Earlier in the week I reached out to Chad Blue of Hawk 22. I wanted to ask him a few questions about the Seattle Seahawks and his thoughts on our upcoming week 1 battle. Here is what came of it. Enjoy.
Q. Baldwin is a solid WR but you’re looking a little thin. How do you feel about the depth and talent of the unit overall?
A. With the loss of Jermaine Kearse and the surprising waive release of preseason standout Kasen Williams, I would say my attitude toward the WR corps would be ‘cautious optimism.’ Tyler Lockett will have some game rust since coming off his off-season surgery and Paul Richardson needs to showcase his worth of a 2nd round draft selection in his final contract year. Rookie Darboh can become a contributor but is still fairly raw at this point in his career to be a constant factor. I would expect the Seahawks to bring in various personnel groups including 2-TE sets and 2-RB sets featuring Prosise in the slot to take advantage of some personnel mismatches.
Q. You stole Lacy from us. How’s he looking? Are you thinking he leads the backfield?
A. For the record, we did not steal Eddie, y’all let him go. Ah, details. Lol.
Eddie looks strong. He runs strong and looks to punish at the end of runs. In a game of inches and where every yard counts, I think that having that type of physicality is very important as a runner and especially in our offensive system. If Eddie can gain that extra yard or two on first and/or second down, that can mean the difference between having a 3rd and 3 (short) as oppose to a 3rd and 7 (long). I believe Eddie will be the starter week 1 but will be in heavy rotation based on the game plan and the opposing defensive personnel. Rookie Chris Carson has been a preseason stud and could take over as the lead back as the season progresses.
Eddie looks strong. He runs strong and looks to punish at the end of runs. In a game of inches and where every yard counts, I think that having that type of physicality is very important as a runner and especially in our offensive system. If Eddie can gain that extra yard or two on first and/or second down, that can mean the difference between having a 3rd and 3 (short) as oppose to a 3rd and 7 (long). I believe Eddie will be the starter week 1 but will be in heavy rotation based on the game plan and the opposing defensive personnel. Rookie Chris Carson has been a preseason stud and could take over as the lead back as the season progresses.
Q. Explain this offensive line to me. Is the line set with Odhiambo, Joeckel, Britt, Aboushi, Ifedi (in that order left to right)?
A. Everything looks correct as you stated with the exception of right guard. There may still be a battle between Aboushi and Glowinski for the starting job, however, Aboushi should be the starter week 1.
Q. Is there anything positive coming from the group or is there a lot of concern about the offensive line?
Britt and Joeckel have been fairly decent this preseason. Ifedi struggled early against the Chargers but progressed through the next weeks, having his best game of the preseason against the Chiefs. The position of concern is Left Tackle with Odhiambo. With the loss of George Fant for the year, Odhiambo will get first dibs at Left Tackle, with former Eagle Matt Tobin trailing behind. Odhiambo has struggled at times in pass protection – being out of place and mistiming his punches – all coachable techniques, but he will need time. Although he looked more relaxed in recent weeks, I am certain there will be times in the next few weeks where he’ll get exposed. The offensive line is still a place of concern, but it’s in a better place than it was this time last year.
Q. Everyone knows about Sherman but I can’t say I’m all too scared of any other corners. Should I be?
A. Shaquill Griffin will get his opportunity opposite Sherm but he’s still adjusting to the game, which is fine for a rookie, but he’ll need to adjust quick. From what I see on tape so far, Shaq’s weak point is his route recognition. In man coverage, he opens up just a tad bit early leaving him susceptible to comeback/hitch routes. The plus side is that while he bends, he does not break. He has not given up the big play all preseason. So back to my point about the route recognition, it may not impact the deep ball but may result in drive killers for the Seahawks defense such as third and long conversions for example. I won’t be surprised to see Jeremy Lane in the mix as well. He’s had a decent training camp and preseason. I’m sure he’s hungry to make up for getting burned by Davante Adams during the matchup last season. What intrigues me the most about this secondary is the return of Earl Thomas, who looks hungry and ultra-focused after his injury last season. During our match-up last season, the Seahawks were without the All-Pro safety I anticipate the Seahawks may cheat Earl toward Shaquill Griffin’s side to provide the young rookie some help.
