Thursday, August 30, 2012

Moffitt is Baaack!

I took a quick look at the tape tonight, focusing on Moffitt. #74 came into the game at right guard with the second unit and moved a step left to play center at the end of the 3rd quarter. He rocked both positions.

In his early play, Moffitt was a bit slow to the second level and the timing and positions weren't exactly right for him to make the blocks. After that, he focused on the first level and dominated. Yeah, it was against the Raider's 2nd unit, but still, our starting right guard from last year looked as strong as ever. As the game progressed, Moffitt started getting better contact in the 2nd level and was able to apply some cut blocks. It was just a quick film study, but what I saw looked good.

Moffitt looked good at center too. What? You didn't notice that he was playing the position. Yes. Exactly. Moffit was able to get clean snaps, was quick in his transition into the block, and was able to keep a clear enough head to move to the second level after some nice combo blocks.

All in all, he looked better than Sweezy, once he got going. Moffitt was able to grade some road and looked more purposeful when going after linebackers. The main difference is once he makes contact in the 2nd level, he's able to sustain it.

I applaud Cable for leaving Sweezy in with the 1st team. He was playing with familiar teammates and he gets the support of Unger and Giacomini to get him in the right position and into the right plays. Moffitt played a lot with the 2nd unit this pre-season, at least when he was developing his skills as a center, so having him play with those guys was also familiar.

But come Week 1, I'd put Moffitt in as the starter. He looked strong as ever and quickly knocked off any rust. This was just a tune up though. He wasn't playing against a 1st unit defense with a real game on the line.

Sweezy makes a great story, learned the basics of the position amazingly quickly, and has a great natural ability, but he doesn't have the experience and skills of Moffitt. What he does offer is immediate depth and a very high ceiling. Again, Schneider strikes gold at the long end of the draft.

If Moffitt wants to keep the job next year, he can't stand still. But as of the end of August, 2012, Moffitt is our best player at right guard. He's my pick to be our 2012 starter.

PSW4: Watch List Summary

In my last three posts, I outlined the running backs, offensive linemen, and tight ends to watch in tonight's final preseason game. Here a summary, ordered by jersey number...

#20 - Lumpkin, RB. Can he get picked up by another team?
#40 - Taua, RB. Practice squader?
#43 - Helfet, TE. Does Helfet's receiving get him a spot, or...
#45 - McGrath, TE. Does McGrath's blocking get him on the 53?
#62 - O'Dowd, C. Does O'Dowd show promise for the practice squad?
#63 - Johnson, G. Rishaw could make the 53, but an outside chance.
#65 - Omiyale, T/G. Playing both tackle and guard gives veteran Omiyale an edge.
#66 - Fanaika, G. Unless Paul really shines, this could be a last hurrah.
#78 - Barbre, T. We can use another tackle, but can he beat Omiyale?
#85 - McCoy, TE. Likely holds a spot on the team, but can he hold onto the ball?

Keep an eye out for these jersey numbers. Good play on passing downs and on special teams could help them become depth for the all-important running game.

PSW4: Tight Ends to Watch

Last year, we started the season with only three tight ends. That might partially be due to losing Carlson in the preseason. It struck me as odd at the time, given that we had just lost a playoff game in Chicago after losing two tight ends. We ended up throwing every two tight end play out of the playbook for the rest of that ill-fated game. (Then again, we still had a chance to win deep into the 2nd half.)

This year, we have two locks: Master blocker Zach Miller and master catcher Kellen Winslow. I'd like to see two more TEs on the 53-man roster due to the number of '02', '12', and '22' formations that we like to run. With Winslow's knees hurting (he limits his practices throughout the year), it's even more important to keep two additional TEs on the roster.

The three candidates are Anthony McCoy, Cooper Helfet, and Sean McGrath. My guess is that McCoy is already penciled in. He's known to be a good blocker, but he's had a number of drops in crucial situations. Had he made those catches, TJack would likely have posted better numbers. Then again, TJack's lack of touch and McCoy's cold hands might have been a bad combination. Wilson seems to throw a more catchable ball, and McCoy's preseason numbers look pretty good. But in the running game, on 4th and goal on the one foot line, give me Miller and McCoy as the TEs.

