Competition at Center

HawKnPeppa":2g37hv8w said:

Sooo...., according to Cabs, these are the 5 names in the mix:

-LJP
-Nowack
-Lewis
-Sokoli
-Pericek

He also said the list will shrink to 2-3 names soon. Based on that, what are your best guesses?

Two of them seem like a no-brainer (LJP and Lewis). The third guy, if it comes to that, becomes murky, since the remainder of the list has seen little-to-no PT.

I'm gonna go with wishful thinking and say Sokoli.

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Tical21":3oqo7rio said:

For what it's worth, LJP has been getting the majority of the first-team reps at OTA's.

I'm not ruling out the kid's name that I don't know how to spell. We haven't been shy about playing rookies, even those without experience.

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Seafan":prljwnd7 said:

I heard on a podcast that Glowinski took snaps at center this week. Probably means nothing since Cable likes to crosstrain his OL. He also took snaps at RT.

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hawknation2015":2w4fnlpf said:

They will continue to develop Sokoli at center, but it's hard to imagine he will be ready for action this year. Learning how to pass and run block is one thing (Sweezy made a pretty successful transition in 2012), but learning all of the line calls and learning how to snap the ball, in addition to basic blocking assignments is too much to ask of a rookie, former DT. I am excited to watch him in action during the preseason; his athleticism is absolutely freakish . . . just look at his watermelon-sized calves.

Jeanpierre vs. Lewis poses an interesting tradeoff. Lewis grabbed the starting job from Jeanpierre last season in the final two regular season games and performed well. The team did a nice job controlling the line of scrimmage in those games and opening up big holes for Lynch. But so far, Jeanpierre has been the one taking the first team reps in OTAs.

Jeanpierre gives them a very good athlete at the center position. He also has more experience (60 games with the Seahawks with 11 starts), has longer arms, is a few inches taller, and is much more agile (his 7.40 second three-cone equals Sweezy's combine time).

Lewis gives them a better run blocker at the center position. He is more powerful than Jeanpierre on tape, although Jeanpierre is the better overall athlete. Lewis is arguably the slowest and least agile player on the roster.

Jeanpierre has the advantage at this point, if he stays healthy, and Sokoli looks like the future of the position. The kind of team Carroll wants to build is one that is faster and bigger than our opponents, and Jeanpierre fits that mold better than Lewis. Although Lewis performed admirably as a starter, Jeanpierre's edge in experience cannot be discounted.

It's not common for teams to alternate starters at a critical position like center, but perhaps Lewis will find a role in certain short-yardage situations or against certain opponents. Assuming Jeanpierre is the eventual starter at center, that could create a problem for the run blocking, especially if Bailey -- the poorest run blocker on the team -- is starting next to him. This makes me think Bailey at Left Guard is not the foregone conclusion it has been made out to be.

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Hawks46":1wt10gti said:

hawknation2015":1wt10gti said:

They will continue to develop Sokoli at center, but it's hard to imagine he will be ready for action this year. Learning how to pass and run block is one thing (Sweezy made a pretty successful transition in 2012), but learning all of the line calls and learning how to snap the ball, in addition to basic blocking assignments is too much to ask of a rookie, former DT. I am excited to watch him in action during the preseason; his athleticism is absolutely freakish . . . just look at his watermelon-sized calves.

Jeanpierre vs. Lewis poses an interesting tradeoff. Lewis grabbed the starting job from Jeanpierre last season in the final two regular season games and performed well. The team did a nice job controlling the line of scrimmage in those games and opening up big holes for Lynch. But so far, Jeanpierre has been the one taking the first team reps in OTAs.

Jeanpierre gives them a very good athlete at the center position. He also has more experience (60 games with the Seahawks with 11 starts), has longer arms, is a few inches taller, and is much more agile (his 7.40 second three-cone equals Sweezy's combine time).

Lewis gives them a better run blocker at the center position. He is more powerful than Jeanpierre on tape, although Jeanpierre is the better overall athlete. Lewis is arguably the slowest and least agile player on the roster.

Jeanpierre has the advantage at this point, if he stays healthy, and Sokoli looks like the future of the position. The kind of team Carroll wants to build is one that is faster and bigger than our opponents, and Jeanpierre fits that mold better than Lewis. Although Lewis performed admirably as a starter, Jeanpierre's edge in experience cannot be discounted.

It's not common for teams to alternate starters at a critical position like center, but perhaps Lewis will find a role in certain short-yardage situations or against certain opponents. Assuming Jeanpierre is the eventual starter at center, that could create a problem for the run blocking, especially if Bailey -- the poorest run blocker on the team -- is starting next to him. This makes me think Bailey at Left Guard is not the foregone conclusion it has been made out to be.

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Good post, although I would disagree about Sweezy learning to pass block. He still gets too high in his stance and gets squared up to easily, meaning that he gets knocked flat on his back quite often from a good bull rush. If you're going to square your guy up in pass pro, you still gotta get lower than him or you're going to get trucked. Either that or redirect him.

I'd agree on LJP and Lewis. Lewis was definitely a better run blocker, but LJP has more experience. I think both would be above average as Centers in our offense. The thing that I did notice was that Lewis is like 6'2". It might help to have a shorter Center in front of Russ for viewing lanes.

Any of you knowledgeable OL guys know if that is ever a consideration in front of a shorter QB ?

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As the spring ended, there appeared to be three candidates to replace him — Lemuel Jeanpierre, Drew Nowak and Patrick Lewis.

Also in the running is Kristjan Sokoli. But given that he is a sixth-round draft pick who is making the switch to offense after playing defensive line in college, the odds seem slim.

The leader at the end of OTAs and minicamp was Jeanpierre, 28, who has been with the Seahawks since 2010 and is among the most veteran of Seattle’s offensive linemen.

Nowak ended the spring as maybe the most intriguing candidate. A defensive lineman at Western Michigan, he made the switch to the offensive line, with the Seahawks having become interested in his ability at center after watching him on the practice squad last season.

Lewis, entering his third season, started four games last year, including a victory at Arizona in which the Seahawks gained a franchise-record 596 yards against a defense some considered among the best in the NFL.

But Jeanpierre and Nowak appeared to get the bulk of the snaps with the starting unit in the OTAs and at the one minicamp practice open to the media, with Lewis also at times playing guard.

Given what we saw in the spring, the fact that the Seahawks are in a win-now mode and that experience is as vital at the center spot as any on the offensive line, Jeanpierre would seem to have the edge.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seah ... at-center/

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Wenhawk":3rjtji35 said:

Is Oaklands old center still available on the market? If we pull our offer for Russ we could be brining in a few Vets on 1 year deals.

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