Seattle Seahawks: 5 reasons to watch Thursday’s preseason finale
By Keith Myers
Aug 29, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) and free safety Dion Bailey (37) gesture before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
The Strong Safety Battle
While both players will almost certainly make the team, Thursday’s game will likely decide who will play meaningful snaps at strong safety. Kam Chancellor’s holdout has reached the point where he won’t be ready for Week 1. The Seahawks must decide who will play.
DeShawn Shead is faster and better in coverage. The Seahawks would like him to win the job, but the former cornerback has a tendency to think too much and is often slow to react against the run.
Dion Baily is smaller, but he he hits like member of the Legion of Boom. He has great instincts in the box, but can be a liability in coverage.
The Seahawks seems to want Shead and his coverage ability to win the battle, but Bailey has been better in camp and in the preseason. This game will decide who wins the battle and will play in place of Chancellor in Week 1.
The Running Backs
Robert Turbin is hurt and won’t play. It looks like he will be out at least 6-8 weeks at least. He is also in the final year of his contract, so the Seahawks could decide to release him and go with a healthy alternative on the roster.
The assumption around the league is Fred Jackson will replace Turbin, but he remains unsigned. Thursday’s game provides Seattle’s other backs to make their case their case that Jackson isn’t needed.
Christine Michael appears to be safely on the roster. Any concerns otherwise have been dispelled by Pete Carroll recently. He also doesn’t do the things in the passing game that make Turbin valuable.
That leaves Thomas Rawls and Rod Smith as the guys who can use the Turbin injury as a means to make the NFL roster. Smith is a more powerful runner. Rawls looks shiftier and appears to be better as a receiver.
It will be interesting to see if the coaches come away from Thursday’s game believing that either can be trusted to fill in for Turbin.
Next: The offensive line and saying goodbye