When an opposing kick returner takes a knee, or when a Steven Hauschka kickoff goes through the back of the end zone, the play is over, but keep watching anyway. Even after the whistle is blown, members of the Seahawks’ kick coverage team continue their version of a 65-yard dash, taking immense pride in being the first to “break the tape” at the goal line.
Not surprisingly, speedy receiver Ricardo Lockette was usually the winner last season, though before going down with a shoulder injury, rookie linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis was often a close second. Based off what coaches are seeing in offseason workouts so far this year, the 2015 kickoff races should be even more competitive. And more importantly, that added speed should make the Seahawks better on special teams this season after being uncharacteristically inconsistent at times last year in that facet of the game.
An NFL team looking to add fast players is hardly a novel concept, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll came out of the 2015 draft particularly excited with the speed they had added to their roster, and to their defense in particular. And while some of those fast first and second-year players won’t see a lot of playing time right away on offense and defense, the payoff should happen immediately on special teams.
When special teams coach Brian Schneider watched an OTA practice last week, that speed caught his eye.
“I was blown away at how fast our team is,” Schneider said. “That definitely transfers to special teams… This is probably the best group that I’ve been a part of from top to bottom in terms of taking instruction, and going really fast and working with great effort. We’ve really been pleased with all of them. We’re excited to see them go play.”
http://www.seahawks.com/news/2015/06/10 ... oster-2015
