Winners, Losers and Projecting Seattle's 53 Man Roster

by John Morgan on Sep 3, 2009 10:35 PM PDT Comment 34 comments

Ben Obomanu ruled Qwest.

Winners

Dan Quinn: A great position coach finds hidden talent. It's perhaps the single greatest impact a position coach can have. In one draft, Quinn has found, coached up and scheme matched Nick Reed, Michael Bennett and Derek Walker. Quinn deserves some credit for Cory Redding too. Classes like this put position coaches in line for defensive coordinator positions--and head coaching positions.

Losers

Secondary: The front seven looked terrific throughout the game, but the secondary was sloppy, slow and not opportunistic. Seattle might lean on Jordan Babineaux to play two positions and keep seven defensive backs.

Courtney Taylor: Not sure he's cut, but it's very possible. I'd love to credit him for his sweet RAC on the Morrah moving pick, but we can't be sure he would have been open if not for the penalty. If he is cut, I expect him to make another team. Some receivers coach will see his athleticism and desire and give the kid a call.

Curt Menefee: It takes a special kind of genius to make sideline interviews more awkward and irritating, but Curt Menefee is that genius. Instead of sticking to pleasantries and platitudes, Menefee put on his reporter cap and got controversial. Asking Deon Butler about the poor quarterback play at Penn State or Darryl Tapp about how he feels about not starting does not inspire honest, insightful answers. It causes an athlete to bristle and be more guarded.

Seattle Seahawks 53 Man Roster

Deon Butler

Ben Obomanu

Tight End

John Carlson

John Owens

Joe Newton

Offensive Line

Kyle Williams

Defensive Tackle

Michael Bennett

Defensive End

Patrick Kerney

Cory Redding

Lawrence Jackson

Darryl Tapp

Nick Reed

Baraka Atkins

Linebackers

Leroy Hill

Corners

Kelly Jennings

Ken Lucas

Josh Wilson

(Free Agent or Trade)

Safety

Brian Russell

Deon Grant

Jordan Babineaux

C.J. Wallace

Specialist

Olindo Mare

Jon Ryan

Kevin Houser

PUP: Marcus Trufant

IR: Jordan Kent..Cory Withrow

Practice Squad

Derek Walker

(Acquired)

0 recs | Comment 34 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Do you think it's possible that we'll see Teel get some snaps over Wallace at all?

He looked pretty good today; far better than Wallace looked.

A Mariners fan in Seattle

by Coach Owens on Sep 3, 2009 10:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

In what situation?

Like if Matt gets hurt? I am sure Wallace is still the backup.

by John Morgan on Sep 3, 2009 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Say if they're ahead by a few touchdowns near the end of the game.

Usually the backup would get those snaps, but could Teel get some of them?

A Mariners fan in Seattle

by Coach Owens on Sep 3, 2009 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know.

by John Morgan on Sep 3, 2009 11:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I really hope Payne makes it to practice squad if he's cut

that’s one gutsy WR.

And Cheers to Obo. I agree he’s earned a roster spot.

by Stevo's on Sep 3, 2009 10:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Losers - Lawrence Jackson

How could he once again fail to show up through the whole preseason while younger guys made plays all around him.

by Stevo's on Sep 3, 2009 10:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well if we're going on a game by game basis.

He’s made leaps and bounds from the first preseason game to the last.

by LantermanC on Sep 3, 2009 10:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree he did have some good plays tonight

but early in the offseason, his coaches were saying this was Jackson’s time to show something. Its just amazing how the other young guys stole his spotlight.

by Stevo's on Sep 3, 2009 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

True, but to be fair, Reed and Bennett combined did get 2 sacks and an INT or FF per game it seems.

by LantermanC on Sep 3, 2009 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I want a gif of that faceplant

Pretty, pretty please.

Brett Favre is the Kenny Powers of football.

by ninjasocks on Sep 3, 2009 10:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Curt "Meineke" Menefee

The broadcasting equivalent of squealing brakes.

by trippsixxes on Sep 3, 2009 11:10 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

What exactly did I miss between Taylor & Obomanu?

saw a drop, saw a great near TD, saw Ben pull in a TD. I thought Taylor had already separated himself. I expect Obomanu to be the one cut.

by jacobstevens on Sep 3, 2009 11:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Taylor had separated himself

but then Obomanu has the offensive performance of the game. Tonight exceeds anything Taylor has done as a pro.

by John Morgan on Sep 3, 2009 11:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

special teams play

Obo was solid not only on his catches, but on special teams returns and coverage. Seems to me Taylor was getting more balls thrown his way early in preseason, but maybe that’s because the coaches needed to evaluate him more than Obo. I still don’t trust Taylor to catch the ball as much as I trust Obo.

by Stevo's on Sep 3, 2009 11:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That one catch, even with the pushoff, was pretty nice.

