Football is almost here, thank goodness. Figured it was time to start talking about all things Seahawk for this upcoming season. The off season signings: Eddie Lacy- We all who he is and what he needs to over come. Certainly has the ability to be good, very good, but has got to stay healthy and keep that weight down Bradley McDougal – a safety who played well for the Bucs last year. Was surprised to see him sign with the Seahawks, since he certainly won’t start ahead of Thomas or Chancellor. However a nice addition, better depth and more flexibility on what the Seahawks do in the secondary. Luke Joeckel- OT/OG from the Jaguars. 2013 he was the second over all pick of the draft. He’s fell a long ways , not being resigned by the Jags. Lots of questions about Joeckel and can he be a solid OL at all. From every thing I’ve read about Joeckel his pass blocking is plain bad, but run blocking is at least decent to solid. Someone to keep a eye on as a Seahawks fan, because we need the OL to improve this season and perhaps Joeckel can help in that regard. Oday Abousi-OL last played for the Texans. Mostly a depth signing and the Seahawks need the depth
Next thing up would be the draft. It wasn't a sexy draft, mostly the Seahawks were drafting for the future, making sure they won't be left high and dry if certain players moved on. Malik McDowell pick at 2.3 a DT who seem to have some upside, but also some red flags that dropped him in the draft. I didn't see the DL as the unit that needed a upgrade the most, but McDowell sure was a interesting pick with a high ceiling and a low floor also. Report form NFL.com: STRENGTHS Slippery and long. Combination of arm length and flexible torso allow him to slither into gaps and create disruptions for blockers. Freaky combination of size and athleticism. Can overwhelm blockers with pure strength and explosiveness when his feet are right. Strong enough in lower half to play through contact and cause stress in the pocket. Has tremendous amount of untapped potential waiting to be unlocked. Quick, strong hands in pass rush. Able to attack the edge with club-and-swim pet move. Can crank up a pocket-caving bull rush. Can redirect his weight and maintain pursuit of scrambling mobile quarterbacks. Long frame and play speed can close out perimeter runs and foil them before corner is turned. Elite playmaking radius. Explosive lateral movement and quickness. Can bound from one gap to the next in Sparty's slanting defensive front. Will be extremely difficult to cross face as he learns the position. Has experience up and down the defensive line. WEAKNESSES Footwork and technique are a mess. Plays with inconsistent base width and overall balance. Struggles to keep feet clean and ends up on the ground. Lines up in narrow, three-point stance from interior and struggles to fight back against down blocks and double teams. Can be washed out of his gap too often. High center of gravity made interior work a challenge at times. Can bend, but lets high pad level get the best of him. Doesn't consistently utilize his length with first hands. Has to become better at controlling the point of attack with his natural attributes. Needs to punch and control rather than leaning on blockers. Production doesn't match up with the traits and the talent. Scouts concerned about work ethic and leadership. DRAFT PROJECTION Round 1 SOURCES TELL US "He has a chance to be a dominant player in our league. I mean dominant. It hasn't turned on for him all the way yet but if it does, he could be like Mario Williams. He's just a little lazy and I worry about whether he is going to be a self-starter." -- NFC North area scout NFL COMPARISON Ezekiel Ansah BOTTOM LINE Has similar physical traits and abilities of Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, but may not share their football character. McDowell lacked production along the interior and could benefit from a move to a defensive end spot in a 4-3 or 3-4 front. McDowell is raw, but when he flashes, it can be blinding. McDowell is an explosive, ascending prospect with All-Pro potential if he grows into his body and takes the necessary coaching. By now we all know he suffered a injury, how bad we don't know. Seahawks seem concerned, McDowell is playing it off as not that serious. I'll go with the Seahawks here and put my expectations for McDowell as " maybe next year" if it happens sooner great, if not I'm not suffering a let down. Ethan Pocic at 2.26, well he is a OL so that's a plus. His best position was center in college and it's not even close. Seahawks insist he's going to be used all over the line and in camp that's been true. Still usually you turn OT into OG or centers or OG into centers, not a center into OG/OT. Feel this is insurance in case Britt can't be resigned, which certainly is worrisome. Would love to see him get resgned, but got several other important players to resign so IDK if it will happen. Certainly hope so. Shaquill Griffin at 3.26 DB Been looking good, getting good reviews from coaches and players. Might end up being the gem in this draft. Be really nice to have a CB across from Sherman who was really good in his own right. Looking forward to camp to follow this guy. Nazair Jones at 3.38 ( comp pick) haven't heard much about him, hopefully that changes. A DT by the way. Amari Darhah WR at 3.42 a comp pick. Consider him Kearse replacement IMO only better...hopefully. Can do it all, go out for passes, make the tough catches, and most important block well for a WR. Tedric Thompsom FS 4.4 We'll see, saw some at at draft time, but not much since. However it's early. Micheal Tyson s at 6.3 Justin Senior OT at 6.26 David Moore WR at 7.8 Nothing to report for those above, but it's early. Chrisopher Carson RB at 7.3 He's been turning heads in camp, but given the amount of competition he's a long shot for sure. That's it for now, more to follow.
Christopher Carson has been a hit in camp. Very physical runner, he's going to battling Alex Collins for a spot on the roster most likely. http://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-se...-carson-continues-to-impress-at-training-camp The rookie running back out of Oklahoma State had a great day on Tuesday and followed it up with another strong practice Thursday. Blitz pickup is something that rookies typically struggle with. But that was not the case with Carson. http://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/20...ookie-chris-carson-he-just-has-all-the-tools/ Doug Baldwin on Carson: “He just has all the tools. I think he is probably, to me, is probably the most polished of any rookie at that position that I have ever seen. He has all the tools in his tool bag. He just has to put it all together. He is mature. He has the right mindset. He has the work ethic, but when you see something like that, you don’t want him to miss the opportunity. So we stay on him because we know the potential that he has, but again potential means nothing if you don’t put in emotion.” https://www.fieldgulls.com/2017/5/3...preview-highlights-draft-nfl-depth-chart-2017 Love Petes comment to Carson when the Seahawks drafted him. “Remember your style: You’re gonna hammer it,” Carroll tells Carson over the phone as they prepare to draft him. “Physical, tough, knock the sh*t out of ‘em. Special teams is a really big deal too. But bringing the attitude - there’s only one way for you to play. You know that Looks like Carson was listening.
