7 overreactions to Seahawks-Chargers preseason game

How Saturday will impact the Seattle Seahawks on their quest to choose a final roster and depth chart: Seaside Joe 1988

One way that Seaside Joe could differ from other Seahawks writers is that I want to tell you before I go over what happened in Seattle’s preseason game against the Chargers on Saturday that I do not care what much what the box score says. I’ll tell you what the stats are sometimes, I will even share a screenshot with you of the box score, but I don’t want to join the crowd in overreacting to preseason stats.

I have much more important things to overreact to.

I know how good it feels that Seahawks football games are back, but these aren’t even dress rehearsals. A dress rehearsal would mean that all the actors are there, not their understudies. Imagine how much the line would move if Justin Herbert was ruled out of a real game and he’s just one player. With the exception of a few players for a few plays, this game involved backups and hopefuls, while coaches are keeping their secrets close to the vest until Week 1.

These games are not rehearsals for the starters, they’re organized tryouts for the players and practice runs for the broadcast teams, the referees, the people we rarely talk about. I think preseason being just as much a warmup for the referees as it is the players and coaches was obvious in Saturday’s rarely-delayed-by-penalty 16-3 Seahawks win over the Chargers.

But even if the score result won’t impact Seattle’s chances of winning the division, the Seahawks playing a football game and not frustrating the hell out of us feels almost the same as if it would.

Without overreacting to anything that happened on Saturday, here are seven overreactions I had anyway and how it will impact the Seattle Seahawks on their quest to choose a final roster and depth chart.

Well, P.J. Walker can’t be the backup

On Friday, I thought, “Hey maybe Walker can challenge Sam Howell to be Seattle’s backup”, and that idea has faded as quickly as it appeared. By watching Howell on Saturday, you could see why the Seahawks were so intrigued and traded for him (good arm, good mobility) and also why the Moons didn’t get a better offer somewhere else (inconsistency that could lead to soul-crushing turnovers).

Howell had a stat line, but I seriously do not think you need a doctorate in film study or a masters in analytics to have an opinion just from watching him play on Saturday: He was okay. If you watched the game, your opinion of how he played is just as valid as anyone else’s, and my opinion is that he was okay.

With the caveat that he wasn’t surrounded by starters, other than Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the first two series, Charles Cross for a minute (update: not Charles Cross, I think I saw a number and got it confused for Cross), Laken Tomlinson for at least a quarter I’d say, and I think that was it. The bright side is that if Howell had DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and Kenneth Walker, the full offense, he could be good enough to start for the Seahawks. The word of warning is: none of the exciting tools matter if 2023’s leader in interceptions can’t be exciting without turning the ball over.

I still think that Howell’s preseason debut with Seattle is one that should make Seahawks fans optimistic about Geno Smith’s backup going into Week 1.

The Seahawks needed to see positive from Howell and they did. They didn’t need to see positive from P.J. Walker, and for the most part they didn’t.

Playing with an even less experienced and NFL qualified supporting cast, Walker was usually off-target and an inexcusable delay of game penalty in the fourth quarter. You could see a little bit of why he’s going into his eighth season, and a lot of bit why he doesn’t stay anywhere for very long.

Overreaction?

No. I don’t think that Sam Howell has anything to worry about. He should be the backup and Walker is probably going to be a free agent again after the third preseason game.

Michael Dickson’s second All-Pro season

There has been talk recently of Dickson having his best training camp and if there wasn’t, there will be now. Dickson carried those rumors into an almost-perfect day against the Chargers, which I think is notable not only when your new special teams coach is Harbaugh, but also when the opposing coach is Harbaugh.

Jim Harbaugh should have his team as prepared as any for a precision punter, yet Dickson still had a day of consistently putting the ball inside the 10. Of all the preseason stats, punters and kickers are as close to “real ball” as anyone.

Dickson made the All-Pro first team as a rookie in 2018, but he has not even been to the Pro Bowl since. I don’t think that’s been a snub most of the time either; he’s been really good, not “the best in the world” good.

Overreaction?

No, I think Michael Dickson has proven he’s capable of being the best in the world. Why not now again?

Kenny McIntosh is not in danger of being cut

Seattle’s 2023 seventh round pick was getting a lot of buzz prior to a knee injury before the Seahawks first preseason game, causing him to be on IR until November. He had the first NFL offensive snaps of his career on Saturday and I bet he looked even better than he did in offseason practices last year.

Again, the stats are whatever. If you watched the game, you saw how McIntosh got what was blocked for him, and then gained even more after first contact. Whatever the stats say, I can tell from my eyes that he played well enough to be the Seahawks number three running back: Elusive as a runner, a threat in the passing game. Plus, he is probably ahead of George Holani on the depth chart and in order of importance because he did get most of the reps in the first half.

McIntosh could also be used on returns, which the Seahawks might need if they cut Dee Eskridge and/or Dee Williams.

This is not to say that Holani was bad. He’s sort of more like a DeeJay Dallas, isn’t he? There wasn’t anything that stood out negatively about him as a runner—he helped spring Eskridge for a 21-yard run with a block—he just might not have the ultra-high ceiling, whereas McIntosh could at least be a ball carrier for an NFL team.

The word recently was that Holani had overtaken McIntosh, that wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Overreaction?

