far as he did in the draft.

Christine Michael looked better than ever. He could have been even more productive if not for a few rushed decisions. His new life motto seems to be do everything like your hair is on fire. It pays off between the tackles but there were a few 10 yard runs that could have been 30 yarders with a slightly less frantic style. Even during his postgame interview he seemed to be in turbo-mode, talking so fast that every third word was "man." In essence, Michael is going too fast for his processor to handle it. Hopefully he relaxes a bit at some point and he allows himself to slow the game down a bit.

I'm not sure if I blame the secondary or give credit to the Chiefs OC, but Alex Smith picked apart the secondary at will and on a few drives Nick Foles seemed to do the same. I lean towards crediting the OC rather than blaming our starters. The Chiefs were really good at staying on schedule and having that effective running game definitely made an impact on our pass D.

Wilson looked great other than his last pass. And even that pass probably would have only been picked off by a handful of corners in this league. Had Wilson put it further outside, it probably would have been a TD. I like that Wilson is going to have that play stuck in his mind all week at practice.

All three Seattle QBs suffered drops that made their statistical performances look worse than they really were.

The ending was hilarious. It was seriously some of the worst clock management I have ever seen to end a game, and it actually worked to our favor as McEvoy drew single coverage during the chaos and confusion.

It was a preseason game with no game plan, vanilla plays. You are reading way too much into things at this point.


I think this sentiment only applies to certain things..for example, how well our secondary did or didnt perform against A. Smith. Obviously game planning and play calling to win only, not win while seeing everyone would change things.

But watching Christine Michael running like that in the game is a legit observation (though I disagree with him doing things too fast and leaving 30 yard runs on the table). You can watch Tyvis Powell make three notable plays on special teams and note that is, well, special. Its the same situation for everyone, but its him making those plays.

There are things you can take away from preseason, for sure.
 

hawksfan515

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MLOhawks":368qwffe said:
kearly":368qwffe said:
Only watched it 1.5 times, but here's what I got.

Both QBs played better than I thought they would. Boykin's inexperience is obvious, but he has some natural QB instincts and felt less raw at QB than you would expect. The touch on his deep ball was impressive. Now if only he could learn how to spike a football. Both guys suffered significantly from a sub-replacement level group of running backs and receivers, as Seattle is super thin at both positions currently due to minor injuries.

It's preseason for Pete too. He blew an obvious opportunity to challenge when Alex Smith converted a 3rd and 9 on his first drive. The receiver caught the ball while airborne and his second foot was clearly out of bounds. No challenge from Seattle, instead they have 12 in the huddle and take a stupid penalty. Ware gets the easy TD on the next play, but if Pete were paying attention, it would have been 3 points and not 7.

It's just a preseason game but boy did the D-line look bad, both starters and depth looked pretty awful. Spencer Ware looks way faster than he did when he was a Seahawk but there is no excuse for having your starting defense getting their asses kicked the by a 2nd/3rd string RB. We all know that having Kam and Bennett out is a big deal but it shouldn't have been THIS BIG of a deal. The pass rush was essentially non-existent as well.

I've always been a big skeptic of moving Clark to DE/LB. Clark is good at blowing up a ZBS running game and he's good at controlling gaps, but these are DT skills not DE skills. This game was a chance to convince me there is some logic to the move, but if anything it only reinforced my feelings. Clark was a total non-factor despite playing a lot of snaps. He totalled just one pressure that I know of. Yeah, it's really early but we all remember what he did really early in 2015. Unfortunately, Seattle has had Clark lose so much weight that he's already penciled in for this role rest of season, it's a real bummer.

I get that Seattle has seen a ton of Alex Collins in practices, but it was a real headscratcher for me that Collins totalled just 4 touches in this game. It's a very limited sample size, but Collins played EXACTLY like I thought he would. When he gets a head of steam, he can push for that extra yard as well as anyone. He'll be a great short yardage back for us. Unfortunately, Collins tied his shoes with Robert Turbin's shoelaces, and if you get even a tiny piece of Collins in the backfield before he makes those first couple steps towards the hole, he will go down with alarming ease. That's a problem, because our current OL talent and Cable's scheme means that backfield penetration on obvious running downs will be an issue our RBs have to overcome.

Haush was money. Jon Ryan, fresh off of his Jim Gaffigan audition, had a pretty good game as well.

Tyvis Powell was gifted a pick and fell down for no reason, potentially costing himself a real shot at a pick six. He had some head turning plays on specials though. He may have already made the initial 53 man roster based on his performance today.

