You know what\u2019s great about a blowout win for the Seattle Seahawks? The Winners and Losers column gets to be very light on losers. That\u2019s way more fun than the several times in the past few years I\u2019ve refused to even have \u201cWinners\u201d after a Seahawks game.<\/p>\n
Preseason is preseason and the score doesn\u2019t matter, but you want to see good performances, good football, and signs of a well-coached team that is establishing its identity. I think we know what the Seahawks\u2019 identity will be under Mike Macdonald starting this season.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get to the W&L for the Seahawks\u2019 33-16 beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n
Hot damn wasn\u2019t it cool to see the Seahawks offensive line actually move forward? I\u2019m still TBD on pass protection against first-team defensive lines, but John Benton has them looking bare-minimum competent thus far. The run blocking looks like it\u2019s gelling brilliantly, and the results are evident when you\u2019re not too far from 300 yards on the ground. Grey Zabel looks the part of a starting NFL left guard and the running backs are grateful for his quality preseason play. Josh Jones looks like a viable backup at either tackle position. Anthony Bradford\u2019s calling card is his run blocking and he had a key block on Damien Martinez\u2019s long run. Even guys like Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman were impressing deeper into the game.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s almost no chance the Seahawks will flip the switch from dreadful to as amazing as we saw against Kansas City, but I would be stunned if this year\u2019s group is still a bottom-five unit.<\/p>\n
What I saw from Charbonnet in camp matches how he looks in an actual game: he\u2019s as fast and as explosive as he\u2019s ever looked. That he had actual holes to run through was a big help but I think he could be in for a career year if this run blocking is not just a product of preseason dominance against backups. My counter to this is presumptive starters Charles Cross and Olu Oluwatimi are out, so imagine how much better things could be when they\u2019re back\u2026 and lest we forget Kenneth Walker\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
But Charbonnet was the story of that touchdown drive and I\u2019m hyped to see what Zach and K9 can do with a line and scheme that won\u2019t give opposing defenders concierge service to access the backfield.<\/p>\n
Holani had his night begin with a long kick return nullified by a Drake Thomas holding penalty, but he needn\u2019t worry when he can just rip off a 30-yard run as soon as he\u2019s in the game with Drew Lock. Last year, Holani narrowly lost out to Kenny McIntosh for the RB3 competition. This year\u2019s Holani looks determined to grab that RB3 spot, and his versatility on special teams and as a pass-protecting running back could see him make the 53-man roster on this occasion.<\/p>\n
After one possession of Sam Darnold, Drew Lock had the bulk of the snaps and he was way better than last week, completing 10\/12 for 129 yards, 2 touchdowns, and even a 30-yard run. Lock made some great plays under pressure and one of his incomplete passes was a risky throw but it was 4th and goal and he just wanted something to get to the end zone. I\u2019m glad we can view Lock from a \u201cCompetent QB2\u201d perspective instead of a long-term QB1 like a few years ago, because<\/p>\n
OUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZTTTTTTTTSSSSSS!<\/p>\n
The fullback is back in fashion in Seattle, baby! He\u2019ll be a fan favorite in no time. Get your chants ready.<\/p>\n
More Bobo! For whatever reason, he received no end zone targets last season until the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs. If nothing else, Bobo can win above the rim in the red zone, and apparently he can be a threat on screen passes? His place on this team is secure and we can shut down any loose talk of him being cut.<\/p>\n
I thought that the additions of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tory Horton, and Ricky White III put Dareke in a near-impossible situation to get out of. White looks like he\u2019ll be a practice squad guy this year, MVS is a real question mark thanks to the rise of Horton, leaving Dareke Young a chance to impress in camp and preseason. It\u2019s not like Young hasn\u2019t had good preseason moments throughout his career, but I think he may yet get one more year on the active roster as a fifth WR (aka very few offensive snaps) and an important special teams guy. Young led all Seahawks with 52 yards receiving.<\/p>\n
I still believe George Holani is ahead of Martinez in the RB3 competition, but that was the Martinez I was expecting to see; hard-nosed, physical running with a style that\u2019s reasonably close to Chris Carson\u2019s. The rookie got his first NFL touchdown from a yard out and had 50 yards on 11 carries in addition to a couple of grabs for 14 yards.<\/p>\n
Defend every blade of grass, right? He stopped Carson Steele mid-air on 4th and 1 to force a turnover on downs. I\u2019d say Love is ready for the season.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a UDFA rookie with a decent shot to make the roster, I think it\u2019s Ivey. He continues to play well against the run and the big edge rusher was in on a few pressures in the second half. Ivey officially recorded no stats in the box score but he played better than that and could\u2019ve had a half-sack alongside Seth Coleman toward teh end of the game.<\/p>\n