That leaves two guys and one spot: Cooper Helfet and Sean McGrath are battling it out. Both are rookies. I expect one to make the team and one to make the practice squad. Helfet made a nice catch in Week 1 and PC was stoked for him. In Week 3 McGrath made some nice, running blocks. McGrath looked like he might be able to play backup fullback in a pinch. If McGrath can catch, Tom Cable might give him the edge - especially if he can play special teams.

So... the things to watch are McCoy's hands and every move that Helfet and McGrath make. Between the rookies, the more reliable and flexible player likely makes the team. Given that they let Cameron Morrah walk, the staff must feel pretty good about these bubble players.

PSW4: Offensive Linemen to Watch

Coaching staffs have more flexibility when building their offensive line than with any other position group. Some players can line up at either tackle or guard. Some play guard and center. Some play left and right. And, if you're lucky, the same five guys start in the same five positions for every game and every down. The question is, how much insurance do you want to buy?

In 2011, we started the season with 10 linemen on the roster. We started two rookies on the right side (Moffitt & Carpenter), a second year LT (Okung), a young center who had missed a year (Unger), and a veteran free agent at the end of his career with a nagging injury (Gallery). And we did this after a severely shortened off season. For backups, we had a swing man who hadn't started in a few years (McQuistan) and some guys fresh off the practice squad (Giacomini, Jeanpierre).

This year couldn't be more different. Our young guys now have established success on the field. Yes, we lost one older vet (Gallery), but we got a surprise hit in the 7th round (Sweezy). We also now know what Tom Cable can do with enough time - and this off season, we got the whole calendar.

So, how will this shake out? It's possible that we will go a bit leaner on the offensive line than last year. We simply shouldn't need to buy as big an insurance policy as we needed last year. We might go with just nine. If we are comfortable living dangerously, that nine man squad could include Carpenter as we probably don't need all the backups available to play on Week 1.

So, who are the locks?

At tackle, we have Okung, and Giacomini. McQuistan is listed as a tackle, but he's filling in at left guard right now. And then there's James Carpenter, who might start the season on the PUP list - the team hasn't decided that yet. That leaves us a bit thin at the position, so Allen Barbre (T) and Frank Omiyale (T/G) might be fighting for a spot. Of course, McQuistan could slide over to tackle with someone else taking the guard spot if needed.

At center, Unger is the starter. Jeanpierre is listed as center/guard. Moffitt worked out extensively at center with the 2nd unit this year, so he can take the position too. This position looks to be set. Kris O'Dowd is listed as a center and he could be headed for the practice squad.

At guard, things get more crowded. Sweezy and McQuistan have been starting, but they might make way for Moffitt sooner and Carpenter later. C/G Jeanpierre played well in the 2nd half of last year, though he's not all that quick to the 2nd level. That leaves 4th year Paul Fanaika and rookie Rishaw Johnson hoping for a backup spot.

Putting all this together, we will keep Okung, Giacomini, McQuistan, Unger, Moffitt, Sweezy, and Jeanpierre for sure. Carpenter might be on the PUP list at first, but Carroll says he'll definitely play this year. That's eight men. There's at least one spot open and maybe two.

As I see it, we need another backup tackle. 6th year Barbre and 8th year Omiyale are fighting for that spot. If they pick Barbre, they will likely keep an additional guard as well. If they keep Omiyale, he can fill in at both the tackle and guard spots, so that might complete the roster.

Regarding center and guard, O'Dowd and Johnson can both go to the practice squad, so they stay alive even if they don't make the 53-man cut. As I see it, Fanaika is fighting for his football life.

So... the guys to watch are Barbre, Omiyale, and Fanaika. Our final offensive line unit depends on how those guys perform. O'Dowd and Johnson just need to show enough potential to make the 8-man practice squad. Then again, if Johnson shines, he could make a case for the fifty-three.

