Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Interrupting my recent series on free agency I thought this week I would ponder the draft a little bit. With the NFL Combine underway, the focus of the football world is on the upcoming draft and despite the fact the Seahawks don’t have a high pick there is a lot of high impact talent to be excited about. Given that this will be the 4^th draft of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era I thought it would be a good idea to look at the drafts this duo have put together in order to give us a clue of what to expect in 2013. Although drafting is usually according to need to some degree, Schneider and Carroll seem to actually endorse the “best player available” motto in a meaningful way as opposed to merely paying lip service to it. They have made some picks that have been treated with suspicion by the outside world but largely they have made pretty good picks. I could attempt to evaluate these picks but for the most part it is too early to do so, though some fairly significant successes (Russell Wilson, Russell Okung, Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner) are apparent already. Instead, in this article I will examine the structure of their drafts in terms of position preferences and rounds to see if there are any patterns that might help us know what to expect. First, let’s take a look at the offensive players picked by the Seahawks over the past three years by position and round:

*Jamison Konz was initially listed at WR, though to be fair he was more of an intriguing athlete than anything

# James Carpenter was drafted as a tackle although it was always known there was a solid chance he’d wind up at guard.

The biggest number that sticks out here is the total. Only 10 of the 28 players this regime have drafted have been offensive players.  The Seahawks have invested in four offensive lineman and three receivers and very little in the way of backfield personnel, not that Russell Wilson and Robert Turbin are anything to sneeze at. Building from the line out is a fairly well respected and effective strategy so it’s hard to complain here.  7 out of the 10 players listed made at least 1 start for the Seahawks in 2012 and Robert Turbin was a valuable complementary player. Classic case of quality over quantity.

Now let’s take a look at the side of the ball that the Seahawks have been investing so heavily in over the last three years:

When we look at defense I think it becomes pretty clear that John Schneider and Pete Carroll like their defensive backs. The Seahawks have drafted 8 DB’s in the past 3 years, usually later in the draft (7 of those 8 in Round 4 or later). Also Seattle has taken some shots at creating depth in case of a Red Bryant injury by selecting 3 big DE’s in the latter rounds, without much success (although the jury still could be out on Scruggs). Defensive tackles have largely been neglected, a problem rearing its ugly head now, but there have been enough draft picks thrown at this side of the ball that no other position has missed out on an influx of young talent.

Overall, what is the big picture? First of all, this is only three drafts and organization needs did have to be considered so we can take any patterns we see here with a grain of salt and be cautious when making declarations regarding organization philosophies. That being said there is an undeniable focus on defense and the defensive backfield specifically. Interestingly, despite drafting 64% defensive players this front office has spent five picks in the top three rounds on offense as opposed to three on defense. 15 of the 18 players defensive players drafted were selected in rounds four through seven. To me this suggests that due to the fact Pete Carroll runs a somewhat unorthodox defense he feels he is able to draft players that fit his system later as their unusual skill sets can have them falling in the draft.

Ultimately this is all stuff we already knew. We know these Seahawks draft a lot of defensive players overall. We know that this front office has spent two first round picks in three years on offensive lineman. We know they have tended to look for sleeper defensive backs in the later rounds. That was the impression that we all had naturally. However, just because it’s the general consensus it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right. Looking at the objective figures often shines lights on holes in the public perception. Just not this time. In this case I wasn’t expecting to unlock anything shocking or revolutionary about Seattle’s drafting strategies, and I didn’t. It turns out they were what we thought they were, although in a couple years I’ll be sure to check back and see if this front office keeps its M.O consistent.

Both KJ Wright and James Carpenter are back from missing games due to concussions. Wright’s presence on the field is an instant upgrade for the team’s run defense. The Same can be said for Carpenter and the teams run blocking. havinf both of those guys back should be a big lift.

There have also been a number of players playing through injuries that should be feeling better this week as well. For instance, Doug Baldwin has been playing on an injured ankle for a couple weeks, but only because he returned from that injury a couple weeks early. Now he should be finally fully healthy.

