Today was a million times faster and physical than yesterday was, a lot of big plays for the offense and defense.
Players injured and roaming the sideline were; Alan Branch, Jameson Konz, Walter Thrumond, Jermaine Kearse and James Carpenter.
QB's:
Everytime Tarvaris Jackson stepped up to the line, when scrimmaging was taking place the whole group of people I was standing by would collectively let out a soft, "Oh god", and they had every reason to. I always tried to give Jackson a chance. I figured the reason why he didn't evolve was because he was never really given the right attention. But today I was just done with watching him. It seemed as though that he had a magnet attached to his helmet and it would veer his head to the right side of the field. He did not progressively go through his reads and the only time he threw left was on a designed screen, and on a deep pass to Ricardo Lockette when he was practicing against air. I was disappointed and dampered by his play. He showed a little promise in the two minute drill, throwing the ball to the right as usual, with two middle passes. But just when hope was rising...he threw an interception in the red zone and like that, my hope for him was gone. If he wins the starting job I will be very surprised, because it seems like he hasn't grown as a quarterback. He only sees one side of the field, and you can't win with a quarterback who does that.
Flynn stepped up big today, he looked much better than he did yesterday. In warm ups you could see much more zip on the ball and in individual drills with the wideouts, he made a lot less mistakes. When he was throwing the ball to guarded receivers in drills he had a few fluke/errant passes but nothing to be really concerned about. There was a few mistakes from his wide receivers, and in team scrimmages he flourished. Completing plenty of passes, and he had a lot more zip on the ball then he had showed yesterday. In the two minute drill he lead the team all the way down to about the ten yard line and he threw a post corner pass to Ben Obamanu. It hit him right on the hands but unfortunately Obamanu tipped it up and right into the hands of Earl Thomas. Other than that miscue, Flynn is showing major improvement.
Russell Wilson was phenomenal today, as soon as you saw him warm up his arm you knew he was going to have a big day. In individual drills with the wide receivers he threw every ball nearly perfect. The routes ranged from swing passes to the backs all the way to deep posts and he slung the ball to every guy almost perfectly. Then when it came to team drills he looked great, progressing through his reads and getting the ball to the open receiver, not just the primary one. And when no one was open, (which was only a problem twice because he had the scrub wide outs against the starting secondary) he would wait until a hole cleared and would quickly get as many yards as he could with his feet. What impressed me about this was whenever he did take off he was sure to avoid contact, usually changing his angle and going for the sideline. I have seen plenty young QB's get out and run and then want to take on anyone coming. WIlson is smarter than that, and he knows that he should keep the drive alive rather than go balls out on a run. This guy is going to be something special one day.
Portis actually got some reps in practice today, although he was mostly just handing the ball off. On the few passes he did throw he looked fine. I still expect him to be the teams third guy.
RB's:
Lynch looked very decisive running the ball today, showing his power and speed. And of course he had some runs where he showed his surprising niftiness. Something I didn't like about his practice today was that he dropped a lot of passes. He dropped them in individual drills with the QB's on flares and swings, and in scrimmage he dropped two passes over the middle that would have probably been first downs. His game is very strong, he just needs to work on catching.
Turbin had a great practice today. A big improvement over yesterdays. He caught the ball well in drills, and in the scrimmage he had some great runs that showed his true ball carrier vision. The play that really stuck out to me was, on a stretch play to the left, his assigned lane was occupied by defenders so he cut back to the right where it was nothing but green grass and took the ball for a huge run. That play showed great patience for rookie. Seeing what happens in front of you and reacting on it, rather than just slamming into a wall of defenders. Throughout the rest of the scrimmage he had some nice catches and overall had a very impressive day.
I had my worries about Leon Washington in this camp, but he showed that he has a solid spot on this roster. In special team drills he looked good returning the ball, and he also looked good in the running back individual drills. In the scrimmage the Seahawks FINALLY ran screens to him and he looked like a kick returner should when he gets a screen. Nimble and ready to score. He also had some nice outside runs in the scrimmage. He looked like a real veteran running back out there today.
Lumpkin impresses me everytime he touches the ball. He looks fluid and natural when he has the ball in his hands. He flourished in all the individual drills as expected, and in the scrimmage he did a really good job catching the ball out of the backfield. His most impressive play came on a swing route, where he was covered by Malcom Smith who was stride for stride with Lumpkin for the most part, but Matt Flynn threw a nice floating pass up the left sideline and Lumpkin made an impressive leap to catch the ball over Malcolm Smith. I believe that there is a roster spot for him on this team.
