Yesterday evening's practice was mostly uneventful, or so the reports would read, but at least one player of interest earned recognition.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Mike Hass, a third-year receiver from Oregon State who’s in his first camp with the Seahawks, turned in the NFL equivalent of a hat trick by running a good route, making an even better move to get behind the defender and then tipping the pass with one hand before controlling it with two hands as he was falling out of bounds.
The best part of the bang-bang-bang play? "The best part was catching it – just coming down with the ball," Hass said. "The route was all right, I could have gotten a little more separation. But I’ll definitely go with the catch."
Hass is a bit of a dark horse to make the roster, but don't count out a late run. His refinement should serve him in the preseason, and though he was unsuccessful in Chicago, his skill-set is not well matched to Ron Turner's downfield passing attack. Hass could blossom in the shorter and more precise modified West Coast Greg Knapp will run. Hass has to make the team to stick, but to make the team he'll need to show something both as a receiver and a special team player.
A player that's already made the squad impressed Ryan Divish.
Deon Butler is impressive. He’s so quick that when he runs dig routes, the separation he gets from DBs who must respect his speed is impressive. He also seems unafraid to go over the middle, though I counted three times where he could have been absolutely lit up by defenders if it had been a game.
It's easy to impress in practice, and when you're skill set is long on speed and short on size, separation and the ability to track the ball in flight, you're never going to impress more than you'll impress in practice. If Butler can progress through NFL-quality press coverage, repress his habit of rounding off longer routes, redress his ball-tracking skills, stress fundamentals, without his hands regressing, he can be an NFL success, because he was blessed with an excess of talent. I guess we'll have to reassess his fitness during preseason play and assess if his finesse, dextrousness and quickness can overcome his rawness and prove his NFL readiness.