The Seattle Seahawks are finally back on the field! After a long wait, we can see the additions the team made during the offseason (although most of the starters didn’t play). This article focuses on analyzing the rookies’ performance in the draw against the Las Vegas Raiders.
I don’t want to get carried away, it’s only preseason, but it was a great debut for Zabel. There are still technical details to improve, but I only saw two poor snaps from him (one pass block and one run block). On the other snaps, he was dominant, including the fourth-best run block grade with a 79 and no pressure surrendered or penalties committed.
Zabel’s hands are a little higher than ideal, but he remains calm and finishes the play with the defender on the ground.
This was the bad snap I mentioned earlier. He does a great job double-teaming Josh Jones (who had a great game at LT), but he can’t get to the LB at the second level, who ends up tackling the RB.
Reach block is tough to execute. Zabel reaches the defender and got the pancake. Dominating!
PS: Anthony Bradford can’t be this team’s starter. If he’s the best option we have, the team urgently needs to look for ways to improve on the market.
Good footwork and he is able to stay between the defender and the QB.
Note that I didn’t classify him as a safety. None of his snaps came in this alignment; they all came as nickel. This gives Macdonald the ability to run a variety of blitzes and boosts the running game. The big issue is Emmanwori’s (poor) change of direction work covering the middle of the field.
He’s an athletic beast. Still, timing is crucial when blitzing. It’s not a great mistake, but the millisecond he loses on the snap is the difference between hitting Geno Smith and not.
Blitzed again, he correctly checks the QB and quickly adjusts to go after the RB for the TFL.
It’s this type of play that will give Macdonald a hard time refining Emmanwori. He has trouble changing directions, and this is most evident in off coverage. Playing against more agile slot receivers can lead to significant gains for opponents.
He was the player I was most excited to watch. He was clearly the star of practice. Even playing with both the starters and the reserves, he only managed two receptions and struggled to block.
It’s not ideal to have your TE blocking the edge, but Arroyo doesn’t create any resistance for the opponent, making the tackle with ease.
There’s a lot of expectation for Milroe’s game, but I think it was a good debut. It’s far from spectacular, and it shows he still needs refinement in his game processing and his arm usage, as evidenced by the pass he missed to Tyrone Broden on the final drive. Broden did need to do a better job on the play (this explains why someone as tall and fast as him is only a UDFA).
This was Milroe’s best pass of the night. The QB makes a quick read and sends a laser through three defenders. This gives hope.
Milroe’s final year at Alabama saw him force a lot of pressure, and it significantly impacted his performance and stats. Clearly, he wanted to be conservative in this game. He tried not to hold the ball, not to force passes, and if there were no windows, he tried to use his legs. On this play, he feels the pressure coming from the right side of the pocket, advances, and gains yards with his legs. The cut he makes in the 1v1 against the defender is basically a Madden move.
I really hope the Seahawks capitalize on his athletic potential. Milroe is not only fast and makes good cuts, he also reads the field well. Notice how he “helps” Marshall Lang (who had an excellent game) in his blocking.
I saw a lot of tweets (are they still called that?) criticizing Milroe’s decision. I completely disagree with that stance. Could he have done better? Yes. But he’s far from the main villain of the play.
The call is poor. Why put him in shotgun? On fourth-and-1, you take away the threat of the sneak. The play is a rollout to the right where, in a tight space, there are only two routes (with a third arriving late from the other side of the field). I don’t think Milroe would have gotten the first down with his legs, since the LB was so well positioned. Milroe could have broken the tackle, but it wasn’t guaranteed. He attempted the pass to Lang, who couldn’t adjust.
Milroe’s work could have been better, but the poor call was much more crucial to the failure.
I’m really rooting for Tory Horton to take over as WR3 from Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He’s been getting snaps with the starting lineup lately, and based on his performance this game, that should continue. In addition to his pass-catching performance, he was the Seahawks’ best option at kick return, something the Seahawks struggled with in this game.
The RB’s movement indicates zone coverage. This means Horton would have a LB in his zone, defending with inside leverage. Horton waits to confirm this read, runs a stick route, stopping at the right point and location. He then gains additional yards with a good spin move and scores.
One of the points of attention in Horton’s report was his physicality, given his leaner frame. He physically challenges the tackle and achieves separation.
