Charlie Frye is a failed quarterback. Seattle moved a sixth round pick for Frye hoping to rectify a botched start to his career. Frye, always a project, never a plug and play quarterback, cut his teeth behind some miserable offensive lines. His style inflates sacks and he struggled mightily in Cleveland, suffering 66 sacks over 557 pass attempts. Adjusted for opponent and down and distance, Frye recorded Kriegian adjusted sack rates of 10.7% (2005) and 9.8% (2006). For comparison, his tackle dummies in arms Trent Dilfer and Derek Anderson suffered but 6.4% (2005) and 6.0% (2006) adjusted sack rates, respectively. After a five sack slip and slide in week one, Cleveland cut bait, shipping Frye to Seattle for a sixth round pick. Behind a revamped offensive line, Anderson's rate improved from good to excellent: 3.5%.

Anderson, inaccurate but big, mobile and with a quick release, could survive if not thrive behind a worm-eaten line. Frye became a worse quarterback by the snap. Seattle has attempted to decondition Frye's sack induced spasms by teaching him to make quicker reads, check down to his tight end and running backs and fit him with the red shirt aegis. If only the latter worked during the season. They also, theoretically, assembled a line that could give him the kind of time to remain plumb. That's out the window on Saturday, as the white rat's back and the boom returns.

The goal of the preseason is not to win, but to develop. To assess talent and execute plays against unfriendly opposition. If Mike Holmgren expects execution and an accurate display of skills on Saturday, he's not only mistaken, he may be making one of the fundamental mistakes of management: overmatching new employees and positioning them to fail.

The Bears will play their starters into the third quarter. Seattle will not reciprocate. Seneca Wallace or Frye will start, but, either way, Frye will see extensive action. Should he start, Frye may be bookended briefly by starting tackles Walter Jones and Sean Locklear. That'll be nice for Charlie. The cheery arrival before the turn of the screw, because after those ten snaps or so, Jones and Lock get to squat and the Kyle Williams/Ray Willis Happy-Birthday-of-Death B unit are scheduled to escort Mark Anderson, Adawale Ogunleye and Mike Brown about Frye's head and shoulders. Clench that mouthguard, Frye Guy, Tommie Harris is swooping in with a cape shaped like Steve Vallos. But Chicago's front six are no children and Frye no innocent, in fact, he's about to be downright violated.

So "double-u tee ef?" as my wife would say. Why put Frye in the fryer? Why take a battered quarterback and marry him to Rocky? Holmgren seems like the old school type that demands accountability in a tornado. In that sense, he doesn't expect Frye to beat the disaster, just keep his head. And if he can't, at least lick his wounds and build up from the breakdown. It's not a sure-failure strategy. Some thrive on adversity. Sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand, just probably not for Frye, who's had his share of nothing and not too many cold drinks.

Before we delve into the 3^rd quarter, I wanted to talk briefly about Howard Green. Some may know that I don't much like Green. That is, I don't think he's a particularly good defensive tackle. Against Minnesota, Green forced a fumble, recorded two sacks and caught the improbable interception of the preseason. Just an awesome statistical showing. Green can do that. He's a playmaker. What he needs to be is a run stuffer and I don't think he can. At 6'2", 320, Green has the size of a solid 1-tech run stopper. That impression, that he could hold the point and clog rush lanes, is why Green bounced around the league, disappeared for a couple seasons before resurfacing in 2007. See, Green is not a run stuffer. He's overmatched against double teams and isn't even really reliable against single blocks. He's a single gap defensive tackle trapped in the body and athleticism of a two gap tackle. Paired with Craig Terrill, the two, Seattle's little man unit, watched on for the Cedric Benson careen, the DeAngelo Williams cutback and Ryan Grant reading Seattle its last rights. He's also never recorded a regular season sack in 24 games.

With Tubbs out, this team badly needs a healthy Red Bryant to create some semblance of sturdiness on its second team tackle rotation. Not to consciously run against the grain, but - that was a hell of a game for Green and I'd just rather he didn't play too much when it matters.

