Raiders/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

We are so close to the season opener in St. Louis. The only thing standing in the Seahawks way is the preseason finale. On Thursday, for the 10^th consecutive season, the Seahawks conclude their preseason slate against the Oakland Raiders. This is the final job interview for many players fighting to make our week one roster. The starters may play the first series of the game, if that, and then their nights will be done. The spotlight in the fourth week of the preseason is on the young guys. This week I will be focused on position battles. In this preview, I will gloss over what our opening day starting units may look like while noting which battles may be important to watch this week at each position. Let’s get to it.

Quarterbacks: If Tarvaris Jackson is able to play this week, the plans at the quarterback position will surely be set. If he can play, which to me is unlikely, Jackson may see a little bit of playing time before R.J. Archer takes over. If Jackson cannot go, then Archer will likely play almost the entire game. In the grand scheme of things, if Jackson is healthy enough to play this week that makes R.J. Archer’s performance extremely important. During the Pete Carroll era the Seahawks only carry two active quarterbacks on the roster with a third quarterback on the practice squad. Archer’s performance against the Raiders will be the difference between him making the active roster and him getting cut and re-signed to the practice squad.

Running Backs: If Thomas Rawls has any chance to steal Christine Michael’s or even Robert Turbin’s roster spot he must ball out on Thursday. It may be next to impossible for Rawls to make the team now that we know the Seahawks have interest in signing free agent running back Fred Jackson. Rawls started the preseason strong but has been overshadowed by the strong play of Michael the past two weeks. Michael and Rawls will both see a lot of playing time but I believe that Rawls will have to bust off several huge runs and at least one touchdown to even have a chance at earning a roster spot.

Wide Receivers: The trade of Kevin Norwood to the Carolina Panthers on Monday makes the wide receiver competition something to watch very closely this week. I believe 6 roster spots will go to wide receivers. I believe Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett, and Ricardo Lockette will all have jobs on this team this year. With Paul Richardson starting the season on the PUP list, that means there are four receivers to watch in this game that are fighting for two spots. What will make the coaches decisions difficult is that they all play special teams. B.J. Daniels and Kevin Smith have seen their share of playing time on punt and kickoff returns while Kasen Williams has made a couple of clutch catches including one which set up Steven Hauschka’s game-winning field goal last week. Chris Matthews showed his potential in Super Bowl XLIX but has been a ghost in relation to these other players so far this preseason. Keep a tab on the number of snaps each of these guys see on offense this week. Their presence on the field alone could be a major indicator of who has the lead on the final wide receiver spots.

Tight Ends: Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson are locks to make the team. The final tight end spot will go to either Cooper Helfet or Anthony McCoy. Given that McCoy has battled injuries over the past three seasons, and that Helfet had a solid season in 2014 it would make sense if it is Helfet’s job to lose. It very well may be. McCoy will get the opportunity to prove his worth this week. This is one spot that I think could go to either player.

Offensive Line: The release of Lemuel Jeanpierre affirms our starting offensive line going into the season. From left to right our starting line will be Russell Okung, Justin Britt, Drew Nowak, J.R. Sweezy, and Garry Gilliam. This week will give us a chance to see what our depth looks like along the offensive line. One guy to keep an eye on this week is undrafted rookie Kristjan Sokoli. Sokoli has made fantastic progress during training camp and is a favorite of Coach Carroll and offensive line coach Tom Cable. Unfortunately he is listed as our fourth string left guard, likely because he is still working on converting from defensive tackle to offensive guard (similar to J.R. Sweezy). Due to his standing on the depth chart Sokoli may be destined for a possible practice squad spot. Backup linemen Mark Glowinski and Terry Poole are our drafted rookies who are listed as the backups to Sweezy and Gilliam respectively. Expect to see them on the field a lot.

Defensive Line: The feel-good story of the offseason and training camp was the comeback of defensive tackle Jesse Williams. The third year lineman had a cancerous kidney removed back in May and amazingly has returned to game action this preseason; a remarkable recovery indeed. Unfortunately Williams has a very real chance of not making the team since he is listed as a fourth string defensive tackle. Along the defensive line on Thursday look for Williams, David King and Julius Warmsley. I believe one of these three players will claim one of the Seahawks musical chairs. The others will be left out once the music stops.

Linebackers: I am putting the “you never know” label on the backup middle linebacker job. Brock Coyle won this job last year and he is probably going to earn his job back in 2015. Alex Singleton however refuses to back down without a fight. Singleton has been on the field a lot this preseason, appearing solely in the second half. I get a hunch that our coaching staff likes Singleton a lot but even a great outing on Thursday still makes him a longshot to earn a roster spot but like I said, you never know.

Cornerbacks: I get a weird feeling that surprises are on the horizon in this group. Cary Williams has struggled this preseason and if he did not make so much money I think he would be a serious candidate to be cut. Williams will make the team due to his cap number which puts pressure on our backups. Tharold Simon has played well thus far and Marcus Burley has seen his fair share of playing time with the starters. Two guys to watch are Will Blackmon and Tye Smith. Blackmon is a veteran who has bounced around the league and found himself back with the Seahawks for training camp. Smith is a rookie who was drafted in the 5^th round back in May and has impressed me thus far. My guess is that we will keep 5 cornerbacks. One of these guys will make the team and the other will not.

Safeties: The free safety position is settled in my mind. Earl Thomas starts, Steven Terrell backs him up. Strong safety is still up in the air at this point but I believe the breakdown is simple. If Kam Chancellor does not report to the team by the time our roster is trimmed to 53, Dion Bailey will make the team as the presumed backup to starter DeShawn Shead. If Chancellor does report, Bailey will be left out of the picture. This is the only position on the team where the simple presence of one player will likely determine the fate of another player.

Random Thoughts: All College Navy everything for the Seahawks this week. The Raiders will wear white jerseys with silver pants… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard will have the call one last time this preseason. The game will be broadcast on Q13 FOX… Lunch at Tat’s Delicatessen before the game. I’ve never been there but by the looks of the menu I’ll probably enjoy their Philly cheesesteak… Pregame location is to be determined but I wouldn’t be surprised if we make our way to Hawks Nest for the first time this season… Off the top of my head I cannot remember a preseason which included terrible weather for both of our home games. The forecast is calling temperatures in the mid 60’s and a 50/50 chance of rain.

Prediction: The nice way we will be describing this game after the fact is that it will be a “defense battle.” Russell Wilson will fail to lead a scoring drive on his one possession of the game. R.J. Archer will once again struggle to lead touchdown drives but will progress as the game wears on. On defense the Seahawks backups will slightly outplay the Raiders defensive backups which will keep us in the game. The Seahawks will win another close game in the fourth quarter and will finish the preseason 2-2.

