The Garry Gilliam Project

[Pandion Haliaetus]

I don't think the Gilliam to RT move was as much an act of desperation as it was a reward of hardwork and the opportunity to further guage the potential of an otherwise raw player.

The Seahawks thought a lot of Gilliam to keep him on roster as an UDFA for the 2014. A sign that Gilliam put in the hard work to be noticed. And he certainly was a Sparq-gift from the gods, whose emergence help replace the sting of losing another fellow Sparq-tan in 6th round Tackle, Garrett Scott to medical retirement.

The 2014 Gilliam had length and athleticism but he was also undersized and raw, a former TE still transitioning to Oline. The potential was there but he was otherwise labeled as a multi-year developmental project and put on the back-burner.

Yet, the young Gilliam possessed what many past young Seahawks linemen did not: dedicated work ethic.

It took James Carpenter four seasons heading into a contract year to finally get back to his collegiate shape albeit he did struggle through injury rehabs for two off-seasons. However, he came in lazy and overweight as a rookie.

Moffitt didnt seem like a dedicated weight room worker looking very soft on the RRR and his lack of passion led to his exit off this team and, later on, from football altogether.

Last year, Bowie had a prime opportunity to establish himself as the starter at RT after a surprising rookie campaign. But came back overweight which prompted Carroll in his way to kind of publicly scrutinize Bowie's work ethic. Bowie would find himself dismissed from the team not long after when an injury derailed his season a few days into TC.

Same with Alvin Bailey, last year, who would balloon up to 30 pounds over his listed playing weight.

Gilliam's work ethic is apparent. He worked his butt off as a UDFA to make the team. He worked hard to survive on the backend of the roster even being active for 14 games and making a start. He also worked his butt off on Special Teams and capped off his rookie campaign with a TD.

Heading into 2015, I dont think the Seahawks had high expectations for Gilliam. They wanted Bailey to rise up and own LG. And they wanted to see a healthier Okung and an improved Justin Britt at Tackle. Gilliam had little incentive to improve but unlike Carp, Moffitt, Bowie, and Bailey before him he took his off-season very seriously in getting bigger and stronger to fill out his frame to Olineman standards. But he didnt gain weight by getting fat, he retained much of his superior athleticism.

All that hardwork put G2 in a position to compete. Fast-foward to now and that work ethic has taken him to the top of the depth chart with an opportunity to become a starter.

It has been rumored that the Seahawks liked Britt has an LG out of his draft. But combine: Carp having his best off-season, Bowie not taking his off-season seriously, Garett Scott put on injured reserve, and Eric Winston looking horrid, it was a recipe that forced Britt automatically into the RT position before seeing if he would have made a better guard.

It was also confirmed that had the Seahawks drafted the OT they wanted in this last draft, there was a plan to move Britt to LG.

So before Gilliam worked his way into the picture, there was a hope in place for Britt to be moved to LG where he would be better suited and fill a big hole. Gilliam became that guy for the Seahawks, someone with enough potential at RT to allow Britt to make the move.

Gilliam in his first assignment had to face off against 2014 NFL Sack leader Justin Houston. One of the most dominant left defensive speed rushers in the game. While Gilliam didnt dominate Houston off the ball, Gilliam showed great resilency in not allowing himself to be be beat by using his athleticism to recover and fend off Houston before he could finish. And just for comparison, I dont think many rookies OTs, high pick or not, would have fared as well as Gilliam did against Houston (especially from this current class of tackles).

The more I read on Gilliam, the more I liked. His background story, his work ethic and resolve to do everything he can or has to to put himself in a better position to improve, and the way he comes of intelligently. It just gives you a feeling that maybe this thing could work, that its not so far-fetched, that the Seahawks are developing a good player and that player is recipocrating the hardwork and passion needed to stick.

Gilliam's meteoric rise possibly helped the Seahawks save millions from becoming too desperate in signing Mathis. Who signed a contract with Denver for $4m.

Gilliam's potential while unclear for now could also help the Seahawks save tens of millions. In the future. In the bigger picture. I cannot cap Gilliams potential because he is not refined in the least, athletic but raw, but in best case scenario Gilliams holds down the RT spot. He struggles but he works his ass off to get better after each lump until he becomes consistently reliable player. If he is lucky, he'll have 16-19 games of starting experience and a whole season of tape to breakdown his weaknesses and improve upon them this coming off-season.

If Okung moves on after this season or Gilliam plays so well that they think they can develop him at LT and let Okung go. Either way Gilliam could be a contingency plan and knowing him in a starting role is going to help the coaches evaluate him better.

This is the type of move that could not only save the Seahawks 10 of millions but it also saves them from wasting a considerable amount of draft resources in finding an LT as opposed to an RT late in the draft or let other players possibly on roster to vie for that spot.

In the event Seahawks cant resign both Okung and Sweezy, there seems to be a solid replacement plan if the young Linemen continue to improve accordingly:

LT: Gilliam vs Bailey (rfa)
LG: Britt,
OC: Nowak vs Soloki vs DP/FA
RG: Glowinski
RT: Gilliam or Poole vs DP/FA

If the Seahawks resign Sweezy:

LT: Gilliam vs Bailey (rfa)
LG: Britt
OC: Nowak vs Soloki vs DP/FA
RG: Sweezy
RT: Glowinski vs Poole vs DP/FA

If Okung resigns but Sweezy doesnt:

LT: Okung, (maybe a) Bailey (rfa) or DP/FA
LG: Britt,
OC: Nowak vs Soloki vs DP/FA
RG: Glowinski
RT: Gilliam, Poole

DP/FA = Draft Pick and/or Free Agent

Again, Gilliam stilll has mountain of work ahead to be even an adequate, servicable RT let alone a quality LT. But just something about him that makes me believe he could be a great player someday.

