Duane Brown and Mike Iupati, Seattle Seahawks.
Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by JC Winker, via Flickr)
12s know the excellence quarterback Russell Wilson is capable of in any given week. He has outstanding weapons among his wide receivers, and the tight end group is both deep and talented. If that wasn’t enough, the Seattle Seahawks also have a pair of 1,000 yard running backs ready to trample opposing defenses. For as good as the skill position players are, none of it matters if the men in the trenches don’t get the job done.
Seahawks General Manager took some heat in the offseason when he jettisoned 60 percent of his starting offensive line and a few key subs. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Seattle’s O-Line was 28th best in the NFL last year. What they had didn’t work. By changing personnel, the Seahawks have a better chance of improving the status quo. Frankly, it couldn’t get much worse.
In other words, Germain Ifedi, George Fant, D.J. Fluker, Joey Hunt, and Justin Britt, thanks for your service, but for the same money or less, we can do better without you. Seattle signed B.J. Finney, Brandon Shell, and Cedric Ogbuehi as free agents; and drafted Damien Lewis in the third round of this year’s draft.
So the Seattle Seahawks opened the training camp with up to four possible OL positions up for grabs among a group of new faces and a few familiar ones. Competition is a good thing and by all reports has brought out the best in those involved.
This year, a bad block or missed assignment could be the difference between winning the NFC West, earning a Wild-Card slot, or missing the playoffs altogether. For a team with championship aspirations, the last of those outcomes is unacceptable.
Mike Iupati, Seattle Seahawks.
The job of protecting RW3’s blindside was never in doubt. Duane Brown is a top-ten left tackle as well as the anchor of the Seattle Seahawks offensive front. He is the one constant head coach Pete Carroll can count on week in and week out to get the job done.
According to PFF, Brown has been head and shoulders above any other offensive lineman Seattle had since he joined the team in 2017. His 82 overall grade blows away everyone else. No other O-Lineman graded higher than 63.2 over the same period. Additionally, Brown allowed pressure on just 4.6 percent of his dropbacks in the last three years. Wilson can feel comfortable in the pocked because Brown has his back.
Mike Iupati came over from Arizona last year as a free agent. He played in all 16 regular-season games, starting 15 of them. His performance wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad either. Solid is a good word. Considering he faced San Francisco’s front four twice, Aaron Donald and the Rams twice, as well as Tampa with Ndamukong Suh in Tampa, allowing five sacks is an okay job.
It’s apparent Iupati isn’t the same player who went to the Pro Bowl four straight seasons from 2012-2015. Injuries and age have taken their toll. While he may not be a Pro Bowl-caliber player anymore, Iupati has looked sharp next to Brown during training camp this summer. Barring injury, he will start at left guard on opening day.
Brandon Shell, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks.
Two of the more polarizing Seattle Seahawks players in recent years were Ifedi and Fant. Both had their supporters and more than their share of detractors. With one exception, neither had a PFF grade over 61 the last four seasons (Fant cracked the top 30 with a 72.8 rating in 2018).
The Seahawks moved on, replacing the sub-mediocre pair with Shell and Ogbuehi. Both men rated close to each other in 2019, which is a significant improvement over what Seattle had. Shell has been better in camp, making him the likely opening day starter. Maybe getting away from the dysfunctional New York Jets is what he needed to take his career up a notch.
Fluker was an above-average player over the past two years. It seemed like he could have done a much better job than he did. Untimely penalties and a weak tackle next to him dragged down his play.
Seattle may have found a steal with Damien Lewis in the third round. There is no doubting his pedigree coming from last year’s National Champion LSU Tigers. Lewis has been the starting right guard since the first day players were allowed on the field for practice.
Anyone from the team asked about Lewis has been raving about the rookie.
“The guys can already sense that you can count on him to know what’s going on, so he’s off to a really good start. He moves well on the second level and he’s done a nice job already just showing us that he can pull and get on the edge, so he’s done nothing but good stuff so far.” – Head Coach Pete Carroll to Sports Illustrated.
When asked by Greg Bell of the Tacoma Tribune which linemen had impressed him during practice, veteran Bruce Irvin had Lewis right behind Duane Brown.
“Sixty-eight has really caught my eye.”
Carroll doesn’t exactly run a basic offense. There was no mini-camp or OTA’s this spring, for Lewis to work his way into the system. The way he stepped up to seize the position says plenty about his ability and football I.Q.
Ethan Pocic, Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Jeffrey Beall, via Wikicommons)
The middle of the line is still in flux and might be up till the first snap of the season. Up until this spring, it was Britt’s job since he moved over from guard in 2016. While not overwhelming anyone, he was a slightly better than average center the past few years.
Ultimately, Schneider thought that slightly better than average wasn’t worth the $9M Britt was scheduled to make in 2020 and cut him loose. Seattle signed B.J. Finney to a two-year, $8M contract, with $5M guaranteed to be the new man in front of Wilson. Not only did Britt get the ax, but with Finney in hand, Seattle also cut Britt’s backup Joey Hunt.
So far, Finney has failed to rise to the challenge and win the job. Instead, holdover Ethan Pocic has and seized the opportunity. At camp, Pocic has taken almost every snap with the first unit.
Apparently, the coaching staff still has some reservations about the position. They had Britt come in for a try out this week. He remains unsigned.
Whether the OL gels into a steady cohesive unit remains to be seen. The line as a whole must play greater than the sum of its parts, but those parts look pretty good right now. What the Seattle Seattle Seahawks offense did in 2019 was terrific considering the poor play they had in the trenches.
How much better could Seattle do with a top 20 O-Line? Picture Wilson with an extra half-second to find his receiver breaking downfield. Or Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, and Rashad Penney running behind a group that can open holes for them regularly.
What do you think about the Seattle Seahawks revamped offensive line? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.