Seahawks Training Camp: Notes from Saturday's practice

In even more obscure jersey number-related news, I was fascinated to see new acquisition David Gilreath wearing #6. Typically, WRs are only permitted to wear 10-19 and 80-89. With the 12 and 80 jerseys retired and Sidney Rice recently calling it quits, there were only 17 of 20 possible numbers remaining. Five tight ends wear numbers in the 80s (including Morrell Presley), leaving 12 eligible numbers for 13 (!) receivers. So, David Gilreath wore #6. These are the kinds of things that probably only I find interesting.

Doug Baldwin and Russell Wilson are on lock. We're talking a Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally-level connection. Baldwin's targets came more during the early portions of the scrimmage, and he made the most of each one. The highlight came when he beat Byron Maxwell on a deep red-line throw, drawing one of the biggest cheers of the day.

Ricardo Lockette also impressed in the scrimmage. He did have a few plays where he initially bobbled the ball before pulling it into his chest, but he was largely under control and flashed what Pete Carroll's referred to in the past as easy speed. The most impressive thing is that he gets to top speed without seeming to break a sweat. Zoom, he's gone.

My favorite part of practice came when Lockette caught a mid-level post route and glided past Bobby Wagner to score a TD without shifting out of second gear. On his way back, he and Wagner exchanged some "enthusiastic" banter, eventually shaking hands and laughing about it as they jogged back to the huddle. The two would go on to converse loudly a few more times later in practice.

Considering his ability on special teams, continued progression at receiver, and the team's desire for speed, I have a hard time seeing Lockette fail to make the final 53.

Jermaine Kearse was probably the star of the scrimmage. Richard Sherman was largely imperious (soccer lingo!) as usual, but Kearse managed to box him out and catch a deep red-line ball. He was whistled for OPI on the play, but it didn't seem like he was being any more physical than Sherm. Refs, man. He followed this up with a highlight-reel catch into double coverage, beating both Earl Thomas and A.J. Jefferson on (yet another) sideline fade, managing to complete the grab through interference.

Unfortunately for me, Percy Harvin and Kevin Norwood were both out. Paul Richardson was mostly quiet, though he did exhibit some serious wiggle on one occasion. Matched up against a very physical Chandler Fenner, he beat press coverage to catch a 5-yard out, juking Fenner to the sideline and picking up 15.

I didn't see the WR positional drills, and no one else really flashed during the scrimmage. Phil Bates did have a pretty cool trick play pass to Russell Wilson off an end-around.

CB/S

I spent a fair amount of time watching the secondary in drills, and the word that comes to mind over all else is: red-line. Whether it's offense or defense, Seattle clearly values this portion of the field and views it as integral to the team's success. One of the main drills the DBs ran involved one of them running a fade to the end-zone pylon with the other in tight coverage. They'd then fight (and I mean, fight)  for the jump ball, the victor often giving a little trash-talk on their way back to the main group.

Earl Thomas really cares about a training camp drill without pads in July. After boxing out a corner for a pick (maybe Fenner?), he strutted his stuff and let a few teammates know about it.

My focus was elsewhere when Sherm was in the drill, so I can't say that Tharold Simon was the most impressive... but Tharold Simon was probably the most impressive that I saw compete. He had a breakup where he was reaching about a foot above the other player in the drill, his lanky arms giving his competitor no chance at a completion. He followed this up in the scrimmage with yet another impressive break-up on a pylon-fade, drawing a fair number of "oohs" from the crowd.

Simon's listed combine vertical was only 34", and this may be a case of an injury depressing the number. Live, he's a great leaper, and he has the potential to be better than Byron Maxwell at defending the sideline. I didn't get a good feel for his play in the middle of the field, but I think he's able to contribute as an Cover-3 outside cornerback as soon as this year.

DeShawn Shead is a specimen. He's built like some unholy combination of the other LOB members, complete with 32" arms and 220 lbs of a broad, smaller-Chancellor-esque frame. We talked on Thursday about roster mirroring on defense, and it's really striking that Seattle has a lot of pretty big CB/S around. While Arizona, San Francisco, and others are playing CB/S hybrids of the Mathieu/Ward variety, Shead and Eric Pinkins are large human beings.

Shead spent a fair amount of time playing corner, defending some to the middle of the field. I didn't see enough to say much beyond "generally looked pretty good," but I think he may figure into the 2014 plans more than we're currently projecting. Earl Thomas said in post-game that Shead can ably cover both safety positions and cornerback, speaking highly of his versatility. My expectation is that Shead will make the roster while Pinkins redshirts.

New acquisition Steven Terrell (a 1.5σ SPARQ athlete) played as a single-high safety, utilized much the same way as Earl. I could easily have missed a few snaps, but didn't see anyone else play in that position.

Jeron Johnson had a really nice pick underneath when a running back (Turbin, I think) leaked out of the backfield into the middle of the field. Phillip Adams and Chandler Fenner played both outside and inside, and Fenner showed some pretty good physicality in jamming the opposition, though he was flagged for holding when he got too aggressive with Richardson.

A.J. Jefferson didn't stand out to me beyond the pass interference against Kearse, though he showcased some nice ability while fielding punts after practice.

Bullets

• Nate Isles was genuinely delighted to sign autographs after practice. He flashed a huge smile and was clearly having the time of his life.
• Spencer Ware seemed to play exclusively at tailback and had a nice run on an outside zone play.
• Wow, Greg Scruggs. He looks every bit the part of a 3T/5T hybrid, size-wise. I didn't see him play much, but wow. Greg Scruggs.
• As Danny noted, Robert Turbin seems to have a little more wiggle to him after the offseason knee injury. He made several nice plays as a pass-catcher along with a few long runs.
• Percy Harvin helped the QBs in their drills, running a deep corner route while each QB evaded "pressure" and rolled to their right, trying to hit the throw about 40 yards downfield. Russell Wilson's arm is pretty cool. B.J. Daniels had a lot more trouble getting the ball there.
• Demitrius Bronson had a few nice receptions. He played more as a third-down type than as a feature back.
• Watching Kiero Small run is a delight. A delight. He and Jesse Williams are in competition for highest torso-to-legs ratio in the league.
• I didn't see a lot from Jackson Jeffcoat. On one occasion, he was completely stoned by Luke Willson, getting pushed back off the snap. The size difference between him and Benson Mayowa is pretty apparent.
• I don't need to join the chorus of Christine Michael, but he really is the greatest training camp player of all-time. I wrote pre-draft that Bishop Sankey moved like a mid-2000s video game, inertia be damned; I should've saved that line for Christine Michael.
• Finally, shoutout to the poor lady standing next to me who was subjected to two hours of stream-of-consciousness rambling about the bottom-third of the roster.