One thing that jumped out that I wasn’t really looking for was the play of the reserve linebackers. I wasn’t looking for it anymore because they had already proven themselves, but Will Herring, Kevin Bentley, and Lance Laury all continued to play well. It was also nice to see Niko Koutouvides in there and healthy. Maurice Morris was one of the few bright spots on offense, and Ben Obomanu continued to show why his spot on the roster isn’t in question.
(This is a follow-up to What to Watch For: Seahawks vs. Packers)
1) Josh Wilson and DeJuan Groce
Josh Wilson didn’t appear to be giving up as many plays as he did against San Diego. Wilson also atoned for his fumble last week by making quite a few solid plays in the return game, even if you exclude the returns brought back because of penalties. Nate Burleson will still return the kicks when the regular season begins, but Wilson will give them another option if Burleson gets injured or a rash of injuries hit the rest of the receiving corps and Burleson becomes too valuable to use in the return game.
DeJuan Groce didn’t appear until near the end of the third quarter, and he allowed Paul Thompson to complete three passes to David Clowney in his limited time in the game. It is going to take a lot more than that to warrant consideration as a 5th CB. Groce has only been with the team a short time, but he only has a short time to prove he is worth consideration for a roster spot.
2) The Offensive Line
Tackles Tom Ashworth, Ray Willis, Floyd Womack, and Kyle Williams all struggled. Seneca Wallace and David Greene faced constant pressure from both sides. If we learned one thing, it is that the Seahawks do not have a third option at left tackle. Jonathan Alston didn’t get much of a chance to play in this game, but he has looked better than Tom Ashworth and Floyd Womack did.
The line also struggled with a bunch of guys at new positions, in addition to Ashworth and Womack. Ray Willis started at RT and then moved to RG later in the game. Mansfield Wrotto played at RG, but he has been working almost exclusively at LG to this point. The reverse is true of Steve Vallos, who linep up at LG with the second team, but he has been playing RG with the third team.
The line rotation was basically directly connected to the quarterback:
1) Tom Ashworth-Rob Sims-Chris Spencer-Chris Gray-Ray Willis with Seneca Wallace
2) Floyd Womack-Steve Vallos-Pat Ross-Ray Willis-Kyle Williams with David Greene
(Mansfield Wrotto came in for Ray Willis at RG with just under 3 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter)
3) Jonathan Alston-Steve Vallos-Austin King-Mansfield Wrotto-Kyle Williams with Derek Devine
3) Defensive Tackles
Rocky Bernard and Chuck Darby started the game, but only played very briefly. Russell Davis and Craig Terrill came in almost immediately and played well into the third quarter. And then Brandon Mebane finally got some action on the defensive line, along with Eric Taylor, Nu’u Tafisi and Baraka Atkins. He played well, but that still puts him as the 5th DT on the depth chart, not including Marcus Tubbs. Marcus Green hardly played at all.
4) Baraka Atkins vs. Brandon Green
Brandon Green continues to play ahead of Baraka Atkins. Patrick Kerney and Bryce Fisher started, and then it was Darryl Tapp and Julian Peterson. Peterson only played briefly before giving way to Brandon Green. Baraka Atkins didn't come in until much later, but he did continue to show signs of improvement, and Green didn’t stand out, so he appears to be closing that gap. He is just still behind at this point.
The Seahawks appear to have at least 12 defensive linemen that are probably good enough to make an NFL roster, but they may keep as few as 9, and almost certainly no more than 10. That could be really unfortunate for Brandon Green and Marcus Green, who appear likely to be on the outside looking in. At least Marcus Green or even Nu’u Tafisi could land on the practice squad.
5) David Greene
David Greene was a disaster. We shouldn’t judge him too harshly on one preseason game, especially one where Seneca Wallace didn’t look any better. You could also argue that Greene turned in a better performance that Wallace’s 2 of 5, two turnover performance in the first half against San Diego. That being said, David Greene stunk it up. We have relatively little to judge him on, so one really bad game makes up a considerable portion of his resume.
The Seahawks committed to Greene as the #3 QB when they went to camp with Erik Meyer and Derek Devine as the only other options. If Greene looks bad in practice, then Devine looks atrocious. While we haven’t seen Seneca Wallace play badly enough to be in full panic mode, the poor play behind him should have us even more concerned about him. He needs to show he is going to be better than he was last year, not worse.
6) Joe Newton
Joe Newton is a complete non-factor on this team. Bennie Joppru might be currying some favor by being the only decent option after Marcus Pollard that is currently on the practice field, but he had at least one drop and a fumble. Leonard Stephens will likely be the #3 TE, but he does need to get back on the field sooner, rather than later.
7) Wide Receivers and the practice squad battle
Nate Burleson got to show a little flash of what he has been showing off in practice, and he gave an excellent sideline interview. How can you not like the guy?
Does anyone still think the Seahawks should be worried that Jordan Kent will be signed by another team? It will probably take at least one reception (one more than he currently has) to garner any interest from other teams, or to have a chance at the practice squad with Seattle. Logan Payne looked pretty decent again, and he has to be considered the front runner among the guys not getting consideration for an active roster spot. Fernandez didn’t help his cause by letting an on-target David Greene pass carom off his chest for an interception.
8) Leonard Weaver
Leonard Weaver did a solid job run blocking, but he was a disaster in pass protection. He still has a way to go in that department, which severely limits his appeal as a third down back. It didn’t help that the Packers were blitzing and the offensive line wasn’t even blocking their own guys, but he had a poor showing nonetheless. So did Marquis Weeks, with a penalty on special teams and a missed block that resulted in a sack and fumble. The combination of all of those things make Josh Parry’s case for a roster spot even stronger.
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