Quick Cap: Seahawks 29 - Bears 26

by John Morgan on Aug 16, 2008 10:09 PM PDT Comment 14 comments

Reactionary thinking is fuel for the prolific and no wonder new goats sacrificed and new heroes crowned, but talent wins the day. So, easy as it was to bury Josh Wilson after last game, he shined tonight. And easy as it was to excuse Justin Forsett, he shined tonight. And easy as it was to think Charlie Frye anything but a Z string last resort, he came true tonight.

With that in mind, let's talk truth and aberration.

Truth: Forsett makes the team.

Kid is too talented to stash on the practice squad. Behind Jones, he's as willing a blocker and complete as back as Seattle has. Plus, there's no faking good reads, great cuts and NFL quicks.

Aberration: Tight end is unsettled.

Any reactionary fan can see Carlson gaffe, jump preposterously offsides and call foul. But the kid has made strides as a blocker, is unmatched in potential as a receiver and though he may not win the starting spot outright out of camp, categorically certain to start the majority of the season. Growing pains are natural.

Truth: The Heater is NFL caliber.

Shed a center, make him look foolish and turn a good hole into a wall--that plays on Sunday. Hawthorne makes this roster and good God damn have we not had potential in the linebacker second ranks like Hawthorne since 2005.

Aberration: Jordan Kent is ready.

That was nice. Carving up zones; 4 catches for 50 yards. Kent had his moments, but despite having excellent chemistry with Frye and benefiting from some gaping hole in zones, Kent did little to prove he's starter ready. Still, kid is amazingly talented and has by all means graduated from the practice squad, but until he shows consistent separation on deep patterns, before he's able to win in traffic, he's not ready to see more than a handful of snaps a game.

Fun game. Complete breakdown over the coming days. Defense stepped up. Frye was pressured, sucked at times but did enough to be 3rd string.

Game Ball: Justin Forsett, moves, agility and surprising power. The third gear is lost at sea, but top speed is overrated. Kid's got a future in the league.

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Forsett:

What a steal.

by CaptainSexyJacob on Aug 16, 2008 10:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

WRs and RBS

So should we expect 6 backs and 6 receivers on the 53 man roster? When Branch comes off PUP, who will get cut?

by UW Alex on Aug 16, 2008 10:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I would guess whoever is hurt or sucks.

by John Morgan on Aug 16, 2008 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So...

Should I be concerned about Wahle’s lack of sustained effort ’til the whistle blows or is this just an example of him conserving his energy in a meaningless pre-season game?

Our OL depth is concerning, neh? I’m unhappy with our center situation as well.

If there’s an issue, I can think of someone who’s trying to Forsett. Man, that kid looked good tonight.

Hawthorne looked really good, too. We have the best Goddamn LB corps.

There were a couple of good plays but I’m beginning to become a bit concerned about our secondary.

I want Red Bryant. I’ve never seen him in action and I miss him.

I am not impressed with Julius Jones. Could our corps of Morris, Jones, Duckett, Weaver, and Forsett to go with Schmidt and Kirtman be any deeper? Time for Holmgren to add some of Mora’s 3 HB formations to the playbook. BTW HB blocking rocked tonight.

Frye is a 3rd string QB. I see very little upward potential. Time to find a true Hasselbeck understudy.

by Majic on Aug 16, 2008 11:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Did you watch the minnesota game?

I got the complete opposite feeling about Whale during that game. But I wasn’t really paying attention to the line yesterday.

Coach Owens = No Fun Zone

by Scruffy Lefty on Aug 17, 2008 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah.

Wahle did look really good during that game. Feh. It’s the preseason and he really did look great pull blocking.
/nitpick

by Majic on Aug 17, 2008 10:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frye?

I thought the whole point of tonights “audition” was to prove he could run the team if needed. If we had any faith in him it would free up Seneca to utilize his skill set for something other than signaling in dummy plays.

I can’t see Seneca getting any run at WR or returning kicks with Frye as the number 3.

