3 ups and 3 downs for Seattle Seahawks in preseason game 1

Seahawks ups and downs include no answers to consistent problems

Down: What are the Seahawks coaches watching when it comes to Drew Lock?

In the Seahawks mock game a bit over a week ago, Drew Lock looked better than Geno Smith. In preseason game 1, Lock looked better than Smith. But Smith did play against better defensive competition because he played the entire first half. This is a bit mind-boggling.

In a true quarterback competition, Seattle should likely judge like for like. Meaning that if Smith has a series against the Steelers best available defensive players in a preseason game, Lock should go in the next series against the same players. But even though Lock played decently, he was doing it against mostly backups of backups.

Lock clearly has a better arm than Smith and Smith looks to be the QB who only does what he is told. Maybe Pete Carrol is just afraid to take any chances on offense and this means Geno Smith will definitely be QB1 in Week 1 of 2022.

Up: DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer looked very good

Seattle’s likely starting running back this year, Rashaad Penny, was held out so he wouldn’t risk being injured. RB2 Ken Walker started and ran the ball five times for 19 yards and caught a pass for 11 yards. He was just OK.

But Dallas and Homer both looked energized and ran strong and fast. Dallas has bulked up a bit since his rookie year and now is capable of breaking a few tackles. He led Seattle in rushing with 73 on 10 carries and caught a pass for 17 yards and a touchdown. Homer ran four times for 41 yards and caught two passes for 33 yards. Both Homer and Dallas should be locks to make the team.

Down: The defense didn’t look much different

OK, this one is a bit of a stretch, right? I mean, it’s the preseason and the defense didn’t have Quandre Diggs or Jamal Adams or Jordyn Brooks and new defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt isn’t going to use the entire playbook. But some of the same issues from last year were on display.

This was especially true on third down conversions for Pittsburgh. While the Steelers finished 7 of 13 on third down conversions, they started the game 4 for 5 and scored two first quarter touchdowns which made Seattle play from behind for most of the game. Pittsburgh also scored on three of its first four possessions. Let’s just hope once the real games start, the defense is greatly improved.