All that said, whether Carpenter goes on PUP and whether we keep nine or ten men will either use up a spot or make one available. If the OL frees up a spot, my guess is that it will allow us to keep an additional tight end. Personally, that's my preference.

PSW4: Running Backs to Watch

As the Raiders come to town, 2nd and 3rd unit players will be fighting to earn roster spots - including players who factor into the running game. First, let's look at running backs.

Marshawn Lynch is still nursing a sore back, but Beast Mode doesn't tend to play preseason games anyway. He's locked into the #1 role and will almost certain play in the season opener.

Robert Turbin has proven himself as a good fit and a hard worker. He's a lock as Lynch's understudy. Carroll recently said that pass protection is the main issue for young backs, so if Turbin gets some downs, it will mostly be to give him more practice in the passing game.

Leon Washington played tough and took some shots last week. While Tate took one return to the house, he dropped one as well. Leon's experience and sure hands on special teams has him solidly on the 53-man list.

Michael Robinson has had a toe injury that held him out a bit this off season, but there's no question that this Pro Bowler will start on Week 1. In 2010, Robinson ran as the play was written, ran through the line, and would make a good block in the 2nd level. In 2011, Robinson made live reads that were in-sych with Lynch and Cable, would lend a shoulder at the line, and would make a great block in the 2nd level. That year-over-year improvement makes Robinison a lock.

Last year, we kept four RBs. The writing is on the wall for the remaining two on the roster.

Vai Taua is unlikely to make the 53-man group, however, he has the ability to play both RB and FB as well as special teams. He'll probably end up on the practice squad, though if Carpenter is put on the PuP list, he's a longshot to take that temporary spot.

Kregg Lumpkin was insurance for us in the preseason. As I see it, he's fighting for a spot on another team or as a guy who might come back later in the year in the case of injury.

The main things to watch for are Turbin's pass protection and to see if Vai Taua can make an outside case to stick on the 53. Lumpkin will be interesting to watch just in case we see him again later in the year - with us or against us.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

PSW3: JR Sweezy

So... How about this Sweezy kid?

A defensive tackle converted to offensive guard. A 7th round pick out of NC State. (Yes. Russell Wilson's NC State.) Typically this kind of player is a project. A practice squad guy. Jameson Konz II. Yet, he's been our starting right guard.

A starter? That's not how the script is written! Yet, here he is.

I see why Cable likes him. He gets really, really low in his stance, he's quick off the snap, and he can be very powerful. On his first two running plays in preseason Week 3, he marched one defender across the field, and then powered forward for Robinson's first down. 

His next three plays weren't so good, getting bounced off a block on one, shrugged off in the 2nd level on the next, and pulling only to be stopped dead at the line on the last. 

His next four plays were nice: 1) he had a great combo block with Unger and was held so he couldn't get to the 2nd level, 2) he went zone left but there was an unblocked LB to his right. Sweezy came back to get a hand on the LB for a micro delay that helped Turbin, 3) he got to the 2nd level to destroy a LB, and 4) he turned and dominated a DL - though Turbin didn't read that wide open hole. 

The next two plays were poor. 1) He pulled too tight behind the center, which could risk injury on the line, and 2) he got shrugged and Leon hit an anvil. 

After that, Sweezy showed straight ahead power and graded the road. Next, he was shrugged by the NT but came back to get a hand on him for another micro delay. Gotta be quick to do that.

In two of his last three plays, he tried cut blocks on engaged men, which would be called as penalties by experienced refs. But on one of the three plays, Sweezy got to the 2nd level and stayed engaged. That's a pro skill!

Overall, it was a mix of natural talent, strength, and quickness with some raw rookie mistakes. If it were my call, Moffitt keeps his starting role (once the elbow is healthy) as JR continues to learn the position. As I recall, Moffitt makes fewer mistakes, though I don't know that he has as much natural talent as Sweezy. 

The real fallout is that we have a talented young guy (Sweezy) who can do the zone thing and provide depth, rather than a w-i-d-e, older player (Lutui) who wasn't as well suited to the zone blocking scheme but who would have done well in pass protection. As usual on a Carroll team, the young guy wins.


