3 bold predictions for Seahawks versus 49ers Week 2
By Lee Vowell
Tariq Woolen gets his first interception in a Seahawks victory
Tariq Woolen looked a lot better in Week 1 than anyone would have expected in, say, June. For someone with all the raw skills to be great but with limited exposure to high-level competition in college and also not having played cornerback much in his college life, Woolen looked more like a second-year pro than a rookie. He did get called for two penalties but one was questionable.
Woolen also seemed to immediately learn from his first penalty. This was called when Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson threw a deep pass along the sideline to a Denver receiver which Woolen had well covered. The issue was Woolen didn’t turn around to defend the underthrown pass and the receiver ran into Woolen so Woolen was called for pass interference.
But when the same pass was tried later in the game, Woolen had the same tight coverage but did turn around this time and the pass was cleanly broken up.
Woolen can cover better than anticipated early in his career and has the speed to keep up with any receiver. 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has thrown 99 passes in his NFL career and 3 have been intercepted. He has completed just 54.5 percent of his throws. The question at this point isn’t if Lance with throw a wild pass but when.
As well as Woolen played in Week 1 and as quickly as he seem to learn from his few mistakes, it stands to reason he will be better in Week 2. Here’s guessing that against the 49ers, Woolen gets the first interception of his career.