Optimistic thoughts about preseason game 1

1.) The attitude was there. Veteran leadership was pumped throughout the game. I attribute the troubles on defense to rust and jitters, and I think they'll be good to go with few holes to start the season. Also, there were key absences from the first team.

2.) The offensive line looks much improved. Bradley Sowell looks like he's going to end up being a really good pickup, and may just win that starting spot at left tackle - which would probably keep Gilliam on the right and Webb as a sixth lineman or even on the street.

How about Justin Britt, though? To me, he looks at home at center. One play stood out to me, where Britt bursted into the second level and took out a linebacker, springing Christine Michael free for a 15 yard gain. I'm optimistic that this is where Britt will stay.

3.) Trevone Boykin is electrifying on his feet and he looks to have the clutch gene. These are things you can't teach. If he can become a serviceable passer, he's a dreamy backup who's perfect for our system. Jake Heaps made some bad throws, but he's probably a camp arm. He did display decent pocket poise, if I'm remembering correctly.

4.) A newly awakened C-Mike may just live up to his draft spot. Put him with Rawls, Collins, and Prosise and it looks like we have a strong stable of backs to carry the run game behind an improved line.

This is shaping up to be a good season.

I'm now on the Sowell-Britt bandwagon.

Conversely, was ANYONE happy with what Mike Morgan/Eric Pinkins/anyone else brought to the SAM position? Very concerned with this.

Jazzhawk":3fw10m50 said:

I'm now on the Sowell-Britt bandwagon.

Conversely, was ANYONE happy with what Mike Morgan/Eric Pinkins/anyone else brought to the SAM position? Very concerned with this.

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Not at all. Most of the big plays came at that position, also a couple of big runs may not have happened if Bennett and chancellor were there. They will get the sam worked out though.

I am excited about mcevoy. They have got to find a spot for him on the roster. He will never make it to the practice squad after that performance in the last series. I think we need to get rid of the fullback spot. We can use a combination of say mcevoy, a tightend and or a young d lineman already on the roster for a few fullback plays a game. Can you imagine, Jimmy graham and mcevoy on the field together. Add anybody to the mix, Baldwin and lockett for nasty speed/size combo. Prosise and Rawls with mcevoy and graham and vanett blocking, I mean the options are endless. I know mcevoy dropped and bobbled a couple, but it was his first game. He also ran a couple of good routes and used his size for leverage, there is real potential there. And you know what they say, you can't teach 6'6 and 240 lbs.

Oops sorry wrong thread. Mostly optimistic but I guess there is one non optimistic thing on my list so I'll but this post in the other thread rather than getting flamed on nonsense. Cheers.

Boykins best asset is this game was his accuracy and touch on downfield throws combined with a willingness to take those chances and trust his receiver to come down with a 50-50 ball. He still has a ton to learn but I liked that he showed a willingness to get rid of the football and live to play another down at times when the situation didn't look good. We don't need him to be Russell, we just need him to be the next Tyrod Taylor.

On that last play, I really liked how Boykin didn't get happy feet when he started to feel pressure. He started to backpedal and roll out, but then stopped as soon as the rusher got picked up and threw the hail mary at our biggest target that only had single coverage. That's good pocket awareness while simultaneously staying aware of the coverage. A lot of QBs will keep scrambling and rolling out. If he had done that, it would have allowed for help in coverage on McEvoy, and there wouldn't have been as good of an opportunity to score. Good job, Boykin!

The best thing is that there were no real positions that were a weak factor. The RCB looked fine, SAM was fine and the O-line was actually doing quiet well.

Wining the first game of the pre-season is also a bit of a confidence boost as well.

The O-line looks like it might be better, easy to get overly optimistic w/their two best pass rushers and five on the starting D out. They weren't really playing against a 1st string D.

C-Mike looked really good, Collins okay but not enough runs to make a really informed decision. Every other RB was unimpressive.

