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CHAWK LINES
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CHAWK LINES -- Seahawks OTAs & minicamp

Doug Baldwin told 710 ESPN that he has not talked to the Seahawks about a new deal yet.

Tom Cable said it’s way too early to make any judgments on the offensive line.

Justin Britt said he is losing hair over all of the position switches but just wants to be “one of the five.”

Bob Condotta gave a rundown of all of the offensive linemen.

Cable said Pro Football Focus, which called Germain Ifedi the worst first-round pick in the 2016 draft, will “eat their words” after seeing him play.

Cable stated the obvious: The Hawks will be deep at running back.

Darrell Bevell talked about the team’s running backs and more with John Clayton.

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State of the team, The roster

A look at the roster after the ‘rebirth’

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Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images)The Seahawks didn’t have a so-called “championship offseason” last year, and the results were pretty predictable: no championship.

Everyone hoped they could overcome all of the negatives — the loss of confidence in Pete Carroll after his asinine Super Bowl call, the silly fan backlash against Russell Wilson, the poor health of almost their entire secondary, the pointless holdout of Kam Chancellor, the idiotic coaching decision to start Drew Nowak at center.

It all added up to a disjointed start and disheartening finish. It was obviously too much to overcome for a team that had become fractured and really needed to be glued back together again.

The Hawks entered this offseason with more than a few concerns about their ability to bounce back. They needed to replace Marshawn Lynch, deal with unhappy campers Chancellor and Michael Bennett, rebuild their offensive line and fortify their defensive line.

At this point, it looks like they have put the glue in place for all of those fixes: Lynch was replaced by three draft picks; Chancellor made up with the team; Bennett sounds like he will come back ready to repeat his stellar 2015 season; the club replaced Russell Okung, Alvin Bailey and J.R. Sweezy with five linemen and Brandon Mebane with three.

Carroll says this offseason “almost feels like a rebirth.”

“We’ve been through a lot of stuff; we’ve been challenged by a lot of stuff,” he told 710 ESPN on Monday. “We’ve learned so much: winning and losing and then trying to come back again and still maintaining this huge standard and expectation. And we know it’s right there for us. Everybody feels it. That’s what is really fueling the energy around the building and why we’re so enthused. And then we hit it with this draft, so it’s feeling pretty good. Millions of things have to happen, but we’re in the right place right now.”

Let’s take a post-draft look at the roster and see whether that is true:

Continue reading A look at the roster after the ‘rebirth’ →

CHAWK LINES, Minicamp
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Rookie minicamp review

Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN this offseason feels like a “rebirth” after a “very challenging” 2015 offseason.

The Seahawks added five players from the minicamp and released A.J. Francis, Mohammed Seisay and three others.

Justin Britt is working at center as the coaches try to figure out what their line is going to look like. Don’t put much stock in it though.

Bob Condotta reviews the draft picks after the minicamp.

Rookie DTs Jarran Reed and Quinton Jefferson want to “wreak havoc any way we can.”

Trevone Boykin tops the list of the P-I’s six minicamp takeaways.

Boykin, a mini-Wilson, plans to “stay in his hip pocket.”

The running backs top six takeaways from Seahawks.com.

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NFL draft, State of the team

More O-linemen to come, but when?

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NFL draftDRAFT COUNTDOWN: 5 weeks. Every Thursday until the draft, we look at draft-related topics involving the Seahawks.

As positively as they try to spin it, it is clear Pete Carroll and John Schneider are not finished with their offensive line.

Carroll said Garry Gilliam can handle left tackle, Justin Britt will improve at left guard, Mark Glowinski is ready to start at right guard and J’Marcus Webb can be better at right tackle for them than he has been for other teams.

Carroll said Gilliam is “an athlete who is really equipped to play” left tackle, Glowinski is “a natural guard” who should “be a big factor” and Britt “is just going to continue grow as a guard.”

“We think those guards give us a really secure spot with big upside,” he said.

But there’s no way the Seahawks are going to training camp with just these guys and center Patrick Lewis. Even on the off chance that they do not add a veteran before the draft next month, they certainly are going to add at least a couple linemen during the draft.

Continue reading More O-linemen to come, but when? →

Free agency, State of the team, The roster

With XLVIII O-line deconstructed, will Clady be part of rebuild?

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It’s official: The Seahawks have completed the deconstruction of the offensive line that tagged along for the Super Bowl XLVIII win and are in full rebuild mode.

With injured (again) Russell Okung headed to the new Super Bowl champs in Denver on a prove-it deal, the Seahawks have completely turned over their line since 2013.

While continuity is one of the hallmarks of any great line, the Seahawks have not had much of that due to injuries and inconsistent play, so they aren’t really missing anything by letting Okung and company go. None of them were worth keeping.