Thank You for your Time,

P.H.

 

[netskier]

Great post. Thanks.

 

[kearly]

I am rooting like hell for Gilliam to stick and RT and play well. But we should definitely cool it a bit with the hype, IMO. Too much too soon.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

I am rooting like hell for Gilliam to stick and RT and play well. But we should definitely cool it a bit with the hype, IMO. Too much too soon.

Its been too gloomy around here as of late thought I'd add a very optmistic post. I know Gilliam has a long road ahead but if he continues to work hard on his craft and if successful, he could have a bright future.

 

[Seahwkgal]

My brother, a former Big Ten LT, is raving about Gilliam and pretty much said the same about his potential. He is a die hard Hawk fan too but really concentrates on the Oline. He does understand and follow all aspects of the game but his bias, of course, is O Line so he is always critiquing the development.
For the record, he also suggested that Gilliam could become the cheap replacement for OKung(a player he thinks is over rated big time) and is swooning over Britt at LG(his natural position he said). He does have some qualifications to judge OLine performance and such. He played and was coached at a high level and right now, he is the O and D line coach for his local HS in Idaho. He is kinda on the fence about Cable though. Claims that Seattle can nasty run block and has serious issues in Pass Pro----The consensus on this board.

 

[Trenchbroom]

Interesting idea, Pandion. And it makes sense from an "always compete" perspective.

Thanks!

 

[mikeak]

Thank you for a very nice write-up!

 

[Seafan]

Gilliam is already the best RT in the Carroll era. He may not be a great run blocker but he needs to stay at RT.

 

[Recon_Hawk]

I don't think the Gilliam to RT move was as much an act of desperation as it was a reward of hardwork and the opportunity to further guage the potential of an otherwise raw player.

There's a bit of a misconception from the fan base that the move to play Gilliam was an "experiment", but more so than that it was a promotion. Gilliam's been practicing at both LT and RT since he joined the club, so his development on the right side should be quicker than some think (which is exciting).

Part of the reason for his promotion was for his performance against Denver and Shane Ray, a 2015 first round draft pick, in which he basically shut him down (except poor technique on one play I remember). I think Seattle will definitely be judging Gilliam's season with the idea he could be replace Okung and save some cash for Sweezy.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I had kind of hoped that we might make a similar move and acquire Michael Williams, who was just this week traded for by NE. He was a monstrous blocker at TE at Alabama and the Pats look like they are continuing his conversion to OT.

Something else I thought of when we drafted Sokoli. He has decent length, and excellent athleticism. I'm wondering given our glut of interior linemen -- if we don't kind of go the same route with Sokoli. He's obviously still suffering from a steep learning curve. But at this point, is it that much harder to develop him on the outside?

Especially given that the assignments generally from from the center outward on the ZBS, maybe from the mental aspect it might not be simpler to develop him where his assignment calls are lighter?

 

[edogg23]

The fact that KC didn't face plant Russell into the ground once that game that I recall already means that he is pretty damn good in my opinion.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Convincing opinion. Hype aside, Gilliam stands out. And he'll always have the fake-FG touchdown catch from the Miracle Game.

 

[HawkFan72]

Great post, OP. I love seeing these types of breakdowns. I really hope Gilliam takes the job and runs with it. We really need some success stories with the O-line this year to take our Offense to the next step.

 

[pmedic920]

Actually this is the kind of post that many have been requesting.

I wish we had more members that would spend the time/effort to write like this.

Peaches, I love ya bro but that was kinda harsh.

 

[chris98251]

.Net Starfish for a reason................................

Consider the source.

The write up is a great effort at looking at the possible reasons we do things the way we do however, these are the types of topics that create interesting discussion threads.

 

[Overseasfan]

The hype is legit though. I see nobody claiming we have some kind of Pro Bowl RT now but Gilliam looked at the very least decent and able to hold his own against even the best. That is something Britt wasn't at RT. We have found an improvement at this position who should be able to get us through the season, that was exactly what we were looking for on the Oline.

 

[nanomoz]

Great post, I really hope you're right. Gilliam turning into a guy that's good enough to start and talented and dedicated enough to continue to improve would be an absolute triumph--esp. After the swings and misses ar OL you pointed out.

 

[EntiatHawk]

Great write up. I also felt that Gilliam did a good job and with Britt now are LG we could actually have a decent O-line this year. Now it time to work and fine tune some stuff. Now they need time to work together to get communication down.

I can't wait for Saturday to see how they look this week getting some extended time.

 

[xgeoff]

The fact that KC didn't face plant Russell into the ground once that game that I recall already means that he is pretty damn good in my opinion.

I thought the same thing. Although it seemed that the line in general was struggling to get a good push in the running game, the pass protection was pretty good against a VERY good pass rushing team.

 

[xgeoff]

The hype is legit though. I see nobody claiming we have some kind of Pro Bowl RT now but Gilliam looked at the very least decent and able to hold his own against even the best. That is something Britt wasn't at RT. We have found an improvement at this position who should be able to get us through the season, that was exactly what we were looking for on the Oline.

In my mind, what we need from Gilliam, and just about every other lineman, is to:

--keep opposing lineman off Russell Wilson's back
--stop penetration into the backfield on runs

If Russ has time, I think he will find targets. And as long as Marshawn isn't hit in the backfield, he will gain yardage with his power running

Gilliam, at least so far, seems to be doing those things, so I'm pretty jazzed about him.