Our D is not the same w/Bennett out, give him a little more dough NOW. Somewhat disappointed with interior of the D-line.

Boykin might be a good enough backup that we don't have to spend more $$$ on a veteran backup.

Overall? yeah, it was okay, it was a first preseason game. I don't know why everyone is excited over the win, KC outplayed us for most of the game.

Gotta see much more to arrive at any real conclusions.

Edit: I forgot to add that P-Rich looked pretty good too, nice to see him back.

If you ever wanted to see what the Seahawks look like without Bennett, now we know.

Maybe just a bad game for the DL, but I don't think that KC had a negative run play all game. Maybe that is an exaggeration, but for a line that we loaded with guys that can stop the run - we sucked.

That goalline "stand" was pretty terrible, and we were not exactly facing an all everything RB at the time. Sure you don't tip your hand in the preseason but the Seahawks are known for playing pretty base defense stuff, so not a lot of scheme stuff we would see different anyway. That was just a DL flat out getting beat.

And considering our guys (Rubin and Reed) are essentially as good at rushing the QB as you or I are - we kind of expect them to offset that tremendous liability by being good to great against the run. (I still prefer DTs that can apply pressure to the QB or at least collapse the pocket but it looks like that is our objective so it is what it is).

Not sure you could watch that game and be that optimistic. KC dominated us all game, except the end.

The good news is, our OL didn't look like crap. The bad news is, our defense did. So to me it is a wash - but we have a few weeks for guys to start coming back and guys to get less rusty. Let us hope that is the issue.

TwistedHusky":1f463u88 said:

If you ever wanted to see what the Seahawks look like without Bennett, now we know.

Maybe just a bad game for the DL, but I don't think that KC had a negative run play all game. Maybe that is an exaggeration, but for a line that we loaded with guys that can stop the run - we sucked.

That goalline "stand" was pretty terrible, and we were not exactly facing an all everything RB at the time. Sure you don't tip your hand in the preseason but the Seahawks are known for playing pretty base defense stuff, so not a lot of scheme stuff we would see different anyway. That was just a DL flat out getting beat.

And considering our guys (Rubin and Reed) are essentially as good at rushing the QB as you or I are - we kind of expect them to offset that tremendous liability by being good to great against the run. (I still prefer DTs that can apply pressure to the QB or at least collapse the pocket but it looks like that is our objective so it is what it is).

Not sure you could watch that game and be that optimistic. KC dominated us all game, except the end.

The good news is, our OL didn't look like crap. The bad news is, our defense did. So to me it is a wash - but we have a few weeks for guys to start coming back and guys to get less rusty. Let us hope that is the issue.

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The term sample size comes to mind on the defense. How many times have we seen them start a game looking like crap on the first drive or two only to shore it up as the game progresses?

The defense is not really a concern for me right now as it is ridiculously beyond proven and one series with no game planning and multiple key players sitting on the sideline isn't enough for me to take to seriously.

It was about the best result they could have hoped for in the first preseason game.

* Offensive line looked so far ahead where they were at this time last year.

* Justin Britt was playing like a leader of the offensive line: pointing out line calls, making adjustments, snapping the ball perfectly, hitting defenders in the mouth, getting to the 2nd level in the run game, and generally holding up well in pass protection.

* Bradley Sowell played as well at LT as anyone could have hoped. I don't think he allowed a single pressure. He dominated Kansas City's backup ROLB Frank Zombo, a veteran who started two games for them last season and had three sacks. He also had some impressive inside blocks against physical DE Jaye Howard (a one-time Seahawk) and rookie DE Chris Jones (famous for exposing himself during his combine 40). Sowell has been heralded during training camp as one of the team's best pass protectors and he showed that in this first game. A much bigger test awaits in Thursday's game against Viking RDE Everson Griffen and ROLB Anthony Barr.

