2009 Season Retrospective: Chris Spencer
by John Morgan on Jul 2, 2010 12:51 PM PDT
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2008
2007
Highlights
The single most impressive pull of the quarter was by Chris Spencer on this play:
1-10-SEA 15 (5:27) 22-J.Jones up the middle to SEA 31 for 16 yards (38-D.Manning)
Spencer snapped and then fluidly pulled into the second level without delay. He engaged Hunter Hillenmeyer and took him out of the play.
Seahawks at Cowboys
Spencer shoves out nose tackle Junior Siavii and then flops, cutting inside linebacker Bradie James.
...
It was another opportunity lost and led to yet another lost opportunity. Strike three stopped the drive. Dallas blitzed six out of a 3-3 nickel formation. Hasselbeck sagged and sagged, drawing the defenders in. At the last moment he jumped and threw across his body. The pass was flat and slapped away by Stephen Bowen. Justin Forsett dropped his shoulders, Chris Spencer to his front, Max Unger and Rob Sims at either side; not a defender between him and the first.
...
It's third and three and Seattle is down by four.
Seattle runs an inside draw. It gets good push from Chris Spencer and Rob Sims. Forsett slips through a seam and streams out the other side behind the pulling Spencer. He has the first.
...
Spencer got revenge. He forced back Ratliff and turned him allowing Julius Jones to cutback left and rush for six.
Seahawks at Cardinals
Justin Forsett attacked the middle on a simple run up the gut. Chris Spencer turned his man and from there it was Force against the second level. He ran for fourteen. It was the single longest play of the drive.
Julius Jones cashed in on an inside draw. Max Unger was run through and Jones had to bull and spin through a tackle in his own backfield. Spencer and Rob Sims had fought back the defensive right and Jones cut left and into space for the touchdown.
49ers at Seahawks
For most of the season, Chris Spencer protected Unger. If a man was aligned over Unger, Spencer would typically turn right and double the defender. Rob Sims was the reliable guard. He was left to fend for himself. Unger proved capable of controlling his man and that allowed Spencer to read and react. It proved critical.
Lock was badly beat around the end by Manny Lawson. Sims controlled his man and Spencer stood free in his center zone. Spencer turned that freedom into a crucial freeing block. He doubled Sims man and the two dominated him so completely that Sims was able to pull free and pick up Locklear's blown assignment. What looked like a sack turned into a fifteen yard completion.
...
Chris Spencer teamed with Unger to blow back McDonald three yards and allow Spencer to pull and pop the next man in his way. It was a ripping hole that vanished. Jones missed the cutback lane, the cutback lane closed an instant later, and Jones sunk his shoulders and smashed into the pile as he's wont.
...
Spencer pointed left, identifying the blitzer. Then Hasselbeck looked like he was audibling and Forsett shifted from left to right.
...
Forsett curled, caught and unwound towards the end zone to score six and give Seattle the lead. He was in before a defender could touch him. Spencer pulled out immediately and wormed into Willis' body. Last season, Spencer slammed Willis but Willis slammed back, separating and tackling Jones after eight. This time, Spencer stayed with Willis, not attempting the knockdown block, but keeping on him, staying square and jogging the All Pro into the end zone. Sims pulled late but cut Mark Roman on a crucial backside block. Unger pulled cleanly, found Dre Bly and threw a schoolyard beatdown on the former Pro Bowler. He squared, coiled and blocked Bly into the air and onto his back. Touchdown.
Lowlights
Bears at Seahawks
11. Chris Spencer blew a block on a sloppy screen pass attempt.
Seahawks at Cowboys
Chris Spencer was blown back and dropped by Jay Ratliff and Ratliff virtually stood atop Spencer when he tackled Julius Jones for a loss of one. It was a worrying start for Seattle's offense compounded by miserable field position.