The same can be said for a number of banged up Seahawks. Greg Scruggs (oblique), Byron Maxwell (hamstring), and Clinton McDonald (groin), have all be hobbled in recent games, but should now be back to full strength because of the bye.

Even the guys with chronic injuries, like Jason Jones (knee), Marshawn Lynch (back) and Marcus Trufant (back) are likely to be feeling better now than at any point since the season began.

The Seahawks need a win this week on the road to keep their road into the playoffs open and unobstructed. Having a team that’s rested and healthy can only help.

LG James Carpenter has been ruled out for today’s game with a concussion. He missed Friday’s practice with an illness, but when checked out Saturday morning it was determined that he’d suffered a concussion. The teams hasn’t released when the concussion was suffered. I’ve seen speculation that it probably happened near the end of practice on Thursday.

With Carpenter out, John Moffitt will move back intot he starting lineup. Moffitt has been out since week 3 with a knee injury. The two guards, Seattle top 2 pick in the 2011 draft, have yet to play in the same game this season. I’m beginning to wonder if we have a Batman/Bruce Wayne situation going on here.

Joining Carpenter in the “out” catagory is WR Braylon Edwards. Edwards was a late scratch a week ago when he woke up with a suddenly swollen knee. The team doctors drained it, but then it re-swelled. He saw a specialist early in the week, but that was the last I head. He’s been out all week, but there hasn’t been an update on what’s going on.

Bryon Maxwell is the only other potential injury scratch. He’s listed at “Questionable” with a hamstring injury, and the decision on if his team will play will be made later today.

Here’s the top 5 matchups to watch in this weeks game vs. the Lions

1) Calvin Johnson vs Richard Sherman – Or Megatron vs Optimus Prime, if you’d rather use nicknames. This matchup has gotten all the press leading up to the game, and there’s a good reason why. Johnson is the game’s best receiver right now. Sherman is the young dominant corner who’s not afraid of taking the trash talking away from the field, but who’s play has certainly backed up all the talk. This matchup will certainly have a big say as to which teams wins this game.

2) Ndamukong Suh vs James Carpenter – Suh is one of the game’s best defensive linemen no matter how you look at it. Carpenter is playing at a very high level this year after struggling for most of his rookie season a year ago. Carpenter will likely get some help from time to time, but it will be up to him to keep Suh in check for most of the game. If he can, the Seahawks could have a big day on the ground against this defense.

3) LeRoy Hill vs Mikel Leshoure – These teams match up in such a way that the Seahawk’s defense should be able to control the game. But that all unravels if Leshoure can have an impact out of the backfield in the passing game. His ability to get first downs in key situations will be key for the Lions, and it’ll fall on Hill for the most part to make sure that doesn’t happen. Hill has the physical tools to do show, but has really struggled to stay disciplined in pass coverage the last couple seasons.

4) Marshawn Lynch vs The Lions front 7 – Lynch has been extremely good this season. The Lions defense hasn’t been as good, despite having some very talented players. If Lynch has his typical beast mode type of day, the Seahawks should come away with the win. The only way that doesn’t happen is if the Lion’s front 7 is able to get multiple bodies to the ball and get Lynch on the ground.

5) Russell Wilson vs The Lions secondary – Aside from safety Chris Huston, the Lions secondary is downright ordinary. Wilson has shown that he can take advantage of secondaries like that, and he’s going to have to in this game. Wilson will need to have a good day today for the Seahawks to win, and that means keeping the ball out of Huston’s hands.

Oct 7, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Seattle Seahawks guard James Carpenter (77) on the sidelines during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Instead, Carpenter has been an upgrade at LG, and has created a tandem on that side that the Seahawks haven’t had since Walter Jones and Steven Hutchinson. And while the new kids in town might never be as good as their predecessors (No one will ever be as good as Big Walt was) this new tandem has a chance to be pretty darn good in their own right.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of the decision to put Carpenter in at LG and move Paul McQuistan over to RG. The Okung-McQuistan duo on the left side was working, and providing a side of the line that the team could depend on to run behind when it had to, and I didn’t want to lose that.

