Offense/Defense

Split End	Slot	Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle	Tight End	Flanker
LoganPayne SammieParker	BillyMcMullen BobbyEngram	Walter Jones Sean Locklear FloydWomack	Mike Wahle MansfieldWrotto	Chris Spencer Steve Vallos	Floyd Womack MansfieldWrotto RayWillis	Ray Willis Sean Locklear	John Carlson Jeb Putzier Will Heller	CourtneyTaylor SammieParker

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

Though an extended morning practice, the three Big Blogs are scarce on details. I'm just happy that starting Saturday I can begin again with first hand scouting, because this game of telephone has left me with its share of purple monkey dishwashers.

Seahawks Insider

Roster-wise, the Seahawks placed Wesly Mallard on injured reserve with a knee injury and signed former UW cornerback Derrick Johnson -- who promptly injured himself and was getting his ankle iced on a cart.

Somewhere within this is a Zen kōan. Like, if two players are injured, but both suck, is it news?

There was a lot more team stuff today and less individual drills. On one passing drills, Ben Obomanu completely shook Kevin Hobbs and made a nice catch given that he was wide open. Hobbs redeemed himself later when he nearly picked off a pass intended for Courtney Taylor. He dropped it, but if he got it he would have gone the distance, to quote Field of Dreams.

It would be nice to know who threw those passes, minimum, to make any sense of this. Other important factors: The type of route, the type of coverage, the time in the pocket and whether he was under pressure. Anyway, I'm not sure if Obo has turned a corner or if his play is just being watched for after a strong showing on Saturday. Friday anyone?

Next!

Seahawks Blog

Fullback Owen Schmitt laid a pretty stiff block on D.D. Lewis, blocking to open a hole for Justin Forsett.

Insider has Schmitt whiffing on a pass block. Seahawks Blog mentions a good run block. I would guess that's a decent summary of where Schmitt stands. A better run blocker than pass blocker that's still in the pacifier stage when it comes to rushing and receiving. I think the guy has a safe spot on special teams, so here's hoping he figures it out. I want to think Schmitt has more to show than he has, mostly because I think the guy loves football and is really suffering his sucky play.

Defensive end Baraka Atkins appeared to hurt himself during a goal-line drill. He was slow getting up and tended to by trainers.

If serious, this would be a blow. Atkins and his anticipated development is one reason I don't foresee a regression from Seattle's pass rush. To achieve that, he must, obviously, play, but also, he must grow a bit in the preseason. Anticipating snap counts against your own team is one thing, but achieving a quicker first step against foreign competition is the litmus test. As with all preliminary injury news, this is to be continued.

A little more from training camp MVP, Talkin' Hawks

PLAYER OF THE DAY
David Hawthorne. The rookie middle linebacker from TCU is battling for a spot on the practice squad, if not the 53-man roster, and this morning he came out swinging.

First, he beat rookie fullback Owen Schmitt on a blitz to force an incomplete pass. Later, he hit and drove 254-pound running back T.J. Duckett backward in a short-yardage drill.

The former horned frog is tough to get any info about. I look forward to watching him myself, because he's one member of the Hawks' roster I really know nothing about.

PLAYS OF THE DAY
Offense: Center Steve Vallos locked up 314-pound defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, providing Duckett the lane he needed to pickup the first down in a third-and-1 drill.

Obviously, I don't have to say that's all kinds of good. Especially for a player whose greatest limitation is his strength. Mebane is a powerhouse who demands double blocks, and if Vallos can do that once...well, it's a step. You can count on Vallos getting special attention throughout the preseason. Quietly, he might be making a run for the starting center job.

Seahawks Insider is first in with, uh, well...

There is another new player on the field, though this one is an old player. With Chris Gray announcing his retirement (officially he was placed on the IR) -- which must make Ben Claxton feel a bit more secure...

Chris Gray: Ben Claxton, come over here man. Doctors told me I have to retire. Said I have a spine injury; that if I play any more it could lead to paralysis. When they told me Saturday, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Playing football has been my life. Anyway, kid, sounds like you've got a good chance to make the club. That's my spot you're taking. Do me proud.

Ben Claxton: You're debilitating injury makes me feel a bit more secure about my job.

Gray:

Claxton: Sorry about the spine.

