7 Seahawks winners & losers in win over Cowboys

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-17 on Thursday in their preseason “dress rehearsal.” Here are some things about it.

7 Seahawks winners:

• Paul Richardson. The wide receiver had two catches for 19 yards and a touchdown, but most of all he proved that he can play in a game and not get injured. Hooray! Richardson said he kept the TD ball even though it’s preseason because of how much he’s been through to get to this point. I think it’s obvious that he’s a very talented player (let’s not forget he’s the highest-drafted WR or TE on this team) and that even as the number four receiver, he’ll contribute.
• Will Tukuafu. He waited, he watched, he signed, he played, he’s the clear frontrunner at fullback.
• Russell Wilson. A week after fans actually expressed concern for Wilson’s play against the Minnesota Vikings in a preseason game, he dominated the Cowboys D (albeit a D that looks like it’ll be bottom-10 this year) and looked much like the QB we saw at the end of last season. Wilson was 16-of-21 for 192 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, moving the ball to a myriad of options all over the field and basically doing what he wanted to do.
• Kelcie McCray. Tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, McCray also had a huge pass breakup and has solidified himself as the main dude behind Kam Chancellor. It will be interesting to see how much he plays this season. Safeties were very active: Steven Terrell had five tackles and one sack, while Tyvis Powell and Keenan Lambert had five tackles as well.
• C.J. Prosise. He had four carries for 23 yards in his debut. It’s interesting he never got a target, but I think much like with Percy Harvin and Jimmy Graham, Seattle seems to take some time figuring out how best to utilize their new athletic weapons. Prosise may take some time to adjust to the offense, but by the end of this season, I think he could be really special.
• Cliff Avril. The pass rush had four sacks and eight QB hurries, with Avril leading the way. He nearly ruined Dallas’s season on his sack of Tony Romo, but I think it’s best for the NFL and everyone that Romo walked away okay and we still got to see a lot of Dak Prescott.
• Christine Michael. Once again, Michael looked incredible, rushing for 58 yards on seven carries, including a pair of huge pickups in the second quarter. Even though Thomas Rawls is in no danger of losing his starting job, Michael seems too valuable to stash this season. The question I have: Can Michael be effective on only five carries in a game? Will he even be comfortable with that or are we tempting fate with a guy who needed an attitude adjustment just to get a second chance with the team?

7 Seahawks Losers:

• Troymaine Pope. He looked great against the Vikings and everyone started penning him into the final-53 over Alex Collins, but Pope had four carries for 14 yards against the Cowboys. Which is fine. He had a 12-yard run in there. But Collins looked good too, gaining 19 yards on three carries and being more consistent on his limited number of runs. Next week, they should both be getting early-game carries and we should know a lot more about their fate, but as of now, I still have Collins over Pope.
• The injured group: Kasen Williams, Trovon Reed, DeAngelo Tyson, Sealver Siliga. If you’re a bubble player who isn’t healthy enough to play, you probably aren’t going to make the team. At this point, you’d think that if Tony McDaniel is back in, then Siliga could be out. And when Antwan Goodley makes a good play, then Williams could be out.
• The receiver depth guys: Kenny Lawler, Kevin Smith, EZ Nwachukwu, Montario Hunter. These players combined for two targets, both to Lawler, and zero catches. If you’re not on the field, you can’t win a job. At least Deshon Foxx and Goodley caught a pass. Tanner McEvoy caught a 43-yard bomb but also suffered a groin injury. If healthy, he may be pushing his way in for a spot, but nobody has really stood out immensely for the number five receiver job. I have Goodley in the lead now.
• J’Marcus Webb. He got onto the field as the right tackle in the third series, but the offense seems to be doing fine with their starting five: Bradley Sowell, Mark Glowinski, Justin Britt, Germain Ifedi, and Garry Gilliam. As of now, that still sounds like the starting five to me. Webb also played some left tackle with the ones. I think he’s got a job with the team. But as a starter? It doesn’t seem necessary to shake things up at this point. Though we could have said the same thing about Drew Nowak a year ago and they should have definitely shaken things up.
• Nolan Freese. A longsnapper should have 100% accuracy. Honestly, 98% won’t cut it, it’s your one job. Another low snap nearly got a punt blocked (luckily it was roughing the kicker and a first down) and this is a continuing issue that you don’t think they’re going to be able to roll with in Week 1. Justin Britt had some poor snaps as well.
• Trevone Boykin, Jake Heaps. Boykin was 4-of-10 for 31 yards and Heaps never threw a pass. You don’t need your backup to be spectacular, that’s why he’s the backup, but is Pete Carroll comfortable with the idea of either of these two players taking over if necessary? I think he’ll probably still roll with Boykin, knowing that the QB free agent market is going to be there in the regular season, if needed. Let’s wait and see which QB veterans get released in the next two weeks. The Chiefs have like 9 QBs, I think.
• Frank Clark. Even though he had a half-sack, just didn’t feel this was a great game by Clark. Especially considering he’s a preseason Hall of Famer usually.
• Ummm, I have a few more losers, I think. Brandon Browner, where are you? I know that Carroll said he doesn’t need to put Browner out there a ton because he knows what he has with Browner, but seriously? Isn’t he playing a new position? You put all your starters out there for over two quarters, but won’t play your backup at a new position? I don’t think that all adds up. Also, Cassius Marsh, Eric Pinkins, and Mike Morgan. The SAM linebacker position just seems like it will be a downgrade from where it was with Bruce Irvin. As of now, Morgan is the obvious starter and it appears to be out of pure necessity since Marsh and Pinkins haven’t done enough to wow the coaches. The three combined for two tackles on Thursday. Kevin Pierre-Louis also had one tackle. Keeping the L-train moving: KJ Wright got beat for a touchdown by a tight end, just in case you were wondering if the world is still as it was a year ago.
• I don’t mean to sound so negative, because I think I just listed 25 players in the loser column. Here’s a few more things I like: Doug Baldwin continues to look like an emerging superstar, in my eyes. Quentin Jefferson had another good game and I believe he could play a huge role in the defense this season and for the foreseeable future. Brandon Williams had two catches for 15 yards. Brandin Bryant nearly ran down a player half his size. Russell Wilson took zero sacks and the offense averaged 5.5 yards per carry.