Bucs at Seahawks
Jim Lawrence Mora officially tips the scales against Tim Ruskell. He is among the most incompetent leaders I have ever studied. He is considered like Caligula, fair like Stalin, confident like Marat and smart like a donut. This week, in order, he swapped his right guard and center after shaming and questioning the toughness of said center: Chris Spencer; He revealed that other teams perceive the Seahawks as soft and tacitly expressed his agreement; Voiced his thinking that for Seattle to be better, it needs more "dirtbags"; Led those dirtbags, through alternating three-man rushes and six-man blitzes, to its nadir as a modern franchise.
Outlook: Interesting thought: It was a bad season for Chris Spencer. He started the season injured and ended the season benched. He was publically called out by his head coach, and not for poor effort or play, but toughness. All told, he missed two games because of a torn quad, was rotated at right guard in two games to end the season and started 12 games at center.
And he tore it up. Turning nose tackles, protecting Max Unger, identifying blitzes, pulling, squaring in space, orchestrating screen passes and generally fulfilling the potential he has long teased but never consistently played with. Spencer was a better run blocker than Rob Sims and a better pass blocker than anyone but Rob Sims. It was his second straight season of growth as a player. Spencer has as much talent as anyone on the line other than Russell Okung. He is squatty, but quick and agile. His footwork has improved. Spencer has always been a powerhouse.
It was a bad season for Spencer but he showed growth as a player. The overall talent on the line is better and that could help reveal just how good Spencer is becoming. I think this is a big season for Chris. He is playing for his future, with the Seahawks and in the NFL. He has a coaching staff that believes in him. He has reinforcements to his left. Unger should suck less. Sean Locklear should cut off backside pursuit. Justin Forsett and Leon Washington should exploit seams and solid second-level blocks and power a solid rushing attack. It was a bad season for Chris Spencer, but it might be the last time for a long time that I write that.
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On a strictly human level I'm glad Spencer is getting a shot to play for a new coaching staff.
Having your toughness and intelligence insulted by fans and coaches for so long had to have gotten under his skin. I don’t know if that ever effected his play, but it’s nice to see he’s going to get a chance from a staff that doesn’t feature the echoes of Holmgren.
by BrianL on Jul 2, 2010 1:00 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I agree. That battle with Mora was one of the most astonishing feats of ignorance turned up by Mora and his staff.
I have no idea if Spencer is bright or blunt, but that entire ordeal was stark.
I agree with all of the above.
I had no idea I liked Spencer as much as I did until Mora called him out. I want Spencer to do All-Pro well and win Comeback Player of the Year, and then I’ll be bitter because I know he didn’t come back from anything except a bad coach.
Ugh Mora makes me lose my appetite.
“Lock got beat around the end”…of the show. Jack pounded on him with a flying-leap that turned into a half punch-half pile drive in the face. The doctor couldn’t deliver, however, and Freckles had to shoot him.
Though they sink through the Sea, they shall rise again...Death shall have no dominion...
It's amazing
That the universal consensus among writers and radio personalities is that Spencer was the worst (starting) lineman and probably not needed going forward.
Then those writers and personalities are/were ignorant
It’s not Spencer’s fault that he started to come into his own as a center at THE EXACT SAME TIME the rest of the offensive line crumbled. Guilt By Association, mixed in with some people not letting go of their previous (mis)conceptions. Chris Spencer WAS inconsistent his first 3 seasons as a Seahawk — a lot of that due to injuries — but he’s been good the last two seasons.
God, I’m still bewildered by all those fans calling for Spencer to get cut and have Steve freaking Vallos start at center.
I have doubts about Locklear being able to cut off backside pursuit well on the right side.
He wasn’t a great left tackle, and we’ve upgraded 2 spots with Okung and moving Locklear back, and it was only one year, so he can improve in zone blocking, and arguably be able to improve more on the right than the left by virtue of having less demanding pass rush come at him.
But I just don’t have confidence. Cutting on the stretch runs was perhaps Locklear’s biggest problem, execution-wise. Likely the biggest problem for the run game on the offensive line. Being on the left as opposed to the right was not a factor, I believe.