My teaser for the next roster projection is I not only think the Seahawks keep Brandon Pili, but Johnathan Hankins isn\u2019t on the roster at all when the regular season rolls around. Hankins might have been a hedge while the team assessed its younger nose tackles, and thus far Pili and Quinton Bohanna have both impressed. Pili blew up yet another run play this camp\/preseason, and this time it was for a safety. Maybe I\u2019m biased because I\u2019ve gone by his high school (Westview High in Portland, Oregon) many times over the years.<\/p>\n
Coleman recorded 1.5 sacks, although the 0.5 is really Jamie Sheriff\u2019s pressure on Chris Oladokun and he\u2019s mostly responsible for the sack. The other sack was him beating his man and getting to Bailey Zappe with quickness. I like the possibility of Coleman as a practice squad candidate.<\/p>\n
Jay Harbaugh\u2019s special teams coverage units<\/p>\n
The Seahawks\u2019 return game was the absolute horror show last season, but their coverage units weren\u2019t exactly consistent either. They allowed a huge kick return to Jalen Royals in the first half\u2014D\u2019Anthony Bell seemingly went to the wrong player and left a lane open\u2014and Skyy Moore took a break from dropping the ball to house an 88-yard punt return in garbage time. I am begging Jay Harbaugh to not have this ST unit live and die off the successes of Michael Dickson and Jason Myers again.<\/p>\n
Not everything about the OL was spotless. I think Laumea is on the roster bubble. Keep in mind that he wasn\u2019t picked by John Benton or any of his assistants, and Seattle drafted two guards in Day 3. Hell, Mason Richman has even done some camp reps at center! So has Bryce Cabeldue! Laumea was a healthy scratch for most of his rookie season until he was suddenly preferred over Christian Haynes, and he was a bit of a mess in pass pro but a mauler in the run game. Different coaching, different scheme, competition on either side of him, and consistent time with the 3s over the 2s (as long as no one is injured) has me thinking he could be the odd man out. A two-penalty night won\u2019t help his cause, although he had a nice block on Jake Bobo\u2019s screen TD.<\/p>\n
Sam Darnold didn\u2019t have to do much with his four passes, so all I\u2019m happy about is that it seems like he knows the offense well and we\u2019ll get to know how much he\u2019s in command when the regular season begins. Getting Sam moving out of the pocket is a W for me. Everything looked sharp when he was in the game and I look forward to the whole playbook being used in due time.A little bad luck for Jalen Milroe that he had only five pass attempts and was mostly in \u201crun the clock down\u201d mode. His throws to Ricky White III and Brady Russell were accurate and impressive, but he had a couple of off-target throws (including a possible TD to Anthony Tyus) I\u2019m sure he\u2019s kicking himself over. Mike Macdonald acknowledged as such<\/a>. I\u2019m most encouraged we saw him on a sneak with the first-team, the first teaser of a Jalen Milroe offensive package.Tory Horton did ding his ankle on his only catch of the game, which is unfortunate but it doesn\u2019t sound all that serious. Better safe than sorry if you\u2019re Coach Macdonald.It was good to see Jerrick Reed II making a couple of plays on defense in the fourth quarter. I think his roster chances are minimal but he\u2019ll keep competing until the end; injuries over his previous two seasons really set him back.Nick Emmanwori had his first real rookie moment of preseason when he was caught out by Gardner Minshew on a throw to Isiah Pacheco. Emmanwori was still communicating with his teammates and it looked like it was his assignment that he busted.I hope Jacardia Wright is on the practice squad, because he\u2019s been really enjoyable running back to watch in both preseason games and the Lumen Field training camp scrimmage.Was there pass interference by Robert Tonyan on D\u2019Anthony Bell when Tonyan scored his touchdown? Maybe. But a tight end vs. safety is probably not going to get called. I didn\u2019t even know Tonyan was still in the league.I imagine the starters will get a lot of time against the Green Bay Packers in the joint scrimmage, then we\u2019ll see the second- and third-team guys take up the whole of the preseason finale. It\u2019s important not to get too high on preseason performance; Ryan Grubb\u2019s unit sure looked crisp last year, but something about this year\u2019s preseason feels different, and I think it\u2019s the cohesion that we\u2019re seeing between what Mike Macdonald wants and what we\u2019re seeing on the field. They want to run the ball more and more effectively? We\u2019re seeing that in these exhibitions. More play-action? Yes. Be more physical upfront (at least on offense)? Ditto.There are going to be a lot of tough cuts to make on this Seahawks roster, which is a good problem to have. It\u2019s indicative of the talent on the roster and is reminiscent of the better Pete Carroll teams. Hopefully we\u2019re witnessing Mike Macdonald\u2019s first of many great Seahawks teams.<\/a>