Seahawks 16, Raiders 13

Seahawks/Chiefs Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs

Site: Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)

Kickoff: 5:00pm

Last season our game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium was season-defining. Although we lost on that bitterly cold November afternoon, it was a game that ultimately wound up turning our season around. I hate to say it because it is still so early, but the Seahawks are in need of some serious rejuvenation after a disappointing outing last week. What better place to motivate this team than Arrowhead? The Seahawks take on the Chiefs in their second preseason game Friday night. The Chiefs defeated the Arizona Cardinals last week 34-19 in their preseason opener. The starters may see a little bit more playing time this week. Here is what I am hoping to see out of the Seahawks in Kansas City.

It is obvious that this week I want to see better play out of our offensive line. After a hideous performance last week the Seahawks have done some shuffling along the starting line. Justin Britt moves from right tackle to left guard replacing Alvin Bailey. Garry Gilliam has been plugged in at right tackle while Drew Nowak replaces Lemuel Jeanpierre as the starting center. I am equally nervous and optimistic about tinkering with the line but now is the right time to do it. In addition to looking for Russell Wilson to have more time inside the pocket to throw, I will be focused on the running game. It is unclear if Marshawn Lynch will see any playing time this week. If not, Robert Turbin will start. I want to see how effective Lynch and Turbin are on the ground. If the running backs struggle to gain positive yards and if Wilson continues to be rushed, it may be time to start to panic with only two preseason tune-ups left before the season opener in St. Louis.

Expect to see a lot of backup quarterback R.J. Archer this week. He is my X-Factor player to Watch for the Seahawks on offense this week. Newly signed quarterback Jake Waters may also see limited time late in this game, but given his unfamiliarity with the playbook it would not shock me if we do not see him at all. With Tarvaris Jackson battling a high ankle sprain, it will be Archer’s show once Russell Wilson exits the game in the first quarter. Archer has shown noticeable improvement in practice this week and his chemistry with the plethora of Seahawks receivers is also growing. Archer will play the majority of this week’s game and I would love to see him put together a couple of touchdown drives. If the Seahawks can score 14-17 points with Archer on the field, I believe that will be enough to win the game.

On defense this week I would like to see all of our pass rush specialists get work in early on in the game with the starting unit. Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett will start at defensive end with Bruce Irvin starting at outside linebacker. I want to see Cassius Marsh and Frank Clark get reps with the starters to see how they fit among the starters. Last week against Denver both Marsh and Clark saw all of their playing time come against the Broncos backups in the second half. To me this does not give them the best opportunity to showcase what they can bring to the starting defense. Getting to Chiefs quarterbacks Alex Smith and Chase Daniel must happen continually this week. If we can record at least three or four sacks I will be able to breathe easier moving forward.

Random Thoughts: Seahawks will wear white jerseys this week. No word on pants color yet. The Chiefs will rock their red jerseys and will likely pair them with white pants… Once again Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call on Q13 FOX… I need to make it out to Arrowhead sometime. Wasn’t going to go in November last year because it was too cold. Unfortunately we’re probably not going to play in Kansas City again in the regular season until 2022… No injuries please… I feel like it’s very unusual that we keep playing preseason games on Friday’s. Thursday’s and Saturday’s are good days for football. Friday’s are just weird.

Prediction: The Seahawks starters will be able to deliver one touchdown but we are still going to be unsatisfied heading into week 3. Penalties are going to be a major problem and will be drive killers on offense and drive extenders on defense. Chase Daniel and the Chiefs defense will play a much more complete game than R.J. Archer and the Seahawks defense. The Seahawks will come home and get ready for the San Diego Chargers with and 0-2 preseason record.

Chiefs 24, Seahawks 15

Broncos/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

Football is finally back. Seahawks fans never really had the opportunity to wash the bad taste of last season out of their mouth. Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the end of Super Bowl XLIX and football faded to the back of our minds, leaving us bitter for 6 long months. On Friday the Seahawks take the field for the first time since that disastrous February evening, opening up preseason play against the defending AFC West champion Denver Broncos. This will be the fifth consecutive year the Seahawks and Broncos face off in the preseason with Seattle winning the last three matchups. Since this is the first preseason game we will not see the starters play very much, perhaps a series or two in the first quarter. This first preseason game will distinguish which position battles we should be keeping an eye on. This is also an opportunity for bubble players to make a good first impression. I will not really be focusing on the opposition during the preseason; I will keep my focus on our team, from roster spot 1 all the way to roster spot 90. Here are a few things I will be keeping my eye on this week.

The top offensive position to watch this season is the wide receivers. It is widely believed that the Seahawks will only keep 6 wide receivers on the final roster. Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse may be the only two “locks” at the position. I believe Ricardo Lockette, Paul Richardson, and rookie Tyler Lockett are in good position to earn roster spots. Realistically the final one or two wide receiver roster spots will belong to Chris Matthews, Kevin Norwood, and even possibly local kid Kasen Williams. Of “bubble” players I believe the one with the most catches and/or receiving yards against Denver will earn a leg up on the rest of the competition for a roster spot. Look for Norwood and Williams to get a considerable amount of playing time this week.

Right off the bat I am interested to see who will start along the offensive line. With the departures of Max Unger and James Carpenter, the Seahawks did not make it a priority during free agency or the first part of the NFL Draft to add depth along the line. Alvin Bailey is projected to start at left guard while Lemuel Jeanpierre is listed as the starting center on the Seahawks first official depth chart of training camp. Keep an eye on the center battle. Jeanpierre might get the first crack at playing time but it was Patrick Lewis who started in Unger’s place down the stretch last season.

On defense there is a lot of buzz around one of our linebackers. This week I am putting my X-Factor Player to Watch spotlight on outside linebacker Eric Pinkins. Pinkins was drafted as a cornerback who has converted to linebacker and the coaching staff is very excited about him. Coach Carroll has said during camp that Pinkins “Plays very fast, a 4.4 guy playing on the edge who seems to be the most improved guy.” This leads me to believe that Pinkins may join the likes of Bruce Irvin, Cassius Marsh, and rookie Frank Clark in our pass rushing rotation. I expect Pinkins to see a lot of playing time this week.

On the first Broncos offensive possession, likely with backup quarterback Brock Osweiler at the helm, I would fully expect him to go after the “Legion of Whom.” With Kam Chancellor holding out and Earl Thomas likely sitting out while rehabbing, our secondary will look completely different at the start of the game. DeShawn Shead will likely start at strong safety this week and I fully expect Osweiler to attempt to stretch the field to attempt to challenge our raw players and put early points on the board.