Q. Wagner and Wright are a pretty elite pairing at linebacker. What would you say is there best asset? Can they match up with Ty Montgomery and Martellus Bennett?
A. Wags and KJ are super intelligent. Their ability to diagnose plays and attack is their best asset.
Let’s not mince words. Martellus is a beast. He torched the Seahawks for over a 100 yards during their match-up against New England last season. I expect to see Kam Chancellor on Martellus most of the night with the Packers lining up Martellus in the slot to move Kam out of the box and open up some outside running lanes for Ty.
Ty Montgomery is a big, physical runner. He likes to bring it and so do our boys. It’s going to be fun to watch some physical football.
Ty Montgomery is a big, physical runner. He likes to bring it and so do our boys. It’s going to be fun to watch some physical football.
Q. The Sheldon Richardson addition was pretty huge. With McDowell out, is there a second player to watch out for on the D-line? How has Reed looked in year 2?
A. I have yet to post this on my blog but in the 2013 season, the year the Hawks won the Super Bowl, there were 8 members on the defensive line that had a snap count of at least 45%. Talk about having a player rotation and having fresh guys in the trenches. I believe the Hawks will attempt to provide such a rotation this year with Bennett, Avril, Clark, Richardson, Jones, Reed, Bass and Smith. With the addition to Richardson, there are now 3 former Pro Bowlers on the defensive line alone. Another stud that has Seattle buzzing is Nazair ‘Naz’ Jones. The 3rd round pick has shown his versatility as a 3 and 5 technique and has made solid contributions in the preseason. He may not be a ‘plug’ as Ahtyba Rubin was and was exposed against the Vikings on some double teams, but he’s got excellent hand technique and athleticism and is able to win from the inside. The Seahawks have lacked an interior pass rush in the past two seasons, so Richardson and Jones will help with that. Reed will be taking over as being the ‘plug’ of the Hawks defense. His strength and ability to anchor is best asset but he still lacks pass rush ability. D-Line coach Clint Hurtt continues to work with Reed on his pass rush technique.
Q. Anything else I should know about going into week 1. Injuries, additions, rookie standouts, breakout players?
An interesting fact is the Seahawks now feature 8 former Pro Bowlers on the defense. The defense is very deep and loaded. As far as rookies, watch out for Nazair Jones, Shaq Griffin, and Chris Carson.
9. Who wins week 1 and why?
My biased side says Seahawks will win 16-13. My football analyst side says Packers will win 16-13. The Seahawks have not won in Lambeau field since 1999. During last years blowout, Russell had an off game, forcing passes and just looked uncomfortable. If I was the Packers defense, I would incorporate a lot of stunts and delayed corner/nickel blitzes to confuse the young Tackles. Ifedi/Glowinski have had trouble identifying stunts in the past. Seahawks need to get the running game going. Russell Wilson looks slimmer, quicker and in the best shape he’s been in since his rookie season. In their matchup last season, Seahawks had some success running the ball. I would like to see more power/inside zone type of runs with Lacy and Carson, followed with some playaction, bootleg looks.
This will be an offensive struggle on both sides.
I expect the Seahawks defensive line will be in rotation to keep guys fresh and attacking. Packers should plan to incorporate a no huddle/high tempo offense to combat any personnel changes from the Seahawks. This Hawks defensive line is scary and if they’re able to control the line and get to Rodgers then the Hawks will win this one. I expect the Packers to pick on the rookie corner, Griffin, a bit. Also, I am sure the Packers will plan on having Earl Thomas cheating a bit toward Griffin’s side to provide the rook some help, which should open up opportunities to the right side of the field, possibly with Martellus Bennett or Cobb in the slot.
It will be a fun matchup man. Let the best team win. 🙂
Go Hawks.
A big thanks to Chad Blue for his awesome insights. Be sure to check out his website hawk22.com for a ton of in-depth information about the Seahawks. You can also follow him on Twitter @bluehawk22.