A couple observations

Russell Wilson is starting to win me over.

I think Robert Turbin won the #2 RB spot with his long run and Michael's fumble, at least to start the season. You're not going to tote the ball on this team if you can't hang onto it. Not with the emphasis Pete puts on it.

I would bet Pryor makes this team. Not sure yet if it will be at the expense of Tarvaris. I think Pete has a crush. I also think Pete believes he can win with Pryor. I have very little to base this on, but I think unless somebody can talk him out of it, TJax might be in trouble.

Pryor threw what looked like a great deep ball to Richardson. A little disheartening that Richardson mistimed his jump, although he might be in the hospital right now if he hadn't.

Cooper Helfet still looks awkward to me.

Tony McDaniel is no better than Red at collapsing the pocket from the outside. Geez our D-Line is intimidating coming up to the line when he's in there with Williams though.

Jeron Johnson would start for half the teams in the league.

It was only one play, but the overturned ADB touchdown was a huge red flag for me. Alvin Bailey got absolutely torched around the corner. I don't even think he laid a hand on the rusher. The rusher started wide and Bailey never got there. Your left tackle needs to be athletic enough to get there. Guys that aren't athletic enough to get a hand on the guy end up getting moved to right tackle, so the QB can see when they have problems. The issue with that is that we demand that our RT get push in the run game, which Bailey hasn't excelled at. Bailey has been fantastic in pass pro when the rusher is lined up across from him, but if he can't get to the outside, it will be exposed often, and could get Russell killed. Hopefully it was just one bad play rather than a shortcoming.

I want to watch Britt again. Obviously he didn't show a good anchor when Melvin Ingram pushed him back into Wilson, but Britt looked pretty good in the run game for the few plays that I focused on him.

I thought Coyle did a better job of getting off blocks this week.

D'Anthony Smith didn't look as good against 1's and 2's as he did against 3's and 4's last week.

Somebody still has to step up and rush the passer. I don't think it will be Mayowa or Scruggs, and probably won't be Schofield either, although he seems to be the best of the options so far.

There are competitions all over the place. The last few DB's, LB, both lines, TE, WR. There is still a lot to be decided. Even QB. I almost wish the starters don't play a lot next week so we can see the kids compete for spots all game.

Watching our starters play pretty much even with Denver almost makes you forget just how dominant we are compared to average/good teams. This one felt more like it.

Much appreciated Tical.

Wilson was amazing in this game, probably his sharpest looking outing yet and that's saying something. I probably said "holy crap Russell Wilson is really really good" out loud probably 4-5 times during this game.

Michael's fumble was once again a helmet-on-the-ball case where Michael did everything right, but the defender was like an inch off the ground and got his helmet in there. I guess they could have him turn his body with two hands on the ball when going to the ground? Not sure what they can have him do to avoid those freakish fumbles. It's fitting that neither fumble was actually lost. Great effort by Michael to get the ball back too.

I think Tjack's total lack of playtime signals to me that he has the #2 job locked down. I am higher on Pryor than most but I thought Daniels looked very good in a small sample size. I think the 4th preseason game will be key for Pryor and Daniels. Whoever Seattle doesn't keep will be on a flight to SF the next morning no doubt (assuming the waivers work out). Agreed on Pryor's deep throw.

Helfet has Luke Willson type talent if Willson had hands of stone. Drops were a huge problem for him last preseason too.

Agreed on McDaniel and Williams.

Agreed on Jeron Johnson. You can see why Seattle put a 2nd round RFA tender on him this offseason.

Regarding protection, the Chargers were guessing the snap count all game long and guessing right. That put both tackles at a big disadvantage over and over. I put some of those edge rush issues on the QB for not doing double counts.

The few times I watched Britt run block he looked great.

Schofield is good. Good in the preseason, solid against the run and the pass in the regular season. He's one of those fringey guys who will look dominant against 3rd stringers but unlike Nick Reed he actually still brings it in real games, albeit in a reduced capacity. To me, he's the Jeron Johnson of the pass rush.

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A few thoughts I would add.

The officiating was horrid. Almost every call in the secondary was a phantom call. It helped Seattle in the first half and helped San Diego in the second half.

In realtime I thought the endzone DPI against San Diego (Baldwin was the target) in the first half was an obvious call, but on replay it was just great defense and a brutal call against the Chargers. It appeared that Baldwin did a bit of an acting job on that play, making it look like the defender flung him down. If that was on purpose, hats off to Baldwin for knowing the situation and getting a bad call to break in his team's favor.

Our depth corners look pretty bad. Lane seems to be regressing and if Jefferson played I didn't see him.