Random Thoughts: White on white for the Broncos and blue on blue for the Seahawks uniform wise this week… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX this week. Got to love those local broadcasts (good thing I’ll be at the game)… Walt Anderson is the referee for this week’s game… This week I’m taking a friend and co-worker of mine. He’s a San Diego native who says he’s going to be “that guy” by wearing his Philip Rivers Chargers jersey. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Seahawks game with someone who is neutral to the matchup… Will most likely be at Elysian before the game… I’m excited to see what the new Toyota Fan Deck looks like. During the renewal process the Seahawks sent out the seating and pricing map for 2015 and it turns out it would have cost me $20 more total to move to the Toyota Fan Deck. Pay more for a worse view? No thanks, Seahawks… Always nice to be back at CenturyLink after a 7 month break. Here is a pro and con of the preseason: Pro, all the beautiful women wearing skin-tight jerseys. Con, many season ticket holders give their tickets away to friends and family aka “fair weather fans.” During the preseason it would be wise for the Seahawks to pass out “Cheering for Dummies” books because the fans ALWAYS scream when we are on offense. To all those non STH’s going to this week’s game, offense = quiet; defense = loud. Thank you.

Prediction: A lot of rust will be knocked off this week. Neither starting offensive unit will score points in the first quarter. I expect Russell Wilson and Tarvaris Jackson to play in the first half and would not be surprised to see R.J. Archer play the second half. If Osweiler plays the majority of the game for Denver they may have the leg up this week. The Seahawks may lose, but there will be a lot to work on as we head back for another week of training camp.

Broncos 17, Seahawks 9

Check back early Saturday morning for my review of our first preseason game. Go Hawks!

Seahawks/Raiders Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders

Site: O.co Coliseum (Oakland, California)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

The Seahawks are one week away from kicking off the regular season. Two things stand in their way; final roster cuts and Thursday’s preseason finale against the Oakland Raiders. The Seahawks have a 2-1 preseason record and are coming off a 34-6 throttling of the Chicago Bears. The Raiders are 1-2 and are back home after losing in Green Bay last week 31-21. This is the 9^th straight season the Seahawks conclude the preseason against the Raiders and this is the first time since 2010 that the preseason finale is played in Oakland. The starters will see little to no playing time in this game. I expect Russell Wilson and the starting offense to play only the first series. These are the players and storylines I will be watching before the Seahawks set their regular season roster on Saturday.

The first defensive series of this game will likely be the only time our starting defense will play in full before the start of the regular season. Head Coach Pete Carroll is optimistic that middle linebacker Bobby Wagner and outside linebacker Bruce Irvin will be available this week. If that is the case, the Seahawks will start their entire projected starting defense against the Raiders. This unit will only see one series as a whole, with selected players possibly seeing expanded playing time. On the offensive side of the ball, I expect Russell Wilson will only lead one drive in the first quarter before turning the job over to Tarvaris Jackson and Terrelle Pryor. With the way the Seahawks have been playing so far in the preseason, is it too farfetched to expect the Seahawks to hold a 7-0 lead after the first two drives of the game? That is my expectation for the first quarter of play on Thursday night.

The fourth and final preseason game is a job interview for many players on both teams. A strong performance in the preseason finale could be the difference between making the 53-man roster to start the season or getting cut. My main interests going into this game include a single player and an entire position group. On defense my eye will be on defensive end Benson Mayowa. Mayowa impressed coaches and fans in the 2013 preseason with 11 tackles and 3.5 sacks but he has been virtually nonexistent thus far this year, recording only 4 tackles and ½ of a sack. Mayowa is fighting to fit into the pass rush rotation but with O’Brien Schofield, Greg Scruggs back from injury, and rookie Cassius Marsh, there may simply be no room for him. I believe Mayowa must have a very strong performance against Oakland to even be a consideration to make our 2014 roster.

After the Seahawks selected wide receiver Paul Richardson in the 2014 NFL Draft, conversations started about the depth and talent the Seahawks have loaded at wide receiver. This catapulted discussions that by the end of the preseason some tough roster decisions will have to be made and the Seahawks will be forced to release some strong talent at the position. The Seahawks will likely only keep 6 wide receivers on the active roster. Percy Harvin, Doug Baldwin, and Jermaine Kearse are all presumed locks to make the team, leaving three spots up for grabs to 8 different receivers. In my opinion, the Seahawks will also hold on to Richardson and Ricardo Lockette which will leave one final spot to be won by Phil Bates, Bryan Walters, or fellow rookie Kevin Norwood. What makes this position group difficult to cut is that each player adds their own unique talents and traits. Lockette has shown flashes of good speed and hands on offense, Walters is a solid special teams contributor with kick return capability, and Bates is one of Russell Wilson’s most reliable targets in practice. I will be watching Lockette, Bates, and Walters closely this week on offense.

The Oakland Raiders enter 2014 with an interesting mix of raw young talent and veteran leadership. The Raiders are led on offense by newly-acquired quarterback Matt Schaub however it will be rookie quarterback Derek Carr who sees the majority of playing time this week. The Raiders have also added offensive skill-position talent in running back Maurice Jones-Drew and wide receiver James Jones. On defense, the Raiders have added defensive linemen Antonio Smith and Justin Tuck to help a pass rush that was mostly ineffective in 2013. Oakland upgraded their linebacker corps by drafting Khalil Mack with the 5^th overall pick in this year’s draft. The Raiders also upgraded their secondary by adding a pair of veteran cornerbacks; Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers. All of these moves express the effort to improve a unit that gave up the 5^th most passing yards per game last season. What makes this game hard to analyze is that even though we play the Raiders later this season, we will see a mere shell of the team that we will host on November 2^nd, much like the shell of us that the Raiders will see this week. Seahawks/Raiders preseason matchups in past years have been mostly noncompetitive, with the Seahawks jumping out to a big early lead and holding it. If this game remains close later into the second half I believe that will point to the Raiders being an overall better team in 2014.

Random Thoughts: My Seahawks uniform prediction this week: white jerseys with blue pants. Just a guess… For one last time Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX this week… This trip marks only the 4^th time the Seahawks have played in Oakland since moving to the NFC West in 2002… The baseball infield will be present this week since the Athletics have not concluded their season yet. The Raiders are now the only team in the NFL who has to deal with the dirt infield for the first half of their season. It’s just another reason why the Raiders either need to build a new stadium or move to, say, Los Angeles???… My guess is that the Seahawks will treat this week like a normal regular season game week since they start the season next Thursday. The Seahawks will likely play the Raiders on Thursday, watch film on Friday, trim the roster to 53 players on the off day Saturday, and begin practice and preparation for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Prediction: The Seahawks offense will drive down the field with ease and score a touchdown on their first series of the game. To counter, the starting defense will force Oakland to punt on their first drive of the game. The Seahawks backups led by Tarvaris Jackson will maintain the lead and the Seahawks will win, ending their preseason with a 3-1 record. The Seahawks will not light up the scoreboard like they have the past couple of weeks but they will hold a comfortable lead over the Raiders throughout the second half.