BTW, take a look at Sweezy's elbows. They're huge. When you see joints this big, you know that he can pack on more muscle over time. It's also an indication that he's durable. When you seen him between Giacomini and Unger, Sweezy wins the big elbow competition.


 

With Scruggs on the DL and Sweezy on the OL, this year's 7th round picks are rockin' it!

Preseason, Week 3

With so much focus on #russellmania (Go Russell!) and TO, the running game has been overshadowed during the preseason. Let's take a look at how the Seahawks fared in the run game in preseason, Week 3... 

Robert Turbin is a perfect fit in our zone blocking scheme. From the tape I's seen of him with Utah State, I'm not surprised that PCJS drafted him. He runs downhill, makes quick cuts, is powerful, and has the speed to get to the corner and run past defenders. When Beast Mode is off the field, I don't expect any significant drop off. In fact, I expect more explosive plays but slightly fewer tough yards. Slightly. 

Watching the tape, Turbin's first step is a bit slow. He stands neutrally, then takes a big step back to get going. Michael Robinson's first back-step is smaller and quicker. Last year, we would often see Robinson and Lynch stride for stride through their first three or four steps. Not so with Turbin. The first step is slower and the next are faster. I have no idea if the coaching staff is working with him to shorten and speed up step #1, but it's noticeable. 

Regarding Turbin's reads, they were mostly spot on. I saw one bad read where he should have followed Robinson but instead, he cut inside into traffic. But that was it. This offseason, I watched a bunch of Alex Gibbs video and he stresses that the RB should watch if the defender's helmet is inside or outside for the read. Though the hole behind Robinson was closing fast, the helmets said, "follow him".

During camp, Cable made a crack about Turbin "stomping on snakes." Well, there were no stomped snakes on Friday night. Turbin was consistently cutting and quickly pointing his compass due north. He was also leaning forward, breaking tackles, and churning his legs. He's definitely "all in." 

Those skills are enough to make him a viable asset, but his speed is what could earn him an eventual starting role. Turbin turned the corner more than once, and on his TD, he simply blew past the LB and CB as he went upright into the end zone and the defenders were falling on their faces as he raced by. 

Regarding the scheme, Cable dialed in more power plays with pulling guards than I normally expect. These came during passing situations when showing pass formations. He ran a few slash plays where the TE cuts across the grain on a zone run to open up the backside. And, yes, we ran a number of straight zones. 

Regarding players, Okung looked a bit rusty. He had some great blocks, but also blew a few. On one zone left play, he went too far to his left and wasn't able to club the defender under the armpit to keep the defender from escaping inside. That was a quick handoff from shotgun and fortunately Turbin was able to slip the tackle and gain 2 yards, rather than losing three. It reminded me a bit of Lynch in his first game as a Seahawk when we played in Chicago.

McQuistan looked really competent. He opened some really nice holes and I didn't see any glaring mistakes. I don't know that he's an A+ linemen, but he's a solid B+ at guard and tackle. I'm looking forward to him being available from the bench as he's our #1 insurance policy. 

Unger looked a bit weak at first playing against mountainous nose tackle Dontari Poe. However, by the second half, Unger was winning the battles handily. Unger had one terrible play when both he and Sweezy were shrugged at the line and both defenders hit Leon Washington like an anvil. 

Speaking of Washington, he wins the car wreck award. In just a few plays, he took a hard hit on a return, smashed into the aforementioned anvil, and on the next play, he got kneed in the head by Eric Berry on a Wilson run. But hey, it made this picture possible (which was great because a lot of KC fans were claiming that Eric Berry >> Earl Thomas before the game.) 


 

Back to the line, Sweezy played well, but got shrugged on a number of plays, especially by LBs in the 2nd level. It looks like JR is getting there too aggressively, and that's allowing defenders to use Sweezy's momentum to their advantage. I also saw him and Giacomini miss some cut blocks. Expect us to continue to be more effective zone right as the front end of the ZBS is a bit simpler than the back end. 