Simon flashes the potential but I think he's a redshirt guy. He was robbed of a pick six by one of many horrid contact calls (the contact was extremely minor and ceased at the 1 yard line. The ball was snapped at the 6, so it was within the 5 yard window.) I'm sure Pete will count that pick six in his evaluations, but there was also the dropped gimme interception a few plays before.

It was kind of funny hearing the Brock talk up Carpenter so much, only to have him give up an ugly sack on one of the game's first plays. I did notice Carpenter chiming in with some quality run blocks during the game though. Run blocking generally appeared to be excellent as a unit.

I don't think I've ever seen a RB in my life who can turn nothing into 10 yards as effortlessly as Christine Michael does. Especially on sweeps.

Turbin had a great game. Showed some resilience and balance for a change. I liked his goal line run. Smart and fundamental.

Ware looked like 2013 preseason Ware again. He's not fast but he looked a lot faster than last week.

Bryan Walters is a sleeper candidate for the 6th WR spot. We shouldn't forget that he was called up off the PS last season for four games. Earl Thomas has looked totally unsuited for punt returns, Walters seems to have a better grasp of how to fearlessly navigate north/south in a hurry which is what good punt returners do. If the 6th WR spot is currently held by Lockette because of his ST, it's hard to see Walters not beating him out if the team feels he's a legit PR.

I cited this at Seahawks Draft Blog before the 2013 draft, but BJ Daniels' stats at USF are a near carbon copy of Russell Wilson's when he was at NC State. Their tape, athleticism, feel for the game, and build are strikingly similar as well. I really hope we keep him somehow. Would suck to see him land back in SF.

I think Pryor has a shot at the roster, but don't see T-Jack being in trouble. His $1.25M salary is guaranteed and he's basically a consensus top-7 back-up QB right now. Of course, the guaranteed money doesn't guarantee him a spot, but performance-wise, he hasn't been out-played either. I'm absolutely positive SF would sign him immediately if he were available (though they'd probably try to grab Pryor and/or Daniels too). Just looking at it from a scout-team perspective, T-Jack is going to be a more valuable player to have in practice to emulate opposing QBs (not named Kaepernick) and run opposing offenses. Wouldn't be surprised if Pete's enamored with Pryor's running, though.

I agree that Turbin grabbed a firm hold of RB2 today. Two fumbles in as many weeks for Michael (and this is after prior rumblings of his ball security issues). It seems the issue with Michael (as mentioned by Pete) is that he's letting defenders get under him -- a correctable issue, but an issue nonetheless. Michael still looks explosive in spurts, but I don't think he's necessarily set himself too far apart as a runner in this pre-season.

kearly":1o7fhw0d said:

Much appreciated Tical.

Wilson was amazing in this game, probably his sharpest looking outing yet and that's saying something. I probably said "holy crap Russell Wilson is really really good" out loud probably 4-5 times during this game.

Michael's fumble was once again a helmet-on-the-ball case where Michael did everything right, but the defender was like an inch off the ground and got his helmet in there. I guess they could have him turn his body with two hands on the ball when going to the ground? Not sure what they can have him do to avoid those freakish fumbles.

Click to expand...

Don't think for a second that you're off the hook.


At least Pete mentioned postgame the fumbles were not classic cases. Hopefullly that gives Michael a bit of a pass. Still a fumble though.

kearly":1yrxjkrc said:

I think Tjack's total lack of playtime signals to me that he has the #2 job locked down. I am higher on Pryor than most but I thought Daniels looked very good in a small sample size. I think the 4th preseason game will be key for Pryor and Daniels. Whoever Seattle doesn't keep will be on a flight to SF the next morning no doubt (assuming the waivers work out). Agreed on Pryor's deep throw.

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I was thinking the same thing. It signalled to me not only that Carroll is deciding who the No.3 QB is, but that we may likely carry three QB's this season.

Three more things:

1.

Doug Baldwin:

"He knocked THE SHIT out of me."

Live broadcast gold. Not quite as good as Tom Brady at the end of the Panther's game last year, but a gem all the same.

2.

Harvin looks so good. I don't think his 'extra gear' talk was just preseason fluff. The offense looks so much better when Harvin is out there.

3.

Great day to be a Seattle sports fan. Hawks crush the puny chargers, and the Mariners win a crucial game to move back into the playoff picture. Kind of amazing that the two best scoring prevention performances in sports from the past decade have both happened in Seattle over the last calender year. Seems like when the Mariners offense is non-horrible, they win, period.

Pryor to date

So lets see to date he is 10-20 50% complt, 147 yards, 1 int 0 tds, 49 qb rating and you think that is good? WOW , I mean that is horrible.

And you guys want him really? wow and do not forget if PC thinks he can with TP it might cost us RW.