* Garry Gilliam looked so much bigger and more physical at RT than he did a year ago. He admitted to making some mistakes and having to mentally adjust after having not played much RT in training camp. However, Gilliam looked really solid to me in this first showing. I think the continuity was actually helpful. Gilliam started 18 games at RT (including playoffs) last season. There is no question he can excel at that spot, especially at his new weight. Hopefully, Sowell continues to hold up and allows Gilliam to do just that.

* Guards Germain Ifedi and Mark Glowinski are proving to be two solid draft picks for the Seahawks. Both looked pretty physical in the run game.

* Add Rees Odhiambo as a 3rd offensive line draft choice who looks good so far. He made solid contributions at both left guard and tackle. He did look really bad when moved to right side of the line, but other than that was solid in all phases. If he had more experience at guard, I would not be surprised to see him push Glowinski for playing time at left guard.

* Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett did nothing surprising, just made phenomenal catches look routine. Lockett's sky grab on 3rd down was a thing of beauty.

* Tanner McEvoy had a couple "wow" moments at the end. Big receivers with that kind of athleticism are really hard to find in football. It would be cool to see him compete for a roster spot and dominate on special teams.

* Nick Vannett sealed off some nice blocks in the run game and added a couple catches. He looked like a contributor as a rookie and better than I expected at both things.

* Trevone Boykin looked competant for a rookie QB playing in his first game behind a porous backup offensive line. Despite some struggles with indecisiveness and erratic decision making, he outperformed first round pick Jared Goff in leading his team to a last second victory. We may have found a new long-term backup QB to learn behind Russell Wilson.

* Christine Michael "Sr." continued the chapter of his life that he started after being re-signed at the end of last season. The lackadaisical ways that got him released by three teams are long gone, having been replaced by hardnosed north-south running. He averaged a very healthy 6.3 yards per carry, but that only tells a small part of the story. He burst through running lanes almost instantaneously upon getting the ball, ran through arm tackles, sped around corners, and would not be stopped. Rawls and Michael Sr. could give Carroll the explosive one-two punch he prefers.

* Tyvis Powell is one of those guys who are just good football players. When you find one, you would be remissed to let him go. Powell is a cerebral player who plays fast in cleats on a football field, making plays on specials teams, as a blocker, nearly pinning the ball at the one-yard line with an acrobatic leap, and securing an interception on a batted ball. The more ball hawks this team has the better it will be.

* Frank Clark looked strong and quick and had a few pressures on swim moves. One of his hits on the QB that prevented a sure-TD was negated by an offensive penalty. Another hit was too late. And he had a 3rd opportunity where he collided with the QB but couldn't wrap up for the sack. Even though he couldn't finish, he showed that he continues to develop his arsenal as a pass rusher. Clark also looked really good in the run game, while playing mostly RDE in the nickel defense.

* Jarran Reed filled in as a starter and looked strong for the most part. Most of the defensive lapses cannot be attributed to him, though he may have had an opportunity to make a play had he shed his blocker. He settled down though and had a nice game with a few opportunities to collapse KC's pocket.

* Jon Ryan and Steven Hauschka did what they do. Ryan averaged 55 yards a punt. Can't take for granted how fortunate it is not to have to worry about the kicking game. This performance also reflects well on rookie long snapper Nolan Frese.

The defensive pressure off the line was my biggest concern. May be we were mixing and matching different guys at different positions, and perhaps Pete was trying to see who can play and who can not.

Bottom line is you need to create pressure on the quarterback, especially on 3rd and long and get off the field.

I've said it before. The teams that can accomplish this will make it to the playoffs and perhaps to the Superbowl.

Look how one man (Von Miller) practically won SB 50 all by himself, by putting so much pressure on Cam that he cracked and gave up. We still need to develop a better pass rush. The talent is there, but yes they can see that they need Michael Bennett, and yes I know we didn't have Kam C. in the game as well.

Hopefully over these next two pre-season games we will find our pass rushers. It's a must.