Yes, a little bit. McIntosh, Week 1, Denver Broncos starting defense, he’s going to be just as good against them as against L.A.’s backups? Well, that’s one thing. It’s not even the most important reason I’m overreacting, which is that George Holani could get the majority of reps next week against the Titans and look EVEN BETTER. It’s running back, which can often be a week-to-week doghouse position unless you’re really special. We’re not talking about starters, we’re talking about emergency starters. At least for now while Seattle has Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.

And the possibility of the Seahawks carrying four running backs could be higher than the Seahawks carrying an extra receiver or tight end. Perhaps both will make the team.

McClendon Curtis is not a starter OR backup right tackle

The Chargers didn’t play Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack, yet Seattle’s “backup” tackles seemed to get buried play after play in pass protection by Bud Dupree, Tuli Tuipulotu, and I’m sure others. Specifically Tuipulotu, who is definitely a good player just not the level of edge rusher that Curtis would typically be seeing in the regular season, was at times dominating McClendon Curtis at right tackle.

We’ve kind of been told that Curtis is the starter at right tackle if Abraham Lucas and George Fant are unavailable. I think it’s even been hinted that Curtis would start at tackle over Fant. Whoever the coaches are seeing in practice was not the player who was out there on Saturday.

This isn’t to say that Curtis could not be a good right tackle eventually, only that the Seahawks seem to be right back where they left off before signing George Fant.

I did not have a lot to say about Seattle’s other offensive linemen except that Olu Oluwatimi was out there until the third quarter. That’s a lot of playing time for a center who was leading the competition to start until the team signed Connor Williams. Tomlinson and Anthony Bradford were out there for a while too, probably giving Howell the best opportunity he could get, but it just doesn’t matter as much if the tackles can’t hold their end of the deal.

Overreaction?

For sure. These are reactions to a one-time live viewing of a Seahawks game and there are a lot of variables that draw your attention away from specific offensive linemen. That is until they give up a sack or a pressure. That happened to Curtis too often against backups, what could happen against a team’s top edge rusher? It’s Aidan Hutchinson coming up soon. Bradley Chubb, Matt Judon, Brian Burns, Nick Bosa…

Seahawks fans need good news on Abe Lucas.

New coordinators are already changing the aura of the Seahawks

As I said earlier, coaches HAVE TO HOLD BACK in the preseason. We saw a glimpse of this in the first half when the Seahawks were stuffed at the one-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. I have faith that if it was the regular season and the regular players that Ryan Grubb would have dialed up a play with a higher degree of success…even if that’s just the exact same play but with Kenneth Walker carrying the ball instead of Holani.

The Seahawks having a dominant defensive day is nice and all, but I definitely won’t remember this game a year from now the same as if it was a regular season game. I probably won’t remember it at all!

But the sense of the Seahawks being different this year, including an aura that feels fresh, unpredictable, possibly even successful, was evident on Saturday. The box score says good stuff about Seattle’s defense, the eye test says that Easton Stick is not an NFL quarterback and L.A.’s backup skill players might actually be among the least good in the league. The stats don’t tell me nearly as much as watching the game led me to believe that Mike Macdonald is a really good defensive coordinator.

Overreaction?

No. I think the Seahawks are in a very enviable position with their offensive and defensive coordinators this year, including Macdonald’s support staff with Aden Durde and Leslie Frazier and Karl Scott. If for no other reason than Seattle’s game plan being far more unpredictable than season’s past.

Byron Murphy II is Defensive Rookie of the Year

Not a lot to say about Byron Murphy yet just based on these limited preseason reps, but from what we did see he was unstoppable.

The Seahawks have never had a Defensive Rookie of the Year. Now they’ve picked the second defensive player off of the board in back to back classes. It’s hard to win DROY as a cornerback, so Devon Witherspoon had a tough climb against Will Anderson. Riq Woolen lost out to Sauce Gardner in 2022. Murphy could put up the pass rushing stats as an interior player to possibly win the award if he’s as good as many people think he is.

Overreaction?

It’s ALWAYS an overreaction to give people awards based on one preseason week. There is a lot of football that needs to be played before anything like this could be a defensible statement, but surely Byron Murphy is in the conversation of who could be in the conversation and he might be too good not to start in Week 1. And by “start” I mean, you know, this is the guy you need out there on every third down, to say the least.

Boye Mafe playing a lot is a bad sign

I am in no position to say how I would feel if I was an NFL player…but if I was an NFL player, I think I’d be a little bit concerned if I’m going into my third year as a second round pick and coaches want me out there in the third quarter of the first preseason game. A week after I was listed behind Dre’Mont Jones on the depth chart, a player who moved positions and has missed about half of training camp.

Mafe might have been out there for so long for any number of defensible reasons, but Mike Macdonald was protecting other starters in a way that the team wasn’t protecting Mafe. Would we be having a conversation if Riq Woolen or Tre Brown were playing in the third quarter? I think we would.

I guess the question is, “What does Mafe have to prove to the coaches?” this deep into the off/pre-season that other “starters” didn’t have to prove to them? It could be better than it is for Derick Hall, who was playing in the fourth quarter.

Overreaction?

Overreaction or not, I don’t think I would want to be risking my health in the third quarter of a preseason game if I just led the team in sacks last season and I am eligible for a contract extension next year. I found Mafe’s appearance that deep in the game to be troubling for Mafe, although it could be totally explainable and not a big deal.