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Free agency, State of the team, The roster

We might not like it, but Hawks have their plan

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WebbIt’s easy to see why so many people are scratching their heads over the Seahawks’ underwhelming offensive line moves this week, especially when everyone seems to have a different opinion of where J’Marcus Webb will play.

But there is a method to Seattle’s madness — even if we might not agree with it.

First of all, remember that the Seahawks run a zone blocking scheme, which emphasizes mobility and teamwork over talent. Like it or not, that is the approach the Seahawks have taken the last four years — and apparently the approach they continue to take.

John Schneider said it himself at the Combine: “In terms of our philosophy, we are going to keep attacking it the same way we always have.’’

The Seahawks love size and versatility — and they got both in Webb and Bradley Sowell, the guys who ostensibly replace J.R. Sweezy and Alvin Bailey. Both are huge (Webb is 6-7, 335; Sowell 6-7, 315) and have played every position but center. The problem is neither is that talented.

Continue reading We might not like it, but Hawks have their plan →

Contracts, Free agency, The roster, Trades

O-line decisions/options for Seahawks in 2016

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Russell Okung talks with GM John Schneider during minicamp in June (AP)Another shabby performance has put the focus right back on Seattle’s offensive line — a reminder that no matter how well it played during the five-game winning streak, it is still a very subpar unit that will need to be upgraded next offseason.

The Seahawks have eschewed using high picks on the line ever since 2011 selections James Carpenter (first round) and John Moffitt (third) did not work out; so, instead of Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro, guard Joel Bitonio and right tackle Terron Armstead, they have J.R. Sweezy, Justin Britt and Garry Gilliam.

The line has gotten worse every year since Russell Wilson became quarterback in 2012. It has been terrible at the end of the past two seasons, stuck using rookies and undrafted players to fill in for injured or underperforming high draft picks. And the unit just played one of its worst games of this season, albeit without Russell Okung, causing everyone to hope that was an aberration as the playoffs approach.

However the season ends up, the Seahawks have to upgrade the unit in the offseason, if possible, and try to build some stability in front of Wilson for 2016 and beyond.

They need to determine (1) what to do at left tackle, (2) whether to keep Sweezy, (3) whether to add a veteran center to replace Patrick Lewis and (4) what they are going to do in the draft.

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NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Week 12: Pittsburgh

The O-line the Hawks could have had

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OL redraft collage.png

As Bruce Irvin misses another game and David DeCastro comes to town with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, it’s a great opportunity to show you how the Seahawks could have put together a very good offensive line by now — if they really wanted to.

It all starts with DeCastro, a Bellevue native who has played some very good guard for the Steelers ever since they drafted him in the first round in 2012.

He should have been Seattle’s choice — as we said then.

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State of the team, Week 4: Detroit

Carroll and Cable preach patience with developing O-line

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Okung and CableAs the Seattle Seahawks finish the first quarter of the season, their offensive line is still a major work in progress.

But that should come as no surprise. Coach Pete Carroll and offensive line coach Tom Cable are satisfied with the steps the unheralded unit has taken, knowing it was always going to take half the season for Russell Okung, Justin Britt, Drew Nowak, J.R. Sweezy and Garry Gilliam to jell.

“They’re growing and they’re working at it hard,” Carroll said, leading up to the game against the Detroit Lions. “Their confidence is gaining and we’re going to see them continue to improve. I don’t think we’re going to know for another four, five weeks, maybe the halfway point of the season.”

Cable has said several times that this is the most talented group of linemen he has coached.

“I still think they’re going to be the best group (he has had),” he told 710 ESPN last week. “All they’ve done in three games now is get better and better and better.”

Continue reading Carroll and Cable preach patience with developing O-line →

Preseason, State of the team

Expect offensive issues to continue for a while

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Wilson vs. Chargers Aug. 29It’s no surprise the Seattle offense looks like two
turtles in a three-legged race — slower than usual,
confused, clumsy and very green. And we expect it to
remain that way for the first few games of the season.

A year ago, the Seahawks returned four starters on the offensive line — their offense was clicking in the preseason and kept on rolling in the season opener against the Packers.

This clearly is not 2014, though. Oft-injured Max Unger and James Carpenter are gone and the Hawks are working in new starters at three line positions. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson has not looked sharp in his preseason action. He has underthrown and overthrown and failed to find receivers when he has had time.

The No. 1 offense has not scored all preseason. And, for the second straight week, Wilson correctly took blame for the offense not moving as well as it should: “Ultimately we have to finish drives. That’s on me.” But he also said he is not concerned it will carry over into the season.

We disagree. And Pete Carroll is getting a bit anxious, too.

Continue reading Expect offensive issues to continue for a while →