Bradley Sowell full participant in practice...

What would you do with Sowell and the line when he's back and ready to play? Do you plug Sowell back in at LT or should he sit while Fant continues to start? Is Sowell an upgrade to Gilliam at RT maybe?

Might be the first time in franchise history that we have no idea if this is a good thing or not.

If Fant has the upside that everyone says he does, then I say keep playing him so he gets better. We already know what Sowell brings to the table, mediocre run blocking and horrific pass blocking.

Run blocking seemed to be better with Sowell in there. But the passing game seems to be improving with Fant in there (although that could just be due to Russ and Lockett getting healthier too). A tough dilemma for sure.

Keep Fant in there. He looks to have upside, Sowell on the other hand is backside... :192215:

What about Gilliam? It would seem that Fant and Sowell are our two best tackles on the team so should we move Sowell over to RT and bump Gilliam or do you leave that side of the line alone?

DJrmb":oizll14f said:

What about Gilliam? It would seem that Fant and Sowell are our two best tackles on the team so should we move Sowell over to RT and bump Gilliam or do you leave that side of the line alone?

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I honestly don't think it matters, Sowell and Gilliam are equally terrible in pass pro.

So I'd just play Fant, hope he continues to improve and keep Sowell as a backup for both tackle spots. Why disrupt the right side of the line too if you're not upgrading the position?

Cable should start whovever has the better grades. If that is not Fant, then he should sit, mature and wait for his time, like maybe next season.

HawkFan72":3uvld5qd said:

Run blocking seemed to be better with Sowell in there. But the passing game seems to be improving with Fant in there (although that could just be due to Russ and Lockett getting healthier too). A tough dilemma for sure.

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No it's a good dilemma. They'll fight it out in practice, then the backup will be always looming behind the starter--pushing him. PC LOVES situations like this. As long as it's not serious, the injury could have some good benifits.

GO HAWKS!

Lords of Scythia":rh5twiyt said:

HawkFan72":rh5twiyt said:

Run blocking seemed to be better with Sowell in there. But the passing game seems to be improving with Fant in there (although that could just be due to Russ and Lockett getting healthier too). A tough dilemma for sure.

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No it's a good dilemma. They'll fight it out in practice, then the backup will be always looming behind the starter--pushing him. PC LOVES situations like this. As long as it's not serious, the injury could have some good benifits.

GO HAWKS!

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I think PC would like the situation where the players are Good, Better & Best rather than Sucks, Suckier & Suckyest

HawkFan72":s1huagn9 said:

Run blocking seemed to be better with Sowell in there. But the passing game seems to be improving with Fant in there (although that could just be due to Russ and Lockett getting healthier too). A tough dilemma for sure.

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Rewatching the Falcons game makes me beg to differ.

Sgt. Largent":aak3erso said:

Might be the first time in franchise history that we have no idea if this is a good thing or not.

If Fant has the upside that everyone says he does, then I say keep playing him so he gets better. We already know what Sowell brings to the table, mediocre run blocking and horrific pass blocking.

Click to expand...

So agree. It's not like Fant has been a downgrade at the position.

Put him in there for the awful Gilliam. I think it's an upgrade

Ifedi has been struggling too, maybe we will see a remix at several positions, with Webb a possible fit somewhere?

Oh joy, the Holding Turnstile is back.

I was looking at ESPN.com today and saw the injury report for the Seahawks. Turned to the guy next to me (fellow 12) and said "There's good news and bad news. The good news is Kam was a full participant in practice. The bad news is Sowell was a full participant in practice."

razor150":3dysd9qv said:

Sgt. Largent":3dysd9qv said:

Might be the first time in franchise history that we have no idea if this is a good thing or not.

If Fant has the upside that everyone says he does, then I say keep playing him so he gets better. We already know what Sowell brings to the table, mediocre run blocking and horrific pass blocking.

Click to expand...

So agree. It's not like Fant has been a downgrade at the position.

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Fant allowed one sack and at least two massive pressures on Wilson against the Bills. He's not better, he just has more upside - supposedly.

It's all hands on deck this weekend.

Group communication and chemistry may be the measure of who does and doesn't play.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/gbellseattle/status/796515164145274884[/tweet]

Since we haven't seen any of the rumored 'upside' Fant is supposed to have, absolutely none of it (who is pushing that notion anyway?) then they should probably start the comparatively way-more experienced Sowell if he is good to go this week.

