Charlie Frye is a failed quarterback. Seattle moved a sixth round pick for Frye hoping to rectify a botched start to his career. Frye, always a project, never a plug and play quarterback, cut his teeth behind some miserable offensive lines. His style inflates sacks and he struggled mightily in Cleveland, suffering 66 sacks over 557 pass attempts. Adjusted for opponent and down and distance, Frye recorded Kriegian adjusted sack rates of 10.7% (2005) and 9.8% (2006). For comparison, his tackle dummies in arms Trent Dilfer and Derek Anderson suffered but 6.4% (2005) and 6.0% (2006) adjusted sack rates, respectively. After a five sack slip and slide in week one, Cleveland cut bait, shipping Frye to Seattle for a sixth round pick. Behind a revamped offensive line, Anderson's rate improved from good to excellent: 3.5%.

Anderson, inaccurate but big, mobile and with a quick release, could survive if not thrive behind a worm-eaten line. Frye became a worse quarterback by the snap. Seattle has attempted to decondition Frye's sack induced spasms by teaching him to make quicker reads, check down to his tight end and running backs and fit him with the red shirt aegis. If only the latter worked during the season. They also, theoretically, assembled a line that could give him the kind of time to remain plumb. That's out the window on Saturday, as the white rat's back and the boom returns.

The goal of the preseason is not to win, but to develop. To assess talent and execute plays against unfriendly opposition. If Mike Holmgren expects execution and an accurate display of skills on Saturday, he's not only mistaken, he may be making one of the fundamental mistakes of management: overmatching new employees and positioning them to fail.

The Bears will play their starters into the third quarter. Seattle will not reciprocate. Seneca Wallace or Frye will start, but, either way, Frye will see extensive action. Should he start, Frye may be bookended briefly by starting tackles Walter Jones and Sean Locklear. That'll be nice for Charlie. The cheery arrival before the turn of the screw, because after those ten snaps or so, Jones and Lock get to squat and the Kyle Williams/Ray Willis Happy-Birthday-of-Death B unit are scheduled to escort Mark Anderson, Adawale Ogunleye and Mike Brown about Frye's head and shoulders. Clench that mouthguard, Frye Guy, Tommie Harris is swooping in with a cape shaped like Steve Vallos. But Chicago's front six are no children and Frye no innocent, in fact, he's about to be downright violated.

So "double-u tee ef?" as my wife would say. Why put Frye in the fryer? Why take a battered quarterback and marry him to Rocky? Holmgren seems like the old school type that demands accountability in a tornado. In that sense, he doesn't expect Frye to beat the disaster, just keep his head. And if he can't, at least lick his wounds and build up from the breakdown. It's not a sure-failure strategy. Some thrive on adversity. Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand, just probably not for Frye, who's had his share of nothing and not too many cold drinks.

With the 17th overall pick in the first ever Seahawks All-Time Fantasy Draft, the (19)76ers select...

 
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Offense/Defense

Split End	Slot	Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle	Tight End	Flanker
Nate Burleson Ben Obomanu Jordan Kent	Ben Obomanu LoganPayne	Walter Jones Sean Locklear FloydWomack	Mike Wahle Rob Sims MansfieldWrotto	Chris Spencer Chris Gray Steve Vallos	Rob Sims Chris Gray RayWillis	Sean Locklear Ray Willis SteveVallos	John Carlson Jeb Putzier Will Heller	Bobby Engram Courtney Taylor DeionBranch

Fullback	Quarterback	Running Back
Leonard Weaver Owen Schmitt David Kirtman	Matt Hasselbeck Seneca Wallace Charlie Frye	Julius Jones Maurice Morris TJ Ducket JustinForsett

Sean Locklear

Stats

Highlights

Lowlights

Outlook

TBA

*Includes all games minus Week 10, Divisional Round and the second half of Week 3 and the first half of week 1.

Highlights

N/A

Lowlights

11/4/07

Overtime. The Hawks win the flip and start their drive on their own 30. Against a soft rush, Beck improvises a rollout and completes a 17 yard strike to Bobby Engram. After a two yard dish, and an incomplete forced by a blown block by Lock, the Hawks are staring down third and eight. Seattle sets up 4 wide, Weaver the lone back; at the snap, Cleveland rushes 3 but gets pressure when Lock blows another block allowing Orpheus Roye to get free. Sensing the rush, Beck scrambles, catches a good block by Sims and dives...for...the...first! The officials measure, review and overturn, rightly determining that Beck only rushed for 7 - and a half. The Seahawks go for it. Half-a-yard and the drive's sustained, Seattle will have 3+ downs to crawl 10 yards into the outer limits of Brown's range. The Hawks break huddle with three wide receivers, Will Heller on the left end and Morris the lone back. At the snap, Rob Sims pulls, Chris Spencer springs upright against two Browns defenders and is exploded back, Sims glances off his blocker, and Morris does little more than plunge ahead into the barely visible crease between Sims and the collapsed Walter Jones. He's well short of the first. Browns' ball. Game over.

Outlook

Sean Locklear, like Kelly Jennings, is best recognized for how infrequently he forces you to recognize him. Locklear is a steady right offensive tackle that excels against speed rushers. His greatest weakness is a sustained bull rush. His poorest showings were both against 3-4 defenses, at Cleveland and at Pittsburgh. I don’t expect Locklear to play especially better this coming season, but I do think three separate factors will improve the perception of his play. The first is a running back capable of reaching the edge. Seattle ran the ball just 38 times off right end, and was the third worst team in football at doing so. The second is replacing Chris Gray with Rob Sims. Gray’s failings put an undue burden on Locklear. I didn't think this play qualified as a highlight or lowlight, but it does elucidate the travails of playing beside a human turnstile:

Sims and Locklear should comprise an excellent pass blocking right side. And third, Seattle plays its tight end mostly off right tackle. While Marcus Pollard was not a terrible blocker, John Carlson is stronger and so much more of receiving threat that he should improve Seattle’s ability to run off right tackle and around right end.

The question that remains for Locklear is can he become a solid left tackle? I’m skeptical. He looked excellent in last year’s preseason, but though he’s quick, agile and has good technique, he lacks vital strength. He doesn’t blow opponents off the line run blocking and given his weakness to the bull rush, can easily be game planned against. On the right he can be regularly aided by a tight end, but on he left he will be asked to more often block alone. Further, while a defense lacks incentive to game plan against a right tackle, all defenses attempt to overwhelm and exploit whatever weakness they can against an opposing left tackle. A vulnerable blindside is death to the passing attack. Lock turned 27 yesterday. He’s entering his peak power/athleticism seasons. It’s possible he improves his strength and takes that next step, becoming a well-rounded, sturdy left tackle. If he can, his recent extension will be a bargain.