Seahawks see promising players in first preseason win
The Seahawks took some time to get going in their first preseason contest. For a few special players, it was definitely worth the wait.
Several of the Seahawks biggest stars sat out the first game of the year. If this had been a regular season game, Seattle would have been in trouble. Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, Tyler Lockett, Chris Carson, Duane Brown… well, you get the picture. That was actually the idea, so Pete Carroll and his staff could get a long look at some of the new arrivals. They had to be happy with a lot of what they saw.
Paxton Lynch truly surprised with his effort. He looked poised in his first action in a year. He also made more than a few heady plays. I’m thinking in particular of a nice back-shoulder touchdown throw to rookie Jazz Ferguson, and of course his nine-yard scoring scramble. I’ve said before that Lynch was no worse than any other quarterback in Denver in his two seasons.
Yeah, I know. Saying a guy isn’t any worse than Brock Osweiler isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. And Lynch wasn’t playing against the Bronco’s top talent, either. But he does have his strengths. I’m a bit intrigued by the 13 rushing touchdowns he scored as a sophomore at Memphis. ‘t 244 pounds, he’s a bit of a load at the goal line. With Geno Smith following a bad opening night with at least 10 days on the shelf to recuperate from surgery, Lynch will have plenty of chances to show his first Seahawks action wasn’t a fluke.
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Jazz Ferguson looked like anything but an undrafted free agent. Ferguson turned some heads with his two-touchdown performance in the Seahawks mock game. He showed that wasn’t a fluke by leading all Seattle receivers against the Broncos with four catches for 54 yards and a score. His heroics didn’t take place against Denver’s first-line talent, but Ferguson showed good hands and the ability to use his size to screen defensive backs. Seattle has a very crowded group at wide receiver, but considering that Doug Baldwin isn’t checking into the huddle, this is a very good problem indeed.
Marquise Blair made his bid to put the Boom back in Seattle. Along with virtually every other Seahawks fan, we were pretty happy when the Hawks snatched him up in the second round of the draft. As Colby Patnode wrote in that piece, Blair is an absolute wrecking ball. I bet Broncos receiver Nick Williams is still seeing Miley Cyrus in his nightmares. You know, on a wrecking ball with Blair firing it into his chest.
Thankfully, not too much has been made of the penalty on Blair’s hit. His technique was off just a bit. Two inches lower, or leading with the other shoulder, either would have given him a clean hit. Blair was drawing comparisons to the great Kam Chancellor long before this hit, or course. But it certainly ramped up the LOB talk again. Before we put too much pressure on Blair, let’s remember that as a rookie, Chancellor got exactly zero starts. I’ll take a deeper look at the two later. For now, Blair looks dang pretty good.
Next. Some looked good, some not so much in Denver. dark
Of the three, Blair is the only player who is practically a lock to make the team. Lynch’s future depends on his own consistency and that of Geno Smith – to say nothing of Smith’s health. Ferguson has the toughest road to making the 53-man roster by far. If he keeps hauling in over-the-shoulder passes and catching everything in his vicinity, some of his teammates in the receiver room may be getting nervous. Again, a good problem for the Seahawks to face.