Seahawks 24, Raiders 7

Check back late Thursday night/early Friday morning for my game review. Enjoy the game and Go Hawks!

Bears/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

The third game of the preseason is always the most important. It is the opportunity for the starters to play into the second half and this game gives fans possibly the best preview of how their regular season will play out. In this year’s edition of the “dress rehearsal” game, the Seahawks host the Chicago Bears at CenturyLink Field. The Bears are a perfect 2-0 in the preseason and are coming off a 20-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Seahawks are 1-1 and are hoping to build upon last week’s dominant performance over the San Diego Chargers. Since the starters will play the majority of this game I expect a lot out of the Seahawks this week. Here is what I will be focusing on.

Last week I called upon Robert Turbin to prove he can be Marshawn Lynch’s primary backup. He impressed. Turbin will likely see the bulk of the carries again this week but my primary focus on offense is Russell Wilson and the passing game. Wilson has been on the field for just over one half of play so far this preseason and his play has been very good, going 15/19 for 158 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Although Wilson has a clean stat line, many of his throws have been conservative, moving the ball in smaller chunks. This week I want to see signs of an aerial attack that could make the Seahawks offense a powerful two-headed monster come September. The speed of the Seahawks receivers is crucial to making this happen. Percy Harvin, Ricardo Lockette, and rookie Paul Richardson should all play with Wilson in the game and I want to see Wilson taking shots down the field to these targets for large chunks of yardage. With a banged up Lance Briggs and Kyle Fuller unlikely to play, and rookie Brock Vereen patrolling the middle of the secondary, the Seahawks could be in prime position to take advantage of a Bears defense that will be somewhat depleted come Friday night.

This week the Legion of Boom will play in full. The Seahawks defense has been missing strong safety Kam Chancellor for all of training camp and the preseason as he has been recovering from offseason hip surgery but this week Coach Carroll has said he expects Chancellor to play against Chicago. For how long remains to be seen. I expect Chancellor to be a bit rusty early on in the game but will settle down and it will be business as usual for the LOB. The Seahawks will still be without starting linebackers Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin this week but will hopefully have them back in time to play Oakland next week. Mike Morgan and Brock Coyle will likely start at linebacker once again this week. It will be crucial for the defense to play well early as the Bears are fully capable of putting points on the board. The 12^th Man will once again have to be in mid-season form to help shut down Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense.

This week I am interested to see who will see playing time after the starters are pulled in the third quarter. With the first round of roster cuts coming early next week, this game would ideally be the final chance for a select group of players to prove themselves before the first judgment day of the preseason. It is this reason why I expect to see members of the second-string units to see playing time with the starters. Once the starters are pulled in the third quarter, my guess is that we will see third-stringers and undrafted players get a chance to prove they are worthy of sticking around for at least one more week. On offense I expect to see wide receivers Phil Bates and Bryan Walters as well as offensive linemen Stephen Schilling, Caylin Hauptmann, and Garry Gilliam see their fair share of playing time in the second half. On defense, I would like to see D’Anthony Smith, Michael Brooks, Korey Toomer, Phillip Adams, and Steven Terrell get their chance to prove they are worthy of making the first round of roster cuts.

The Chicago Bears come into this game undefeated on the preseason. The strength of the Bears offense gives the Seahawks a quality test for the starters to see in an expanded preseason opportunity. The Bears are led by quarterback Jay Cutler along with two of the best wide receivers in football, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Although the Legion of Boom will surely have their hands full with Marshall and Jeffery, the Seahawks defense will also have to take into account a newly signed Chicago wide receiver. This week my X-Factor Player to Watch for the Bears is wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Holmes is entering his 9^th NFL season. Most recently he spent the past 4 seasons with the New York Jets. Holmes was signed over the past week and on Wednesday it was reported by ESPN that Holmes may see playing time this week. If Holmes does see game action I am interested to see how the Bears use him in their pass-heavy offensive scheme, because it will be difficult for the Seahawks to prepare for Holmes’ presence on the field; something that is currently a complete mystery.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will wear blue jerseys and blue pants with the Bears likely wearing white jerseys and navy pants. It has been 5 years since the Bears last played in Seattle. On that September Sunday the Seahawks wore these. Thank goodness we have graduated to our amazing Nike uniforms since… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX… Bill Leavy is the referee this week. Even though we finally got our first Lombardi Trophy, I will never forget how Leavy and his officiating crew ruined Super Bowl XL… My back is feeling better so hopefully I’ll be able to handle my medicine accordingly and have a couple of beers before the game, as I am meeting up with a small group of friends… The offense will likely be introduced this week after the defense was introduced last week… I do not expect any championship banners unveiled this week but it looked like a banner was going to be revealed last week, so I could be wrong… I may have to make it a gameday tradition to visit the Lombardi Trophy at Touchdown City before every game. Seeing it before last week’s game got me pretty emotional… I could not even begin to guess who will raise the 12^th Man flag this week. My guess is a popular former Seahawks player… In two weeks we open the regular season at home. I can hardly wait!

Prediction: The Seahawks and Bears will trade touchdowns in the first quarter before the Seahawks start to pull away. Russell Wilson will throw for two touchdowns and Christine Michael will also add a touchdown later in the game. The Seahawks will improve to 2-1 with the preseason finale against Oakland looming next week.

Seahawks 30, Bears 17

Check back late Friday night/early Saturday morning for my game review. Thanks for reading and go Seahawks!

Chargers/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: San Diego Chargers at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

The Seahawks will play their first home game since winning Super Bowl XLVIII Friday night as they host the San Diego Chargers. The Seahawks are 0-1 in the preseason and are coming off a 21-16 loss last week at Denver. The Chargers on the other hand got off to a strong preseason start last week, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 27-7. Like last week’s game against Denver, this will be the first of two meetings between the Seahawks and Chargers this season; these two teams will meet in San Diego week 2. This week’s game is simply a building block. I am looking for Seattle to improve areas where they struggled greatly last week. Here are my areas to focus on this week.

This week I want to see the Seahawks move the ball more effectively on offense. There are several parts to making this happen. First, I want to see better play from the offensive line. Last week the Seahawks started only one offensive lineman who started in 2013, J.R. Sweezy. Russell Okung, James Carpenter, and Max Unger all returned to practice this week however it is yet to be seen if these three will see any playing time Friday night. The backup linemen also did not help in the running game last week, as quarterback Terrelle Pryor had to rely on his own feet to pick up yards. Secondly, I want to Robert Turbin to take a firm hold of the backup running back job. Last week Turbin had almost the same number of carries as yards. 5 rushing yards on 4 carries is absolutely not making the most of your opportunity and I think another poor showing by Turbin could open the door for Christine Michael to jump up the depth chart. I feel that Turbin is due for a breakout preseason performance but if he fails to show his worth for the second straight week, we could be entering the second half of the preseason wondering if Robert Turbin is even worthy of making the 53-man roster.