Well, there’s Alex Gibbs, to offer hope. But I just doubt Locklear will hold off backside pursuit for us on the right.
Not to let that get in the way of a good post and a good outlook for Spencer.
"Spencer slammed Willis but Willis slammed back, separating and tackling Jones after eight"
The link behind that sentence doesn’t seem to be working (at least not for me).
Right with you C-Raig.
That was the single greatest leadership failure this side of Al Davis – calling out a guy’s toughness when he tries to save your job by playing with a broken hand. Personally, I would have socked him in his pissy mouth with my good hand if I were Spencer.
A large part of the collective stupidity of fans, coaches and front office personnel alike is expecting everyone to be an overnight sensation, when it takes YEARS to develop for most of the starters in the pros.
Just remember the immortal words of George Argyros, who presided over the Mariners’ 1980s Dark Ages when they could be counted on to lose 100 games a year or close to it: “Patience is for losers”.
sorry
Not a big Mora fan but he called them out for being pussies. Other teams were mauling Hasselbeck with no consequences or even irritation. They would just be standing there watching a linebacker with his forearm in Hasselbecks throat. Dirtbag may have been a poor choice of words but some sort of meanness and toughness was in order and Spencer needed to step up and get pissed. From what I’ve seen Spencer has been a below average center with not a lot of guts. We never saw the amount of sub 2 second sacks up the middle with Chris Grey under center. Last year we had 2 games with less than 15 yards rushing. Go ahead Chris prove me wrong
What the hell, you hate Shark Week, no wonder we dont see eye to eye.
yea dude
Yeah, if only Spencer had more guts, preferably in the large inestinal area next to the Caecum
Which, as we all know, is directly responsible for a man’s toughness and the ability to withstand a sucker punch. Also maybe a foot or two more in the Splenic Flexura of the Transverse Colon, preferably just enough so that it reaches all the way up to the heart and wraps around it once, thus giving him the courage of ten lions all stacked up on one another in some kinda lion totem pole giving him enough heart to smash to pieces a d-line made up of four Albert Haynesworth’s (who’s guts by the way have been known to reach all the way to the moon and back twice plus one)
by B.B.Finnegan on Jul 3, 2010 9:06 AM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
I guess thats cute
As a 5th year vet at center it would also be time to assume a leadership role. That would also seem to require an elevated level of play. We’re all hoping that Hamilton can supply some of that leadership with years of experience and familiarity with the scheme. But Ben is from a different team, not sure how much that matters with a complete change of coaching staff and playbook.
yea dude
Center is the late-blooming-est position...
So it’s not at all surprising that Spencer has struggled with some nuances of the position.
That has masked the increased level of his performance the last 3 years. Also, if the C is covering for the G, it’s going to be much harder to also cover A-gap blitzes and stunts. In absence of those, he was the only C all year to really handle Ratliff for most of a game. The single biggest improvement the O-line can make is Unger. His technique didn’t seem to be bad, but man, it’s brutal to watch an NFL lineman get physically overmatched as often as he did. If Carlisle can get Unger to the next level, I think Gibbs will take them the rest of the way.
I’ve never been a huge Locklear fan, but I’ll be thrilled if we return to the days of him being our weakest link.
by PerryCollective on Jul 4, 2010 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Can I also reply in a snooty way without adressing anything said in the above post?
It seems to be the general modus operandi.
by Thomas Beekers on Jul 5, 2010 2:45 PM PDT up reply actions
You're contrarian to a fault.
This comment wasn’t worth the time people spent to reply to it and it certainly isn’t worth you defending it.
by Nate Dogg on Jul 5, 2010 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
That picture is fucking great.
Kid looks like he’s in the process of giving a forearm shiver.
A great year by Chris Spencer would be as good as any storyline the Seahawks might produce this year.
"Football players are temperamental. That's 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental." - Doug Plank
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