Howard Green had another nice play, slipping a block and getting into the backfield to stop Maurice Morris.

I'm not wild about Green, but without Red Bryant, he's the team's best backup 1 tech tackle. That is, assuming nothing from Marcus Tubbs. At 29, and with better quicks than strength, for a right DT anyway, Green could enjoy a late career peak as his strength and speed hit an optimum equilibrium: being strong enough to make his speed count and not having lost enough speed to suffer.

D. D. Lewis quickly showed why Justin Forsett’s size is a liability: After Forsett caught a pass and tried to sprint away from Lewis, Lewis took his jersey with just one arm and flung him to the ground with a look of disdain.

Being tackled by the jersey, even decisively, does not make a player a liability.

I have to say, Jason Babin is having a pretty good training camp. Babin bullrushed Joe Newton on one play and pushed him into the backfield, right into Owen Schmitt, who was coming up to the line for a block. The play fell apart. It is the one concern with Newton: he is a very good receiver but his lower body is too small to sustain blocks. Later, Babin beat Kyle Williams to the quarterback.

In other words, Babin schooled a tight end that can't block and a developmental tackle that's hanging on by his fingernails. As much as I want Babin to produce, this is all but meaningless. Good God I can't wait for Friday.

Talkin Hawks

WORD OF THE DAY
Defense. As in, the pads came back on, and the defense came out pounding.

After two practices in shells and shorts Sunday, the players worked this morning for 1 hour, 45 minutes in full pads – and defensive players were popping theirs, and then popping off.

"Guys were just making plays," Pro Bowl middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "And you get to jawing a little more when you're making plays."

That the defense was doing, to the rumbling displeasure of coach Mike Holmgren – whose practice barometer is an indication of well the offense performs.

Seattle's defense is clearly more talented than its offense. Especially the offense it assembles for practice. Full of holes on the line and largely without its top quarterback. So, though the story has been about how the defense has dominated the offense throughout training camp, it's really no reason to panic. The defense is playing at or near full strength. It should be dominating Seattle's patchwork offense.

Mike Sando is first in with the goods. Scroll down and you'll see some quick hits on John Carlson. Impressive work by Sando, proving if ever it needed to be, Mike Sando is a tough act to follow.

Starting center Chris Spencer isn't working. Coach Mike Holmgren lumped Spencer into a group of players taking things easier following offseason surgeries. Unlike the other guys who passed physicals, Spencer hasn't practiced since early in the first session Friday. His injury situation is definitely worth monitoring.

That's a foreboding first line if I've ever read one. Spencer's shoulders are now not just endangering his potential, but also his career. It's bad enough that he's clearly lost strength, but if he can't get reps in at practice, I don't think Holmgren will hesitate to begin auditioning replacements. Spencer has too much learn to be taking snaps off.

The Seahawks have not yet committed to Julius Jones as their starting running back, but if he is indeed the favorite, Maurice Morris can't afford to make the decision easier. That thought came to mind as Morris dropped an easy pass roughly 10 yards downfield. A short time later, Jones made a catch over his left shoulder despite tight coverage from linebacker David Hawthorne.

Jones is not only the favorite, Jones starting is a fait accompli. I wouldn't give anymore credence to Holmgren's "two starters" than I would Kelly Jennings' job being endangered. It's a motivational tool, and when all is said and done, I'd be surprised if Morris matches his carries from last season. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised if Seattle doesn't shop him before the season starts.

Rookie running back Justin Forsett, 5-foot-8 and 194 pounds, can be hard to find out there -- for defenders as well as spectators. He's got some fight, too, at one point winning a tug-of-war for the ball with Lofa Tatupu on the other end. It looked as though Forsett surprised Tatupu with his strength.

It's notable that Forsett continues to impress. Seattle didn't draft the tiny powerback to be cute, or because "his talent was just too good not to". Forsett is the type of hard working overachiever Tim Ruskell favors, and if Morris ends up in another jersey, Forsett will be part of the reason why.

Here are a couple quick takes on Carlson.

Carlson beat safety Deon Grant for an intermediate gain late in practice. Carlson caught the ball away from his body without losing control. Very nice.

The overall feel is that Carlson showed up, stepped up and showcased the skills and polish that made Seattle confident he could contribute this season. As for the headfakes...