Plus, Carpenter wasn’t exactly looking like an all-pro before his injury. With the lockout denying him the offseason before his rookie year, and with him having to play at RT where his lack of lateral agility was a liability, made Carpenter look like he might never develop into an NFL starter.

Instead, Carpenter has been great, and has proven me wrong time and again in the two games since he has returned from injury. In both games, When the Seahawks ran the ball behind Carpenter they averaged more yards per carry then behind any other player. The only running plays that were more effective, in either game, was runs to the outside on right side of the line. When running behind the blocking of the linemen, Carpenter has been the best option to lead the way.

On the pass blocking side of thing, he hasn’t been as good, but he also hasn’t been a liability. In 2 games, he’s given up 3 QB pressures and no sacks. He did give up a QB hit on Wilson though against Carolina, which is something that we can’t have.

Overall though, the returns have been good. Better than I’d thought they’d be. Better I think anyone could have realistically thought they’d be.

Kevin P. Casey – AP

Seattle’s Offensive line is about to get a whole lot better.  This week could feature the first appearance of James Carpenter at left guard alongside Russell Okung for the first time since he suffered a torn ACL ten months ago.  Pete Carroll indicated in his press conference this week that he’ll begin to use ‘Carp’ at left guard against the Rams.  He plans to make that assignment permanent and “have him be a monster in there”.  Indeed, when the Seahawks really got Marshawn Lynch rolling the second half of last season, it was the Okung/Carpenter duo that sprung him for a lot of those yards.

So, this week against the Rams the Seattle O line may see a little shuffling around due to the addition of Carpenter as well as uncertainty about a chest strain for Breno Giacomini and an injury to John Moffitt’s elbow which will keep him out 2-3 weeks.  It’s not certain at this point how Giacomini’s injury could affect his status for week 4, but having the option of moving versatile McQuistan around from Carpenter’s old spot to either spot on the right side will certainly make Carroll’s options better.  These position changes could also come with some degree of uncertainty on the line since they haven’t played together in this configuration this season.  It may take several weeks for this lineup to gel and become as effective as the Hawks line was at the end of last year.  Luckily the defense and special teams have thus far been able to keep the first three games close enough for a less effective offense to break itself in with a new QB and several new linemen.  It looks like those units will be called upon to keep that up a while longer.

This week’s opponent, the St. Louis Rams, have a significantly improved defense since last year so the Seahawks can expect a much tougher time in the trenches as Russell Wilson continues his development under Carroll’s “protect the ball-first” philosophy.  The Rams are looking to get back even in wins and losses and remain in the hunt in the NFC West.  This game has the potential to be a ‘let-down’ threat for the Seahawks who come in to St. Louis on a short week after a huge but controversial Monday Night Football win.  This will be a test of the Seahawks ability to focus and move on to the next task.  If they can win this week, even against a less formidable opponent than the last two, it will be another significant step towards being a legitimate playoff contender.

Nov 6, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Seahawks tackle James Carpenter (75) in action against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

“James Carpenter is a Guard, not a Tackle.” That’s a quote from me 15 months ago when Carpenter was draft by the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks, at least partially, disagreed.

Carpenter split time between guard and tackle last year in training camp, started week 1 at LG, and then spend the rest of the year at RT until he blew out his knee. Now, it seems they’ve finally decided to move him to guard permanently.

John Schneider, in a radio interview this morning, said that Carpenter will be a LG when he finally recovers from his injury. Breno Giacomini is the team’s starting RT, and will be no matter what happens to Carpenter.

This is a good move for the Seahawks. Carpenter has all the makings of a pro-bowl guard. What he doesn’t have, and didn’t have even before his injury, is the lateral quickness to shut down the game’s fastest edge pass rushers. He was never going to be great tackle, I think that is pretty clear at this point.

What wasn’t said was when Carpenter will be back from his injury. The team has danced around that question every time it’s been asked, but from what I saw at camp, it’s not going to be any time soon.

Carpenter’s injured leg is considerably smaller than his healthy one. There has been a tremendous amount of muscle atrophy, and it’s going to take some time, and serious work, to get that muscle mass back. I don’t don’t for a second that Carpenter will put in the work, but it’s the time that worries me.