• Josh Wilson blew coverage in a familiar site for Seattle DBs. He slipped attempting to breaking on a simple curl route.
• David Hawthorne has some serious pop. That pop, power, explosiveness, tackling, whatever, has a lot to do with his forced fumble on the play of the third quarter, but I'd give equal credit to Terrill.
• It's 2^nd and 7. Minnesota aligns with 3 WR, TE, Rb. Seattle is in a base 4-3. At the snap, the Vikings attempt to pull the right tackle and center, with the two guards collapsing the middle. Babin, who had a very good game, stalemates the guards, but this is incidental. D.D. Lewis targets pulling right tackle Marcus Johnson. Johnson responds with a somewhat premature and somewhat misguided cut block. That leaves Albert Young exposed. Hawthorne annihilates Young. Young's collapsing limbs squirt the ball high into the air. But it is what happens first, why Hawthorne has a five yard freeway to the ball carrier, without a blocker in sight, that makes this play.
• Let's start again. At the snap, the Vikings attempt to pull the right tackle and center, with two guards collapsing the middle. The center, the man who would have sealed off the inside and prevented Hawthorne from an open path to the ball carrier, is retarded by Terrill's almost instantaneous penetration. Terrill's presence in the backfield, two yards deep before the center can even fully pull, is what forces John Sullivan to readjust and take on Terrill. Without him, Hawthorne tees off. Without Terrill, Hawthorne doesn't force a fumble.
• Directions for a Lawrence Jackson sack: Explode off the snap, maintain perfect spacing against the tackle, shove said tackle into next week, enter trail position on quarterback, hit that second gear like a Boxster, and, oh yeah, be so damn smart you poke the ball away before sacking your former teammate. I'm gettin' a jersey.
• Bumpus looked good. Real good. And quick. But let's be clear. Minnesota had the 23^rd ranked pass defense last season. Minus McCauley, their defensive back depth is atrocious. As sure as Seneca Wallace's pass to Joe Filani was a nice show of arm strength if not accuracy, it was doubly proof that the Vikings' DBs are completely clueless. Speaking of Bumpus, clueless and Filani, quitting on your route is bad Joel. Quitting on the route so that you are seen jogging past - almost shielding - the targeted receiver, one Michael Bumpus on a crisp deep out route, is why you can start packing your bags.
• Guess what? Emotion is stupid. T.J. Duckett didn't play poorly. For one, he didn't actually fumble. Well, he did kind of fumble on the play negated by a Letroy Guion facemask, but Tyrell Johnson sunk his helmet right into the ball. Duckett didn't do anything particularly careless. The second non-fumble fumble, was just a non-fumble. As in, a player is allowed to let go of the ball when he's clearly down. The officials overturned it and the play shouldn't be held against Duckett. Actually, I'll get back to that play in a second, because a funny thing happens...
• I watched Duckett make good decisions. I watched Duckett fight through trash for an additional two yards on 3^rd and 2 on the Minnesota 14. And I watched Duckett take the brunt of Seattle's bad blocking.
• Flash ahead. Seattle's second drive, fourth play, 3^rd and 6 on the Seattle 42. Mansfield Wrotto misreads the blitz, or is misdirected by Steve Vallos' line call, and two Vikings shoot into the pocket, chase Seneca Wallace and "force" an intentional grounding. Three plays later, Seattle with the ball again after Jamar Adams and Hawthorne team up for another forced fumble. Seattle's in 2 WR, I, TE formation. Vikings, base 4-3. It's 1^st and 10 on the Minnesota 18. At the snap, Wrotto again badly blows a block allowing Erin Henderson and half of Minnesota's defense through the proverbial crack in the dam. Duckett isn't Barry Sanders and he's not football agile and he's not going to put a move on everyone or bounce the ball outside when a geyser of purple bodies are bearing down on him. The worst we can say about Duckett is he didn't accept the failed block and do his best to minimize lost yards. That's bad, but not Wrotador bad.
• Moving along. First play, Seattle's final drive of the quarter. 3 WR, I against a Minny Nickel D. Kyle Williams is swam over, putting Duckett headlong into a free defensive end before he even hits the hole.
• Finally, to our non-fumble. 1^st, 10, Seattle 46. The Hawks again break 3 wide, I against a Nickel D. The play involves a trap block from Ray Willis, who must cut across the line and seal the outside left. Willis is slow on the draw, or slow to recognition or just slow, and begins moving left only after seeing a free defender circling the left side. That's bad. Duckett, nearing the line of scrimmage perpendicularly intersects Willis' path, y'know running the ball, forcing Willis not to hold up, but rather to attempt a cut block that lowbridges Duckett and sends him tumbling head and ball first into the turf. Der.
• Duckett can be picky and slow in his first gear, but I think we can put the shovels away. He certainly didn't do anything on Friday to warrant murmurs of cutting him.

We pick up the action with 11:50 remaining in the first. Jordan Kent hauls in Matt Hasselbeck's touch pass for the score.

• Nate Burleson runs a very tight diagonal left then horizontal into the flat route that causes confusion and hesitation by the safety and corner and allows Kent to get behind both and be open for the easy reception. It's a level of precision and discipline I'm not used to seeing from Burly.
• The closest thing to legitimate pressure by Seattle's front four was accomplished on Minnesota's second play from scrimmage. Bernard, able to isolate Anthony Herrera, wins his matchup and forces a hold before breaking into the pocket. For the rest of quarter, Seattle's pass rush was nearly non-existent.
• Fumble recoveries are luck--not always. The forced fumble and Seattle's subsequent fumble recovery featured that perennial MVP: the team. It's first and 20. Minnesota is set in a four WR,single TE formation. Seattle deploys nickel coverage. At the snap, the Hawks rush three, optioning Brandon Mebane into a short middle zone. Tarvaris Jackson targets Visanthe Shiancoe, a major mistake. Shiancoe is not tightly covered but sits in the middle of three Seahawks zones. After the reception, Hill and Tatupu close in. Hill hitting from the offensive right forces the ball loose. Tatupu, fractions of a second later, hits from the offensive left, forcing the ball out. Mebane strikes from the back, leveling Shiancoe and removing any chance of an offensive recovery. Grant grabs the loose ball, but half a dozen Seahawks could have collapsed on the ball before a Viking was within five yards of the fumble. Over the past two seasons, Seattle's gang tackling has elevated its ability to force fumbles.
• Next play. Seattle breaks with a three WR, single TE, RB set. Minnesota is in a base 4-3. At the snap, Seattle initially creates nice wedge. This is something Steve Vallos can do; he gets off the snap extremely well. Moments later, Vallos is reeling in his own backfield. Rob Sims and Mike Wahle pull to the second level. Wahle is a revelation as a pull blocker and though Sims lacks Chris Gray's skill, he more than makes up for it with mobility. I believe the skills will come. Morris does something even he didn't often do last season: adjust in the backfield to the free defender. He then makes a nice lateral cut right and shoots through the B gap. He's free. 18 yards downfield, Morris displays another lateral cut, doesn't evade Tyrell Johnson but does put him out of position. The effort nets another three yards. Morris not only looked in top form, he looked like another back: bigger, more agile, reading his blockers with aplomb and making smart decisions in the open field. It's fair to say, yesterday's Morris is untradeable.
  
• On the next play, Vallos exploded off the snap, stood his man up and held his block. On the next play, Vallos was tossed on his back by Fred Evans.
• Coutu kicked the ball three times. The second was serviceable. Decent height, decent length: 2 yards into the end zone. The other two were awful. The first landed at the 9, was so low it only briefly traveled off frame and gave his return team so little time to get downfield that Albert Young made it to the 22 before encountering Seattle's frontline coverage unit.
• Coutu was identified in a graphic as either a "ROOKE" or a "RDDKE". I'm almost sure it was the latter.
• Tru had rough quarter. On Minnesota's first play of its second possession his misread his assignment and blew coverage on Bernard Berrian. The play resulted in a 24 yard gain. Trufant runs stride by stride with Berrian, uses a legal pick to chuck Berrian inside and then assumes man off coverage outside right. Brian Russell, perhaps, shares part of the blame, choosing to double the well covered Shiancoe instead of providing inside cover on the much more dangerous Berrian, but with Trufant alone and Berrian his clear assignment, it's hard to excuse the lapse. Tru wasn't beat, he misread the route and misread his own secondary.
• On the next play, Tru nearly loses his footing after a move by Sidney Rice, but recovers to bury a shoulder into Rice's midsection, truncating Rice's route and putting Tru in good position for a pick.
• Berrian is a good receiver, freed from Rex Grossman and in his prime. In the same drive, on Minnesota's 4^th play, he discarded Kelly Jennings, getting 5 yards of separation and then converted the reception in front of Leroy Hill, nearly scoring. Hill made the wrong read, jumping on a double team to his right and ignoring Berrian, but it wasn't Hill's assignment. No, this was all about Berrian looking like a superstar, embarrassing a hell of a young cover corner.
• Tru would blow coverage on the next play. Biting inside on a rollout and finding himself in an inexescapable trailing position against fullback Thomas Tapeh.
• Seattle's third play, third drive: three WR, TE, RB. Minnesota is in a base 4-3. Another nice run by Morris, aided by a good, quasi-legal block by Sean Locklear and a decent pull block by Sims. Sims is much quicker than Gray, but still lacks the skill to engage a blocker on the run. It's coming, and he at least shielded Morris. Morris shows good patience and a nice read, gets skinny at the end for another two yards and again impressed the heck out of me against a top rush defense.
• Weaver threw a real nice lead block on Duckett's 7 yard run that converted the first.
• Is Burleson making the jump? On Courtney Taylor's end around, Burleson made a sufficient but crucial block that allowed Taylor to cut inside for an additional ~7 yards. On the next play, Burleson looked downright savvy. Seattle breaks with three WR, single TE, RB. Minnesota in nickel. Burleson is able to isolate Tyrell Johnson, initiates contact but does not push off, and forces a Illegal Contact penalty while simultaneously creating separation and converting the 15 pass. The sequence looked vintage Michael Irvin.
• I was pleased to see Jennings attempt to jump a route knowing he had deep help by Russell. I was displeased to see Russell run past Rice and turn good coverage into a 9 yard reception.
• On the next play, Jennings put it all together. Matched against Berrian in man coverage, Jennings used his tremendous speed to outpace burner Berrian and then, recognizing a go route, cut off Berrian midstride placing himself as the only man able to catch the ball, should the ball have been catchable.

We'll be talking tonight's preseason game. Specifically, 2nd team and mop up players that have a chance to make noise.

# (724) 444-7444

ID: 23576

Update: I somehow managed to mentally flip the abilities of Ferguson with the abilities of Wade. So everything I say about Wade better describes Ferguson and visa versa.

In the preseason, units are fluid. Certain indispensable players comprise a super-first team unit. Matt Hasselbeck should see maybe 10 plays to one series. If Walter Jones plays, he should be on a similar schedule. As established players that shouldn't expect a dramatic performance change, those guys aren't of much interest.

The players that interest me are the rookies, the young players still developing, the free agent additions and the players playing out of position. This post is committed to the first unit and fringe first unit players, the ones who start and should play for most of the first half. Later, we'll examine the second unit, and finally the mop guys.

What matters when considering individual performance is matchups. These previews are meant to present a primer on not just what to look for, but because of matchups, what to expect. For instance, no one should expect much out of Steve Vallos, who starts opposite the Williams twins. Actually, that matchup is a nice place to begin.

Steve Vallos

What can we expect from Vallos? Disintegration? Leaving but a flaming jockstrap and a smoking pair of cleats? Hopefully not. The goals for Vallos are modest. He has to feel outmatched, and when a threat is applied to someone already sketchy about their job, mistakes are made. So his goals center around keeping cool and accomplishing rudimentary center assignments.

Goal 1 Don't flub any snaps: EJ Henderson is a bit of an outside/middle linebacker hybrid and I expect him to be aggressive, baiting, intimidating, walking up between the tackles, showing blitz and blitzing. Vallos has to keep his nerve. A false start is acceptable. Survive this game without fumbling a snap and a major hurdle is cleared.

Goal 2 Combo Blocks: Centers combo block on almost every play. Tackles don't. Tackles play the wing, are on an island, part of why they must be so good. In Mike Holmgren's scheme, Vallos will be teaming mostly with Rob Sims to counter Kevin Williams. That's a losing matchup. It's not so important that the Hawks young duo beats one of the best three techs in the NFL, only that they hit him square, get down their coordination and not get beat into the turf. I kind of expect them to get beat into the turf.

Julius Jones

Over the past two seasons, Minnesota has had the 2^nd and 1^st ranked rush defense in the NFL. The principles of that defense, the aforementioned Williams twins and Henderson, along with cornerback Antoine Winfield, remain. Trading the draft for Jared Allen adds one of the best run stopping, 4-3 ends in the NFL. So, if you're expecting Seattle's rushing revival in the first quarter, you're sure to be as disappointed as you're misguided. Jones' goals center on blocking and receiving.

Goal 1 Contain blitzing linebackers: Minnesota exploits its interior dominance by blitzing linebackers. 26.4% of its sacks came by way of its linebackers. It exploits its run stopping by sending the house. PFP 2008 reports the Vikings rushed 6 or more defenders on 12% of all snaps, 9^th in the league. That means Jones will see blitzers, maybe multiple. Engaging the blitzing linebacker is the easy part, containing, neutralizing, much less stopping them is the tough part. Seattle hasn't had a running back capable of truly felling a blitzing linebacker in Mike Holmgren's entire tenure. I don't necessarily expect that from Jones. What would be an improvement is slowing the blitz enough to prevent the dreaded Matt Hasselbeck pocket panic, or the unpredictable Seneca Wallace dash and pass. Nowadays, Beck usually just absorbs the sack. Wallace is a bag of tricks. Everything from a rollout strike for 40 yards to a scramble capped with a fumble. Buying the quarterback time with a competent blitz pickup he can depend on could mean big things for Seattle's offense--especially its 3rd down offense.

Goal 2 Convert receptions, run after the catch: It would be very, no, extraordinarily hard for Jones to be a worse receiver than Shaun Alexander. In 2007, Jones was quite good. He ranked 4^th in DVOA and converted 88% of the passes targeting him. That isn't to say Jones is a good receiver, isolating an individual players skills is not DVOA's strength, but it does mean that in 2007 passes targeting Jones often led to a positive result. Here's what I want to see: I want Jones to convert every target into a reception. In a flats and curls system, that should be easy. I want him to show an ability to catch and immediately turn the ball upfield. Make positive contributions running after the catch. That's it.

Brandon Mebane

The step Mebane must take to be great is becoming a strong pass rusher. Some of the skills are there. He's an excellent bull rusher. He fights off blocks. He shows good burst to the ball carrier. Sometimes. He's not real straight line fast, but makes up for that a bit by being quick through blockers. Mindful of what Mebane can already do, let's concentrate then on achieving what he hasn't.

Goal 1 Beat Steve Hutchinson twice on a passing down: Hutch is a good pass blocker. Unlike run blocking, he's not the best, but he's still good. Therefore, if Mebane can even twice get past Hutch and move into the pocket and towards the ball carrier, it will be an achievement. This is the easier of Mebane's two goals.

Goal 2 Close in on the quarterback: Last season, when Mebane broke free, quarterbacks expected to have the time to check down, roll out or scramble. That's because though Mebane showed closing quickness in spurts, he wasn't consistently quick enough to convert the sack. Against the Vikings, I want to see Mebane shed Hutch and flash to Tarvaris Jackson. Jackson is mobile, so it won't be easy, but even incremental improvement by Bane could mean an additional 2 sacks plus countless more hits and pressures over a 16 game season. Let's see that start today.

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.

I like training camp, but I look forward to producing original content again. I've never been comfortable commenting on someone's commentary. The first step towards that starts tomorrow. I'm driving up to Seattle with my wife to watch the Seahawks intrasquad matchup. I'll come notebook in hand and will file a detailed report Saturday afternoon.

Seahawks Insider

This was an interesting practice, which ended with a two-minute drill in which both the first team and second team offenses scored game-winning touchdowns. Both offenses were bailed out by nice catches by their tight ends right up the middle of the field, John Carlson for the first team and Joe Newton for the second team.

The first team was facing a third and 5 when Matt Hasselbeck made a perfect pass over Carlson shoulder for the first down. Three plays later, Hasselbeck found Leonard Weaver on the left side for an eight-yard TD.

Good to see a Joe Newton mention, especially positive, especially with the second team. I would guess he's quietly a good step above Jeb Putzier. Putz sounds like he's lost the fire and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends his NFL career after getting cut. I mean, if he gets cut.

This is a good fingernail portrait of Seattle's 2008 passing offense. At its best, it will efficiently drive down the field, at its worst it will be slow, inexplosive and uncoordinated. For those in very deep FF drafts, remember Weaver will see a lot of touches this season.

Ben Obomanu continues to work out as the third receiver, alongside Engram and Burleson. To me, Obomanu looks solid and like he is getting more comfortable each day. Obomanu beat Lofa Tatupu on one downfield route, but Hasselbeck underthrew him and 51 was able to knock away the ball.

Obomanu looked lousy last year, but the kid is hard working and a decent deep threat--if. If he can fight for the jump ball, get separation and show better poise under pressure. Don't buy into any nonsense about a third year receiver jump, but Obomanu could make modest improvements and become serviceable.

Seahawks Blog

The center-QB exchange was a big issue this morning. No. 1 center Steve Vallos, who is there because Spencer and Gray are out, accidentally tripped QB Matt Hasselbeck on a play coming out from under center, which had Hasselbeck limping for several plays thereafter. No. 2 center Mansfield Wrotto, a true guard, struggled on the exchange with QB Seneca Wallace three times.

Vallos and Wrotto are not centers. And though we think of snapping the ball as one of the more fundamental skills in football, if you've never done it before, and now must opposite some of the fastest first-step defensive tackles in football, you're going to screw up. A lot. So, it's not ideal that Vallos and Wrotto are playing center, but detailing their daily struggles isn't adding much. Hopefully Vallos or Wrotto improve, the team needs a second string center not named Chris Gray, but there's just no way to improve without screwing up a bunch.

Talkin' Hawks

Hasselbeck was 4 of 6 in directing the No. 1 offense to its score – a pass into the left flat that fullback Leonard Weaver ran in for a 6-yard score. The key play was Hasselbeck laying a beautiful pass over linebacker Leroy Hill to rookie tight end John Carlson for a 27-yard gain on third-and-4.

Wallace was 5 of 7 in producing a score for the No. 2 offense – an 8-yard pass to wide receiver Joel Filani. The big play was almost a mirror image of the one turned in by the No. 1 offense, as Wallace displayed impressive touch on a pass that dropped over linebacker David Hawthorne to tight end Joe Newton for a 25-yard gain on fourth-and-8.

A nice detailed and dynamic description of the aforementioned 1st and 2nd team scoring drives.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Carlson. Again? Again. The second-round draft choice continues to stretch the field, and catch the ball.

The best example of this was his big third-down catch in the two-minute drill. But Carlson also worked the middle well while making a couple more receptions.

His best play, however, might have been burying linebacker Matt Castelo with a solid block in a red-zone drill. Carlson has shown from his first practice that he can get open and catch the ball. What he needs to continue to show is improvement in his blocking.

Poor Matt Castelo, huh? Carlson can block, but doesn't block consistently. Burying a guy is nice, but a flashy block doesn't make up for a missed block. Nevertheless, Carlson is good, real good, and each positive report is a big "+" to the Seahawks passing offense. Like I said, I expect Carlson to be the story of the preseason. He will get lots of snaps, lots of touches and playing against a mix of starters, backups and scrubs should have some very nice games.

Offense/Defense

Split End	Slot	Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle	Tight End	Flanker
Nate Burleson Ben Obomanu Jordan Kent	Ben Obomanu LoganPayne	Walter Jones Sean Locklear FloydWomack	Mike Wahle Rob Sims MansfieldWrotto	Chris Spencer Chris Gray Steve Vallos	Rob Sims Chris Gray RayWillis	Sean Locklear Ray Willis SteveVallos	John Carlson Jeb Putzier Will Heller	Bobby Engram Courtney Taylor DeionBranch

Fullback	Quarterback	Running Back
Leonard Weaver Owen Schmitt David Kirtman	Matt Hasselbeck Seneca Wallace Charlie Frye	Julius Jones Maurice Morris TJ Ducket JustinForsett