A quick thought

[LymonHawk]

Pete Carroll singled out Jesse Williams as having a good game. He did exactly what they asked him to do. He took on a lot of double teams to allow others to make plays. Williams will never have the wow plays but that is not how the coaches plan on using him.

What! Are you trying to say Pete Carroll knows more about football than our resident, "experts"? Blasphemy! :les:

 

[ErikG803]

Glad I'm not crazy. Alvin Bailey looked awesome but I felt like Bowie was doing a great job as well

 

[SDHawk]

We should be talking more about the linebackers. I feel like the group is suddenly one of the deepest on the squad. Bradford, Lotulelei and Powell may put Schofield, Farwell, Smith and Morgan on the streets and out of a job.

Bradford closes on the ball so fast and explodes into the tackle. Bradford could end up replacing KJ Wright down the line. Lotulelei diagnoses the play really well and could fill in for Bobby Wagner in a pinch. Looked excellent in ST. I didn't like what I saw from Powell on drops but I thought he did nicely against the run and playing near the LOS. You could really see his size leap out on screen and showed a decent pass rush. Maybe he rotates with Bruce Irvin at SAM.

WLB: KJ Wright | Allen Bradford
ILB: Bobby Wagner | John Lotuleilei
SAM: Bruce Irvin | Ty Powell

 

[seahawksTopGear]

Pete Carroll singled out Jesse Williams as having a good game. He did exactly what they asked him to do. He took on a lot of double teams to allow others to make plays. Williams will never have the wow plays but that is not how the coaches plan on using him.

What! Are you trying to say Pete Carroll knows more about football than our resident, "experts"? Blasphemy! :les:

I am waiting to see what Kearly has to say on Williams, but I don't see it. William was high effort, high motor and drew double teams often when playing with the ones. Any man that can take on two opponents is earning his pay out there, even if he gets pancaked in the process like Williams did. I saw him raise his arms to mess with the qb and get pissed when he was about to get beat by a runner, both good signs in my book.

 

[warden]

We should be talking more about the linebackers. I feel like the group is suddenly one of the deepest on the squad. Bradford, Lotulelei and Powell may put Schofield, Farwell, Smith and Morgan on the streets and out of a job.

Bradford closes on the ball so fast and explodes into the tackle. Bradford could end up replacing KJ Wright down the line. Lotulelei diagnoses the play really well and could fill in for Bobby Wagner in a pinch. Looked excellent in ST. I didn't like what I saw from Powell on drops but I thought he did nicely against the run and playing near the LOS. You could really see his size leap out on screen and showed a decent pass rush. Maybe he rotates with Bruce Irvin at SAM.

WLB: KJ Wright | Allen Bradford
ILB: Bobby Wagner | John Lotuleilei
SAM: Bruce Irvin | Ty Powell

Do not count out Schofield

 

[SDHawk]

We should be talking more about the linebackers. I feel like the group is suddenly one of the deepest on the squad. Bradford, Lotulelei and Powell may put Schofield, Farwell, Smith and Morgan on the streets and out of a job.

Bradford closes on the ball so fast and explodes into the tackle. Bradford could end up replacing KJ Wright down the line. Lotulelei diagnoses the play really well and could fill in for Bobby Wagner in a pinch. Looked excellent in ST. I didn't like what I saw from Powell on drops but I thought he did nicely against the run and playing near the LOS. You could really see his size leap out on screen and showed a decent pass rush. Maybe he rotates with Bruce Irvin at SAM.

WLB: KJ Wright | Allen Bradford
ILB: Bobby Wagner | John Lotuleilei
SAM: Bruce Irvin | Ty Powell

Do not count out Schofield

I think his salary is his worst enemy. Same with Farwell.

 

[billio155]

Hmmmm...yeah, I mentioned Williams bad technique in an earlier post and was crucified, but whatever, we will see. If we do keep Williams, it says a lot about his potential. After all, he has a bum knee and needs rest in order to play. Every roster spot counts and keeping a run plugger who misses practice and has raw form...that's a big commitment.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

If Bailey and Bowie continue to play well, then I would say either McQuistan or Giacomini will have to play for their jobs.

McQuistan is a super sub, but if Bailey demonstrates he can back up Okung, then his value is severely curtailed. We have a glut of OGs on this roster. I don't see us paying 3M this year for McQuistan if there were any other player capable of being the LT backup. His salary reflects being really the only good LT alternative.

I liked Mayowa's burst. It's one thing to hear of it from coaches. It's equally exciting to hear from it from the bystander view in training camp. To have it confirmed multiple times in a game kind of leaves one wanting to see more. I understand the difference in competition level. But that ability to close the distance to the QB is a quality not all DEs possess.

