The Seahawks were back in pads today after a t-shirt and shorts walk through yesterday. At least, most of the team was in pads. Geno Smith was a notable absence, leaving Sam Howell and PJ Walker to take all the snaps at quarterback on a hot and windy day. Coach Mike Macdonald shared afterward that Smith will be undergoing some imaging to assess the injury. Bob Condotta reported this morning that the injury appears to be a hip and knee issue.
There was a fair amount of “sky is falling” reactions online when the news broke. My current perspective is this is not likely to be a serious injury. The team is probably being cautious and sees no reason to push it this early in camp. Of course, it is never a good thing when they even deem it worthy of imaging and you never know what might show up. My sense is Macdonald and the team are not expecting anything serious to come back.
The silver lining here was that Sam Howell had a chance to take all the reps with the starters. There are some who have surmised that his struggles in camp have been due, in part, to him playing with the backups. While I disagree, there is no doubt that throwing to D.K. Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a different experience than throwing to Easop Winston and Cody White.
Howell has improved his play the last few days once pads came on. I think it is less about the pads and more about a combination of gaining confidence in the Ryan Grubb offense and Grubb learning that Howell seems to do better when he is on the move out of the pocket.
Howell is a shorter quarterback who has some of the same tendencies as Russell Wilson when in the pocket. He can hold onto the ball for far too long while waiting for longer developing plays that he can see more easily down the field. His accuracy and decisiveness improve when rolling out.
There were some nice throws today. Howell hit JSN a number of times over the middle, which is increasingly becoming his territory. He also connected with Metcalf on a timing out route and Jake Bobo on a beauty of a back shoulder throw that had Devin Witherspoon hopping mad that the ref ruled Bobo inbounds. It was a good call.
Howell’s time to throw has reduced a ton. He was getting the ball out far more quickly today, which appears to be a hallmark of the Grubb system. There were still some of those moments of holding the ball way too long, but they were more the exception than the rule.
He also remained inaccurate at times, and had a truly awful forced throw to a receiver who was blanketed by Tre Brown. Brown easily picked it off and took it back for a touchdown. Howell has to get those throws out of his game. Getting more reps and time with Grubb could wind up being beneficial to his learning curve and development.
Good day for Laviska Shenault Jr
The signing of Laviska Shenault Jr was one of the more intriguing moves of the offseason. Shenault is a former 2nd round pick who has flashed as a yards after catch receiver as well as a returner. He has some of the same skills as Cordarrelle Patterson of the Atlanta Falcons.
He has not been a major factor to this point of camp, but saw a lot of action today. He was used on jet sweeps as a runner and a receiver in quick screens. He also was targeted further downfield. Arguably the best throw of the day was Walker rifling it into Shenault 20 yards downfield for what looked like would have been a touchdown with him running after the catch.
Shenault gives the Seahawks a weapon they simply have not had previously. He is physical and shifty. There is a big difference when someone like him is catching a screen versus JSN.
Watch out for Easop Winston Jr
Another guy who is climbing up the ranks on the roster is Easop Winston Jr. Winston had time with the team last year, and has earned the reputation of having the best hands on the team. He is also an excellent route runner.
Howell had started to develop chemistry with Winston in the second unit. Walker targeted him quite a bit today. Winston snatched one away from Dee Williams, who has switched to corner, early. He caught a nice touchdown during red zone drills later.
I would have given Winston a near zero chance of making the 53-man roster when camp started. He has a unique fit at punt returner given his plus hands and quality movement skills. It is still an uphill battle given the depth of that position, but the chance is no longer zero.
Spoon unleashes
Witherspoon was brought on blitzes multiple times, and would have probably had a sack on each. His timing and disguise remains excellent. He has been playing almost exclusively outside recently with Artie Burns in nickel, which creates some different spacing and rotations when being brought on a blitz.
Tre Brown may have more competition for starting reps than expected if the team starts to prefer Witherspoon playing outside.
Mystery situation
The mystery situation for today was:
- 4th quarter
- 9 seconds to go
- Offense needs a FG to win
- Ball at their own 40-yard line
- Each side has 1 timeout remaining
Howell held the ball a bit long, but did complete to JSN over the middle for an 15-yard gain. There were only 3 seconds left. The offense had to try a 62-yard field goal for the win.
Jason Myers had a rough practice a couple days ago, missing three straight. He stepped into this kick and snuck it over the upright by 2-3 yards. It was impressive in any conditions, but even more notable with the wind.
Quick hitter notes
- Kenneth Walker has been asked to work on his blitz pickup so he could play more on 3rd downs. He got a lot of chances today in those situations and acquitted himself well. He was used to catch some swing passes, but more importantly, had an absolutely beautiful blitz pickup that allowed Walker to make a throw to Cody White for the first down. His development as a pass protector could be big for this offense.
- Metcalf had another one-handed catch for a touchdown, and then followed it up with a contested catch for a touchdown. There were a couple of other chances for highlight catches that he could not quite hold onto.
- Christian Haynes was back on the right side at guard, and had a good exchange with Byron Murphy during 1v1 pass rush drills. Murphy drove him back quickly and dominantly on the first rep. Haynes came back on the second rep and blocked Murphy into the ground. These two are making each other better every day.
- Matt Gotel is taking advantage of Cameron Young’s absence has the attention of Macdonald. Gotel had a nice tackle for loss after blowing up a play.
- Tyrel Dodson came flying from the middle of the field to pop Shenault on one end around in red zone drills. He did not deliver a full hit, but it was a flash play for his range and ferocity. I think Seahawks fans are going to like this guy.
- Jerome Baker is known as an excellent blitzer from the linebacker spot and has been going against Walker often during blitz pickup 1v1 drills. Baker has won his fair share, but Walker has steadily improved at parrying his attacks.
- Mike Jerrell had the block of the day as he violently whipped Sunny Anderson to the ground in 1v1 pass rush drills. This guy continues to gain ground and confidence.
- Leonard Williams flashed early in practice, swallowing up a few different run plays.
- Mike Morris had a nice split of a double team for what would have been a sack
- Uchenna Nwosu blew by Anthony Bradford on one play for a sack
The offense and defense were tied (using whatever scoring system the coaches rely on). Macdonald had them line up for a 2-point conversion attempt to determine which side of the ball won for the day. The pass out wide fell incomplete with Brown in coverage. Defense wins.
Odd experience of the day
As I was walking down the sideline to get a better view of team drills, I heard someone behind me yell, “Hey! How about a high five?!” I turned to the fence where the fans were lined up, “You mean me?” They nodded. Awkwardly, I walked over and gave the guy a high five. Then five other people wanted high fives. That has to be the most disappointing high five of their lives.