Should the Seahawks re-sign Ethan Pocic? - Part 2

Ethan Pocic’s frequent non-contribution makes this next drive go by pretty fast. But combining it with the drive that follows would make for an unwieldy long post. That gives me an excuse to post this bit by Bob and Ray.

Something about it seems oddly relevant in 2022.

Alright, football!

(10:56) (Shotgun) R.Penny left tackle pushed ob at SEA 32 for 10 yards (A.Hamilton).

The middle’s a mess. I’m not gonna suss out what Pocic does because I think it’s irrelevant to evaluating him. Rashaad Penny exploits a two-way go to embarrass Chandler Jones. He squeezes about three more outrunning Antonio Hamilton.

(10:31) (No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Wilson left end to SEA 32 for no gain (Z.Allen).

The above is for those who thought I was giving Wilson a raw deal bashing his rushing ability.

Pocic really rips it up here. In three parts: he’s able to single up Rashard Lawrence (praise to Mookie for mercifully editing out all my “Rashard Higgins” malaprops from yesterday’s post), get great push once Damien Lewis joins to double, and peel off and pop Zaven Collins in the second level. He loses that block immediately, meaning he rips it up, but not too well.

None of this matters because Wilson turns the corner like a supertanker. I do not personally think Wilson is permanently washed up as a rusher, but for him to return to his once dangerous self, he needs to commit to improving. Wilson seems to be stuck in a sort of identity crisis. On his vision board are not pictures of himself but pictures of Tom Brady. To paraphrase Joe Montana, it’s too hard to be someone else. Be that awesome dude that is you, Russ.

(9:50) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short middle to D.Metcalf to SEA 41 for 9 yards (B.Baker; Z.Collins).

It’s hard to look away from DK’s boogly double catch. The not-blitz but simply disguised pass rush is very well picked up by Seattle’s front five. Pocic does a good job steering Lawrence into Jackson. Duane Brown is shed like dead skin by Corey Peters, but Wilson is quick and decisive enough to render that unimportant if not immaterial. Actually, dead skin is shed slowly. Peters sheds Brown like I used to shed my Jack-in-the-Box polo after work: as fast as humanly possible.

(9:16) R.Wilson up the middle to SEA 43 for 2 yards (C.Peters).

Low man doesn’t always win. Sometimes low man is johnny caked by a couple three hundred pounders. That’s what happens here. Most of the push is created by Lewis and Brown.

Despite consistently good knee bend, Pocic’s height sometimes makes him ill matched for the demands of playing center. To me, the whole line wins. Even Curhan has his moment. But Wilson would’ve had a damned time running behind Pocic’s block. What we got’s a wash made irrelevant by the performance of other players.

(8:49) (No Huddle, Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short left to D.Metcalf to 50 for 7 yards (A.Hamilton).

I agree with Bart on this one.

The sometimes irrelevant nature of the center position is a pretty good argument for continuing to limp through starting Pocic. It’s like my 2000 Corolla with engine block damage. Sure, it burns oil, and were I cheating man, it could queer the deal right when I was getting close. My dad, broke as we were, always had a nice car. He was divorced. That gold BMW 6 Series he fixed up was an excellent wing man, let me tell you. Jesus God, let me tell you. But for a faithful man who just needs a commuter for his wife, that little emerald four-banger with ill-matching nail polish to cover the scratches works just fine. Welcome to my world, Seattle Seahawks. We don’t waste what little we have on vanity.

Oh yeah—above is another mostly well-timed throw by Wilson to a well-covered but open receiver. That’s the way forward. Timing. Timing. Timing.

(8:20) (No Huddle) R.Penny right tackle to SEA 48 for -2 yards (I.Simmons, M.Golden).

Multiple failures lead to a loss but Pocic does really well. He handles Leki Fotu well enough that Gabe Jackson is free to peel off and block into the second level pretty much right away. Jackson doesn’t. He hooks and frankly hold Jordan Hicks but not egregiously.

That weird Latinate word always wielded ironically but always unwittingly wielded ironically by pretenders the world over may describe Gerald Everett’s contributions on this snap. Yep. Egregious actually means “excellent.” Ev’s unprepared for play. He shuffles between three defenders before pushing Isaiah Simmons into Penny. One may say, in modern slang, Gerald really kicked some ass. I am lost in the layers of irony I’m attempting here. One should not be so droll stone sober as I am.

Colby also whiffs but at least he makes a game of it against Marcus Golden.

As a partial defense of both, this play looks botched from the snap. Where’s Wilson going? What’s Penny doing? And why is the Arizona Cardinal so visibly constipated? Mix some flowers into that diet of bugs, buddy.

As the silver tongued Brian Kelly might say, I’m in favor of these Seahawks being pressed by stones. To death. Ah jokes. Jokes are a way of transferring the pain. Not so much anodyne as mildly sadistic.

(7:37) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass incomplete short right to T.Homer [D.Gardeck].

The aristocrats!

Wilson can’t figure out what to do before Curhan blows his block.

See y’all on Saturday.