This week is round two of the Tarvaris Jackson/Terrelle Pryor battle to see who will be Russell Wilson’s backup come September. Jackson will likely see action in the second and third quarters with Pryor coming in to finish the game. This week I want to see the offense finish strong, meaning I want to see drastic improvement from Pryor. Last week Jackson took what I believe to be a significant lead over Pryor in the race to be the backup quarterback and a strong performance by Pryor against San Diego will put him back into the conversation, after he took himself out of it last week. With Russell Wilson likely playing into the second quarter, I believe Jackson will see minimal work with Pryor playing the majority of the second half. My honest hope is that the Seahawks are either in a close game or trailing late in the game in order to give Pryor a true pressure packed situation to cut his teeth on, much like last week.

On defense this week there is one overlying thing I want to see. This will be the first time many of our backup defenders get to play alongside the 12^th Man. I want to see these players along with the rest of the defense feeding off the energy of the crowd. Last week in Denver the Broncos defense fed off their crowd all game long and it seemed to make a noticeable difference in the way they played. The starters will play the majority of the first quarter, possibly even into the second quarter before handing it over to the young backups. My goal is for the Seahawks second half defense to give up a maximum of 10 points. If Seattle can hold them to single digit points, we will likely walk off the field victorious and it will have me breathing a sigh of relief that our backups are better than what they showed last week.

The San Diego Chargers surprised many people last year, compiling a 9-7 record and making it to the AFC Divisional playoffs. A big reason why they were so successful was the resurrection of quarterback Philip Rivers and the addition of wide receiver Keenan Allen. Despite their offensive success last season, San Diego has maintained all of their skill position players from last season. Wide receivers Allen, Malcom Floyd, and Eddie Royal are likely to make the team but the race for the last couple wide receiver spots is up for grabs to a plethora of players. My X-Factor Player to Watch for San Diego this week is one of those backup receivers, Dontrelle Inman. Inman is currently listed as one of the Chargers third-string receivers but he made the most of his opportunities last week. Against Dallas, Inman caught 3 passes for 107 yards including a 70-yard touchdown grab. Inman is sure to see his share of playing time against the Seahawks and it will likely be up to cornerbacks Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon to stop him.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will wear all blue this week. The Chargers will likely wear white jerseys with navy pants… Pete Morelli is the referee this week… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call once again on Q13 FOX this week… The preseason bores a lot of people but I honestly LOVE the first preseason home game. I get to be back in my seat for the first time in 7 months and it gives me the opportunity to catch up with everyone I sit around… I am wondering how and when the Seahawks will unveil their 2013 banners. It is obvious that we will unveil our 2013 world championship banner before the Packers game, but will we reveal the other two banners (NFC West champions, NFC Champions) in the two preseason games leading up to NFL Kickoff 2014? If so, the Seahawks will likely raise the 2013 NFC West championship banner this week. If not, we will probably raise all 3 before we play Green Bay… I am on antibiotics for the next week-plus so I am obligated not to prefunk both of our home preseason games. I’ll have to figure out a different fun pregame plan… I am glad the weather is going to cooperate this week. The worst thing is to have to bring a sweatshirt to a game being played in a warm weather month… I think this is the first time in the 9 years I’ve been a season ticket holder that we are playing a preseason home game on a Friday night. It will be nice to attend then have the rest of the weekend free.

Prediction: I think that the Seahawks will start the game on defense and force a Philip Rivers interception. Russell Wilson will lead two scoring drives in the first quarter and the Seahawks will have a solid lead after the first quarter. San Diego will tie the game in the third quarter but the Seahawks will take control of the game late, as Terrelle Pryor will scamper for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Seahawks will go to 1-1 on the preseason and will get ready to host the Chicago Bears next week in the “dress rehearsal” preseason game.

Seahawks 20, Chargers 13

Check back early Saturday morning for my Chargers game review. Enjoy the game and for those of you attending, have fun. Go Hawks!

Review: Broncos 21, Seahawks 16

Photo Credit: denverbroncos.com

Payback is oh so sweet, isn’t it Denver? The Seahawks opened the 2014 preseason with a slight thud as they lose to the defending AFC champion Denver Broncos 21-16. The loss snaps the Seahawks 9-game preseason winning streak dating back to the 2011 season. I saw some good but quite a lot of bad on Thursday night. Here are my thoughts.

Thoughts on our Starting Units: On the whole I thought both the Seahawks starting offense and defense looked pretty average. On offense, Russell Wilson played two series and went 4/6 for 37 yards. There is definitely rust that still needs to be shaken off as Wilson failed to hit Doug Baldwin and Luke Willson on quick passes that definitely would have been made in the middle of the regular season. Wilson looked much better on his second series, where he put together a 14 play, 90 yard drive resulting in a Christine Michael touchdown run following a 45-minute lightning delay. What was also disappointing was that starting wide receivers Baldwin, Percy Harvin, and Jermaine Kearse made minimal impact in the first two drives, combining for two catches for 29 yards.

On defense, the Seahawks did a very good job stopping Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman to start off the game. The secondary did a decent job in coverage but it seemed that Peyton Manning had more success on his two drives of this game than he had during the entire Super Bowl back in February. Richard Sherman was not targeted at all, which gave Byron Maxwell and Jeron Johnson an opportunity to play an expanded role in coverage. Brock Coyle did a very nice job starting at middle linebacker, making 5 tackles, and his intensity on kickoff coverage makes me ponder the possibility of him making this team over current backup linebacker Heath Farwell. On the whole I expect to see much improvement next week when we play San Diego.

Too. Many. Penalties: I don’t know if it was just the referees trying follow the new penalty rules or if gameplay was straight up sloppy but there were enough flags thrown against both teams for me to tie them together, go up to the roof of my house, and shimmy down the side of said house unharmed. Seattle and Denver combined for 25 penalties, resulting in 226 penalty yards. The Seahawks had 13 of those penalties for 131 yards. Five of the Seahawks penalties were snap infractions, either false starts or defensive offsides. The quantity of these mental mistakes is unacceptable and will be a focus in practice this week. The Seahawks veterans also need to figure out a way to mentor younger players to keep their heads cool, as cornerback Tharold Simon was ejected after a Denver touchdown for striking a Broncos player in the head following the score. If we can cut our penalties down to about half next week that will show me that there was significant improvement made in practice next week.

Jackson vs. Pryor, Round One: One of the more underrated position battles going on in camp is who will be Russell Wilson’s backup this season. Terrelle Pryor has looked more impressive in practice with a combination of good speed on the ground and solid accuracy through the air. In this first game, however, I think Tarvaris Jackson has a leg up on Pryor. Jackson went 5/7 for 47 yards, earning an 89.6 passer rating. Jackson made safe decisions and was able to move the ball fairly well. Pryor has been known to be a good practice quarterback but be a “deer in the headlights” player during games. This was apparent on Thursday night. Pryor was very erratic through the air, underthrowing and throwing behind his targets several times. His decisions to keep the ball and run also seemed to fail, as he seemed to take too much time deciding whether or not to throw or to make something happen on the ground. If this first game is any indication, Jackson deserves to be the second-string quarterback next week, and Pryor will have to move the ball extremely well next week to keep his name in the conversation to be the backup. Another below average performance by Pryor next week and Jackson may have the backup quarterback job safe to himself.

Run Defense Struggles Mightily: Later on in the game, Broncos running backs Juwan Thompson and Kapri Bibbs did a good job finding holes to run through while gaining large chunks of yards. Thompson and Bibbs combined for 77 second half rushing yards on 10 carries while making the Seattle backups look very mediocre. The entire team gave up 116 total rushing yards on the day. Could it be too early to wonder if the Seahawks are okay with their defensive line depth? After Brandon Mebane and Tony McDaniel exited the game, no defensive tackles made any tackles for the rest of the game; Thompson and Bibbs were able to make it to the second level of the Seahawks defense before the tackle was made more often than not.

Thoughts on Denver: It is hard to have any concrete thoughts on an opponent this early in the season, but the Denver Broncos showed that they can definitely get up for a big game. The Broncos fed off the energy of their crowd and played with a chip on their shoulder. Even the backups and rookies who may not have been on Denver’s Super Bowl squad last year played with payback on their minds. Barring injuries, I believe the Broncos will be competitive in every game they play and even though Peyton Manning’s offense may not come close to breaking the records broken last season, they will definitely put up solid numbers once again. As of now, I’m thinking our game against Denver in week 3 will be a much closer game than you might seem to think.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks matched their white road uniforms with wolf grey pants. The Seahawks did not wear this combo in any regular season or postseason game last year and I am starting to think it is because this combination is bad luck. Hopefully Thursday is the last time we see white/grey for a long time… During the 45-minute lightning delay, Q13 FOX switched from the Seahawks broadcast to a re-run of “Cops.” It was an episode that highlighted the King County state patrol so that was cool I guess (even though I wasn’t paying attention to the couple of minutes that I watched)… Actually I don’t know what was worse: Cops or the broadcast of the 49ers/Ravens game on NFL Network. They had the commentators watching the game on television and doing play-by-play from a studio in Los Angeles. It was almost unwatchable it was that bad… How many more weather delays are we going to have to deal with this season? Hopefully none… It was actually pretty funny hearing Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler scream “Omaha” on his snap counts. It is yet another category that I can confirm Osweiler is no Peyton Manning… I tried Twilight Summer Ale from Deschutes Brewery during the game. Good flavor but as far as “good beers to drink in the summer” go I’ll probably stick to hefeweizen from here on out… I can’t wait to get back to CenturyLink next week.

Check back next Thursday as I preview our second preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. I may hop on early next week as well. Go Seahawks!

Seahawks/Broncos Preview

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos

Site: Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver, Colorado)

Kickoff: 6:00pm

Six months ago the Seahawks wrapped up the best season in franchise history, winning Super Bowl XLVIII. The 2014 season starts against the same team that we ended our 2013 season against as the Seahawks head to Denver Thursday night to play the Broncos in the 2014 preseason opener. The Seahawks defeated the Broncos in the preseason last year, winning in convincing style 40-10 at CenturyLink Field. This will be the first of two games against the Broncos in 2014; the Seahawks and Broncos will meet in week 3 of the regular season in Seattle. Although this is only a preseason game there are many things to keep an eye on. Here are a few of the things I will be focusing on this week.

Seahawks training camp has been going on for two weeks. With the first live game action since February on deck, it is reasonable to expect that the first team offense and defense may come out a bit rusty. That is what the preseason is for after all; to shake the rust off and get ready for the regular season. I am very interested to see a couple of different things on offense. First I am interested to see what kind of protection Russell Wilson gets in the passing game. If the unofficial Seattle Times depth chart is accurate, the Seahawks will start 3 linemen that did not start in 2013. Alvin Bailey is projected to start at left tackle with Caylin Hauptmann at left guard and rookie Justin Britt at right tackle. With this questionable offensive line, I could see offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell using wide receiver Percy Harvin on quick throws or sweeps, especially if Wilson is feeling the pressure at the beginning of the serie(s). The second thing I want to see on offense is how running plays will be split between Robert Turbin and Christine Michael. I do not expect to see Marshawn Lynch until maybe next week against San Diego, so Turbin and Michael will see expanded playing time on Thursday. Turbin is listed ahead of Michael on the depth chart but it would not surprise me to see an alternating committee instead of Turbin playing with the second team offense and Michael playing strictly with the third team offense.

The Seahawks defense has made a name for themselves as being one of the deepest units in the NFL as a whole. Over the past couple of seasons backups such as Malcolm Smith and Byron Maxwell have taken advantage of the opportunities presented to them while solidifying themselves as reliable starters. On Thursday defensive backups will get their first opportunity to make a name for themselves and for some, prove that they are simply capable of making the 53-man roster. The Seahawks are projected to start Mike Morgan at outside linebacker and rookie Brock Coyle from Montana at middle linebacker. Coyle will start over incumbent special teamer Heath Farwell, which shows how far Coyle has progressed during training camp.

This will also be the first time the Seahawks show off their (semi) new look defensive line. Chris Clemons and Red Bryant are now in Jacksonville, which opens up both starting defensive end spots to 2013 rotational players Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. The Seahawks pass rush package now consists of Avril, Bennett, Bruce Irvin (who will not play on Thursday) and rookie defensive end Cassius Marsh.

The Denver Broncos are coming off one of the most impressive statistical seasons of any offensive unit in NFL history. After breaking numerous passing records, yet getting embarrassed by the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Denver spent a large amount of money in the offseason upgrading their defense with veteran talent. After the Seahawks defense only allowed 8 points to Denver in the Super Bowl, the Broncos made these moves in free agency to counter select NFC powers such as Seattle and San Francisco. The Broncos signed outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware and cornerback Aqib Talib among others to improve the Broncos pass rush and secondary respectively. From a Seahawks perspective, I view this game as a hollow preview of what could be coming when we play Denver in the regular season. I am curious to see just how improved the Broncos defense is compared to last season. My X-Factor player to watch for the Broncos this week is rookie cornerback Bradley Roby. Roby is the Denver’s 2014 first round draft pick and is currently slotted behind Aqib Talib on the depth chart. Roby has been playing really well during training camp and will likely see significant playing time on Thursday, especially later in the game.

Random Thoughts: This will be a mini uniform rematch from Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seahawks will wear white jerseys and the Broncos will wear orange jerseys with white pants. The Seahawks pant color has yet to be announced but it would not surprise me at all if we wear blue pants just like in the Super Bowl… I am glad we get Denver at home in the regular season. We will see three of our preseason opponents in the regular season and in each instance the location of the game is different from the preseason to the regular season… I am curious to how the Seahawks will be received in Denver as the team that just beat the home team in the Super Bowl mere months earlier. I imagine it will be as hostile an environment as possible for a preseason game… Tony Corrente is the referee for this week’s game… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX this week. Menefee and Huard will call all 4 Seahawks preseason games on television this year. As always, the score and the outcome in the preseason does not matter. The only thing that truly matters is that we can fly home injury-free. If the Seahawks can avoid sustaining any major injuries we will have already won heading into another week of training camp.

Prediction: I think that the Broncos will be as fired up as possible coming into this game. They want to stick it to us after we embarrassed them back in February. I could see the Seahawks starting the game with the ball and struggling early. If the Seahawks win this game, I expect it to be on the arm and legs of a much improved Terrelle Pryor. The Seahawks have not lost a preseason game since 2011 but I believe our 10-game preseason winning streak will come to an end this week. The final score will be close but the Broncos will be able to do just enough more on offense to walk away with the victory.

Broncos 27, Seahawks 17

Check back on Friday for my review of our preseason opener, as well as an early preview of the week ahead as we get set to host the San Diego Chargers next week. Enjoy the game everyone. Go Hawks!

Raiders/Seahawks Preview

Matchup: Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

For the 8^th straight season and the 3^rd straight at home, the Seahawks conclude the preseason against their former division rivals the Oakland Raiders. In their last 7 preseason meetings the Seahawks are 6-1. Seattle’s only loss came in 2010 in Oakland. Last week the Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-10 while the Raiders lost at home to the Chicago Bears 34-26. The last preseason game is mainly for players who are on the bubble to make the week one roster to show what they’ve got to impress the coaching staff and convince them they deserve the chance to be on the team. Here are some things to watch on Thursday night.

If you are watching the game on television this week and want to watch Russell Wilson and the rest of the starters, make sure your TV is on right at 7. Don’t blink either because you might miss it. The starters are only expected to see a series this week (if they play at all) and then the backups will play the rest of the game. As is the case with most of the other teams around the league, the last preseason game is a tryout for the backups to prove that they are one of the best 53 men on the roster. There are several guys who are fighting for a Seahawks uniform come September but I spotlight five players to keep an eye out for on Thursday night. I believe these players are on the bubble to make the final roster and a strong performance on Thursday night could be the difference between a trip with the Seahawks to Carolina for week one and perhaps a spot on the waiver wire.

Spencer Ware: Ware is battling Michael Robinson for the starting fullback job. I do not expect Ware to beat Robinson out but he will get a good look on Thursday. It will be interesting to see if Seattle keeps Ware on the active roster or if they release him, potentially with the hope they can place him on the practice squad if he clears waivers.

Cooper Helfet: With the Seahawks weak tight end corps, Helfet is battling Sean McGrath for the 3^rd and final tight end spot. Helfet’s numbers in the preseason have almost mirrored McGrath’s. In three preseason games, Helfet has three catches for 47 yards while McGrath has three catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. Helfet needs to outperform McGrath this week and if he does he could win a spot on the roster.

Rishaw Johnson: Among a position group filled with young talent, Johnson may be an odd man out. Johnson’s main competition at offensive guard are rookies Jared Smith and Ryan Seymour. The mistakes guard Lemuel Jeanpierre made against Green Bay may have raised Johnson’s stock.

Heath Farwell: If Farwell gets cut it would come as a shock to me. It is possible though. Farwell is a tremendous asset on special teams and his roster status may not come down to his play at linebacker. If the coaching staff thinks someone can make a stronger impact then Farwell on special teams, he will most likely be cut come the end of the weekend.

Jaye Howard: Howard remains a bubble player to me even after the news that Jesse Williams has been placed on injured reserve and will miss the 2013 season with a knee injury. The emergence of Jordan Hill I believe will determine if Howard is a Seahawk this season or not. Hopefully Howard will get a good amount of playing time this week to prove he can be solid depth to a defensive tackle group that has all of a sudden become one of the weaker groups on this team from a depth perspective.

The Oakland Raiders are coming off a 4-12 season. They have a new quarterback in Matt Flynn, whom they traded for from Seattle during the offseason but this week the spotlight is on another Raiders quarterback who is suddenly a strong candidate to start Oakland’s first game. Due to arm soreness (where have I heard this before…) Flynn will not play on Thursday night. Instead Terrelle Pryor will start for the Raiders. Pryor is viewed as a lock to be the backup quarterback in Oakland this season but due to poor play and injury by Flynn, Pryor is now in a position to make his case to be the Raiders starting quarterback this season. It would be the second time in as many years that the presumed starter, Flynn, would be beat out by one of his backups. I think that Pryor will see an extended amount of playing time and if he is successful in moving the ball I predict he will be Oakland’s starter week one.

When you are a 4-12 team and still in rebuilding mode you are going to have a plethora of weaknesses on your team. For the Raiders, no weakness is greater than along the offensive line. The Raiders lost starting left tackle Jared Veldheer to a torn triceps earlier in the preseason. Rookie Menelik Watson will start at left tackle for Oakland Thursday night. As sad as it may be to say, even though Veldheer arguably Oakland’s best offensive lineman, it is skeptical to believe Veldheer would be good enough to be Seattle’s starting RIGHT tackle. The running game will be my focus for Oakland this week. I am not expecting a whole lot out of running backs Rashad Jennings and Jeremy Stewart but if they can move the ball my optimism would grow if I was a Raiders fan heading into the regular season.

Random Thoughts: With this being the final game preseason game comes my annual five dollar bet on the game with my Raiders friend Josh. I have never lost and he has never seen the Raiders win in Seattle. I expect to win again this season. If we can beat Denver by 30 at home during the preseason, I think this will be an easy bet to win… The Seahawks will wear blue jerseys and blue pants most likely this week… The weather forecast looks bleak, even for a preseason game. I’ve seen a game time temperature of 71 degrees and a 40 percent chance of rain… It’s going to be a busy day Thursday. On tap: lunch at Dixie’s BBQ in Bellevue, pre-gaming at a bar downtown, getting into the stadium right as the gates open so I can watch warm-ups and Josh can get autographs at the Raiders tunnel, and finally the game… My friend James is also taking his girlfriend Christine to her first game. The best part? They are sitting two rows down and three seats to the left of me. That will be a lot of fun I imagine… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX this week… No word on the referee… The starting defense will be introduced this week during pregame introductions… Sidney Rice is the only Seahawk on my fantasy team and he is my #3 wide receiver… I think I like the Marshawn Lynch “Madden 25” commercial than the one Russell Wilson is in. Lynch is just a goofier guy and the advertisement he is in is slightly more ridiculous… This is your final warm-up, 12^th Man. Make sure you shake the rust off on Thursday because the next time we all get together it will be to break the Guinness world record for “loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium.” (I broke that story, you know). I’m not trying to overlook the Raiders game but I’m just saying make sure you know what is on deck for the next game.

Prediction: The game will get off to a slow start but Tarvaris Jackson, Brady Quinn, and Christine Michael will warm-up and score multiple touchdowns. The defense will feed off the 12^th Man and will not have any trouble stopping Oakland’s running game. Overall, I expect this game to be a cakewalk and could be over by halftime.

Seahawks 37, Raiders 10

My game review will be posted Friday afternoon. Check back this weekend for an analysis of the Seahawks final roster cuts. Then a week from this Saturday be sure to check back for my preview of “Back to Football” weekend and our week one matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Enjoy the game. Go Hawks!

Seahawks/Chargers Preview

Matchup: Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers

Site: Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, California)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

Welcome to another season of Seahawks football on the blog! The Seahawks kick off the preseason tomorrow night in San Diego as they take on the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers finished 2^nd in the AFC West in 2012, posting a 7-9 record. Unfortunately this mark was not good enough to save some jobs and the winds of change hit San Diego. Norv Turner was fired as head coach and former Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy was named head coach. Ken Whisenhunt, the former Arizona head coach is now the Chargers offensive coordinator. The Seahawks finished 11-5 last season and lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. The Seahawks and Chargers last met in the preseason in 2011 when the Seahawks defeated San Diego 24-17. Even though it is the preseason here are a few things I will still have my eye on.

Russell Wilson will only see a series or two to start the game. I think we will quite a bit of Tarvaris Jackson and even more of Brady Quinn tomorrow night. Jackson was listed as the number two quarterback on the newly-released depth chart last week. The coaching staff knows what they have in Jackson and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jackson play through the first half and Quinn play the entire second half. Winning is secondary in the preseason but if the Seahawks cannot score early in the game with the first and second string units, the Seahawks will struggle to win. Based on what I have seen during training camp, Quinn has consistently struggled to move the ball during 11-on-11 drills and is very timid to make vertical throws, often choosing to check down to the running back or slot receiver. If Quinn can lead the Seahawks on a couple scoring drives he will have a much greater chance in my eyes to win the backup quarterback job.

With Percy Harvin out and Sidney Rice questionable after his knee procedure in Switzerland, many of the Seahawks young receivers will get a chance to show what they can do on Thursday night. I will be focusing on three receivers tomorrow night; Jermaine Kearse, Chris Harper, and Stephen Williams. Kearse is projected to earn a roster spot behind Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, and Doug Baldwin since Percy Harvin will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The coaching staff likes Kearse a lot and he is seen as a sleeper who can stretch the field. Chris Harper is our 4^th round rookie who in my opinion has not impressed much during training camp. With the play of our other receivers fighting to make the roster, Harper could wind up being a casualty when it comes time for roster cuts. Harper will need to play well during the preseason to prove he belongs on the team when we open the season against Carolina. Stephen Williams is arguably having the best camp of any wide receiver. All three quarterbacks have developed chemistry with Williams and he could also be a vertical threat. I expect to see a lot of Stephen Williams on Thursday night.

On defense for the Seahawks, I am focusing on three spots. Defensive end, defensive tackle, and outside linebacker are the positions with the most question marks on defense. Tony McDaniel will get the start at defensive tackle alongside Brandon Mebane on Thursday night. McDaniel will most likely compete with Jesse Williams and Clinton McDonald for the starting defensive tackle spot. Malcolm Smith will start at outside linebacker with Bruce Irvin taking his spot on passing downs. Smith is the favorite to win this job, replacing Leroy Hill who spent 8 seasons starting at outside linebacker. Cliff Avril is nursing a foot injury and will not play Thursday night. Mike Morgan and Michael Bennett will see time at defensive end with Red Bryant on the other side.

For the San Diego Chargers, they spent the offseason trying to fix their once-dominant offense. Mike McCoy was hired as head coach, coming over from Denver where he coached one of the most explosive offenses in 2012. The Chargers used their first round draft pick on offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, which goes to show how poor the Chargers offensive line has been over the past few years and, in effect, how bad the offense has struggled as a whole. With a stronger offensive line, running back Ryan Mathews looks to bounce back after another disappointing 2012 campaign and Philip Rivers also looks to bounce back after two sub-par seasons. I am curious to see how backup running back Danny Woodhead fits into the Chargers plans. I expect to see a lot of Woodhead on Thursday night.

On defense, San Diego filled a hole at outside linebacker by signing free agent Dwight Freeney. Freeney adds veteran leadership to a position group that is more-or-less inexperienced and also adds a punch rushing the passer. One of the most notable additions for the Chargers this offseason was the drafting of linebacker Manti Te’o. Te’o and Donald Butler will both start at inside linebacker and it will be interesting to see how Te’o moves around the field, given one of his weaknesses before the draft was his tackling.

Random Thoughts: First and foremost, it feels so good to be back… The Seahawks will have 9 days off before coming home to play Denver. They will then have only 6 days off before playing Green Bay and another 6-day short week before ending the preseason against Oakland… The weather forecast for Thursday night is high 60’s and partly cloudy at kickoff. We have played in the sun every time we have gone to San Diego to play in the preseason… I have been to Qualcomm Stadium to see the Mariners play the San Diego Padres 10 years ago. How that stadium ever hosted a super bowl I’ll never understand. It is a dump (but not as bad of a dump as Candlestick)… The Seahawks will wear white uniforms Thursday night. No word on pant color yet… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call on Q13 FOX this week. They will call 2 more Seahawks preseason games… I do not care if we win this game. All I hope is that we can leave San Diego injury free.

Prediction: I think the Seahawks will look a bit rusty at the beginning of the game but we will put together a couple lengthy drives that will result in points. I expect to see Brady Quinn struggle but improve as the game goes on. Unfortunately however I think that the continuity Chargers backup quarterbacks Charlie Whitehurst and Brad Sorensen is stronger than the continuity Quinn has and that will be the difference in the game.

Chargers 23, Seahawks 13

Check back on Friday for a review of the Seahawks first preseason game of the season! Go Seahawks!