Seahawks Training Camp 2018: News and notes from day 12

The Seattle Seahawks opened their final week of training camp on Monday, one of three sessions this week before breaking camp.

Ahead of Saturday’s game in L.A. against the Chargers, the Seahawks will practice Wednesday and Thursday, before a walk-through on Friday, when they’ll also travel to Los Angeles.

There were no transactions to begin Monday’s practice, after a busy Sunday on the waiver wire which saw Seattle waive TE Je’ron Hamm, LB Warren Long and FB Jalston Fowler, while adding G/C Marcus Henry, LB Jason Hall and CB Elijah Battle.

The Seahawks had a host of players return to practice on Sunday, while Ed Dickson and Dion Jordan remain on the PUP list. Joining them on the sidelines is a laundry list of players: Byron Maxwell, Neiko Thorpe, C.J. Prosise, Mike Tyson, Isaiah Battle, Jamarco Jones, J.R. Sweezy, Trovon Reed and D.J. Alexander.

Practice Notes

• Although Seattle finds themselves hobbled at the moment, they did see a trio of players return to practice in some capacity on Monday. Veteran safety Maurice Alexander, Amara Darboh and Nazair Jones were all back in pads after missing time last week. Darboh, a third round selection last year, must stay healthy and perform in the remaining three weeks of preseason football if he is to stick on the Seahawks’ roster for a second season.
• A day after earning praise from Pete Carroll, Quinton Jefferson found himself working with the first team defense on Monday’s practice. Interestingly, Jefferson was lining up at defensive end opposite Branden Jackson, rather than his natural defensive tackle spot. Jefferson was one of the standout players in Seattle’s preseason opener.
• With both Battle and Jones out with injuries suffered on Thursday night, Willie Beavers continued his time as the second team right tackle. The rest of the second unit remained the same: George Fant, Rees Odhiambo, Joey Hunt and Jordan Roos. Beavers was ejected from practice on Sunday for exchanging punches with Rasheem Green.
• Frank Clark practiced for a second consecutive day, his first two practices as he returns from offseason wrist surgery. In Clark and Jordan’s absences, the Seahawks have gotten first team defensive end reps from a host of players: Green, Jackson, Jefferson, Barkevious Mingo, Jacob Martin and Marcus Smith.
• A couple interesting notes from practice in the secondary, with Reed, Maxwell, Thorpe and Tyson all missing. Jeremy Boykins, signed last week, saw action with the first team defense during the scrimmage portion of practice on Monday. Boykins lined up at right cornerback, where Tre Flowers started against the Colts.
• Dontae Johnson, who is in the early stages of returning to practice following offseason foot surgery, also saw reps at right cornerback. Although Maxwell is the expected starter opposite Shaquill Griffin, there is a deep competition taking place behind him with new faces appearing on the first team defense.
• Finally, Rashaad Penny left practice early on Monday with an unspecified issue. During his media session following practice, Brian Schottenheimer said he thinks Penny is OK, but certainly something to follow ahead of the Seattle’s next practice on Wednesday.

Ken Norton Jr.’s Press Conference

• Norton’s presser opened with a question on what he has seen out of the young players in his defense: “They’ve done a great job of being available as often as they can, about coming to practice to every single day. Having the mindset of development and learning, I think each and every day they’ve improved. The older players have really taken the younger players under their wings and really helped them get through these tough days. Really happy with the improvement and the impact of the young players on our team so far.”
• On what Norton wants to see out of the defense in Week 2: “The ball was on the ground a lot (against the Colts), we want to make sure that we get more turnovers. The ball was on the ground seven times. At the same time, we had a couple explosives (plays) more than we like and there was a couple deep balls we feel like we can handle. But, at the same time, just playing well together, improving every time. Our third down percentage was very good, so it’s just a matter of building on what we did the week before.”
• Norton was asked specifically about Tre Flowers’ performance against Indianapolis: “He’s very talented. He’s got really good length, he’s really fast, he’s really smart, extremely humble and he’s getting better every day. We’re very excited with his improvement play-after-play, I think every play he is learning more, and he takes that learning and applies it to his play every day. We’re all very happy with the progress he has made so far.”
• On how Tedric Thompson and Bradley McDougald’s safety partnership is coming along: “They’re bonding and playing really well together. You have Tedric, who’s doing a great job of staying in the deep middle and making tackles on the run, really throwing his body around. McDougald is really smart and he really does a great job of getting everybody on the same page, making sure the coverage is right, the checks are right and the formations matchup. He’s really bright and matching him with what the linebackers and the d-linemen are doing, we’re really happy so far.”

Brian Schottenheimer’s Press Conference

• Schottenheimer’s presser opened with a question on Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, and what he saw out of the two on Thursday night: “Both did a really good job. Rashaad made a couple really good cuts, where guys got to the edge and there were some free color. Chris just finished really well a couple times. The first drive he had the cutback run, where he kind of put his shoulder down and that’s the type of runs we expect from him. Those extra two or three yards he can make after contact. I thought both did really, really well. Both did a good job in pass protection and again, we just have to keep growing with those guys.”
• On how Penny’s pass protection has come along in recent weeks: “He’s really smart with all the blitz pickup, he sees things really well, it’s just the technique stuff he has to get better with. Again, it’s just a whole different animal once you find your guy. Then you have got to be able to move your feet, get into position, takeaway his inside strike. There’s an art to it, and unfortunately it’s hard to practice that until you get pads on. I will say again: From a knowing who he has, he’s been doing great. When they do the one-on-one pass pro stuff, he’ll get beat from time-to-time, but I haven’t seen him check out one time. He wants to get back in there and that’s when you know you’re going to have a great pass protector.”
• Schottenheimer was asked if he’s been encouraged by how much Brandon Marshall has been practicing: “Yes it has been really good. He had a big play today, there’s just some timing stuff he and Russ are still working for. That’s a big part of him being out there, but I love seeing him out there. He’s over with us during the quarterback individual stuff which is great, they’re talking all the time, but yes, it’s very encouraging.”
• On what he has seen from Nick Vannett: “Really good camp. Was really, really pleased with the way he played in the game. He had a really good day yesterday. Today he didn’t see his number get called a whole lot, but his confidence is growing. He had the big third down conversion which put us in a situation for 4th-and-1. He had a really good block on the 4th-and-1. Of course the scramble play he made was terrific, the guy kind of had him boxed out and he came back up underneath him, so I think Nick is playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
• Finally, on why he prefers to be on the sideline rather than in the booth during games: “Just the communication is easier, just being able to get your hands into things quickly to try and solve problems. I love being able to look at the quarterback face-to-face and make some adjustments. You definitely see a little bit better from up in the box in terms of what the defense is doing, so you have got to have good guys up there. I just think being down on the field eliminates the middle man and kind of allows you to be there and be seen, so that when you’re solving issues or even celebrating — I like to have fun, I like to celebrate. I was one of the first guys down when we scored the touchdown with the first group. I’ve done that for nine of my 10 years, being on the field.”

The Seahawks have Tuesday off, before returning to practice on Wednesday morning.