After seeing that, Carpenter will most certainly be put on the PUP list to start the season. Even if his knee is ready to allow him to begin putting in that work right now, and there’s no sign that it is, there’s no way he’s ready to begin playing by week 1.

Being placed on the PUP list, and not on IR, gives Carpenter time to get healthy. It also gives him a deadline to be ready to play, or else his entire 2012 season will be lost. IF he can’t get his leg in shape and get cleared to practice w/o restriction by week 10, then Carpenter will have to be placed on IR and will not play at all in 2012.

Nov 6, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll congratulates defensive end Chris Clemons (91) on a defensive stop against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

1) Will Chris Clemons Get Re-Signed? For a while, I operated under the belief that even if Chris Clemons didn’t get a new deal, he’d still report to camp. Now, I don’t believe that’s the going to be the case. When Clemons sat out the mandatory minicamp in June, he didn’t just lose out on the $100k workout bonus that we believed he did. According to this report, Clemons also forfeited a contract escalator, meaning that he’s going to make $1 Million less in 2012.

Clemons giving up a million changes the game. It indicated that he’s likely going to dig in his heals and hold out for as long as it takes to get a new contract, because the new contract will give him that million back.

2) The Ongoing Marshawn Lynch Saga. This site has already covered all aspects of the Marshawn Lynch DUI story over the past few days. The only thing added today was that Lynch came out and apologized, which isn’t very newsworthy, but at least it did happen.

There isn’t likely going to be anything new happen between now and the start of camp, but the situation is worth keeping an eye on anyways. Will the Seahawks bring in another back “just in case?” Will the league make a statement regarding a possible suspension? Will Lynch’s lawyers successfully put off all the legal proceedings until after the season?

3) People Recovering From Injuries. It’s a tough time of year for some players. While their teammates are back working and getting ready for a new season, they are stuck rehabbing old injuries that aren’t healed yet.

Some, like James Carpenter and Walter Thurmond are still a long ways away from recovered. These 2 are almost certainly going to start the season on the Physically Unable to Preform (PUP) list.

But for others, the last month has been a race to try and get healthy before workout begins. This includes guys like Sydney Rice who’s recovering from 2 shoulder surgeries. It also includes offensive linemen John Moffitt and Russell Okung, who participated in non-contract drills a month ago, but must now show that they’re healed enough to hold up once the hitting begins.

4) Any Last Second Roster Tweaks. The John Schneider era in Seattle has been one of constant roster flux. Schneider never seems content with the players he has, and always seems to be looking to improve the roster in one way or another. Are there any players available out there right now that are worth a roster spot?

5) Where Will Brian Banks Land? After going through tryouts for at least 3 teams last month, Banks remained unsigned. Pete Carroll said that Banks had a long way to go to get into football shape before the Seahawks might be interested. Well, it’s been a month, and Banks has been working out trying to get ready for another round of tryouts. The guy deserves a shot, I just wonder which team it will be with.

Dec 24, 2011, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks center Max Unger (60) and guard Lemuel Jeanpierre (61) wait for the snap against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

I’ve been going through the Seahawks roster position by position over the last week or so. Not that i’ve meant to, it just sort of happened. It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise that I found myself turning an analytical eye on the offensive line this morning.

In the end, I was a bit torn. The Seahawks line is young and should show decent improvement. On the other hand, I don’t see a lot of high-end talent in the group.

Instead, the Seahawks have one of the deepest groups in the league. There isn’t much separation between the best member of the line, and the 8th best. That’s good in that it helps the team overcome injuries like they had last season, but it also demonstrates the lack of a genuinely elite player within the group. Dont get me wrong, Max Unger is legitimately in the top-10 of centers in the league. Russell Okung is occasionally dominant. James Carpenter and John Moffitt definitely have some untapped ability.

My problem is that I think Unger and Okung are close to the ceiling of their potential. Carpenter likely wont play in 2013 except as a late season injury replacement. That means that any improvement from the line will have to come Moffitt and a pair of backup-turned starters at the other 2 positions.