Giacomini played well overall and was able to temper his aggression and avoid penalties. In fact the whole line did well penalty-wise. I think we had one false start by a TE. 

Our TEs all did well blocking, which has to make Tom Cable proud. Cable relies more on creative TE play than does Alex Gibbs in his core zone blocking scheme. Miller remains our most competent and versatile blocking TE. 

Regarding receivers, TO was good at getting his body in the way, but he avoided any real contact. Besides the drops, this is a good reason that we let him go. According to Alex Gibbs, if you are a receiver who can't/won't block, Gibbs has no use for you. 

Overall, we still have work to do. But we are far, far ahead of where we were last year. We ran all of our basic run plays in various formations. Everybody played pretty well, though there were still some rough spots. Sweezy is for real, but he needs to improve those 2nd level blocks. The good news is that he is able to get to those blocks quickly, even if he's not yet able to sustain them.

Best of all, Turbin looks fantastic. The guy has the making of a #1 RB in our scheme. He's a perfect fit and is making the very best of his opportunity.

Sea Hawk Run!

Welcome to my new blog, Sea Hawk Run!

Just in time for the 2012 season, I plan to focus on the Seahawk running game as I've done for a few years on the NW Sports Talk Forum as 'CamasMan" and more recently at the 17 Power Blog. If you're into the Seahawks and into the running game, this blog is for you!

Some background... I've never played a snap of organized football. With the toughness of a placekicker, the speed of a nose tackle, the hands of a 3rd string defender, and the hand-eye coordination of a replacement ref, my natural sport is swimming, not football.

So, why did I get into run game analysis? It was because too many low-down rotten Seahawk "fans" decided to actually "boo" Shawn Alexander. What were they thinking? Yeah, the team was struggling, but you don't "boo" the MVP running back that had just set league records and brought the team to the Super Bowl just two years before.

This taught me two things: 1) that some "fans" suck, and 2) that 90%+ of the people who watch football don't know crap about the running game - including me at the time. So I started recording every game on the DVR and playing back the running plays in slow motion. I started notating stats galore and tried to figure out who was to blame. Unfortunately, I had little insight into what plays were actually called, so I was never 100% sure that a given player botched any given play.

Still, I came to conclusions: Our guards were responsible for most of the problems. Gray was past his prime and was the worst offender. Sims was young (he's still playing in Detroit) and let his share of defenders through the line. Jones was consistent game after game, though he let defenders through here and there. Locklear (playing for the Giants) was terribly inconsistent. A week after his worst games, he would often play nearly perfectly. It was hard for me to judge Spencer (still playing for Chicago). I gave him some slack, having to snap the ball and all.

So, what about the running backs? I didn't have much insight into the fullback position. I just saw that time after time, Mack Strong would run through a hole that would close before the running back would get there. Maurice Morris (with the Lions last year - now a free agent) ran downhill, but (surprisingly?) it consistently took more people to tackle Alexander than Morris. Yes, Shawn would dance behind the line and avoid unnecessary contact, but he could still attack a hole and was still difficult to bring down. And he still had the open field speed to burn the opposition for some long runs. The biggest problem for both RBs, however, was contact in the backfield before they could gain any momentum. We had far too many negative plays.

Looking back, I now blame the coaching staff and front office as much as anybody. They didn't get the line to play in concert in a way that supported Alexander's style. And if they weren't willing to support Alexander, why the heck did they sign him to that fat contract? If there is any indication that Ruskell was throwing players at Holmgren and that Holmgren wasn't invested into those players, this was it.

Fast forward to 2012. We now have a front office and coaching staff that are 100% in sync. We have a clear philosophy: to run first based on the Alex Gibbs zone blocking scheme. We have a brutal back in Marshawn Lynch - and a skilled young support runner in Robert Turbin. And best of all, we have a fantastic assistant head and line coach in Tom Cable. Everybody is now on the same page. Including me.

I now have nearly five years experience in analyzing the Seahawks' running game. And I know the philosophy as well as how zone plays are supposed to work.

I also now have a blog: Sea Hawk Run! I hope you enjoy it!