The Seahawks offense asserted its dominance in the trenches and in the run game against the Chiefs.
You know what’s great about a blowout win for the Seattle Seahawks? The Winners and Losers column gets to be very light on losers. That’s way more fun than the several times in the past few years I’ve refused to even have “Winners” after a Seahawks game.
Preseason is preseason and the score doesn’t matter, but you want to see good performances, good football, and signs of a well-coached team that is establishing its identity. I think we know what the Seahawks’ identity will be under Mike Macdonald starting this season.
Let’s get to the W&L for the Seahawks’ 33-16 beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Offensive Line
Hot damn wasn’t it cool to see the Seahawks offensive line actually move forward? I’m still TBD on pass protection against first-team defensive lines, but John Benton has them looking bare-minimum competent thus far. The run blocking looks like it’s gelling brilliantly, and the results are evident when you’re not too far from 300 yards on the ground. Grey Zabel looks the part of a starting NFL left guard and the running backs are grateful for his quality preseason play. Josh Jones looks like a viable backup at either tackle position. Anthony Bradford’s calling card is his run blocking and he had a key block on Damien Martinez’s long run. Even guys like Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman were impressing deeper into the game.
There’s almost no chance the Seahawks will flip the switch from dreadful to as amazing as we saw against Kansas City, but I would be stunned if this year’s group is still a bottom-five unit.
Zach Charbonnet
What I saw from Charbonnet in camp matches how he looks in an actual game: he’s as fast and as explosive as he’s ever looked. That he had actual holes to run through was a big help but I think he could be in for a career year if this run blocking is not just a product of preseason dominance against backups. My counter to this is presumptive starters Charles Cross and Olu Oluwatimi are out, so imagine how much better things could be when they’re back… and lest we forget Kenneth Walker’s return.
But Charbonnet was the story of that touchdown drive and I’m hyped to see what Zach and K9 can do with a line and scheme that won’t give opposing defenders concierge service to access the backfield.
George Holani
Holani had his night begin with a long kick return nullified by a Drake Thomas holding penalty, but he needn’t worry when he can just rip off a 30-yard run as soon as he’s in the game with Drew Lock. Last year, Holani narrowly lost out to Kenny McIntosh for the RB3 competition. This year’s Holani looks determined to grab that RB3 spot, and his versatility on special teams and as a pass-protecting running back could see him make the 53-man roster on this occasion.
Drew Lock
After one possession of Sam Darnold, Drew Lock had the bulk of the snaps and he was way better than last week, completing 10/12 for 129 yards, 2 touchdowns, and even a 30-yard run. Lock made some great plays under pressure and one of his incomplete passes was a risky throw but it was 4th and goal and he just wanted something to get to the end zone. I’m glad we can view Lock from a “Competent QB2” perspective instead of a long-term QB1 like a few years ago, because
Robbie Ouzts
OUUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZTTTTTTTTSSSSSS!
The fullback is back in fashion in Seattle, baby! He’ll be a fan favorite in no time. Get your chants ready.
Jake Bobo
More Bobo! For whatever reason, he received no end zone targets last season until the Seahawks were eliminated from the playoffs. If nothing else, Bobo can win above the rim in the red zone, and apparently he can be a threat on screen passes? His place on this team is secure and we can shut down any loose talk of him being cut.
Dareke Young
I thought that the additions of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tory Horton, and Ricky White III put Dareke in a near-impossible situation to get out of. White looks like he’ll be a practice squad guy this year, MVS is a real question mark thanks to the rise of Horton, leaving Dareke Young a chance to impress in camp and preseason. It’s not like Young hasn’t had good preseason moments throughout his career, but I think he may yet get one more year on the active roster as a fifth WR (aka very few offensive snaps) and an important special teams guy. Young led all Seahawks with 52 yards receiving.
Damien Martinez
I still believe George Holani is ahead of Martinez in the RB3 competition, but that was the Martinez I was expecting to see; hard-nosed, physical running with a style that’s reasonably close to Chris Carson’s. The rookie got his first NFL touchdown from a yard out and had 50 yards on 11 carries in addition to a couple of grabs for 14 yards.
Julian Love
Defend every blade of grass, right? He stopped Carson Steele mid-air on 4th and 1 to force a turnover on downs. I’d say Love is ready for the season.
Jared Ivey
If there’s a UDFA rookie with a decent shot to make the roster, I think it’s Ivey. He continues to play well against the run and the big edge rusher was in on a few pressures in the second half. Ivey officially recorded no stats in the box score but he played better than that and could’ve had a half-sack alongside Seth Coleman toward teh end of the game.
