• Baby step Baraka Atkins, baby steps. Crucial baby steps. Here's how the preseason allows a blown play to be exciting: Second Minnesota drive of the second quarter, sixth play, 1^st and 10 on the Seattle 24. Atkins explodes off the snap! Badly overpursuing and thereby vacating right containment! Maurice Hicks rides the seam for an easy eight! Um...well the movement off the snap is promising. It's not surprising that Atkins growth at anticipating snap counts comes with a corresponding hitch. In the regular season, this would be a straight up blown assignment, but in the preseason the growth as a pass rusher - even against a run - easily trumps the assignment lapse.
• In that vein: Jordan Kent had a track star moment. On the third play of Seattle's first drive of the second quarter, 3^rd and 7 on the Seattle 23, Kent turned a good route and great separation into an incompletion. Running free, Kent turned his shoulder back towards Wallace very early, breaking stride and allowing the pass to drop ineffectually past his outstretched hands. Competent receivers know to trust their quarterback and run to the spot, having the experience and knowledge to find the ball late in the route and convert the reception. Kent, still very raw, doesn't.
• Next non-special teams play. 1^st and 10, Minnesota on their own 34; 2 WR, 2 TE, Rb. Seattle in a base 4-3. At the snap, the Vikings left tackle passes Lawrence Jackson off, pull blocking out and into the second level. This is why I really like Jackson. Jackson, immediately understanding the tackle pass means run and explodes into pulling guard Mike Jones. Jackson is excellent at engaging a blocker without allowing him into his chest and thereby losing control. Instead, Jackson rides Jones like a sled to Maurice Hicks, tackling Hicks for a gain of one. Awareness, recognition, skills matched with good athleticism and great potential.
• And yes, on the next play Jackson sheds a blocker, cuts across the field, through trash, outpaces Hicks and tackles him midstride 29 yards downfield.
• David Hawthorne knifed through traffic to tackle Hicks for a loss of two. Speed in traffic defines a run stopping linebacker and Hawthorne has it in spades.
• Not a great quarter for Josh Wilson. He looked very much the bad employee. First, on the fifth play of Minnesota's second drive, taking his head out of the game after noticing Howard Green's penalty and subsequently blowing coverage. And later, on the sixth play of Minnesota's third drive, whiffing on a press against Aundrae Allison, using his speed to recover, but then getting turned around in coverage. Physically close to Allison, but nowhere near covering him. Embarrassingly careless play for a second year man.
• On his lone reception of the half, Carlson bounced off the first tackler, rolling for an additional three. Eight yards on 1 and 10 is boffo; five, a failed play.
• I liked what I saw from Julius Jones. His long rush, 12 yards, ran from an audibled into split backs (out of an "I"). It's always good to see success out of SBs. Jones made a couple quick cuts and displayed the kind of easy speed he needs to be effective. Lost man David Kirtman effectively sealed off the inside. First, putting the finishing touches on Erin Henderson, escorting the rook to the turf, and then moving out to lock up Charles Gordon.
• Jones' failed first down conversion was, well, unlikely to succeed. Seattle didn't do much wrong from an execution standpoint, getting good push, a very nice lead block by Kirtman, with only the two tight ends, Jeb Putzier and John Carlson, falling off their blocks and allowing each of their men to contribute to the tackle. No, it was mostly just conservative play calling and a numbers mismatch. To turn a cliché on its head, shouldn't we expect a defense to be able to protect one yard ? Minnesota stacked nine in the box and swarmed the center, having the fullback to guide and Jones five yard run up to arrive. It won't happen, but I'd love to see Mike Holmgren minimize all the telegraphed, circa 1932, one yard and a cloud of dust short yardage plays he so favors.
• I'm surprised to see Jamar Adams so tenacious in the box, but there he was ripping Naufahu Tahi from behind and forcing a turnover on 4^th and 1.
• Seventh play, final drive of the half, Minnesota ball, 1^st and 10 on Seattle's 12; Vikings employ a 3 WR, TE, Rb formation. Seattle's in a base 4-3. Generic play, Hicks rush right end, but interesting because I note Green shows good separation ability, coming off a block and making a good move to the ball carrier.
• Next play, now 2^nd and 8. Identical formations from both units. Pass play. Seattle runs an unorthodox stunt, looks like this:
  Green again separates from his blocker and again shows good closing ability to the ball carrier. This time it's a sack. Same skill, different result, but I wouldn't rate the flashier play as a better effort.
• Kevin Hobbs blew coverage on the next play - playing too soft and misreading the distance for a first down. Should Martin Nance have converted an easy reception and thus earned the first down, that would be more widely noted, but Nance's mistake let Hobbs off the hook.

