kearly
New member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2007
- Messages
- 15,975
- Reaction score
- 0
Gilliam was an athletic LT who turned some heads while making the team this preseason, he is a converted TE who is 6'6" 302.
It's gone a bit under the radar, but with Miller being out a few weeks, the Seahawks quietly returned Gilliam back to his original TE position this past week.
Miller is a fantastic pass blocker by TE standards, and his lack of presence on the roster could really hurt Seattle against a team like Washington that has some weapons in the pass rush. With Britt and Okung both suffering in pass pro, Seattle shouldn't consider throwing deep unless they have a TE pass blocking, and guys like Helfet and Willson are far from ideal as pass protectors.
Lately, we've seen defenses start to cheat up on Seattle's offense, because they know that 85% of Wilson's passes will have 15 air yards or fewer, and they know that Seattle runs the football about as often as anybody. Having the ability to attack deep is critical to keeping defenses honest. With 11 days to prepare, you know that Washington is going to have a strong game plan defensively, and that probably means not respecting Seattle's ability to set up a deep pass with enough pass protection.
Going for a bunker mentality with extra protection on deep throws had mixed results for Seattle last season, but the rate at which they've gone deep in 2014 is way too low, and it's only a matter of time before Seattle's offense is made to look stupid by a non-elite defense that did their homework. And to me, throwing deep is probably not a great idea unless the team has Gilliam on the field in the Zach Miller pass pro role.
Anyway, I'm sure Pete knows this far better than I do. I wouldn't be surprised if we see 10+ snaps for Gilliam at TE in this game.
It's gone a bit under the radar, but with Miller being out a few weeks, the Seahawks quietly returned Gilliam back to his original TE position this past week.
Miller is a fantastic pass blocker by TE standards, and his lack of presence on the roster could really hurt Seattle against a team like Washington that has some weapons in the pass rush. With Britt and Okung both suffering in pass pro, Seattle shouldn't consider throwing deep unless they have a TE pass blocking, and guys like Helfet and Willson are far from ideal as pass protectors.
Lately, we've seen defenses start to cheat up on Seattle's offense, because they know that 85% of Wilson's passes will have 15 air yards or fewer, and they know that Seattle runs the football about as often as anybody. Having the ability to attack deep is critical to keeping defenses honest. With 11 days to prepare, you know that Washington is going to have a strong game plan defensively, and that probably means not respecting Seattle's ability to set up a deep pass with enough pass protection.
Going for a bunker mentality with extra protection on deep throws had mixed results for Seattle last season, but the rate at which they've gone deep in 2014 is way too low, and it's only a matter of time before Seattle's offense is made to look stupid by a non-elite defense that did their homework. And to me, throwing deep is probably not a great idea unless the team has Gilliam on the field in the Zach Miller pass pro role.
Anyway, I'm sure Pete knows this far better than I do. I wouldn't be surprised if we see 10+ snaps for Gilliam at TE in this game.