PS: A DPI was called for this play, and I completely disagree.
I’m not here to defend Drew Lock, but to show that Horton has room for improvement. At times, it was clear he wasn’t reading the defense the same way the QB was. With the safety covering deep, he needed to adjust his route to a sharper cut, such as a deep out. Lock waited for this route adjustment, and the interception happened.
Again, he could adjust. The Raiders were in Cover 3 with the cornerback holding the advantage deep downfield. He needed to adjust for a comeback or out. This isn’t a serious mistake, but it’s something he can improve on and will help his quarterback.
Seattle even managed to impress with its fullback. Ouzts caught two targets (on the incomplete pass, his route could have been much better). Where he shined was in blocking in the running game, where it was clear that he is the team’s starting FB, without competition from Brady Russell.
The Seahawks call what appears to be a Power Run and Ouzts’ block is what allows George Holani to get 1v1 against the CB, resulting in a TD.
The cornerback gets a good block against one of the league’s best defenders. However, this play only happened thanks to great work by Eric Saubert, who had a surprisingly good game. Josh Jones lost his block at the second level, and the TE ended up sealing the edge.
If you read my draft report or the full analysis of Cabeldue’s pick, you know I had much higher expectations for him than just being in the third OL group. I hope he can grow and make it into the top 53.
He was third in pass-block grade according to PFF with an 80.7 (behind only Jalen Sundell and Mike Jerrell). Cabeldue only received a 53.4 run-block grade, a point I completely disagree with.
The Seahawks put Michael Jerrell and Cabeldue in the open field. What Cabeldue executes is essentially a reach block, a technique he masters. He cuts through the defender and creates a gap for the run.
Cabeldue executes a long trap, pulling the opposite edge. He has the speed and strength to create the gap.
It wasn’t a good day for Martinez. Despite being a seventh-round pick, I saw a lot of potential in him. I didn’t read anything positive about him in camp, and what we saw in the game didn’t help much.
Yes, I think the Seahawks didn’t use him to his best advantage. He was given 11 passing snaps and only 7 rushing snaps. Being a third-down RB has always been a problem for him. Either the team can’t see what’s obvious, or this is a way for the team to find a way for him to be on the field, since he hasn’t been playing well.
I don’t think he’s a good fit for a returner.
It seems like he’s running to the wrong side of the play-action, first. Then, he can’t get himself into a good angle to protect the QB from Jamal Adams. Note that it’s not a strength or effort issue, but rather a serious technical issue, and it seems the former Miami RB hasn’t improved at all in that regard.
He had a better game than I expected (maybe because I didn’t expect much from him). He played both RT and RG, and that versatility will be important for him. He got some good blocks in the running game, but he gave in to the pressure that resulted in the blocked FG.
Connor O’Toole led the Seahawks in pressure (6) and had the only sack. His hands are strong and violent to disengage and sack the QB.
His speed is a menace. The Seahawks used him in the stunt and he got the hit.
We don’t know if the Seahawks will take three or four RBs to the final 53. But Wright, who received praise during camp, stood out significantly, putting even more pressure on Damien Martinez. In the play above, he clearly sees the gap opened by Mason Richman and makes the cut to gain yards.
Another standout UDFA. Ivey lined up in different spots and was able to impact both the run and pass rush. On this play, he threatens the outside guard, quickly changes direction to attack inside, pressuring the QB, and even bringing down the RB along the way.
Notice how the QB adjusts to the left side of the OL. However, two players drop into coverage and two blitzes come from the right side, effectively putting pressure on the QB.
In the coverage, we have trap coverage (Cover 6). The QB believes the CB will cover the backfield, but he’s the flat defender. Great play by Pritchett.
As I said before, my goal was review the rookies. However is impossible not to be excited about Abe Lucas here. I’ve always been a fan of his game and hope he finally gets healthy. He just looks like a tractor taking the defender several yards down the field.
Preseason isn’t a time to get excited or despair. However, this game showed that the cornerback group is very weak and lacking depth. Drake Thomas still made some good plays, but the rest of the group performed poorly, both in the passing game and the running game. In the play above, UDFA LB D’Eryk Jackson blows the coverage, leaving the tight end free. It’s worth noting that Tyrice Knight is out with an unspecified medical issue, per Mike Macdonald, but the hope is he’ll be ready before the season begins.