Seahawks O-line: Quantity Over Quality?

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.