Good hands, and good feet.

by djafrot on Sep 4, 2009 12:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

taylor sucks in special teams

and obomanu is probably the best gunner on the team, and the best punt returner after nate burleson. that alone should ensure that he makes the squad, but i think he’s a better receiver than taylor is as well. obomanu just looks like a real nfl wideout, taylor looks like a prospect.

by bitterguy on Sep 4, 2009 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree about special teams

Taylor looks below average in that area and Obomanu is a bit of a ST asset.

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 1:18 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've felt that Obomanu is the better WR from the start.

Although this battle was (technically still is) really close, I’ve never really trusted nor respected Taylor’s pass catching ability. Too inconsistent. He dropped quite a few passes last year when given opportunities. Obomanu’s shown his own inconsistencies as well, but I feel like he’s the better WR.

by Catoblepas on Sep 4, 2009 2:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

For years I always thought Obomanu was the one who would work out

All the way until this training camp, when I saw taylor distinguish himself, and, even though he was awful last year, he started to contribute, very modestly. I’ve never noticed Obomanu act as a very good gunner at all. Ultimately I still see very little distinction between the two, except that Taylor is ready to start contributing more, whereas I don’t yet know about Ben. But I’m glad he’s still with us, I did always like him.

by jacobstevens on Sep 6, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd rather have Taylor than Terrill at this point

by Nate Dogg on Sep 3, 2009 11:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Terrill got some QB pressure tonight, but was not in for many plays

I think probably because he’s already made the team.

by Stevo's on Sep 3, 2009 11:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow, being stuck at work I missed just how dominant some of the defenders were

Reed had 7 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 QB hits. Curry and Heater each had 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and they had 1 and 2 QB hits respectively. Bennett had 2 tackles, 3 QB hits, a tackle for a loss and a pass defense.

And in other news Oakland sucks.

by Nate Dogg on Sep 3, 2009 11:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thoughts

I’m not sure I would bother with Hass on the PS. He basically did nothing this preseason, he’s soon to be cut by his 3rd team, and if signed I think it will be his 4th instance of signing a PS contract (3 different times with Bears). He’s probably got a lower shot of being an NFL regular than just about anyone else, and he’s already 26.

Curry was amazing tonight, I’m surprised this wasn’t mentioned more in the game thread or wasn’t mentioned at all here.

Reed and Bennett amazing again, and Walker had his best game tonight.

Teel showed why he was a 6th round pick this preseason, living up to his college scouting report perfectly, good and bad. Teel looks like a veteran in the pocket, doesn’t stare down receivers, avoids sacks and makes good decisions… really in just about every coach-able area he looks near NFL ready, which this early is impressive. But good goddamn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Seahawks QB stand calmly in the pocket without pressure and fire a missile 1-2 yards off target more than Teel does. He had one pass that bounced off the freakin’ ground 5 feet in front of his intended receiver, and on a pass in the 3rd quarter he missed a ~5 yard dumpoff pass by about two whole yards somehow.

The Rutgers ripped off a fairly impressive hot streak at the end of Teel’s career there, and without researching the reason, I can only guess it was because Teel found his accuracy- because he pretty much already has everything else. However, I think accuracy is more talent-skill than coach-able-skill. Just ask Brandon Morrow. Right now Teel is missing the mark too often and more disturbingly is how he is missing the mark so badly when he does miss. Huge improvement is needed in that area before I’d consider him even a valuable 3rd string QB.

Taylor had a good game and Obomanu had a great game. I think I’d be slightly disappointed if Taylor gets the shaft on making this roster though, because prior to this game I thought Taylor looked better, and I’d hate to see a player leapfrog another when catching passes from 3rd and 4th string QB that may never throw a regular season pass. Especially with most of the game being played by Teel, who was incredibly inconsistent with his accuracy. Taylor in particular was victimized by Teel’s inaccuracy, somehow getting his fingers on a pass that was off the mark by about 5 feet in the endzone. If its Hasselbeck or Wallace making that throw, Taylor makes that catch. Taylor was also victimized by Morrah- the penalty was legit but I don’t think the illegal block was what sprung Taylor.

That said, even if the team made room to keep both, both of them will be free agents (RFA?) next year and barring injuries, will probably both have fewer than 10 catches apiece before quite possibly leaving in free agency. So while it was fun watching them compete tonight, its hard to get worked up over it even if Taylor/Obomanu is cut.

Is Steve Vallos seriously going to be our full time starting Center until Spencer gets back? That just seems wrong. An argument could be made that Vallos is greener at Center than Unger is. A Sims/Unger/Wrotto interior is significantly better than a Sims/Vallos/Unger interior, especially against Chicago in week 3.

Doesn’t getting Pup’d mean that Trufant becomes ineligible for the first 6 games? Won’t he be back sooner than that? I’d gladly sacrifice Terrill and go with 52 players for a few weeks if it means getting Trufant back a few games earlier. Every game without Trufant is a game our secondary will be incredibly vulnerable.

Lastly, first 4-0 preseason in Seahawks franchise history. Sure, its meaningless and trivial. But even meaningless wins still feel good and that we did it against the entire AFC West is pretty awesome.

