Tag Archives: Germain Ifedi

State of the team, Week 2: San Francisco

When will Hawks’ O-line investments pay off?

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Logo -- San FranciscoTalking about it is tiresome, but it’s really the only thing hindering the Seahawks from winning another Super Bowl, so, until the Seahawks fix their offensive line, it will remain the topic du jour.

People can talk all they want about Kam Chancellor’s 2015 holdout or Earl Thomas’ 2016 injury being major factors in the Seahawks not advancing far in the playoffs those years. But the simple fact is: If the Hawks’ offensive line had been anywhere close to average in those seasons, the Hawks would have had a great shot at winning the Super Bowl — even with the issues in the secondary.

So now here we are again, coming off a significant opening loss to one of Seattle’s top NFC rivals, and the offensive line remains the biggest hindrance to Seattle’s success. And we have no idea if it will become any good, despite the insistence of Pete Carroll and Tom Cable that it will.

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Preseason, The roster, Trades

Carroll hopes Odhiambo can hold left tackle

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Logo -- PreseasonPete Carroll isn’t ready to move Luke Joeckel to left tackle yet — he is holding out hope that Rees Odhiambo will play with confidence and consistency, letting his physical talent take over.

In the wake of George Fant’s season-ending ACL injury, Carroll indicated Monday that Odhiambo will get first crack at replacing Fant, Joeckel will remain at left guard and Mark Glowinski will remain at right guard.

The Seahawks also traded for versatile lineman Matt Tobin, who started 20 games at guard for the Eagles since coming into the league undrafted in 2013. Tobin started for the Eagles at right tackle last weekend, and the Seahawks surely see him as a versatile backup.

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Contracts, Preseason, The roster

Will any other O-linemen be as worthy as Britt?

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Minnesota logoWe learned a lot about the Seahawks’ offensive line over the past couple of days — and we’ll learn a little more tonight when the Hawks host the Minnesota Vikings.

On Wednesday, Tom Cable announced that three-fifths of the line is set for the season opener, and Thursday the team announced that one of those three is set for the next four seasons — Justin Britt signing a three-year, $27 million extension.

It’s the only second deal for a Seattle starting lineman since 2012, when the team re-signed Breno Giacomini and extended Max Unger. As everyone knows, those two and the rest of the 2013 Super Bowl line were all gone by 2016 — none of them meriting what the market dictated the Hawks would have to pay.

His first two years, it certainly didn’t look like Britt would buck that trend. But he found a home at center last year and benefitted from the departure of J.R. Sweezy, becoming a technician rather than a Sweezy-style brawler.

“He has been a fantastic leader for us up there,” Pete Carroll said. “He had an excellent (2016) season and (has) played three spots and started at tackle, guard and center now. We really think he is in the best spot for him. I think it’s a recognition and acknowledgement of the player and teammate he has become for us.

“And also the fact that we are able to do it in the offensive line — I think it is important to note.”

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Injury report, Training camp

McDowell out for 2017?

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Training camp logo2Malik McDowell seems unlikely to play this season, although the injuries from his ATV accident do not seem to be career-threatening — per several reports.

Pete Carroll said McDowell suffered “multiple injuries,” including a concussion but no cracked skull, and is still only walking, not exerting himself physically. He has returned home to Michigan.

“He had a serious accident. He had multiple injuries; he had the injury to his head,” Carroll said. “It’s going to be quite a while, and we’re going to have to wait it out. He’s on NFI and he’s going to be there for a while, and we’re just going to have to see how he progresses really down the road. We’re not looking for him to get back in the immediate (future), not even for the first game of the season. … We’re going to wait it out and see how he does.”

Asked later on KJR whether McDowell will play this year, Carroll said, “It might be a lot to ask right now.”

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NFL draft, Training camp

Top picks continue to be unreliable

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Training camp logo2The Seahawks have not had much luck with their top draft picks under John Schneider, and their most recent three are continuing the tradition.

The top picks from the last three drafts are off to horrible starts this year, suffering from the results of their bad judgment, and it makes us — and surely team brass — wonder whether these guys are destined to follow in the footsteps of previous top picks.

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NFL draft, On the air, The roster

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

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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.

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State of the team, The roster

Carroll reveals O-line depth chart

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OL depth projected.PNG

The Seahawks are still a long way from figuring out their starting five linemen for 2017, but Pete Carroll at least has defined the positions where the key players will be competing.

Luke Joeckel and Rees Odhiambo are working both left spots, George Fant is at left tackle, Mark Glowinski has moved over to right guard to battle Oday Aboushi, Germain Ifedi has moved from right guard to right tackle, and rookie Ethan Pocic is starting out on the right side in an apparent reserve role.

“We have all kinds of flexibility,” Carroll told 710 ESPN, “but we’re zeroing in in that fashion.”

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NFL draft, The roster

Pocic more evidence of bad O-line strategy

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NFL draftEthan Pocic is the Seahawks’ league-high 16th offensive lineman drafted since Pete Carroll and John Schneider arrived in 2010. He also is a symptom of why Seattle has failed to put together a functional offensive line.

One scouting report calls Pocic a “five-for-one lineman offering roster flexibility.” The Seahawks love that so much they almost traded up for him — even though they have no idea where they are going to play him.

“He was the one guy that, quite frankly, we were really sweating out because we felt like you’re drafting maybe two and a half players with one guy,” Schneider said. “We debated whether to go up and get him or just wait and sweat it out.”

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Free agency, The roster

Hawks had an easy decision with Gilliam

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GilliamWhy did the Seahawks let Garry Gilliam go to the 49ers?

It’s a question some fans are asking, but the answer is simple: They didn’t want to guarantee $1.4 million to a guy they probably were going to ask to take a pay cut this summer anyway.

It was a 50-50 proposition that the Seahawks were even going to tender Gilliam back in March, but they gave him the low tender, $1.8 million, because they were short on bodies.

When they were able to add Luke Joeckel and Oday Aboushi in free agency, it gave them the flexibility to bump Germain Ifedi to right tackle. With the 2016 first-round pick expected to win that job, Gilliam, the former undrafted player who struggled in 2016, looked destined for a backup role.

As they have done with many previous restricted free agents, the Hawks then would have asked Gilliam to take a pay reduction from the $1.8 million tender. So, when the 49ers came over the top with a $2.2 million deal that guaranteed almost the entire amount of the RFA tender, it was a pretty simple decision for the Hawks.

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State of the team, The roster

Carroll, Schneider answer roster questions

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Draft -- Schneider and CarrollAt the NFL owners meetings this week, Pete Carroll and John Schneider gave us a better idea of where Seattle’s seven new veterans (not counting kickers) might fit.

We also learned that Marshawn Lynch is indeed contemplating a return and the Seahawks really have heard from teams (including the Patriots) gauging a trade for Richard Sherman.

On top of that, Carroll and Schneider addressed their backup quarterback situation, which is a little hazy in light of Trevone Boykin’s recent arrest — but won’t include Colin Kaepernick.

Let’s take a look at the key comments from Carroll and Schneider, by position, courtesy of Bob Condotta and John Boyle of Seahawks.com:

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