Though an extended morning practice, the three Big Blogs are scarce on details. I'm just happy that starting Saturday I can begin again with first hand scouting, because this game of telephone has left me with its share of purple monkey dishwashers.

Seahawks Insider

Roster-wise, the Seahawks placed Wesly Mallard on injured reserve with a knee injury and signed former UW cornerback Derrick Johnson -- who promptly injured himself and was getting his ankle iced on a cart.

Somewhere within this is a Zen kōan. Like, if two players are injured, but both suck, is it news?

There was a lot more team stuff today and less individual drills. On one passing drills, Ben Obomanu completely shook Kevin Hobbs and made a nice catch given that he was wide open. Hobbs redeemed himself later when he nearly picked off a pass intended for Courtney Taylor. He dropped it, but if he got it he would have gone the distance, to quote Field of Dreams.

It would be nice to know who threw those passes, minimum, to make any sense of this. Other important factors: The type of route, the type of coverage, the time in the pocket and whether he was under pressure. Anyway, I'm not sure if Obo has turned a corner or if his play is just being watched for after a strong showing on Saturday. Friday anyone?

Next!

Seahawks Blog

Fullback Owen Schmitt laid a pretty stiff block on D.D. Lewis, blocking to open a hole for Justin Forsett.

Insider has Schmitt whiffing on a pass block. Seahawks Blog mentions a good run block. I would guess that's a decent summary of where Schmitt stands. A better run blocker than pass blocker that's still in the pacifier stage when it comes to rushing and receiving. I think the guy has a safe spot on special teams, so here's hoping he figures it out. I want to think Schmitt has more to show than he has, mostly because I think the guy loves football and is really suffering his sucky play.

Defensive end Baraka Atkins appeared to hurt himself during a goal-line drill. He was slow getting up and tended to by trainers.

If serious, this would be a blow. Atkins and his anticipated development is one reason I don't foresee a regression from Seattle's pass rush. To achieve that, he must, obviously, play, but also, he must grow a bit in the preseason. Anticipating snap counts against your own team is one thing, but achieving a quicker first step against foreign competition is the litmus test. As with all preliminary injury news, this is to be continued.

A little more from training camp MVP, Talkin' Hawks

PLAYER OF THE DAY
David Hawthorne. The rookie middle linebacker from TCU is battling for a spot on the practice squad, if not the 53-man roster, and this morning he came out swinging.

First, he beat rookie fullback Owen Schmitt on a blitz to force an incomplete pass. Later, he hit and drove 254-pound running back T.J. Duckett backward in a short-yardage drill.

The former horned frog is tough to get any info about. I look forward to watching him myself, because he's one member of the Hawks' roster I really know nothing about.

PLAYS OF THE DAY
Offense: Center Steve Vallos locked up 314-pound defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, providing Duckett the lane he needed to pickup the first down in a third-and-1 drill.

Obviously, I don't have to say that's all kinds of good. Especially for a player whose greatest limitation is his strength. Mebane is a powerhouse who demands double blocks, and if Vallos can do that once...well, it's a step. You can count on Vallos getting special attention throughout the preseason. Quietly, he might be making a run for the starting center job.

Tomorrow I'll be talking about developing story lines from training camp on the Field Gulls podcast.

