The Seahawks are set to face off against the Chargers Thursday at 5pm, so here is your opponent scouting report recon. Most football fans are aware of the obvious threats: a guy named Philip Rivers passing to guys named Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson, and Malcom Floyd, and handing it off to Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews.
On defense, watch out for guys like Eric Weddle, Quentin Jammer, Antoine Cason, Shaun Phillips, and Takeo Spikes.
That being said, most of these guys will only see a series or three of action so I wanted to give you some 2nd- and 3rd-string players to keep an eye on.
I consulted Ernie Padaon of Bolt Beat, a Chargers blog, and he relayed some great information. Here are my questions, and Ernie's answers:
DK: Any WRs that are trying to make the team, or have a good chance, outside of Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, etc.? Who should Seahawks fans keep their eye on, in terms of the players our young cornerbacks that are trying to make the team will be matched up against?
EP: The wide receiver depth is deep on the team, especially after we brought back Malcom Floyd. There is a lot of competition at the end of that depth chart with some veterans in the mix. Seyi Ajirotutu made the team last season as an undrafted free agent and has become a fan favorite will be battling to keep his spot on the roster. He is another monster sized wide receiver at 6-3 out of Fresno.
We just picked up Laurent Robinson from the Rams and you might be more familiar with him than I am since he was in your division for a bit. From what I know, he has good speed and is a 6-2 target.
Veteran Kelley Washington is also trying to make it on the roster and is a good slot receiver and if he scores a TD, look for his squirrel dance! One last receiver that may make some noise is Richard Goodman. He played mainly on the practice squad last year, but had a huge mistake against the Patriots last year when he made a diving catch on a ball for a first down and just laid the ball on the ground for the Pats to pick it up. He will get a long look at returning kicks and if he can contribute as a wide receiver, it will give him a better chance to make the roster.
DK: Any CBs that are surprising in camp? Any players that we should keep an eye on as they're marking our young wide receivers that are trying to secure a spot on the roster?
EP: At the corner spots we have a lot of young rookies that will be trying to prove themselves in their first NFL action. We drafted Marcus Gilchrist and Shareece Wright this year and both are physical corners and have been doing well in camp. They should see plenty of action this weekend and we would love to see you all test them to see if they have what it takes. Gilchrist was drafted in the second round out of Clemson and Wright was drafted in the third round out of USC.
DK: Any other 2nd, 3rd team positional players that you think could make the team, that are worth watching?
EP: There are a couple of undrafted free agents that could compete to make it on the roster. QB Scott Tolzien out of Wisconsin has been impressive in camp and if he doesn't make the roster, some other team will pick him up.
RB Isaac Odim out of Minnesota-Duluth will be a prospect to watch. His highlight reels are just SICK and there are a lot of fans that are rooting for him to make the team.
DK: Finally, which QB can we expect to see a lot of? I suspect Billy Volek?
EP: You will see some of Volek, but the team will want to take a hard long look at Tolzien. He probably will play the whole second half of the game.
DK: Any final thoughts on the matchup?
EP: Please don't make our special teams look foolish again! We need to get some confidence in that unit and a bad first preseason game will just remind us of last year!
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So there you have it. Tip of the cap to Ernie for the scouting report, and it should give us a good idea of who to watch for later in the game.
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