I hate to say it, but Kenny Lawler didn't look like an NFL player today. I also don't believe for a second that he weighs 203 pounds. If he bulks up next offseason, I could see him having a chance. But the only way he makes the 2016 roster is if the rest of our WR depth is shambles.

Richardson played and didn't get hurt which was nice. But he didn't stand out as much as I thought he would either. Mixed bag.

I've always thought that Zach Miller was an exceedingly generous comp for Nick Vannett, but today it looked like a dead on comparison.

I didn't watch the OL super close, but I did see one play where Glowinsky dominated his block to set up a 9 yard run by C-Mike.

Britt seemed to do an okay job in the run game, but failed with stunt pickups just like before, allowing pressures that led to punts. He hasn't changed.

Jarran Reed looked exactly as expected. Gap sound, but a non-factor in the pass rush and struggles to penetrate into the backfield vs. the run. I think he is an okay player but I am starting to understand why he fell as far as he did in the draft.

Christine Michael looked better than ever. He could have been even more productive if not for a few rushed decisions. His new life motto seems to be do everything like your hair is on fire. It pays off between the tackles but there were a few 10 yard runs that could have been 30 yarders with a slightly less frantic style. Even during his postgame interview he seemed to be in turbo-mode, talking so fast that every third word was "man." In essence, Michael is going too fast for his processor to handle it. Hopefully he relaxes a bit at some point and he allows himself to slow the game down a bit.

I'm not sure if I blame the secondary or give credit to the Chiefs OC, but Alex Smith picked apart the secondary at will and on a few drives Nick Foles seemed to do the same. I lean towards crediting the OC rather than blaming our starters. The Chiefs were really good at staying on schedule and having that effective running game definitely made an impact on our pass D.

Wilson looked great other than his last pass. And even that pass probably would have only been picked off by a handful of corners in this league. Had Wilson put it further outside, it probably would have been a TD. I like that Wilson is going to have that play stuck in his mind all week at practice.

All three Seattle QBs suffered drops that made their statistical performances look worse than they really were.

The ending was hilarious. It was seriously some of the worst clock management I have ever seen to end a game, and it actually worked to our favor as McEvoy drew single coverage during the chaos and confusion.

It was a preseason game with no game plan, vanilla plays. You are reading way too much into things at this point.

There's no issue with that, I love reading Kips preseason players write-ups. Some of the best stuff around this time of year on Seahawks.net IMO.
 

kearly

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If there wasn't anything to take out of these games they wouldn't play them.
 

HawKnPeppa

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kearly":us6fyfzn said:
If there wasn't anything to take out of these games they wouldn't play them.

Nice write up. Not sure I agree with the 'he hasn't changed' broadsword you applied to Britt, as his weaknesses a G included more than just missing stunts.
 
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EverydayImRusselin

EverydayImRusselin

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Rob12":23ipbbaq said:
EverydayImRusselin":23ipbbaq said:
Professional observations from a couch potato.

- The starting OL looked average. I've never been so excited to say that.

- Cmike looks like he could fulfill his promise after all this time. He looked very explosive and was protecting the ball late in runs.

- Tyvis Powell will make this team for his ST contributions alone. I think he might push Browner off the roster.

- I was happy to see the quick strike passing game on the 1st series. Really hoping they don't go back to run run pass and stick with what worked last year.

- Marsh strikes me as a guy who is a step too slow and shines in the preseason but in the regular season will be just a step away from making a play quite often.

- I think I saw Bryant in the backfield 3 or 4 times early in the game. That would be awesome.

- Heaps seems a bit more polished than Boykin, but Boykin put together a good 2 minute drill before half and a great end of game drive.

- I liked what I saw from Richardson. Boykin almost hit him in the 1st half for a TD, overthrew him just a bit.


All in all, it was week 1 of preseason. Feel free to add any thoughts.

I don't see a scenario where Browner doesn't make the team. Like most everything else you said. I think Browner's presence alone brings a lot to the defense. He's a Seahawk in 2016, book it.

All the talk has been with Browner as a Safety and in my mind Thomas/Kam/Mccray are already locks. Powell's ST contributions appear to give him a leg up on that 3th Safety spot. In general they've kept 4 Safety's, which is why I think Browner won't find a spot. If they move to keep 5 Safety's, then Browner could be that 5th guy.
 

Overseasfan

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O-line was pretty decent, especially for it still being so early in the year. Christine Michael locked himself into the roster with his stellar play. McEvoy and Powell also made strong cases for themselves.
 