Seahawks Blog

LB D.D. Lewis made a great play in coverage, breaking up a pass intended for FB David Kirtman, who was coming out of the backfield. Lewis also was part of a big collision involving RB Julius Jones.

Lewis is attempting to fill the Kevin Bentely seen and not heard 4th string linebacker spot. Lewis is 29, a good age for a quick, rangy player. He's put on a little weight since last I saw him. Lewis is the best backup linebacker at coverage, especially with Will Herring indefinitely sidelined, and should be able to man the weakside ably should Leroy Hill miss time.

DT Larry Tripplett got penetration on a couple of plays, including the one that ended with Jones colliding with Lewis. The competition for the No. 5 defensive tackle is one of the hot spots on the roster with Tripplett, Howard Green and Marcus Tubbs part of that mix.

I always saw Triplett as redundant. His quick, disruptive skills are akin to Craig Terrill and both are feast or famine against the run. If you assume Triplett and Terrill are 3 techs, then should Triplett make the roster, he'd be slotted behind Rocky Bernard, Terrill, occasionally Lawrence Jackson and possibly Marcus Tubbs. Seems like a longshot.

Seahawks Insider

The offensive line had a few problems on successive plays, with Julian Peterson getting a sack of #8 if sacks were allowed, then Josh Wilson getting to the QB undeterred on a corner blitz. Wilson did the same thing on the next play and almost got there, slipping around Carlson.

Briefly on Josh Wilson blitzing: Wilson is not fast. Well he is, but he's not that fast. If anyone remember his touchdown return from last season, Wilson was very quickly to the sideline and around the first wave of the cover team, but to get into the endzone he had to dart around and cut back across the field. See, Wilson is incredibly quick, but his speed tops out pretty quick too. But incredibly quick is incredibly valuable, much more so than incredibly fast.

Wilson is not powerful, but he is strong. Against a lineman, he's toast. Against a back or tight end, he's got a shot.

Take those two skills together, fantastic quickness and good strength, and you have a very disruptive corner blitz that's more likely to disrupt than convert a sack. The nice thing, too, is that Wilson's quickness allows him to feign blitz and still recover into a sound short zone.

On a running play in the same sequence, Darryl Tapp completely stonewalled Mo Morris with a big hit. On the next play, Baraka Atkins ran down Morris in the backfield.

Not what you want to hear about Morris, who has a good first gear, good, but suspect vision. Great news to hear about Atkins. Any able defensive end in the NFL should be able to stonewall Morris, but for a guy like Atkins, who is toolsy, raw and played last season kind of lost, to chase down a rusher, a quick rusher, indicates increasing confidence (in his decision making) and better lines to the ball carrier.

Talkin' Hawks

PLAY OF THE DAY
Red Bryant. There were many candidates, but a strong endorsement from veteran guard Mike Wahle gave the honor to the rookie defensive tackle.

"Red made a bunch of plays today," Wahle said. "He really showed up in practice and was consistently making plays on us."

Among those plays was Bryant darting through a gap to get fullback Leonard Weaver in the backfield and using disruptive penetration into the assigned running lane that forced Duckett to bounce a run outside.

The coaches continue to take the "he's got a lot of work to do" tact with Bryant. But the fourth-round draft choice has been at his best in the full-contact drills.

"Red has some power to him, he's got some quicks," Wahle said. "He's somebody we definitely have to account for."

Bryant does have a lot of work to do. Predictably, the very talented Bryant makes a few head-turning plays a practice, but it's all those plays in between that separate his current ability from his potential. The best case scenario is inverted from the option control, weirdly old school tactics of Coach Fran and dedicated to a modern, single gap 4-3, Bryant evolves quickly, showing rapid improvement in skill and effort.
The chances of that are slim. The chances that Bryant succeeds in being a useful, sometimes spectacular player this season, and a very good to great player next season are damn good. Damn good.