I’m actually one of the bigger Breno Giacomini fans you’ll find, and even I don’t think he’s more than a serviceable starting tackle. Paul McQuinstan, the presumed starting left guard, was a decent run blocker, but a liability last season  in pass protection. Throw in guys like Deuce Lutui and Lemual JeanPierre, and you have an extremely deep unit for the NFL. but where’s the dominant players?

Where’s the Walter Jones or Steve Hutchenson? Where’s the one guy who you can always run behind when you need 2 yards? The guy who never gives up a sack?

I hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see that guy on this roster.

Even with all the uncertainties on offense, Jackson remains the Seahawk's biggest question mark. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Over the past few days, I’ve gone through all the different parts of the offensive side of the roster piece by piece and examined the contribution that each member had on the season, and what was likely to happen for next season. Before I jump into the defense, I thought it would be a good idea wrap everything up before moving on to the defense.

Surprisingly, the part of the offense that is the most “set” is the part that was the biggest weakness in 2011, the offensive line. The 5 starters seems locked in, as does the 2 primary backups. The biggest question seems to be if backup Paul McQuistan will return, but he’s going to be the 7th or 8th lineman on the depth chart, and even lower once Carpenter returns, so this clearly isn’t a big deal.

Normally, returning everyone from a unit that played so badly wouldn’t be a good thing, but here it clearly is. This group is young and inexperienced, and greatly improved as the season went on. If the line picks up where it left off last season, it will be a serious strength by the end of next season.

The backs are a unit with a lot of questions because everyone of importance is a free agent. While Lynch can be easily retained by using the franchise tag, the loss of lead blocker Michael Robinson would be equally devastating to the running game. The Seahawks must find a way to retain or replace Robinson, and also find a major upgrade over Justin Forsett as the primary backup.

Receiver is an odd cast of too many pieces and not enough of an idea of just how good those pieces are. The Seahawks played 8 players at the position in 2011, and no more than 6 will make the team in 2012. Tough decisions are going to have to be made. Not the least of which is going to be if promising but very raw talents like Kris Durham and Richardo Lockette can turn their promising talent into on-field production.

TE is another position that’s mostly set. Zach Miller and Cameron Morrah were solid and will both return. All that’s left is to fill the roster with another player. Where that’s John Carlson or younger player remains to be seen, but I’d be completely surprised if it was McCoy, who was dreadful this past season.

The real conundrum lies at QB. Josh Portis isn’t an NFL caliber player, and Tarvaris Jackson is best suited to be a backup. The Seahawks desperately need to upgrade the position, but a true upgrade isn’t going to be available to them in the draft, and the only free agent options are very risky. It’s looking more and more likely that the Seahawks will draft a “project” in the middle of the draft, and go into 2012 with Jackson again as the starter.

Max Unger might be Seattle's best offensive lineman. Credit: Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE

The offensive line began the season as the real Achilles heal for the Seahawks. The lack of a true offseason and training camp really hurt this unit. As the season progressed, so did the play of the offensive line. Once Robert Gallery got health, the line play really improved. Even with the loss of 3 starters over the last few game, the line play continued to improve.

Seattle first round pick, James Carpenter, was a major disappointment. He really struggled in pass protection, which hurt his confidence. Once his confidence started dipping, his performance dropped even further. By the time he blew out his knee, he had become a major liability.

Carpenter’s knee wont be ready for training camp. It’s highly likely that it wont be ready for the start of the season. I fully expect him to start 2012 on the PUP list, meaning he’ll be out for at least the first 6 weeks. Unless there’s an injury on the offensive line late in the year, I doubt Carpenter makes a single start. It’s looking more and more like Carpenter will get a year off to get himself right, both physically and mentally.

The Seahawk’s 3rd round pick, John Moffitt, had his season end in the same week as Carpenter’s did. His season didn’t mirror that of the first round pick though. Moffitt, on the other hand, improved steadily throughout the season up until his injury. He showed signs that he could develop into a special player, while he still made the occasional rookie mistake, his overall performance was positive.

