Greetings Seahawks fans. First, allow me to apologize for this final report taking so long to get out. As it turns out, I'm ear deep in 2012 draft stuff and bouncing all over the country in the process. What the extra time did allow for, was more 2011 Seahawks game replays, and a closer look at the play of all of the rookies. So...let's get to it.

Here are my final Seahawks rookie rankings for the 2011 season.

1. Richard Sherman - I know I've had K.J. Wright here for the last couple of reports, but after spending time watching several of the games over again, and in evaluating Sherman across a larger body of work than I had in previous reports, he was clearly the best performer of the rookies this season. Sherman no longer gets the "future Pro Bowler" tab. He played like a first team All-Pro for the majority of his time as the team's starter at left corner. The combination of size, strength and speed to go with the level of physicality and aggression that he applies those tangible physical, give him an out-of-sight ceiling at this point.

The most surprising element of his game to me, has been in the instincts and awareness department. The guy knows when the ball is coming out, where it's going to be and how to attack it. He also knows how to smother a receiver without interfering (something that Brandon Browner struggled mightily with this season -if you're looking for a contrast) and he's a fundamental tackler who provides above average run support for the position. There are two main reasons why the instincts have been surprising to me.

First off, he's a rookie. A lot of rookies have come off a recent college season where they displayed good instincts, but then they struggle to adjust at the NFL level because the instincts have to be sped up, and demand for quicker response forces a longer learning curve. Sherman adapted quickly from the time Trufant went on IR and really only improved as time went on. Think about it. How many flat out blown coverages did you see out of Sherman this season. I found one (see Brandon Lloyd TD @ St. Louis) that truly impacted the game, and then another two or three where the opposing QB missed so the impact wasn't felt (see Baltimore game - Torrey Smith got behind him a couple of times but was over-thrown).

The second reason that the instincts have surprised me, is because of the late position switch from receiver during his first couple of school years at Stanford, to cornerback. He has learned quickly, and it shows. This isn't a raw athlete making plays on speed and size who should eventually be picked apart with some decent film study. He's a blanket cover man with above-average ball skills, diagnostics, fluidity in reverse, a smooth transition to run with receivers, and the ability to explode to the ball. He needs to control his emotions on the field as we saw against St. Louis, but you have to love the fire he plays with. Devin McCourty had a sophomore slump this season. Sherman can't relax and take his rookie season as a guarantee that he has it all figured out, but he's also a more impressive total package than McCourty.

2. K.J. Wright - To avoid sounding like a broken record, I'll try to say all the same things, but differently. Whatever. With Wright, like Sherman, he simply learns and adapts extremely quickly and doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Most importantly, he doesn't repeat mistakes. What I don't want to do, which I think I've done a bit in past reports, is focus so much on the instincts, that the impressive tangibles get overlooked. The facts are, the guy is a shade under 6'4 and 246lbs. That's a good-sized linebacker in a league where the 6'0, 225lbs outside 'backer is becoming the more popular choice to play the outside positions.

This shift to the smaller linebacker is due to the need for better speed and short area quickness, so that defenses can more effectively combat the pass-heavy offensive attacks that are taking over the league. Wright can hang with the little guys though. His explosive first step and fluidity in space in combination with the length and size allow him to cover some impressive real estate quickly. He's a solid starter who may never make a Pro Bowl, but should give the team no reason to need a replacement at the position for several years. A true long-term starter.

3. Doug Baldwin - A clear theme among the top three here has materialized - These are all consistent contributors who learn quickly, avoid mistakes and display a level of football intelligence beyond their years. The team's leading receiver this year not only became the go-to possession guy for Tarvaris Jackson, but was routinely the guy who Jackson clearly trusted the most to make plays in critical situations, particularly on third down. He finds space more than he beats press so he'll probably never be a consistent outside guy, but that simply doesn't matter.