Anthony!":1cbbwr5k said:

Pryor to date

So lets see to date he is 10-20 50% complt, 147 yards, 1 int 0 tds, 49 qb rating and you think that is good? WOW , I mean that is horrible.

And you guys want him really? wow and do not forget if PC thinks he can with TP it might cost us RW.

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Cost us Russell Wilson? It is legal in Washington, but that doesn't mean that you have to inject it all by yourself.

Anthony!":1rl1tszt said:

Pryor to date

So lets see to date he is 10-20 50% complt, 147 yards, 1 int 0 tds, 49 qb rating and you think that is good? WOW , I mean that is horrible.

And you guys want him really? wow and do not forget if PC thinks he can with TP it might cost us RW.

Click to expand...

Do you seriously believe Pete and John would let Russ go? Really? Cuz if so, you're just not seeing what they know this guy is about to become and that's a first ballot hall of famer. His decision making process is unreal, and he has the "it" factor few QBs have. The chances of PC and JS letting Pryor "cost us RW" are about as good as me getting a date with Scarlett Johansen next week (and if you saw my picture from the Super Bowl trophy stop in Vancouver, WA in a thread I started earlier this summer, you'd know that flat out ain't gonna happen).

Anthony!":3gj477jj said:

Pryor to date

So lets see to date he is 10-20 50% complt, 147 yards, 1 int 0 tds, 49 qb rating and you think that is good? WOW , I mean that is horrible.

And you guys want him really? wow and do not forget if PC thinks he can with TP it might cost us RW.

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Hahahaha yeeeahno

I want to see more BJ Daniels. My first reaction to seeing him Was "why is Wilson on the field and wearing 5?" But Pryor would be a great backup/wildcat too.

Jeron Johnson completely won me over.

Walters to return punts in the RS instead of Earl. Please. Although I would like to see Lockette get a shot at return duties too.

kearly":1vu7xbds said:

3.Great day to be a Seattle sports fan. Hawks crush the puny chargers, and the Mariners win a crucial game to move back into the playoff picture. Kind of amazing that the two best scoring prevention performances in sports from the past decade have both happened in Seattle over the last calender year. Seems like when the Mariners offense is non-horrible, they win, period.

Click to expand...

King Felix is a one-man LOB. Suffocating.

Kearly brought up a good point about our CB depth. Outside of Sherm, Maxwell and Lane (don't think he has looked that bad) I don't see much else from the rest of the guys we have.

Last night was an odd game for me. I too am waiting for both Mayowa and Scruggs to break out. Both solid just not shining. I still do not believe we have Chris Clemons replacement on the roster yet! Schofield had a good night but you expect it from a guy like him.

The Running back competition is shaping up nicely. I think Turbin did himself some good in that game, and Michael, despite the fumble seems to as Kearly pointed out be good for 6-7 yards regardless of the situation. I am still favoring him at this point but Turbin looked good last night. What a problem to have!

The CB situation concerns me. Lane as has been mentioned just does not seem to be stepping up. After the stupid swing and resulting ejection last week, I thought Simon may have limited his future here but his play last night was somewhat redeeming.

The more I see of Coyle and Marsh the better I feel about our future. Those two seem like sure things to me.

Brocks man crush on Carpenter has to stop, and I mean now. Carpenter looks great, but I have yet to see the Road grader we need him to be.

The QB Conundrum is getting to be really entertaining. Both Pryor and Daniel looked like legitimate backups last night! Whats a team to do when you have 4 frigging QB's this good? Trade well methinks.

Doug Baldwin really doesn't possess the speed and quickness to be a #1 but he makes up for it with craftiness and tuffnes. He took a heck of a slober knocker on the reversed TD and held on to the ball.

Blitzer88":1rpnr46w said:

Kearly brought up a good point about our CB depth. Outside of Sherm, Maxwell and Lane (don't think he has looked that bad) I don't see much else from the rest of the guys we have.

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Uhmm, I think Simon has played very well. He got a little emotional last week vs Denver and he made some plays tonight. He had Sherman in his ear all game long which likely means that they have a good relatonship on and off the field in practice as well. He's coming along right now. Growing pains are to be expected.

I also liked what I saw from Jefferson in Denver. Both guys recover well. I don't know about Simon but in Jefferson, he at least has value being able to play inside and out and they could see him as the 2nd Slot CB. Obviously, he needs to get healthy before anything else and compete.

Just remember every DB in the NFL are getting challenged right now and their game is kind of on a boat getting rocked by the waves of rule "emphasis" . So its hard for a lot of these guys to get in a rhythm , settle down, and just play their game.

But yeah I've liked what I saw from Jefferson in 6 snaps last week and Simon seemed to have a quality skill building/ learning opportunity vs the Charger.