I liked the quality this team has in it's depth. These guys are going to play this year. By design and necessity. I would not at all be surprised if Seattle leverages this depth by cutting some starters.

 

[sc85sis]

Remember that Williams hasn't been playing football all that long and is possibly a bit of a project.

 

[kf3339]

I've been super busy with non-football things lately, and I ran out of time to finish my DVR review tonight. I did chart the first half yesterday evening though, and wanted to quickly share a few things really quick.

-Michael Bennett was a STUD. I can't believe I didn't notice him almost at all during the game.

-Jordan Hill had a ton of pressures and had arguably the best game of all our rookies.

-Jesse Williams sucked horribly. Colin Cole cubed.

-Michael Bowie looked very good.

-Alvin Bailey looked even better than that.

I'll post all the notes and details when I finish it (sometime soon I hope). I just wanted to get that off my chest in case it takes forever to get around to it.

Appreciate the extra comments Kearly. I'm especially glad use discussed the DL and OT positions. I agree about Bennett and Hill. They did a really good job. As for Williams perhaps you were a little too critical. It was his first game going against 1st stringers and seemed to always have two players engaged with him. That may have been his job that day. But he does need more work which is what preseason and in many cases your rookie year is all about.

I did notice you didn't mention Howard at all. He looked really good to me! Any comments on him?

Last, I also really liked Bailey and just wonder if he could be a possibility at one of our guard positions as a future starter. It seems having him only being a backup LT may be a waste; especially if he could fix our problems at either guard spot now. What do you think?

 

[Fuzzman55]

I think when it's all said and done, Schofield is going to give Irvin a run for his money at the pass-rushing SAM, and I really like Irvin. Schofield looked very natural and dangerous blitzing off the edge. It's quality depth at least and I love the pick up.

This will sound blasphemous, but I'm not as high on Lotuleilei as it seems others are. I appreciate the high effort, but it seems that undersized LBs have struggled in Pete's system. I just don't see where he fits. If he's a demon on special teams and an improvement over Farwell as a LB, he could fit in as depth, but I wouldn't want to count on him at SAM or WILL against the monster lineman of the NFL.

It's so early on the young DTs it's hard to make statements either way, but I've noticed that when the words technician and DT are thrown together it can sometimes be seen as a negative. Hill is never going to be a mauler, but when you look at him he is not out of place size or strength wise. He's a player that's going to maximize his abilities--quickness, feet, leverage. I will not be surprised if his ability to anchor will improve as he Seahawks career advances, especially with Quinn coaching him.

I have no problems with Williams. It was his first preseason game and he was played early against starting NFL lineman. He just has to be healthy, and that's the only question mark for me. Pete knows successfully taking on double teams is a rare quality for NFL dlineman. It's one of the hardest things to do and Williams is the guy who might eventually be able to pull it off. He'll be given every opportunity.

 

[CamanoIslandJQ]

I have to wonder why the college strength conditioning coaches pay so little attention to leg strength. I find it interesting that 300+ pound players like Jesse Williams has "bird legs". I've notice the same condition in many of the rookies coming into the league over the last dozen seasons or so. Seems to me if their legs are considerably smaller than their arms, they aren't training properly and just want to show off their "big guns" to the girls. I can understand that a skill player relying on speed as a part of his overall game may not want bulging muscles, but an offensive or defensive lineman should have both very strong legs and upper body to best do his job.

As a former 15 year weight lifter (reps only, not power lifting) I was taught that weight lifting is exercise for the entire body, not just doing "curls" to get big guns and ignoring the lower body. There is also probably a connection between "leg injuries" and the lack of proper leg strength training. The lack of lower body weight training surely also contributes to many other negatives in actually playing the game. The legs are every players base and need to be as strong as possible, thus many rookies that come into the league may indeed need a year or better in the system to try and get their body's properly strong in more than just their upper bodies.

Just my take on "bird legs" as a whole. I think there shouldn't be so many players coming into the league with pencil legs just because they devote way too much training time on just their upper bodies. I guess some of that is human nature, but where the heck are the college strength coaches?

 

[Scottemojo]

Our tackle situation is so good. I think we carry 4, and it makes Breno expendable. I know that pisses off the Breno guys, but I think the dude lacks as a pass blocker against power rushers. And is in a contract year.

Micheal Bennett is awesome. Doesn't he have a shoulder labrum issue? OUr resident Niner lurkers have been know to say this makes it impossible to to get sacks. Derp.

