Seattle Seahawks: A quick look at the team who will open the season on Sunday
Herb Nightengale
|
Sunday Morning, the Seattle Seahawks 2020 season begins. Herb Nightengale has a thumbnail preview of the Seahawks starters.
The 12s haven’t seen their Seattle Seahawks in action during training camp due to COVID-19. They finally get to do so on Sunday. Seattle travels cross country for a matchup with the Atlanta Falcons; kickoff is scheduled for a little after 10 am PDT. The Seahawks lead the series by an 11–8 margin. Last year, they beat the Falcons in Atlanta 27–20. They are hoping for similar results this year, too.
Offense
In a typical year, we have a good idea of what the team will look like before the first regular-season game. Since the NFL canceled all the pre-season games, we have no feel for how the offense will run.
One thing remains constant, Russell Wilson is the quarterback and leader of the team. Once again, Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf are his primary receivers. This winter, future Hall of Famer tight end Greg Olsen joined the team as a free agent. He and Will Dissly share the position unless the Seahawks run a double tight end set. Chris Carson will be the primary ball carrier, but the Seahawks added another 1,000-yard rusher, Carlos Hyde, to balance out Carson’s load.
Left tackle Duane Brown and left guard Mike Iupati are the only returning starters on the offensive line. Ethan Pocic will start at center. The 2017 second-round pick moved over from guar and beat out free agent acquisition BJ Finney. At right tackle will be veteran Brandon Shell. Seattle signed him away from the New York Jets as a free agent in the off-season. Rookie third-round pick Damien Lewis won the starting right guard job.
Defense
The Seahawks defense will be another area the fans will be excited to see with the beginning of the season. They acquired a strong safety, Jamal Adams, an All-Pro last year from the New York Jets for several draft picks (including the next two first-rounders) along with safety Bradley McDougald. He teams with Quandre Diggs to form one of the best safety tandems in the league.
During the off-season, the Seahawks also acquired cornerback Quinton Dunbar from Washington. After months of legal issues, which were finally cleared a few weeks ago, Dunbar has battled Tre Flowers for the starting right cornerback spot. Shaquill Griffin returns as the starter at left cornerback.
The star of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker. K.J. Wright and returning SAM linebacker Bruce Irvin flank Wagner. Irvin’s primary job will be to rush the quarterback so he will see action at defensive end as well. Rookie first-round pick Jordyn Brooks should also see ample time at linebacker.
Last year’s first-round pick L.J. Collier spent most of the season on the sidelines due to a training camp injury. He is now fully healthy and will be at one of the defensive end spots. Free-agent pickup Benson Mayowa will cover the LEO position. Jarran Reed and Poona Ford return to start in the two defensive tackle spots. It’s too early to say how well the defense will play this year but expect them to show vast improvement over the 2019 version.
We can finish this by saying, let the games begin. Go Hawks!