LeftHandSmoke":2m7m6kcm said:

Since we haven't seen any of the rumored 'upside' Fant is supposed to have, absolutely none of it (who is pushing that notion anyway?) then they should probably start the comparatively way-more experienced Sowell if he is good to go this week.

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The guy has started 2 games of football since Jr. High. I would say that he has held up just fine, especially considering how little experience he has. With his athletic profile, it is easy to assume that he will only get better. In my opinion, he has been playing the position as well as Sowell was, who has probably started on the offensive line since he was in Jr. High. The upside with Fant is easy to see. You could make the case that Sowell might be better in the run game right now, but you could probably also make the case that Sowell is better in the run game than Gilliam as well. To me, Gilliam has been the biggest liability on our line in both pass pro and in the run game.

pcbball12":2jgofwtq said:

LeftHandSmoke":2jgofwtq said:

Since we haven't seen any of the rumored 'upside' Fant is supposed to have, absolutely none of it (who is pushing that notion anyway?) then they should probably start the comparatively way-more experienced Sowell if he is good to go this week.

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The guy has started 2 games of football since Jr. High. I would say that he has held up just fine, especially considering how little experience he has. With his athletic profile, it is easy to assume that he will only get better. In my opinion, he has been playing the position as well as Sowell was, who has probably started on the offensive line since he was in Jr. High. The upside with Fant is easy to see. You could make the case that Sowell might be better in the run game right now, but you could probably also make the case that Sowell is better in the run game than Gilliam as well. To me, Gilliam has been the biggest liability on our line in both pass pro and in the run game.

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Yes, but the problem is all in the first sentence.

It is borderline 'shocking' that our $20M franchise quarterback RW has a rookie, completely no-experience guy trying, and failing in a spectacular way, to protect our QB's blindside.

It's nice that RW appears to be turning the corner on three serious injuries suffered already so far but it is ~not~ nice that the chances of more significant injuries could happen at any time. The more time Fant is in there, the higher the probability of another catastrophe.

No, I don't know the answer either except that I hope Cable chooses wisely based on his own coaching experience, with the long term health of RW in mind.

LeftHandSmoke":3ad78cm7 said:

pcbball12":3ad78cm7 said:

LeftHandSmoke":3ad78cm7 said:

Since we haven't seen any of the rumored 'upside' Fant is supposed to have, absolutely none of it (who is pushing that notion anyway?) then they should probably start the comparatively way-more experienced Sowell if he is good to go this week.

Click to expand...

The guy has started 2 games of football since Jr. High. I would say that he has held up just fine, especially considering how little experience he has. With his athletic profile, it is easy to assume that he will only get better. In my opinion, he has been playing the position as well as Sowell was, who has probably started on the offensive line since he was in Jr. High. The upside with Fant is easy to see. You could make the case that Sowell might be better in the run game right now, but you could probably also make the case that Sowell is better in the run game than Gilliam as well. To me, Gilliam has been the biggest liability on our line in both pass pro and in the run game.

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Yes, but the problem is all in the first sentence.

It is borderline 'shocking' that our $20M franchise quarterback RW has a rookie, completely no-experience guy trying, and failing in a spectacular way, to protect our QB's blindside.

It's nice that RW appears to be turning the corner on three serious injuries suffered already so far but it is ~not~ nice that the chances of more significant injuries could happen at any time. The more time Fant is in there, the higher the probability of another catastrophe.

No, I don't know the answer either except that I hope Cable chooses wisely based on his own coaching experience, with the long term health of RW in mind.

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The answer was in my entire response. Yes, he has had his struggles. But, Sowell was awful when he was in there as well. With Sowell, what you see is what you get. He is who he is and isn't going to get much better. With Fant, there is so much room to improve and he will on experience alone. What I am saying is, you have two guys that are very equal in how they have looked so far. In that scenario, I am going with the guy I know has the athletic profile and upside because there is so much more room to grow. I don't care how much more experience Sowell has, that experience has not lead to better play than a guy who has played 2 games on the OLine in his life.

Do I think it is an ideal situation and would I like to have someone better than those two in there? Of course I would. But, this is the situation we have. And I have more faith that Fant will continue to improve and know that Sowell is who he has always been. If Sowell showed that he was any better when he was in there than Fant, I would agree with you. But, Fant has played just as well as Sowell did in pass pro in my opinion.