For now I like:

Sherman
Maxwell
Lane
Simon
Jefferson

Thomas
Chancell
Johnson
Shead

That seems solid enough, Simon is obviously inexperienced but seems to be reasonably supported and that could shorten his learning curve. Jefferson is a reclaimation project but this is also a coaching staff that has notoriously farmed 4th-6th round picks into Pro Bowl calibur players.

The best thing I love about our coaching is, is if they believe in you, and you believe in yourself, more often than not you're going to learn from your mistakes, your going to learn from what you do well and you're going to get better.


Guys like Phillip Adams, Terrell Thomas, Steven Terell have yet to impress me thus far from what I've seen.

Haven't really noticed Auguste, Parks was okay in Denver for the fews snaps I saw him, and I don't know about that Wolfe guy.

TXHawk":3hit4m54 said:

kearly":3hit4m54 said:

3.Great day to be a Seattle sports fan. Hawks crush the puny chargers, and the Mariners win a crucial game to move back into the playoff picture. Kind of amazing that the two best scoring prevention performances in sports from the past decade have both happened in Seattle over the last calender year. Seems like when the Mariners offense is non-horrible, they win, period.

Click to expand...

King Felix is a one-man LOB. Suffocating.

Click to expand...

Actually, the entire Mariner's staff is the best in baseball concerning ERA. There is no, "one-man LOB." Seahawk, nor Mariner

brimsalabim":25y09axe said:

Doug Baldwin really doesn't possess the speed and quickness to be a #1 but he makes up for it with craftiness and tuffnes. He took a heck of a slober knocker on the reversed TD and held on to the ball.

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I can't agree with this.

Baldwin is the fastest he's ever been and he's one of the quickest players on the team. 4.4 speed (40) with 6.5.quickness (3-Cone).

If anything is holding him back it his size 5'10, 195 pounds. If he was 6'3, 215, had the same skillset and competitive attitude, he'd be one of the top 10 WRs in the NFL right now.

However, Baldwin was one of the most efficient WRs, last year, and I consider both Harvin (healthy) and Baldwin to be amongst the top 25 WRs in the NFL. Give these guys 100-120 targets and they'd put up big time stats.

Evil_Shenanigans":1pgz12ia said:

Last night was an odd game for me. I too am waiting for both Mayowa and Scruggs to break out. Both solid just not shining. I still do not believe we have Chris Clemons replacement on the roster yet! Schofield had a good night but you expect it from a guy like him.

The Running back competition is shaping up nicely. I think Turbin did himself some good in that game, and Michael, despite the fumble seems to as Kearly pointed out be good for 6-7 yards regardless of the situation. I am still favoring him at this point but Turbin looked good last night. What a problem to have!

The CB situation concerns me. Lane as has been mentioned just does not seem to be stepping up. After the stupid swing and resulting ejection last week, I thought Simon may have limited his future here but his play last night was somewhat redeeming.

The more I see of Coyle and Marsh the better I feel about our future. Those two seem like sure things to me.

Brocks man crush on Carpenter has to stop, and I mean now. Carpenter looks great, but I have yet to see the Road grader we need him to be.

The QB Conundrum is getting to be really entertaining. Both Pryor and Daniel looked like legitimate backups last night! Whats a team to do when you have 4 frigging QB's this good? Trade well methinks.

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OBS has been great. And if anyone can follow in Clemons footsteps its him. He kind of reminds of 2010 Clemons... in that you see that he has the natural ability, the athleticism, and the skillset but he's still kind of raw in putting it all together and you can't fully trust him.

Scruggs has looked very solid in my opinion. I rather him take his time and get his legs and specifically his knee underneath him, and trust it while working on being assignment correct than go all out and risk injury. He did have a sack. It also appears that the Seahawks want him to be the 2-gapper behind Mebane and that could be a reason why he seems to disappear at times.

Mayowa to me has been solid. Obviously, he doesn't look as good as he did last pre-season but he also is15-20 pounds bigger than he was a year ago. And I think he's still learning to play bigger while still playing fast. He's also still young. And he was credited with half a sack.

We still haven't seen what we have in Irvin and I have a feeling Wagner is going to be a Zone Blitz extraordinaire with the LE0 dropping into coverage.

I see nothing wrong with Brocks believing in Carpenter. Its in the best interest in everyone that he plays well. And really with the O-Line in particular its all about getting everyone to take little steps forward rather than huge strides back.
Obviously, with Carp everyone has been so negative with him to actually hate and disgust that when you see him play your only going to focus on what he does wrong more than what he did well.

I also believe Jackson has the #2 job locked up.
I think we will carry 3 Qbs this year.
This will be Jackson's last season with us, whoever, wraps up the third spot should be pretty secure next year at #2.