One of the big news this off season is reaching an extension with Kam Chancellor. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/seahawks-kam-chancellor-reach-year-extension/story?id=48967634 Safety Kam Chancellor has agreed to a three-year, $36 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks, a source told ESPN's Josina Anderson on Tuesday. The deal includes $25 million in guaranteed money, a source told ESPN. There were lots of speculation whether this would happen. Both K. Britt and J. Graham are in the last year of their contract, seems unlikely the Seahawks could retain all three. Kam is one of favorite players so I'm good with the extension, won't of surprised me if the Seahawks had not inked Kam to a extension. His playing style doesn't lend itself to a long career. However Kam still looks good and he is the BOOM in the LOB.
One rookie that will be interesting to watch is Amar Darboh. Most fans see him as a rich man Jermaine Kearse. Darboh is 6'2 and 214 http://sports.mynorthwest.com/32139...ra-darboh-has-chance-to-make-a-splash-sunday/ Carroll, who praised Darboh’s blocking and willingness to study, says the rookie will be able to play both X and Z receiver by the end of camp. Darboh played primarily X at Michigan, where he led the team in receiving yards (862) and touchdowns (seven) his senior season.
Really interesting battle for RC and nickel positions. Jeremy Lane was the player starting there at beginning of camp with Neiko Thorpe moving there when Lane moved to the nickel. However Lane has had to miss some OTA and things have changed. http://www.thenewstribune.com/sport...s/seahawks-insider-blog/article166361487.html But Lane missed his fifth consecutive practice Wednesday with what coach Pete Carroll has described nebulously as a “soft-tissue injury,” presumably in his legs. While Lane has been watching in a team bucket hat, Griffin, the third-round pick no one had really heard much about out of Central Florida entering this spring’s draft, has moved into his place at right cornerback. Griffin has absolutely seized his opportunity so far. Wednesday during team scrimmaging, he jumped on a pass by Russell Wilson on the left sideline, in front of Jermaine Kearse’s out route. Griffin ripped the ball from Kearse and sprinted the other way almost into Lake Washington for a touchdown. During individual drills, Griffin showed why the Seahawks coaches and scouts love him. He’s got the size (6 feet 1, 198 pounds), the speed, the abilty to change direction quickly, the smarts -- and the hands to make plays on the ball.
Good read on the first preseason game against the Chargers. http://sports.mynorthwest.com/322576/clayton-what-to-watch-in-seahawks-preseason-opener-vs-chargers/ Wide receivers. Most likely there are five locks to make the team: Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Paul Richardson, Jermaine Kearse and rookie Amara Darboh. There is a good chance the Seahawks keep six. Those to watch are seventh-round choice David Moore, last year’s seventh-round pick Kenny Lawler, Kasen Williams, Tanner McEvoy, speedster Cyrus Gray and possible returner-receiver-running back J.D. McKissic. • Running backs. Thomas Rawls, Eddie Lacy and C.J. Prosise are locks, but it’s really interesting after that. Alex Collins, who is having a good camp, is being challenged by seventh-round pick Chris Carson. Former 49er Mike Davis isn’t bad. The Seahawks should be able to keep four running backs. • Offensive line. This will be the first test to see how well the left side of the line looks with Luke Joeckel, George Fant and Rees Odhiambo. Ethan Pocic is giving Germain Ifedi a battle at right tackle. Mark Glowinski should have the edge on Oday Aboushi. Two linemen to watch, though, are Joey Hunt, who is fighting hard to be the backup center and make the roster, and undrafted free agent Jordan Roos. • Defensive line. The locks are Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett, Jarran Reed, Ahtyba Rubin, Frank Clark, rookie Nazair Jones and Cassius Marsh. What to watch is how they use Jones and Reed. Reed, trimmer than last year, is getting some work as an inside pass-rusher in pass-rushing situations. Jones looks decent as a run-stopper. Quinton Jefferson is another player to watch for his inside pass-rush in nickel. • Linebacker. Some of the players think this is the deepest linebackers group they’ve had under Pete Carroll. Michael Wilhoite gets the early nod at strong-side linebacker. Terence Garvin has good range. Michael Morgan was the starting SAM last year and is back with the team competing. Players really like D.J. Alexander, the Pro Bowl special teamer acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade. The Seahawks would like to see what they have in Marcus Smith, but he isn’t expected to play Sunday because of an injury. • Secondary. The big watch will be at cornerback where third-round pick Shaquill Griffin makes his NFL debut, starting for the injured Jeremy Lane. The Seahawks will also be looking at Neiko Thorpe, DeAndre Elliott and Mike Tyson. Delano Hill has been hurt. Tedric Thompson will make his debut at free safety. Expect Bradley McDougald to get plenty of playing time at safety. • Special teams. All eyes will be on Blair Walsh, the Seahawks’ new kicker. After going 2 for 4 on field goals in his first day of camp, Walsh has been consistently making his attempts. He says he’s confident. Even though he says his confidence was good last year, he fell out of favor with the Vikings, being released after making just 75 percent of his field-goal attempts in 2016 while the memory of his missed field goal that allowed the Seahawks to escape Minnesota with a playoff win the previous season lingered.