The Seahawks signed Robert Gallery to a big contract to be the veteran leader on the offensive line. Injuries forced him to be out or only marginally effective for most of the first half of the season. As his heath improved, so did his effectiveness. A big reason why the Seahawks running game took off over the final 10 weeks of the season was Gallery finally rounding into form. It seems that most Seahawk fans don’t appreciate just how good Gallery was over the second half of the season.

Max Unger was a rock at center season, missing just one game in the middle to a minor injury. Scattered around the blogosphere you’ll find random pieces of Unger hate, but it is not warranted. Unger is one of the top 10 centers in the NFL according to many different statistical and traditional scouting outlets like Pro-Footbal Focus and NFL advanced stats. He only gave up 7 pressures all season, including 0 sacks or QB hits.

Russel Okung did little to get rid of his image that he’s injury prone. First there was the sprained ankle, and then he landed on IR when he was intentionally injured by Trent Cole in the Eagles game. When he was in there, he was a force at LT. When healthy, Okung is clearly the player the Seahawks thought he was when they spent a first round pick on him.

Breno Giacomini was recently re-signed to contract worth of someone who’s not going to spend most of the time on the bench. As I wrote when re was re-signed, Giacomini is going to enter the 2012 season as the starter, and is going be given a chance to keep that job even once Carpenter is healthy.

I was a little surprised that the Seahawks committed to Giacomini so quickly because they also have Jariel King. King was a seldom used reserve that the Seahawks coaches really love. He’s an absolute beast of a run blocker, perhaps the best on the team. His pass blocking leaves a lot to be desired, but he young and still improving.

Lemuel JeanPierre proved to be everything you could want in a backup. He played well when pressed into service; well enough that Seahawks signed another backup center at one point in order to allow JeanPierre to become the start at guard.

Paul McQuistan proved to be a fan favorite by the end of the season because he stepped in and started both at RG, and then later at LT. The problem is that he didn’t play particularly well at LT; requiring help from either a back or a TE on almost every passing play.McQuistan also wasn’t the team’s first choice to back up RG. It was JeanPierre who came in when Moffitt was hurt and the only reason McQuistan played at RG after that was because Pete Carroll didn’t want to risk playing playing both of the team’s centers at the same time in case one got injured.

The Seahawks would like to re-sign McQuistan because of his versatility, but only if the price is right. With King available at tackle, and JeanPierre returning in the middle, the primary backup rolls can be filled without him.

Giacomini is going to be a Seahawk again. Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

Backup offensive tackle Breno Giacomini has agreed to an extension with the Seattle Seahawk. The deal will pay him $1.5 million in 2012 and $3 million in 2013.

While re-signing Giacomini wasn’t necessarily a priority, it was near the top of the Seahawks wish list. Giacomini filled in admirably once starter James Carpenter was placed on injured reserve. He struggled at first, but showed remarkable improvement with each game. The guys at Pro-Football Focus even rated him as the best tackle in the NFC in week 15.

The money involved in this deal indicated that Giacomini wont be spending the entirety of this deal on the bench. Carpenter isn’t likely to be ready to play at the beginning of the season, so Giacomini goes into 2012 as the likely starter at RT. If Giacomini establishes himself enough to keep the starting job after that, he’ll get a nice raise for 2013. If not, then he’ll be overpaid for a backup and likely released, allowing him to look for another opportunity to start.

This deal shows that the Seahawks aren’t fully committed to James Carpenter as the long term RT anymore. Carpenter struggled for most of year until his injury, and never really improved. Carpenter seems better fit to move inside and play guard. If Giacomini sticks at RT, then Carpenter likely becomes the team’s LG once the Seahawks decide to move on from Robert Gallery.

Giacomini is the first of 18 free agents that the Seahawks have to be signed.

Will Seattle find an upgrade at QB? Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

1) Quarterback – Tarvaris Jackson played better than we thought he would, but he was a below average player at the game’s most important position.While the Seahawks may still go into 2012 with Jackson at QB, there’s no doubt that this team cannot reach it’s potential until they find an upgrade at QB.