Don’t you think we will snatch up the first experienced QB that is cut from another team and send Frye packing? If the #3 isn’t a project with some up side he might as well be an old cagey guy on his way out of the league.

I wonder what Jeff George is up to?

I'd like to kick Josh Brown in the privates!

by The Manchild on Aug 17, 2008 12:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

John, I was wondering

if it was the ZBS and stretch plays that we were seeing tonight?

The oline looked real athletic and a perfect match for the type of 1-cut RBs we have.

Solari is doing a damn good job from the looks of it.

by puerto on Aug 17, 2008 1:31 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Request...

I didn’t get to see the game last night, but heard most of the 2nd half and OT on Sirius. Boy, Forsett sure took the practice squad option away from Ruskell. He wouldn’t clear waivers now. (I have a colleague, a huge Tennessee fan, who I thought was ready to have Forsett’s lovechild after last year’s game.

Anywho, as you write this game up please go in depth on the o-line play. Specifically address the prospect of having Vallos as the full-time center. My inner pessimist is telling me to gear up for this season to be a lost one for Spencer. (When pro athletes start having serious back issues that always scares me. Backs have a way of just never getting right again once you hurt them.) How worried should we all be about Vallos as the guy from day one?

"Those who fear disorder more than injustice inevitably produce more of both." -- Rev. William Coffin

by dcrockett17 on Aug 17, 2008 6:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Pocket-Hercules?

Prospectus mentioned Forsett as having a similar skillset to MJD. “Change of pace back and returner…albeit a bit thin in the lower body for ’pocket-Hercules status…”

He looked special like that last night. I hope he can continue to develop and share more of the load in real games.

These questions may be a bit presumptuous, given we’re in the middle of the pre-season, but I wonder:

Has Justin shown enough, along with the addition of JJ to make MoMo nearly expendable? Obviously, his contract is up after this season, but is Morris in any danger of not making the team?

What happened with Courtney Taylor? Are the ‘Hawks counting on him so much for the regular season that he didn’t get much run, just to save his health for when it counts (optimist)? Or, did he disappear after the bomb he should have caught went off his hands (pessimist)?

Thanks for the hard work in covering our ’Hawks in such great detail, JM! I enjoyed the podcast, as well.

by Misfit74 on Aug 17, 2008 9:25 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Taylor could have caught that but by no means should have caught that.

It was overthrown. Taylor had already done quite a bit to get open and made a nice, if a bit alligator-armed, effort for the pass, but Frye sailed it and cost Seattle a big play, maybe a score. I do think he’s being protected. Next week Seattle is supposed to play their starters for much of the game – I expect Taylor to show then.

by John Morgan on Aug 17, 2008 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m hoping Taylor is a viable weapon this year. Thanks for the response.

by Misfit74 on Aug 17, 2008 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fun game to watch.

I’ve been out of town for the last three weeks so I have not been following the Hawks lately, and was excited to be able to see the game last night.

Obviously Forsett was the highlight. I’m impressed. I doubt we’ll see many (any) carries from him if he makes this squad, but if he keep contributing on special teams I’m going to be impressed.

I liked Jordan Kent. He didn’t seem to do anything too spectacular, but he caught the ball when it was thrown his way, he’s fast… I’d like to see him keep it up, and make this team. Obviously all our young WR’s are closely being watched, and it’s exciting to see progress. Next weekend will be key, seeing how they perform with Matt and who can step up.

My biggest worry is our OL depth. If everyone stays healthy, and gets healthy, we should be fine… but it’s looking pretty thin at this point.

Overall good game, our defense is awesome and I’m pretty optimistic they’re going to really carry the team this year.

by AtomicGarden on Aug 17, 2008 11:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Lawrence Jackson

I’m sure you’ll touch on this in your tape review, John, but how about that pass defense by Jackson in the first half? Initially, I didn’t see who made the play. I thought, wow, some DB just did a sweet job. Hell of a play for a DE.

by jeager on Aug 17, 2008 11:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs