Seahawks: Offensive line questions loom as camp nears

An offseason of changes has done little to settle the worries about the offensive line for the Seattle Seahawks.

Now is the season of optimism. Fans all round the nation are selling to themselves the best-case scenario on every injury recovery, rookie, and developmental prospect on the roster. There are typically around 30 fanbases that believe that they have a shot at making it to the Super Bowl.

We in Seattle are no different. Even a cynical old fuddy-duddy like me tends to get caught believing a bit too strongly in unproven young players. While I honestly think the Seahawks should be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl, there are still a few questions that must be answered before we start planning parade routes.

The biggest question is definitely the state of the offensive line. If you need a reminder of just how precarious the situation is, there’s always this:

PFF has Seattle’s line rated as the worst in the NFL. That doesn’t mean a whole lot, since their “grades” for offensive linemen tend to be terrible on their best days.

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Sports Illustrated’s Doug Farrar, on the other hand, knows what he’s talking about. While the text in that particular tweet is clearly a joke, the point is clear. Seattle’s offensive line situation isn’t good.

Everything starts at LT where Gary Gilliam is taking over for Russell Okung. The coaches love Gilliam’s quick feet and natural athleticism. They think he’s going to be great, and I agree.

I’ve already booked my ticket on the Gilliam hype train, but perhaps we should establish more realistic expectations for 2016. As someone who charted every single one of his snaps from last season, I can comfortably say he was a league-average offensive tackle.

That isn’t a negative. It is actually quite good for in his first season as a starter. The problem now is that he must adapt to the left side of the line, and the increased responsibilities that come with that. There is no guarantee that Gilliam will be significantly better this season than he was last year.

The same is true for the guy who will be playing next to him. Mark Glowinski has all of one NFL start under his belt. He’s a guy with a lot of potential, but as FieldGulls’ Samuel Gold pointed out, he loses leverage too often.

Personally I think Gold’s take on Glow is a bit too harsh. It is accurate, but there were instances in that game where Glowinski showed proper technique and subsequently had good results. With another training camp, he should be at least a league average guard.

Again, the key word in there is “should.” We shouldn’t confuse that with “will.” I believe, as an analyst with a eye for scouting, that there is a very good chance that he will be good. Unfortunately, I’ve been fooled before.

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The goal here is to avoid blind optimism. The Seahawks still have real questions all along the offensive line. The answers to those questions won’t be found until at least the preseason games begin.