2) Weak Side Linebacker - Leroy Hill is a popular player among fans, but he was awful in 2011. The Seahawks ranked dead last against running backs on passing plays in 2011, and much of that is the fault of Hill. While he is decent against the run, there were few LBs worse against the pass that Hill in 2011.

3) Split End – This is the wide receiver position manning in 2011 by big Mike Williams. Williams struggled all season. He finished the year with just receptions 18 for 236 yards and 1 TD. For a guy who started 15 games, those numbers are completely unacceptable. If the Seahawks are going to take the next step forward on offense, they must get more production out of whoever is playing opposite of Sydney Rice.

4) Right Tackle -  This one is tough to put on this list, because I think that James Carpenter has a bright future, but if the Seahawks are going to win in 2012 they need to upgrade this position. Carpenter will be out for the entire offseason and likely most of training camp (and possibly the first 6-8 weeks as well if they place him on the PUP list) so the Seahawks need someone at RT no matter what. While Giacomini played decently, his presence in the starting lineup meant that TE Zach Miller was used to help block way too often. An upgrade at RT would mean another target for the passing game on most passing plays.

5) Pass Rush Specialist – The Seahawk defense is built around stopping the run first. Both Alan Branch and Red Bryant are beasts against the run. The problem is that neither is all that useful against the pass. Since the Seahawks use specialists (last season is was Anthony Hargrove and Raheem Brock) to replace those two in passing situations, new starters aren’t needed. Just the specialists need upgraded, but serious upgrades must be made.

Join us as we take a look at the Seahawks rookie class of 2011 beginning with Round 1, James Carpenter and Round 3, John Moffitt.

Going into the 2011 season, one of the Seahawk’s most obvious needs was shoring up the injured and previously unaddressed offensive line. One of the trends in previous drafts included drafting the best athlete as opposed to drafting for the positions we needed.

In this draft, we benefited hugely from Pete Carroll’s focus on position needs and John Schneider’s ability to scout for talent.

Round 1 – First  round pick, James Carpenter, OT came as the 25^th pick in the first round out of Alabama where one of his most notable accomplishments was helping the Crimson Tide win the National Championship in 2010.. This was the second straight season the Seahawks had selected a tackle in the first round (Russell Okung, 2010), a clear indicator that Pete and John were committed to a running game via an enhanced O Line.

While Carpenter only played through week 11 due to injury, he definitely had a positive impact on our line. However, he also faced expected rookie year challenges in learning to play at a faster pace and against elite NFL players. I think it speaks well to his football IQ that he minimized his mistakes after the first few games and became a real asset. I think he’s smart and dedicated enough to turn himself into a problem for D lines across the league.

My grade – B

Round 3 – Third round pick John Moffitt came from Wisconsin at the 75^th pick overall. Earning a reputation for durability and versatility, “Moff” started 42 of 45 games for the Green Badgers and played both Guard and Center. In almost 3000 snaps, he allowed only 3.5 sacks and was only penalized twice. Frankly, I’m amazed he lasted into the 3^rd round and he was really a no-brainer pick. Kudos to John for his scouting on Moffitt.

Playing through only week 10 due to injury, Moffitt also stepped up his game as the year went on. Facing the same rookie challenges as Carpenter, Moffitt also showed a strong work ethic and a shallow minimized learning curve. I totally expect him to anchor the O line for years to come.

My grade – B+

In fairness, both of these players got the short end of the stick kicking off their pro careers.  The player lockout meant delayed signings, no mini camps, no contact with coaches and therefore less preparation going into their rookie season. While impossible to factor in, it’s likely that the lockout had some impact on the slow start both players got.

What’s your take?

The Seahawks have not announced exactly who is going to be playing which position along the line on Monday, but it is pretty easy to put together a reasonable guess. Obviously Unger will stay at center, and Gallery will remain at LG. It also seems likely that Breno Giacomini will also stay at RT.

It’s the other 2 positions where things are less clear. Paul McQuistan seems to be the swing player in all of this. If the team chooses to leave him at RG, then Jariel King will start at LT. But McQuistan can also play tackle, so the Seahawks may choose to move him over to LT and bring in someone else to play RG.

It is that second option that I believe is what is going to happen. (more…)