Forgive the harsh tone, but scouts (particularly in media) who undervalue receivers for their inability to beat press on the edges, particularly receivers who have proven to be consistent contributors from the slot in clutch situations at the college level, are irresponsible evaluators and their reasoning is often nothing short of moronic. Baldwin being a steal had more to do with the failure of all 32 teams to properly evaluate him and less to do with Seattle's great scouting department, although they clearly ended up being the ones to get it right. They still got it right way too late.

I think Kris Durham is going to be a good NFL receiver so long as he can stay healthy. But who was needed and ultimately, utilized more between he and Baldwin? Scouts had better stop letting the stupid size issue factor in so heavily to their evaluations. Not just at receiver, either. At any position. Consistent, fundamentally sound contributors at the college level who display football intelligence early, rarely bust. Explosive athletes with incredible measurables bust all the time. As "Peter Brand" said in Moneyball, it's not about buying players, it's about buying wins (paraphrasing), and Doug Baldwin will get you wins. In fact, Richard Sherman, K.J. Wright and Doug Baldwin will all get you wins, despite Baldwin going undrafted and both Sherman and Wright being overlooked for the first 3 rounds.

4. James Carpenter - The sample size was smaller than we'd all hoped for, but Carpenter did flash an array of promising skills at right tackle, and briefly and left guard. He's extremely nimble considering his massive frame, possesses upper and lower half power, and can really deliver a pop of the line. Struggles came primarily in pass protection but had little to do with physical limitations and a lot to do with misdiagnosing and failing to properly anticipate his opponents' move.

The improvement in this area was gradual over his body of work, but it was certainly evident, which suggested that he was beginning to understand and anticipate better. He wasn't a very consistent "instincts" guy at Alabama, so there were always questions there for me. However, the power and rare size/quickness and flexibility combo made him intriguing and he did show enough intelligence and recovery ability to warrant a lower first round grade in my opinion. And I think he played like a low first round offensive tackle on a young team in a new scheme. He's a long-term starter at right tackle or guard given that he stays healthy, but if he wants to be a legitimate top tier lineman, he'll need to do a better job of coming into camp in shape, continuing to take and make corrections, and be more consistent at getting into position off the snap.

He can trap, seal, pancake and explode at the point of attack. He gets down field and can square up at the second level. He can do it all. It's the intelligence piece that is still in question for me, but he can be an average tackle on a good team as is. His chances of becoming a pro bowler would probably be enhanced with a move to the inside (i.e. left guard) which wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility if there's a better tackle prospect available for Seattle to draft in the next year or two, and other need areas are filled.

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As I said a few weeks ago in my initial Rookie Report, I'll be paying attention closely to the Seahawks' rookies and how they perform this season, then try and rank them according to how well they play on a week-to-week basis. Let's take a look at the Week12/Week 13 rookie rankings, as they performed against Washington and in the Thursday night contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.

1. K.J. Wright - OLB

Wright took his game to the next level in Week 13 with a sack and several key run-stops against the Eagles. With each week, Wright has continued to display an improved ability to diagnose the run, maintain gap discipline, and cover a good chunk of ground, sideline to sideline.

If he's lacked anything to this point, it has been the decisiveness to take a risk and explode to the ball carrier with confidence, as the tendency has been to stay conservative and keep control of his gap and make plays when they come his way. The latter has still been a significant upgrade over Aaron Curry who lacked the instincts to be the right kind of decisive. Curry took plenty of risks and shot for the target on plenty of occasions, he just over-shot, targeted the wrong guy, or simply missed his target too frequently, and thus left a huge void on his side of the field that was exploited often.

Wright has the instincts to routinely target, close and wrap, and he showed that in Week 13. He needs to continue becoming more aggressive each week and trust that his instincts will put him in the right position to make the play, because the smarts, physical tools and fundamentals are clearly there to make him a long-term starter on this defense, which, in my opinion, is exactly what he is. His versatility is a plus as well, as you've seen him move over and play the middle in situations where David Hawthorne has been injured.