Vetamur

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EverydayImRusselin":2mlqcxxk said:
Rob12":2mlqcxxk said:
EverydayImRusselin":2mlqcxxk said:
Professional observations from a couch potato.

- The starting OL looked average. I've never been so excited to say that.

- Cmike looks like he could fulfill his promise after all this time. He looked very explosive and was protecting the ball late in runs.

- Tyvis Powell will make this team for his ST contributions alone. I think he might push Browner off the roster.

- I was happy to see the quick strike passing game on the 1st series. Really hoping they don't go back to run run pass and stick with what worked last year.

- Marsh strikes me as a guy who is a step too slow and shines in the preseason but in the regular season will be just a step away from making a play quite often.

- I think I saw Bryant in the backfield 3 or 4 times early in the game. That would be awesome.

- Heaps seems a bit more polished than Boykin, but Boykin put together a good 2 minute drill before half and a great end of game drive.

- I liked what I saw from Richardson. Boykin almost hit him in the 1st half for a TD, overthrew him just a bit.


All in all, it was week 1 of preseason. Feel free to add any thoughts.

I don't see a scenario where Browner doesn't make the team. Like most everything else you said. I think Browner's presence alone brings a lot to the defense. He's a Seahawk in 2016, book it.

All the talk has been with Browner as a Safety and in my mind Thomas/Kam/Mccray are already locks. Powell's ST contributions appear to give him a leg up on that 3th Safety spot. In general they've kept 4 Safety's, which is why I think Browner won't find a spot. If they move to keep 5 Safety's, then Browner could be that 5th guy.


The problem with this is youre treating it as straight across math with clearly defined positions. Browner isnt being treated as just another safety and let the best 4 win.. no, rather, Browner has had a particular niche carved out for him. Last year the Seahawks were terrible against quality TEs, the big fast receiving types. So, Browners job will be to play a sort of LB/S type with a focus on taking away the other teams Tight End. Whether he makes the team or not has as much to do with how the coaches feel this theory works out as much as how Browner plays in it. I think he is nearly a lock. I think they like how swagger the rest of the LOB has when Browner is around, I think they like the new hybrid position, and I think it will be successful. But we will see!
 

bigskydoc

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The secondary looked awful and Browner was completely blowing coverage deep into the second half against scrub receivers and KC's 5th string QB.

It may have been that he is still in the process of learning the new position, but if he continues to play like he did he won't make the team.

I'm tempted to think it is somewhat schematic though as there were a couple of times where different defenders left the slot guy completely uncovered and to pursue the already well-covered flanker.

My biggest concern going into the season was the defense. Nothing about this game did anything to allay that concern.

Thankfully there is a lot of football between now and the start of the season
 

Jimjones0384

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chris98251":2bo4ztex said:
EverydayImRusselin":2bo4ztex said:
Professional observations from a couch potato.

- The starting OL looked average. I've never been so excited to say that.

- Cmike looks like he could fulfill his promise after all this time. He looked very explosive and was protecting the ball late in runs.

- Tyvis Powell will make this team for his ST contributions alone. I think he might push Browner off the roster.

- I was happy to see the quick strike passing game on the 1st series. Really hoping they don't go back to run run pass and stick with what worked last year.

- Marsh strikes me as a guy who is a step too slow and shines in the preseason but in the regular season will be just a step away from making a play quite often.

- I think I saw Bryant in the backfield 3 or 4 times early in the game. That would be awesome.

- Heaps seems a bit more polished than Boykin, but Boykin put together a good 2 minute drill before half and a great end of game drive.

- I liked what I saw from Richardson. Boykin almost hit him in the 1st half for a TD, overthrew him just a bit.


All in all, it was week 1 of preseason. Feel free to add any thoughts.

Heaps should look more polished, he as time in the Pro's and knows what it's about and seen some fire.

I don't get that one at all. What do you mean heaps looks more polished than boykin. Boykin showed poise, intelligence, calmness and made plays with his feet. Not to mention heaps got benched and boykin put back into the game because heaps what not that effective. He made a couple good throws, didn't look horrible, but boykin out played him in every aspect. He even played behind the same line with same skill players.
 

kf3339

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kearly":327sq1kv said:
If there wasn't anything to take out of these games they wouldn't play them.

It was a good write up Kearly. Don't start getting annoyed about posters comments, and keep it up. I know you stopped at one point, and we all would prefer you not go that route again. :irishdrinkers:
 

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All based on ridiculously small samples in meaningless pre season games for which teams aren't even scheming, but after having watched the first halves (condensed) for every preseason game:

1) Michael is in the convo for the second best looking back I saw this weekend.