Defense/Offense

Free Safety	Strong Safety
Brian Russell MikeGreen Jordan Babineaux	Deon Grant CJWallace Jordan Babineaux

Right Cornerback	Dime Back	SLB	MLB	WLB	Nickelback	Left Cornerback
Kelly Jennings Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux	Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs Rich Gardner	Julian Peterson Leroy Hill	Lofa Tatupu DDLewis Julian Peterson	Leroy Hill Will Herring Lance Laury	Josh Wilson Jordan Babineaux Kevin Hobbs	Marcus Trufant Kelly Jennings Josh Wilson

Right DE	Right DT	Left DT	Left DE
Darryl Tapp LawrenceJackson JasonBabin	Brandon Mebane Red Bryant Howard Green ChrisCooper	Rocky Bernard Marcus Tubbs Craig Terrill Larry Tripplett	Patrick Kerney Baraka Atkins Nu'uTafisi

9:28 remaining in the 4th quarter

Seahawks down 21-0

Pittsburgh ball, 1st and 10

The Steelers are in a heavy formation: I backs, two tight ends right and a single wide receiver (not pictured). Top (left to right): Marvel Smith, Alan Faneca, Sean Mahan, Kendall Simmons, Willie Colon, Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth. Ben Roethlisberger. Carey Davis. Willie Parker.

Seattle features a standard 4-3, with the linebackers shaded left and a heavy personnel package. Ellis Wyms at left defensive end, Chuck Darby at left defensive tackle, Rocky Bernard at right defensive tackle and Baraka Atkins at right defensive end. Brian Russell is walked up and assigned the offense's left "C" gap. Julian Peterson is playing a classic strongside linebacker, controlling the offense's left right "C" gap, playing opposite the two tight ends.

The Steelers send Spaeth in motion left.

Seattle moves Russell slightly closer to the line. Lofa Tatupu moves from left-left of center to left of center. Peterson moves up into a neutral left linebacker position.

The play starts: Spaeth runs up and engages Russell, Russell is neutralized. Davis moves into the left "B" gap, drawing Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu. Ellis Wyms gets push on Smith, moving him back and to the left. Faneca gets under Darby's pads and moves him strong left. Peterson sprints down into the now gaping left "A" gap. Mahan and Simmons double Bernard, but Bernard is able to hold ground. Atkins holds ground against Colon and Miller, but is able to move ever so slightly left. Trufant (not pictured) keeps outside containment on the left side.

1 second in: Russell, Wyms, Darby and Hill are all effectively neutralized. Darby has been turned so that his back faces the sideline. Peterson and Bernard have effectively plugged the gaping left "A" gap, but the required shift has opened a cutback lane at the right "B" gap. Tatupu disengages the pileup left and begins to run back towards the approximately 10 yard swath of open field right between Parker and Deon Grant (not pictured). Atkins edges in on Colon - this is vital.

2 seconds in: Atkins extends a ripped arm and hooks Parker. The tiny wonder chugs his legs, extending the play a couple yards, but he's not escaping.

3 seconds in: Atkins wraps, Grant puts a cap on the play, but Parker gains 7. Tatupu Stands feet away, but is not involved in the tackle. Two seconds later, Darby disengages from Faneca and surveys the product of his failure.

Keys

1. Darby is single blocked out of the play, forcing Peterson to abandon the right "B" gap and plug the gaping left "A" gap. This is the type of run blocking domination that earns Faneca his reputation.

2. Tatupu over-pursues, keying the fullback but missing the cutback. He should have either plugged the left "A" gap instead of Peterson or tracked the rusher.

3. Bernard withstands the double team, keeping the left "C" gap narrow.

4. Atkins withstands the double team and is able to move to the inside shoulder of Colon.

5. Parker is able to be arm tackled. Parker is a pretty good back, but if that's Steven Jackson or Adrian Peterson, you can be pretty sure they would have been able to blow through Atkins' arm tackle. With much of the Seahawks defense pinned to the line and free safety Brian Russell caged by Spaeth, had Parker hit the second level with a head of steam instead of a defensive end in tow, this could have been a 70 rather than 7 yard rush.