What you missed in training camp today
What you missed in training camp today
Seaside Bonus: "I've never had a problem being a gunslinger" - Drew Lock
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In case you missed it, here’s what happened on Monday.
Darrell Taylor wants some of what DK got
There was a “brief kerfuffle” as Bob Condotta put it, with Taylor and DK Metcalf literally throwing some hands after a play.
My general take on training camp fights is that they are far less interesting than the attention that they get. But people like talking about them for whatever reason and I won’t infringe on anyone’s right to a good interest.
One looming situation for the Seahawks could be whether or not Darrell Taylor is prepared to hold-in in 2023 if he has the breakout season that everyone is hope-in for this year.
The comparison for Taylor on the high end would be Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby: Las Vegas signed him a to a four-year, $94 million extension with $53 million guaranteed. It’s actually a little less than what Metcalf received. Crosby had seven sacks, 14 TFL, and 13 QB hits in year two, followed by eight sacks, 13 TFL, and 30 QB hits in 2021.
Taylor is behind Crosby’s curve in terms of production, missing his rookie year and then posting 6.5 sacks, 7 TFL, and 13 QB hits in year two. However, it only takes one strong season for Taylor to put himself into position to ask for long-term security. Or at least, longer term.
Boye Bonus!!
Drew Lock doesn’t need to advertise his offseason efforts, but he does need to improve
Lock spoke to the media after practice and said that he did some offseason work with DK Metcalf, but isn’t the type to go on social media to advertise it. I respect that.
On the other hand, words like these mean a lot more when the behind-the-scenes work is paying off on camera. That isn’t the case for either Seahawks quarterback yet.
I am going to refrain as much as possible from sharing any “training camp stats” and Gregg Bell posted a few passing completion numbers for Smith and Lock. I would recommend that you avoid reading into those numbers. At all. Hey look, we all want to hear that the quarterback completed every pass, or most of his passes, but practice deserves to stay at practice.
Practice doesn’t just accept that you will fail sometimes, it demands it.
That being said, there is no report thus far that suggests that Geno Smith or Drew Lock are doing anything other than try to do a little less bad than the other guy. The theme of Survivor is “Outwit. Outlast. Outplay.” For Smith and Lock, “outplay” is out the window. I’m not sure to what degree “wit” is in the picture.
This competition is about three quarterbacks hoping to simply “outlast” the other two.
Lock also admitted to being a “gunslinger,” saying he’s “never had the problem of forcing and making plays happen…” which is definitely part of the “problem” that coaches are trying to solve with him.
So far, Lock has only been working with the 2s, but Smith hasn’t done enough to keep him there. That’s a good opportunity for Lock, but again, none of it matter if his “independent study” doesn’t lead to any on-the-seahawks success.
Geno Smith face
Uchenna Nwosu’s play of the day
One of Monday’s big highlights (and reasons for concern) was an interception by Nwosu off of Smith that many reporters called “the play of the day.”
I wrote in my 5 training camp predictions last week that “There is going to be a buzz about Uchenna Nwosu” and Monday’s effort really helped my case. (That should help my average after leading off with “Drew Lock will be ahead of schedule.”)
Nwosu is in an ideal situation to thrive and we probably don’t give enough credit to Pete Carroll for what he’s done with edge rushing reclamation projects.
Noah Fant’s drop
One reason I expected coaches to favor Lock is that he has a downfield passing attack, but he wasn’t always given a fair shot by his receivers in Denver. You know what they say about Denver: “It’s colder, higher Seattle.”
This is just one play for Fant and I didn’t see it happen so who knows, but there is a reason that the Broncos were willing to part with a recent first round tight end, a position that often needs three to five years to really develop: It’s a risky proposition to pay his fifth-year option.
The Seahawks will be the ones doing that and they’ll hope for a better result here than with most of their other high-profile tight end acquisitions under Carroll.
Artie Burns relaxing into CB2 role
I’ve said practically nothing of Burns all offseason. From an Arthur to an Artie: I’m sorry.
Right now the Seahawks seem not only comfortable with Sidney Jones, Burns, and Coby Bryant, they’re very excited about that combo. Where does Justin Coleman fit in there?
He could still be the starting nickel, but there’s got to be an added level of relief there knowing that Seattle likely did quite well with their fourth and fifth round picks at corner.
Burns also noted that the team is calling Tariq Woolen “Avatar” based on his physical appearance.
Coby Bryant could be the steal
He was the 109th overall pick and no we haven’t even seen a preseason game yet, but it’s not like success would be “surprising” for Bryant. He was named college football’s “best cornerback” a year ago. He most likely would not start this season unless there was an injury and the best thing for him could be a year on the bench. But the Seahawks must feel so good about their draft class and I don’t think this was a feeling in camp in any of the last few years.
On the flip side, I have no idea how different it is to play cornerback in a game vs NFL receivers vs playing in practice against the 1s vs playing in practice against Drew Lock and Cody Thompson.
I’ll take positive reports when I can get them though.
Jamal Adams is back
We can relax about that.
Rashaad Penny and Ken Walker III packages
Matty F Brown caught Penny and Walker getting some plays on the field together.
I expect Walker to do a few things this season:
He had 13 catches at MSU last season, but I would look for him to get at least twice that many as a rookie
He might play a tiny bit in the slot
He might get some wildcat direct snaps
Ken Walker’s going to be a great read option (or even a triple-option if you call McCall) running back in the NFL, great for play action, I believe he will be able to do it all.
Jake Curhan still leading RT
Stone Forsythe had some reps with the 1st on Saturday, with Curhan moved to guard.
Will Dissly red zone
Dissly seemed a popular red zone target on Monday. Seems rational, right? Dissly had only three red zone targets in 2021, catching two passes, one for a touchdown. He had more red zone touchdowns on Monday than he had last season.
I’ve literally never talked to Boye Mafe in my life but imagine if he was my best friend he might say a little something like this: “Please consider sharing Seaside Joe, your help is immensely important. Poll results coming soon this week!”
Thanks for these camp digests, I’m loving the insights. All it takes is for one of the QBs to start performing at a level that doesn’t invoke unease and things couldn’t have gone much better (one broken finger notwithstanding)
Dear Joe, what are your impressions of the leadership abilities of our QBs? I get that it's hard to lead when you're not very good but Wilson's (we can stop calling him Russ or Russell now that he's forced his way out) greatest strength was the effort that was on display on and off the field. Everyone on the team saw that commitment and knew where the bar was set. Wagner did the same for the defense. What have you seen in terms of player leadership?