Seahawks faith in Tre Flowers could make or break season
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks traded Ahkello Witherspoon on Friday. This was after Tre Flowers was named a starter and further shows Seattle’s faith in Flowers. That Flowers was named a starter surprised some because Flowers hasn’t been consistently good since he was drafted by Seattle.
Yes, Flowers has excellent size for a corner and has the ability to play the run well and tackle well. But far too often he seems to play soft in coverage allowing receivers to catch passes in front of him when he is not even that close to deflecting the pass.
This happened in seasons past and was the same way this preseason. Maybe preseason games aren’t hard-hitting affairs where defensive coaches scheme against opposing offenses but the way Flowers played is worrisome because it is mostly how he has played since his second season.
Seahawks showing a lot of faith in Tre Flowers
The funny thing is that in his rookie season, when Flowers was playing a bunch but transitioning from a college safety to a pro cornerback, he seemed to be better. Maybe the Seahawks are asking him to play off the receiver a bit and then keep yards after the catch limited by an immediate tackle. But this happens too much on third downs when a receiver catches a short pass for a first down before Flowers has a chance to make the tackle.
Flowers’ yards after the catch allowed has gone done each of the last three years. In 2018, he allowed 14.1 yards a catch and last year was 10.6 yards. This still means an average of a first down every time Flowers allows a catch even though the number is improving.
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Sidney Jones was recently traded for by the Seahawks and he might be starting by game three if Flowers is struggling. But Seattle plays the Colts and Titans the first two weeks of the season and both those teams can throw the ball fairly well. If Flowers isn’t much better than he has then Pete Carroll’s risk of starting Flowers is going to show and Seattle could be 0-2 after the first two games. In the NFC West, that might cost a team a playoff spot.