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 1:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like Trufant will be PUPed

If one player makes or breaks this team besides the QB, then we’re weak. If that’s the case, then I want to know it now.

I’m find if the PUP Trufant. We have to see if these other DBs can step up and carry the load while he’s gone. We’re going to need him more for the post season and the first six games is the easy part of our schedule.

by ASeahawkfan on Sep 4, 2009 1:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The way I see it, this team has a handful of "make or break" players

And Trufant is near the top of that list for me. The reason being- last year the Seahawks, despite Trufant, had one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL. That poor pass defense also featured Josh Wilson having a breakout year in the 2nd half. Kelly Jennings and Brian Russell are that bad. Trufant’s absence pushes each CB on the depth chart about 1 position higher than they are ideal for, and forces Jennings into significantly more playing time.

Pass defense is the 2nd most important part to winning regular season games after only passing offense. Its really important. Not only that, but the easiest way to lose a game against an inferior team is to give up a lot of passing yards. Just like St. Louis 3 times in 2004, or SF last year. Its not that I’m nervous about SF or STL, but if we lose either of those games, the most likely culprit will be the secondary.

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 2:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then we'll know that our secondary is bad

And Ruskell will have to do something about it. Though it will be too late for this season. Pittsburgh donuted us without Casey Hampton and Troy Polamalu. Chances are if they were Seahawks, you would consider them a “make or break” players. Yet their defense stepped up and crushed us in Pittsburgh.

There is no reason Seattle can’t go without their number one CB for part of the season. Guys gotta step up if they want to win.

by ASeahawkfan on Sep 4, 2009 5:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unless you slept through last season

We already know our secondary is bad. It was terrible last year with nearly the same exact group and It hasn’t been good this preseason either.

Pittsburgh had the NFL’s #1 defense last year and they were pretty amazing in 2007 as well- so that’s not a fair comparison.

I agree that guy’s “gotta step it up” to win, that both cliche and obvious, that said, this secondary without Trufant will have about as good a chance of stepping it up as Edge has of rushing for 1300 yards this year. Seriously, is there any area on the team that is a bigger liability than the secondary? My point is, if you can do something to shore up your biggest weakness or in this case reduce the number of games its at its weakest point, you should do it.

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Vallos makes sense

" Is Steve Vallos seriously going to be our full time starting Center until Spencer gets back? That just seems wrong. "

Makes sense to me. Keeping Unger at ROG shows me that the coaches have confidence Spencer will be healthy and be back starting at C soon. They want Unger to have a chance to compete for a starting job at ROG, ideally against Locklear once Walt is healhty. Unger’s experience at C is only one year of college football. Vallos led the Seahawks O line for much of last season and has been through that learning curve already.

by Stevo's on Sep 4, 2009 8:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unger's been playing Center longer than Vallos

And looked better at Center this preseason than Vallos did.

Wrotto is not yet finished developing, but he’d most likely be a smaller liability at G than Vallos at C.

Plus, Unger is most likely the Center of the future, and with Spencer figuring to start 12-14 games this year at center, it would be nice to get Unger some reps at Center when he can to build NFL center experience.

Mora announced a couple days ago that Unger would start at right guard in week 1, which means that Vallos would play center. I wonder how much of that has to do with the team overvaluing Vallos or how much of it is their fear that Wrotto is not ready? If the team feels that Wrotto is not yet ready to be a starting NFL guard, then that completely changes this issue for me, because in that case, an Unger/Vallos lineup would be their only option.

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 3:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The dude missed 5 passes all night.

For a rookie, in a new offense, he’s doing just fine. His throw to Obamanu was perfect, as were several of his other throws. He hit Butler in stride on that TD pass to the flat as well, so he can throw that kind of short ball at times (which, by the way, is not Hass’ strength, either) .

I found Mora’s comments after the game interesting, though. He basically said that Teel plays games better than he practices. Not sure what I think about that for the long haul. But it’s early. It’s clipboard time now for the rook….

by Hawkdawg on Sep 4, 2009 8:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He was 11-19

by kearly on Sep 4, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Winners: Kevin Houser

No one has noticed him yet, which means he’s doing a great job. Was he a great pickup or what?

by Groundhog on Sep 4, 2009 1:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Dan Quinn seems like a solid D-line coach

Did some reading on him last night. He seems to have had pretty good success wherever he has been.

I hope Bradley lives up to his billing. Kiffin built him up. Mora hired him over what looks like a very solid D-line coach in Quinn. I have high expectations for this defense under his guidance.

by ASeahawkfan on Sep 4, 2009 1:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's hard to tell until we see who gets cut around the league

But are there any areas you’d look to improve the fringes of the roster (besides cornerback) with a waiver claim or a post-cut signing?

Will there be somebody more interesting than Joe Newton to back up at TE and play some special teams?

Could they bring in a quick upgrade to Kyle Williams or C.J. Wallace?

Just curious how the bubble talent on this roster compares to replacement level and whether there’s enough opportunity to justify the turnover. Guess we’ll see in a couple days, right?

by busplunger on Sep 4, 2009 6:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs