There are a lot of good things going on with the Seahawks this summer. The performance against the Cowboys in week one of the pre-season most certainly isn’t one of them.
It was surprising to see just how badly they played. It felt like nothing functioned, on either side of the ball. Every play on offense felt laboured. The defense had no answers apart from the performance of one outstanding player in Tyrice Knight (more on him in a moment).
The perspective is that none of the true starters featured in this game. Even so, it was disappointing to see the difference in levels compared to the Cowboys.
There was no pass-rush to speak off. Underneath Seattle’s excellent leading D-line, it appears they haven’t been able to develop a young up-and-comer. To put it bluntly, it felt like they were playing without a rush. Only Mike Morris showed in flashes. On my first viewing, nobody else put their hand up to show they mean business. It was a nothing burger of a display.
On the second level, Noah Igbinoghene had a couple of good moments and there was a stark difference in the way he stood out compared to some other Seattle’s other defensive backs. It felt like Dallas was targeting Shemar Jean-Charles and he simply had no answer in those situations. He got himself into bad positions and couldn’t play the ball. The touchdown he gave up was awful. I also have no idea what Michael Dansby was doing on the touchdown he gave up.
The positive on defense was Knight, who was clearly the best player on the field. He seemed to be constantly around the football in coverage or attacking downfield vs the run. He led the Seahawks with 10 tackles despite not playing the entire game. You couldn’t take your eyes off him pre-snap because you knew he was the one guy who was going to do something. Sadly, too often he was the only one. He looked like a quality starter playing against backups.
On offense it was painful to watch. There was no real connected flow to the play-calling — which could be put down to the chopping and changing at quarterback. Even so, Drew Lock seemed to operate on taking occasional wayward shots mixed in with risky throws into tight coverage. He completed 9/13 for just 40 yards and continues to look like an odd mix of supreme arm talent without the ability to make the most of it.
Even so, watching Lock was a veritable treat compared to what Jalen Milroe offered up. I’m sure this will be judged to be overreactive — but I’m just not seeing it with Milroe. Last pre-season I already began to have my doubts that he had sticking power in the league — but you could put it down to his rookie status. This is year two and I just don’t think he has what it takes.
His processing is so slow. He holds on to the ball, pats the ball, and then by the time he tries to scramble it’s often too late. Either make a call and show you can throw with anticipation and timing, or just be an athlete dude. At the moment his hesitation is crippling every play when he’s on the field. Worst of all — it’s taking away the one asset he has which is his athleticism and ability to run, because he’s setting off when the rush has the time to attack him from multiple angles.
It speaks volumes really when Joe Milton comes on to the field and is noticeably better with his processing. He also showed easy arm strength and the ability to attack the second and third level. I don’t think Milroe can.
I’d argue both Milton and Sam Howell looked significantly better than Milroe, which is not a promising sign. He finished 5/8 for 36 yards and took three avoidable sacks.
At Alabama he was a dynamic athlete who can make crazy plays with his legs, putting in the occasional great moment with his arm. Even at this pre-season level, he just doesn’t look up to it.
I don’t think the Seahawks are going to end this experiment imminently but I think the writing’s already on the wall. They don’t have one in the chamber at quarterback. If there ends up being some tricky roster conversations to have down the line — I wouldn’t assume Milroe is safe unless he plays a lot better than this. I just don’t see a NFL player so far — and I’m not sure anyone would claim him.
My other quick reflective notes are that Jake Bobo is such a useful player to have on the roster. He’s naturally instinctive, reliable and shows good hands. Beau Stephens showed some good blocking on the run during a George Holani attempt, then came back and dumped his opponent on the floor on the next snap to clean out a gap on his side. He also had some rookie moments though — and while the potential is clear, I doubt he competes to start right away. On special teams they had some good returns, although Jason Myers missed an easy kick.
I made the right call not to stay up until 1am to watch this game, after a long 24 hours working in London. This was a poor effort by the parts of Seattle’s roster who are fighting for a job.
It doesn’t mean anything overall because Seattle’s starting core is deep and talented. But every one of these games is an opportunity for someone to put their hand up and standout. Only Tyrice Knight did that really — and he’s already established as someone who is very capable of playing meaningful snaps.