Brandon Pili
My teaser for the next roster projection is I not only think the Seahawks keep Brandon Pili, but Johnathan Hankins isn’t on the roster at all when the regular season rolls around. Hankins might have been a hedge while the team assessed its younger nose tackles, and thus far Pili and Quinton Bohanna have both impressed. Pili blew up yet another run play this camp/preseason, and this time it was for a safety. Maybe I’m biased because I’ve gone by his high school (Westview High in Portland, Oregon) many times over the years.
Seth Coleman
Coleman recorded 1.5 sacks, although the 0.5 is really Jamie Sheriff’s pressure on Chris Oladokun and he’s mostly responsible for the sack. The other sack was him beating his man and getting to Bailey Zappe with quickness. I like the possibility of Coleman as a practice squad candidate.
Jay Harbaugh’s special teams coverage units
The Seahawks’ return game was the absolute horror show last season, but their coverage units weren’t exactly consistent either. They allowed a huge kick return to Jalen Royals in the first half—D’Anthony Bell seemingly went to the wrong player and left a lane open—and Skyy Moore took a break from dropping the ball to house an 88-yard punt return in garbage time. I am begging Jay Harbaugh to not have this ST unit live and die off the successes of Michael Dickson and Jason Myers again.
Sataoa Laumea
Not everything about the OL was spotless. I think Laumea is on the roster bubble. Keep in mind that he wasn’t picked by John Benton or any of his assistants, and Seattle drafted two guards in Day 3. Hell, Mason Richman has even done some camp reps at center! So has Bryce Cabeldue! Laumea was a healthy scratch for most of his rookie season until he was suddenly preferred over Christian Haynes, and he was a bit of a mess in pass pro but a mauler in the run game. Different coaching, different scheme, competition on either side of him, and consistent time with the 3s over the 2s (as long as no one is injured) has me thinking he could be the odd man out. A two-penalty night won’t help his cause, although he had a nice block on Jake Bobo’s screen TD.
Sam Darnold didn’t have to do much with his four passes, so all I’m happy about is that it seems like he knows the offense well and we’ll get to know how much he’s in command when the regular season begins. Getting Sam moving out of the pocket is a W for me. Everything looked sharp when he was in the game and I look forward to the whole playbook being used in due time.
A little bad luck for Jalen Milroe that he had only five pass attempts and was mostly in “run the clock down” mode. His throws to Ricky White III and Brady Russell were accurate and impressive, but he had a couple of off-target throws (including a possible TD to Anthony Tyus) I’m sure he’s kicking himself over. Mike Macdonald acknowledged as such. I’m most encouraged we saw him on a sneak with the first-team, the first teaser of a Jalen Milroe offensive package.
Tory Horton did ding his ankle on his only catch of the game, which is unfortunate but it doesn’t sound all that serious. Better safe than sorry if you’re Coach Macdonald.
It was good to see Jerrick Reed II making a couple of plays on defense in the fourth quarter. I think his roster chances are minimal but he’ll keep competing until the end; injuries over his previous two seasons really set him back.
Nick Emmanwori had his first real rookie moment of preseason when he was caught out by Gardner Minshew on a throw to Isiah Pacheco. Emmanwori was still communicating with his teammates and it looked like it was his assignment that he busted.
I hope Jacardia Wright is on the practice squad, because he’s been really enjoyable running back to watch in both preseason games and the Lumen Field training camp scrimmage.
Was there pass interference by Robert Tonyan on D’Anthony Bell when Tonyan scored his touchdown? Maybe. But a tight end vs. safety is probably not going to get called. I didn’t even know Tonyan was still in the league.
I imagine the starters will get a lot of time against the Green Bay Packers in the joint scrimmage, then we’ll see the second- and third-team guys take up the whole of the preseason finale. It’s important not to get too high on preseason performance; Ryan Grubb’s unit sure looked crisp last year, but something about this year’s preseason feels different, and I think it’s the cohesion that we’re seeing between what Mike Macdonald wants and what we’re seeing on the field. They want to run the ball more and more effectively? We’re seeing that in these exhibitions. More play-action? Yes. Be more physical upfront (at least on offense)? Ditto.
There are going to be a lot of tough cuts to make on this Seahawks roster, which is a good problem to have. It’s indicative of the talent on the roster and is reminiscent of the better Pete Carroll teams. Hopefully we’re witnessing Mike Macdonald’s first of many great Seahawks teams.