Mike Robinson showed solidly in practice today, whether it was blocking or catching. He looked very good. Hopefully another Pro Bowl year for him (knock on wood).
Vai Tau and Tyrell Sutton didn't get much playing time today, but they looked fair in the time that they did.
Wideout's:
SIDNEY RICE WASN'T WEARING A RED JERSEY!!! YAYYY!!!! But they still didn't use him a whole lot, just to keep him safe. In the plays that he did get he showed a good ability to find the open spots on the field and snag in the ball. As camp progresses with his recovery there will be more to report on from him, but for now he looks good.
Lockette in all honesty looks amazing, he has such a crazy burst and he gets in and out of his cuts very well. He looked like a number one receiver today. He ran very crisp routes and had plenty of catches, and of course he did what we all love to see him do, go deep. He also looked very good blocking the corners on runs to the outside. Lockette is shaping up to be a great wide receiver. He has the "IT" factor that this team needs. Also when he was walking around the sidelines he would drop and catch the ball like Mike Williams did, with one difference, he was doing it with one hand! not an easy task.
Doug Baldwin brought it today, in every drill he did. The guy is just smooth. In the scrimmage today he was gliding through his routes and found the open holes in the defense extremely well. He had a lot of nice catches over the middle, and when they sent him out wide, he made some nice plays. Baldwin has a legitimate chance to be this teams number one receiver if injuries and under production keep others out of the job.
Kris Durham had a rough practice. He had a lot of drops on easy completions. The ball would just smack right off of his hands. Toward the end of practice he shaped up a tad with a nice sideline catch, but overall not a good day for him.
Deon Butler made up for his mistake ridden practice yesterday with a very complete practice today. He ran his routes correctly and had some really nice catches. If Doug Baldwin gets promoted to playing wide out, see Butler taking the slot spot.
Antonio Bryant had his first practice with us today. He was with the QB's almost all practice just catching balls and trying to get his feet on the ground. He got some snaps with the first team offense in the scrimmage. He didn't catch any balls because they ran primarily when he was in, so we'll see how he looks down the road.
Golden Tate seriously strikes a nerve with me, he looked so sloppy and lackluster. When he wasn't one on knee on the sideline with his helmet in his hand pouting, he was sluggishly running his routes and jawing at the players that were guarding him. Then for one play he actually put in an effort to get open and you know what happened on that play? He scored a touchdown. It makes me angry that a guy with the potential to make a big play only seems to do it when he wants to. I want to see more from Tate. He has all the potential to be a good wide receiver but in watching him, it just seemed like he didn't care.
As for the dark horses, Charly Martin had some nice catches but was basically man handled by our starting D. Bates and Lavasier had a few nice plays and Kenney shined in individual drills but didn't do much in scrimmaging.
TE's:
Winslow was a little limited in practice today and I think that's because his knees are such a liability, but he still looked like the best guy out there in limited reps. Pete will probably keep his knees rested in practice come the regular season so he will be full speed for games.
Miller was exceptional with some nice sideline catches, and key blocks. I hope he has a bounce back season from last year. It seems every QB but Tarvaris Jackson throws to him. He can work the seam very well and can get open deep. I see him bouncing back.
Morrah practiced a lot more than he did yesterday. He was mostly blocking but he had a few passes over the middle that were nice. One for a touchdown at the end of the two minute drill from Russell Wilson. I think he is the lock in number 3 guy.
McCoy had a slow day, he didn't play much and when he did, he didn't get thrown at.
O Line:
The starting group looked as solid as they did yesterday, not giving up much pressure but they did get called for holding our speed guys, being Irvin and Clemons. But other than that they looked good in pass protection. They gave the first team right guard reps to Deuce Lutui today and let Moffitt snap for the second team. Lutui looked solid at the right guard spot, especially when it came to pass blocking.
The backups all looked good. They had Moffitt snapping for second team today, and Barron shut down every pass rusher that came at him. But none of those rushers were Bruce Irvin.
Defensive Backs:
Safeties:
Kam had another big day today. In team defensive back drills he did a very good job of finding the zones where the coach who was throwing the ball couldn't see him and snagged a few easy picks. That might not be saying much, but if you can't see a 6'4 guy lurking in the secondary then he must be doing something right. Kam is only growing. Not to mention he is a pretty funny teammate. He was joking around with Sherman a lot. He also had some nice plays against the run.
Earl Thomas seemed really mad today. He got into a verbal dispute with Obamanu on one play, and Tate on another. I like his attitude though. He's not going to take anything form anyone, and he's all over the field all the time. He made some plays on the ball today. If he works on catching the ball, he could have a double digit interception season.
