Why put two top O-line picks at same spot?

Cable and Carroll“(Ethan Pocic and Germain Ifedi) are going to compete and obviously what you hope is that they prove to us day in and day out that they are two of the best five. And then you’ve got to move one of them somewhere, and that’s a good problem to have.’’ — Tom Cable to KJR

This is so like the Seahawks.

With holes across their offensive line, they draft two guys with high picks in consecutive years — yet are so uncertain where to play them that they decide to pit them against each other at the same position.

In an interview with KJR, relayed by Bob Condotta, Tom Cable confirmed what Pete Carroll has been saying: The Seahawks basically have no clue where their linemen will start.

Sure, he narrowed it down a bit more: Second-round pick Ethan Pocic will battle 2016 first-rounder Germain Ifedi at right tackle. (Carroll had merely said Pocic would work on the “right side.”)

But the fatal flaw behind Seattle’s O-line coaching continues: The team has no real plan, just a loose outline.

Assuming they can avoid making the same mistakes they have made with James Carpenter, John Moffitt, Drew Nowak, J’Marcus Webb, et al., the coaches need to get this unit organized as soon as possible.

If they are to have any hope of scoring points early next season, they need to settle on a starting five by the second preseason game. That would give them three weeks to get in sync for the very important opener in Green Bay.

The Seahawks have definitely upgraded the overall talent of their line, but there will be no continuity — unless Pocic bounces Ifedi back to right guard and George Fant stays at left tackle as Luke Joeckel plays left guard.

Also worth considering: What if Ifedi can’t win either job? And what if Joeckel doesn’t come back healthy enough from his ACL injury to start the season?

It’s entirely possible that the line could look like this in Week 1 (L-R): Fant, Rees Odhiambo, Justin Britt, Mark Glowinski, Pocic.

Cable said Glowinski played left guard last year because Ifedi was a right-side player and Glow had a year of experience in the league. Now Glowinski is back at his more comfortable right guard, apparently fighting off Oday Aboushi and the loser of the Ifedi-Pocic battle.

By draft pedigree, the line should be Joeckel, Odhiambo, Britt, Pocic, Ifedi (1-3-2-2-1). But it could easily end up Fant, Odhiambo, Britt, Glow, Pocic (U-3-2-4-2).

Hopefully we’ll know sometime before the season starts.

4 thoughts on “Why put two top O-line picks at same spot?”

  1. The Seahawks frequently practice people at multiple OLine positions to allow moves for injury. This isn’t something new. I have a feeling that we will see the first team line solidify before August. More important in that interview is what Cable had to say about Fant and Odihambi; both had great off-seasons and bulked up, studied up, and are ready to compete. Fant put on amother 30+ pounds of muscle and worked hard on learning the position. Rees added another 15lbs and is ready to compete. I am certain we will see a nice jump in level of play. The addition of Pocic was smart. LSU runs a very similar ZBS scheme to us and the head coach is from the Carroll coaching tree. That will grearly help Ethan’s readiness, should he win a starting spot.

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    1. Oh, I know the flex thing is nothing new. It’s one of the major reasons they never have a good line — too much movement. I argue that the flexing is part of the reason they end up with so many injuries — guys not used to playing together.

      I think we all hope this turns out to be true: “I have a feeling that we will see the first team line solidify before August.”

      Like everyone, of course, I hope they get it right this year and get the running game fixed so we see no more 6-6 ties or LA or Tampa games …

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  2. So confused! Will the loser of the ifedi and pocic battle have a starting spot. Cause cable said 2 of the best 5. I feel if pocic wins ifedi is on the bench. If ifedi wins pocic could be on the bench or moved to left or right guard.

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  3. While the returning players should each be improved, they’re still inexperienced (Britt excepted). Requiring young players to accept uncertainty regarding their position and to master a complex scheme seems like asking an awful lot. If they are still juggling after the second pre-season game, we can expect another rocky start.

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