2. Richard Sherman - CB

Sherman had another key interception in Week 12 against the Redskins, to go with 7 tackles and a pass defensed. In Week 13 against the Eagles, he converted on 4 tackles and had a key batted pass in the end zone.

Where Sherman continues to have his greatest success is at the line of scrimmage, in press coverage. When he can get his hands up and jam effectively at the snap, he possesses an ability to routinely redirect and leverage his opponent at will, and blanket effectively from that point.

When he's playing off the ball, he's less effective, particularly against quick receivers with above average stop-start ability. You saw him against Desean Jackson in Week 13, as Jackson was playing a yard off the line making it tough for Sherman to get an effective jam at the snap. He backed off and played deeper as a result, and you could see how quickly he would get his hips around as if to prepare for Jackson to run a deep fly or post, and Jackson was then able to create space by coming back to the ball after Sherman had committed to turn and run.

I dont want to be overly critical here though, as Sherman is undoubtedly covering better than Marcus Trufant was before his injury. These are just some things he'll need to improve on if he's to reach his full potential, which I feel to be that of a Pro Bowl caliber cornerback.

He continues to locate the ball early, and for his size, breaks to the ball at a "plus" level. He's aggressive but isn't drawing the contact penalties that you might anticipate from a rookie with his physical style, and this is a credit to great body control, awareness and timing to the ball.

He wrap tackled better in Weeks 12 and 13, and he's diagnosing the run early. He also uses his arm length well to shed blockers and disengage to close on his target. If Sherman can become more consistent at knowing when to flip his hips in soft coverage situations, he could be on his way to becoming a legitimate shutdown corner.

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As a little intro: I'm going to make this rookie report a weekly feature here at Field Gulls - future reports will deal more specifically with the most recent game performances, but since this is the inaugural report, I gave a more thorough breakdown of each Seahawks rookie up to this point in the season. I've placed them in order of ranking (as far as their overall performances this year) and this ranking will continue as a "weekly ranking" from here on out so I'll rank them by their game performance for each week. Let's get this started!

1. Doug Baldwin - WR - Stanford - UDFA

Baldwin's initial burst off the line may be the best of any Seattle receiver.  He gets behind linebackers quickly and gets his head around to locate the ball early when coming out of breaks.  Most importantly though, the guy can run routes.  The key to effective route running is being able to make precise cuts, and do so without bogging down or tipping your hand by slowing down into the cut.  When you hear scouts talk about how well a receiver can "sink his hips" they're referring to his ability to make a sharp cut without rounding off the route or over-running the target cut point on the field, and flexible hips allow that to happen.  

Watch Golden Tate and you'll see a stiff-hipped receiver who struggles to create separation on his routes despite possessing better straight-line speed than someone like Baldwin.  Ever notice that when Tate makes a grab on an out route or a slant, that despite having the strong hands to secure the catch, the defender is usually right on his back?  This is because he lacks that space-creating ability to sink the hips and cut sharply. All this to say that Baldwin possesses that flexibility, is displaying consistency in running precise routes each week and is really crafty in creating space between himself and defenders despite not having elite top-end speed.  He's also improving on his recognition of zone space.   

He knows how to locate a window and sit down in the hole, particularly on 3^rd down as he did on a couple of occasions against St. Louis.  As for the hands, he can snatch the ball off his frame, and even when he doesn't secure with his hands, he avoids chest-trapping the ball by absorbing the catch with the inside of his forearms (as Sidney Rice did on the TD catch Sunday).  He's gutsy and shows no fear over the middle, which makes him an ideal slot receiver.  Where he could struggle is if he's asked to line up on the outside and routinely go against man coverage.  

There's really not a lot to be critical of so far with Baldwin.  He's a long-term slot guy with ability to make things happen after the catch - something that you didn't necessarily have with Bobby Engram.  I think Baldwin compares more accurately to someone like Steve Breaston (the ARI version) or Green Bay rookie Randall Cobb (a 2^nd round pick, by the way).