Jeron Johnson showed good ability today, he got to play with the first team defense in nickel situations and played his part of the field very well. I hope to see him getting more play time this year. And if not, he'll do just fine on special teams.
Winston Guy really impressed me today. He was all over the field, literally. They played him at strong and free safety where he showed good zone coverage skills. They played him at outside linebacker where he showed great physical ability, and then they played him in the nickel spot where he mirrored the slot receivers well. I feel like this guy can play any defensive position, and he will also be a key special teams player.
As for Maragos, he still looks like he should just play special teams.
Corners:
Boy were these guys physical today.
Browner is honestly a scary human being. Just seeing him walking around the sideline makes you feel like he's just going to walk up and punch you in the face. But I like how he gives off that impression, it makes him an intimidating player. In coverage Browner was basically lights out today, and he kept his contact within 5 yards which was reassuring to see. The one time he got beat was on a quick slant route by Deon Butler but he quickly caught up with him.
When he wasn't dancing or cracking jokes, Richard Sherman was man handling wide receivers. The play that stuck out to me was when he was playing press man on Charly Martin. He put up one hand on Martin's chest and that was basically all he had to do. He was making plays all over the field, and it seems that he is learning to shed blocks and defend the run better which a good skill for him to pick up.
Trufant didn't look too great today, he was playing off and soft, and every time that happened the receiver would run a quick route inside and burn him. In the nickel, he still didn't look comfortable. I hope it's just veteran rust but if it's not I could see Tru getting cut.
Roy Lewis had another good day at the nickel corner spot, not giving up much ground and executing his assignments well. I think it's his job until Thurmond is healthy.
As for the young guns like Lane, Lisowski, Parker, and Maxwell, none had a great day but I really think it's between Lane and Maxwell to have a spot on this roster. They just need more playing time, so there's more to evaluate. Lane played a little nickel today and was very physical and smart.
LB's:
The starting group of KJ Wright, Bobby Wagner and Leroy Hill looked solid again today. Not giving up much in the pass or run game, they all are very good at getting off blocks and covering their assigned zones. KJ Wright did an exceptional job at rushing the passer as well. Malcolm Smith got his reps in Leroy's spot again today and showed real promise only giving up one big play. I think HIll and Smith might share plays on defense this season because neither is proving themselves better than the other yet, so until that happens, I expect seeing both of them play.
All the back ups looked good, McCoy especially. As for Farwell, Ruud, Bradford, Morgan and Toomer, they didn't really get the chance the prove themselves.
D Line:
Tackles:
Mebane looked as solid as he always does. Since Branch was out they plugged in Clinton McDonald, who actually did a really good job at getting penetration. With two short thick guys in the middle the linebackers roamed free.
Jaye Howard still impresses me. He has a great burst off of the ball and gets great penetration. I get the feeling that you will see him in a lot of short downs and goal line. He could even be a tackle in passing situations, as he is quick and strong and a true talent.
In limited time, Livingston made an impression today. He showed very good pass rush ability, primarily because he attacks with his hands. He is very quick with his moves. I see him and Howard being the pass rushing tackles.
Defensive Ends:
The tandem of Clemons and Irvin is FIERCE. They are fast as hell and can seriously hunt the quarterback. Those two played a lot today and across from each other, which was a nice preview. They got a huge amount of pressure on the Quarterbacks today. I get the feeling there will be plenty of sacks between the two of them.
Jason Jones looked good in passing situations as well. He is definitely a guy who thrives when he is told to crash inside and rush through the guard. He did well against the tackles as well. He is a great under rated acquisition.
Big Red brought his stout run stuffing ability to the field today. Anytime the ball was going his way, that side of the line was being pushed back.
Cordarro Law looked good again today. He was stood up by Mark Barron a few times but he got a feel for what he was doing and got some good pressure in on the passers. But where he really thrived at today was playing against the run. He held his ground and kept good containment. He could really make an impact on this teams defense.
Dexter Davis had another off day today. It just seems like he needs to get acclimated to what is going on around him.
Special Teams:
Jon Ryan had some beautiful punts today.
Gresham didn't screw up.
Hauschka was flawless in his field goals.
It was funny in defensive drills. They all came over and were the ball carriers against the special teams linebackers and were juking and cutting all around those guys, once again DARKHORSES.
All in all, today's practice was very impressive. Everything was so fast and physical. This team has a real purpose. You know you're watching one of the most talented teams in the NFL when these guys are on the field.