Forsett isn’t fast. At Cal, he never posted a rush longer than 60 yards. At his Pro Day he posted a 4.62/40 on a favorable surface. Forsett isn’t tall. He’s a true 5’8". And after watching him play, I’ve long disabused myself of the idea that he’ll survive a starter’s workload. But he’s a quick, tenacious, well-rounded tiny-powerback and his game should translate. Not bad for a 7th round pick. After the jump is a reprinted look at my scouting report for Forsett.

Continue reading this post »

I love the Seahawks. I’ve got it so bad, it’s starting to exclude other loves: reading, the Mariners, music. But there’s love and there’s creepy, suffocating obsession. That’s why June is just murder for me. I don’t worry every niggling detail about the Hawks respective public lives. Who spoke where or donated money to what. Great, it’s great you do that, but the point of charity is not recognition. I don’t mistake a hack for fact no matter the size of their megaphone. So, mind me if I ignore your unit rankings, draft grades and division predictions. And—this one isn’t going to win me any friends—I loathe the game of telephone I must endure to get some sense of what’s happening at mini-camp. I can’t understand how every report is so spare and convoluted. The experience has only bolstered my resolve to get up to Training Camp this summer.

Despite a mess of news, very little has occurred between the draft and now that will impact the 2008 season. Nevertheless, it’s what we have, so without further prickish, self-rightousness here’s some short responses to trifling matters.

Bobby Engram: Engram attended mandatory mini-camp in May and has since skipped Seattle’s voluntary mini-camps. That tells you about everything you need to know, doesn’t it? Engram is attempting to get a pay raise. Holding out is about his only leverage as he’s all but worthless on the open market. When it mattered, when it was mandatory, Engram showed. There’s a ~0% chance that Engram misses any part of the season. Engram’s as seasoned as curry powder and a virtuoso in Holmgren’s West Coast, so missing mini-camp is really just saving his body some wear and tear, reducing the chance he suffers an injury pre-season and allowing the Seahawks foursome of young receivers some extra snaps with the first team offense. Win-win-win-win, right? Non-story.

Red Bryant: Bryant is blowing guys up in non-contact drills. You kind of expect a big guy to do that when everyone’s running half speed. There was a big foofaraw about Bryant blowing up Justin Forsett a week back, ignoring the fact that Bryant wasn’t supposed to collide with Forsett and Forsett was blindsided. There’s very little within that exchange that should encourage anyone about Bryant or Bryant’s ability. Bryant’s got a temper on him and it sounds a bit like he’s running a little less half-speed than those around him. Bryant was and continues to be an excellent talent. His presence brings might to an otherwise mighty flimsy second team tackle unit, but I encourage everyone not read too terribly much into his performance so far. The good news is he’s playing hard. The rest we can revisit in the preseason.

Injuries: No one except Deion Branch is injured. It’s pointless to scrutinize a player’s every bruise, bump or arthroscopic surgery. I think that final one worries people a bit, perhaps because arthroscopic surgery often precedes something far more dramatic. Arthroscopic surgery, by itself, is not a cause for concern.

This is what it looks like

via www.yorkshirekneeclinic.co.uk

And this is what it does:

During an average knee arthroscopy, a small fiberoptic camera (the endoscope) is inserted into the joint through a small incision, about 4 mm (1/8 inch) long. A special fluid is used to visualize the joint parts. More incisions might be performed in order to check other parts of the knee. Then other miniature instruments are used and the surgery is performed.

When Rob Sims undergoes Arthroscopic knee surgery May 6 and is potentially able to participate in a June mini-camp, there’s no reason to worry about his health.

Did I miss anything? The team has cycled a few free agents, none of which have stuck. It’s tough being without the Seahawks for a few months, but scraps, hype and hard worrying about non-stories is hardly a substitute for a Tatupu obliteration or a Trufant pick-6. So I’m going to give my beloved some breathing room, but the blog will go on. Football Explained returns tomorrow. We’ll zip through the three linebacker positions this week and next week will be dedicated to explaining the workings of the Seahawks front seven. Lots of diagrams, real plays, and second by second breakdowns of how things went down. Maybe something else, I’m working on it with Scruffy Lefty. Stencil will continue to yuck it up about the stuff I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot clown pole, and should anything real come down, like news, we’ll be around.