2. Richard Sherman - CB - Stanford - 5^th Round (154th overall)

Gets his hands up quickly and is good at making his initial contact count - re-directing and bumping guys off route at the line rather than just "laying" his hand on them.  There's a level of violence that is required to be an effective jammer, and Sherman displays it pretty frequently.  When you're this physical/violent as a corner, you have to trust in your ability to turn and run, and recover if you "whiff" on your jam because you're taking a significant gamble, particularly with speedy, quick receivers, when you lean forward and get your arms extended to jolt them at the snap. 

Your hand placement is key (inside shoulder pads is preferred) and you don't want to bend at the waist, but rather absorb impact with your lower body.  Sherman, for being relatively new to the position, displayed improvement again in these areas yesterday, despite making some key mistakes.   He played off (soft) coverage a bit more than we've seen in previous games, and did show some vulnerability to getting beat when he's not up on the line getting physical with the receiver. 

Particularly on the TD pass to Brandon Lloyd, Sherman was fooled in space when Lloyd stutter stepped, stopped and started, as Sherman hadn't flipped his hips yet, and ended up getting around late to run downfield.  Where he excels is in making initial contact at the line, then turning and running with the receiver where he can stop and start more effectively on this type of a fake.  If he's back-pedaling still 15 yards down field, he's going to be susceptible to stop-start, and sharp cuts.  He needs to get his hips around earlier, plain and simple.  But, as he got back into press, he continued to shut down his opponent, particularly the slant.  His quickness and agility are "plus" for his size and his approach to breaking up passes is well timed. 

You can appreciate/notice this when you watch Brandon Browner who, although equally physical and long, does not possess the timing to routinely break up passes without initiating too much contact and ultimately drawing the pass interference penalty.  Sherman rarely gets called for interference but maintains his physical play, doesn't allow cushion, isn't afraid to suffocate his opponent and gets his hand out to bat the ball.  As a tackler, Sherman relies more on the "hit" than he should, but has been fortunate to make those hits count for tackles more often than not.  Would like to see him target lower and wrap guys up at the knee or lower more frequently. 

Sherman appears to be another great value pick (5^th round) for Seattle who was initially thrust into the role as a patchwork starter, but is solidifying himself as a permanent starter. 

3. K.J. Wright - LB - Mississippi State - 4^th Round (99th overall)

Wright's zone discipline and gap control are exactly what Aaron Curry lacked.  Playing on the strong side, he works well in tandem with Red Bryant in controlling and maintaining the inside gap where Bryant is able to redirect the runner by setting the edge and closing off the outside.  Wright is active with his hands to shed 2^nd level blocks, and displays good initial burst (quick first step) to close on the gap and finish on the runner.  

He does tend to get a bit upright when engaging a blocker rather than keeping his pads low, so he loses some leverage, but his long arms and quick hands allow him to disengage and recover.  When scraping down from the far side, he displays good speed to chase down the runner from behind.  Solid, fundamental wrap up tackler.  Will get lost in coverage from time to time or follow a man crossing the flat when he should stay put, but he rarely repeats the same mistakes, and he possesses the natural fluidity in space to be a good coverage ‘backer.  

Against the Rams, Wright did a great job of diagnosing the run early and getting into position, sitting down on his gap and waiting for the runner to counter when plays were going to the opposite side (he didn't chase or over-pursue and leave his side vulnerable to the cutback), and was equally responsive to plug the hole when a run did come his way. Appears to be a quick learner.  Could probably hold his own getting some reps at the LEO considering his good burst off the snap, long arms and active/quick hands.

He'll be tough to supplant as the starter because he learns so quickly and rarely repeats mistakes.  Looks like a mainstay there for several years.  There are two types of rookie starters in the NFL - permanent starters and patchwork starters.  The former are guys who have earned their starting role and competed their way to the top of the depth chart, and the latter are guys who have been forced into a starting role due to depth chart issues (i.e. injuries, etc.).  

Typically, 4^th round picks who end up starting as rookies are patchwork starters.  Wright is an absolute permanent starter, and has arguably been Seattle's best value pick from this year's draft.

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