I like the Jordan Hill pick, and if he can be a laterally quick rusher it will like a cheap Henry Melton.

Jesse Williams. He is a study in how big a leap it is to the pros. His strength does not matter now, his lack of technique does. Funny how the pick that the pundits loved the most may be the worse pick.

Why would the DT situation have anything to do with Breno?

Offensive tackle. Although I'm not sure who the four are that exclude Breno. Okung, Bowie, Bailey and ????

Breno is the 4th. I expect him to play out his 2013 contract, I was talking about him becoming expendable next year.

 

[Happypuppy]

Do not count out Schofield

I think his salary is his worst enemy. Same with Farwell.

Not at all. Schofield renegotiated his contract for the Hawks

http://www.fieldgulls.com/2013-nfl-offs ... s-contract

 

[Zowert]

I LOLed when I read subject title and saw who the author is :th2thumbs: Thanks for being part of .net kearly :179422:

When I see a 'Kearly' thread, I always read it. Great to have him around.

 

[kearly]

Kearly, I'm curious as to how you chart games. Are you charting situations, personnel and outcomes, or do you do more of a classic scoring chart?

I take notes, basically if someone has a stand out play (good or bad), i jot down a quick but (reasonably) detailed description to help me remember later. On most plays, the alignment / personnel stays pretty consistent, but I do try to note when Hill was at the 1-tech or Howard was at the 5-tech, etc.

 

[kearly]

Pete Carroll singled out Jesse Williams as having a good game. He did exactly what they asked him to do. He took on a lot of double teams to allow others to make plays. Williams will never have the wow plays but that is not how the coaches plan on using him.

What! Are you trying to say Pete Carroll knows more about football than our resident, "experts"? Blasphemy! :les:

Pete knows a hundred times more about football than any of us- but seriously- Jesse Williams was mostly terrible in the first half. I think it was Pete either not seeing it very well or just using positive psychology.

Williams was consistently blown back 3-5 yards and was 90% of the reason why Seattle's run defense looked so weak in the first few series. I don't think I had him down for a single positive play either, though I did note that he can run shockingly fast when given some space.

If this is how his whole preseason ends up, I think he makes our roster but lives on the inactive portion, similar to Jaye Howard last year.

The good news is that Williams unexpected struggles in run defense can probably be corrected with time and coaching. There were some battles he lost badly because he didn't go to the ground against a double team, etc. I don't think he's used to the higher level of competition yet and he probably didn't respect the Chargers O-line as much as he should have.

I did notice you didn't mention Howard at all. He looked really good to me! Any comments on him?

Go to my random thoughts thread and CTRL-F Howard. You'll like what I had to say.

Right now we can make observations, but not judgements. I do agree with you though- it's early but Bailey just seems way too talented to be a backup. Bowie too. The preseason can be incredibly deceptive though. We have starters on our own roster who looked like world beaters in the preseason the last couple years but reverted to being merely solid contributors in real games (Breno, McQ, Wright, Johnson, etc). The real games are another step up the ladder, and we can only guess how well any player will adjust to the higher level of difficulty. But with that caveat established, I really, really like what I've seen from Bowie and Bailey so far.

 

[kearly]

This will sound blasphemous, but I'm not as high on Lotuleilei as it seems others are. I appreciate the high effort, but it seems that undersized LBs have struggled in Pete's system. I just don't see where he fits. If he's a demon on special teams and an improvement over Farwell as a LB, he could fit in as depth, but I wouldn't want to count on him at SAM or WILL against the monster lineman of the NFL.

Watching Lotulelei I am reminded of a non-headcase Aaron Curry. He's a missile, but his guidance system is faulty. He's worth keeping around because if he figures the position out he could be a good starter, but everyone slobbering his knob definitely needs to take a step back. Same thing with the the Luke Willson promoters. Both have above average potential, but both have a lot further to get there than I think most people realize.

 

[McGruff]

The thing with Lotulelie is similar to why raw pass rushers can make a splash in preseason. It's easy to get the fan base excited about spectacular individual effort in preseason where all you worry about is making the team . . . It's a whole different thing to fit in to the team once you've made it. The first requires effort, athleticism and a certain reckless abandon. The second requires discipline, cooperation and study. The stuff you don't see on the field until a player is running the wrong direction while the play busts through the hole he was supposed to be covering.

It's why Mayowa may just be another Reed or Law and Lotulelie may just be anther Tracy Porter.

 

[Blitzer88]

Thanks for the additional info Kearly. Bennett did have a pretty under rated game that's for sure.