2) Boykin impressed me a lot more than many other #2 QBs.

3) I was expecting to be more impressed by the play of Clark and Reed.

4) it was basically impossible to evaluate the pass blocking of the starting online due to play design.

5) overall I think the Hawks will have a ton of success with the tweaks to their scheme I was seeing (on offense).

6) The Peters pick happened because Wilson threw late. He threw late because he hitched when he started the throw the first time. On replay I don't know what the heck he was seeing and why he didn't throw as designed before the receiver made his break. Save for the pick and could-have-been pick on that drive Wilson had really nice placement that led to some YAC on the slants, which he has sometimes struggled with in the past.
 

JPRoland

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The running backs look fine. I'm sure the reason Alex Collins didn't get more reps is that he had a sore ankle. He's been getting plenty of work in camp, so I'm sure they know that he can grind. I am worried about defensive backs, though. Fortunately, it's still early.
 

brimsalabim

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Is anyone concerned that Russell has bulked up a tad too much?
 

Jazzhawk

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kearly":38w4ueip said:
Only watched it 1.5 times, but here's what I got.

It's preseason for Pete too. ........

It's just a preseason game but boy did the D-line look bad, both starters and depth looked pretty awful. ......... The pass rush was essentially non-existent as well.

I've always been a big skeptic of moving Clark to DE/LB. ...... Clark was a total non-factor despite playing a lot of snaps. He totalled just one pressure that I know of. ........

I get that Seattle has seen a ton of Alex Collins in practices, but it was a real headscratcher for me that Collins totalled just 4 touches in this game. ........

I hate to say it, but Kenny Lawler didn't look like an NFL player today. .......

Britt seemed to do an okay job in the run game, but failed with stunt pickups just like before, allowing pressures that led to punts. He hasn't changed.

Jarran Reed looked exactly as expected. Gap sound, but a non-factor in the pass rush and struggles to penetrate into the backfield vs. the run. I think he is an okay player but I am starting to understand why he fell as far as he did in the draft.
Kip.....first let me say that I very much appreciate the time and effort you took...I always enjoy your reviews.

I gotta say, when I saw that when the Chiefs player caught the pass, turned and his second step was clearly OOB, I was astounded that no one from the Seahawks was calling for a challenge. I'm still stumped, but maybe Pete didn't feel they needed to replay it, and rather wanted the D to get some reps on goal-line.

I'm also wary of the Frank Clark situation. He did not look impactful at all. I will say tho, I seem to recall last pre-season Clark didn't really warm up till the 3rd game. But, I'm old and my memory isn't as good as it used to be.

I've mentioned my confusion over Collins not getting touches. Seems strange.

Lawler....tiny, and didn't see anything to make me think he should make the 53 man roster.

Britt...the one area a very much disagree with you on. (which is okay my friend). I saw him stand players up, his shotgun snaps were money, he seemed to make good line calls...anyway, I noticed an immediate drop off when the 2nd team came in with an experienced Lewis at the helm. Again, small sample size, but isn't that what we are doing, taking things in this small game vacuum and making observations?

Finally, the Defense and Reed/Jefferson overall..... I was underwhelmed to the point of disappointment. Hoping we see much better on Thursday.
 

hawknation2016

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Britt played really well at center. That was the closest thing we have seen to dominant center play by the Seahawks since Unger was traded. He made up for some lapses by Glowinski and Ifedi. Britt, frankly, looked like a totally different player than he did a year ago: in command of the calls, hitting guys in the mouth, and looking like a leader out there.

I thought Sowell, Britt, and Gilliam looked like studs. The play at the guard spots was more up and down.

Clark was good, as well, with two nice pressures and the highest run defense grade in the game. Clark had a really nice inside spin move and managed to get a nice hit on the QB, despite tripping and keeping his forward momentum, to prevent a near TD. He had another outside swim move to generate a pressure but couldn't wrap up for the sack. Reed made a couple mistakes too but he settled down and had some nice moments.

I'm re-watching KC's conversion of the 3rd and 9 and still debating whether it was worthy of a challenge. We didn't get a perfect angle on it to see whether Maclin touched down inbounds with his left toe and kept his heel off the ground. Anyway, it was a great play by them.
 

scutterhawk

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Vetamur":2axumld0 said:
There are things you can take away from preseason, for sure.
Yep ^ there's a bunch of guys auditioning for a job, and the Coaches will be sorting thru hours of game film, and trying to evaluate the players that set themselves apart from the rest of the herd.
Sorting out plays made and not made on a short week is no easy task.
 
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