OG starters?

[jakedog56]

Looking at our OG options, it appears that there could be a lot of competition for what was last year a weak position:

James Carpenter: Has been underwhelming by comparision to his lofty draft status. But there is a plus side in that the team has reported that he is in good shape and has dropped 15 pounds coming into this year. Plus it is a contract year so he might actually be motivated for a change.

JR Sweezy: Entering his 3rd year now. Very strong but has been inconsistent. Currently penciled in a starting LG.

Michael Bowie: Rookie last year who was forced into some starts at OT because of injuries. Showed promise but struggled at times. Was consistantly in the rotation at both OT and OG in the latter part of the year. Is currently penciled into starting RT spot but will face competion from draft pick Britt.

Alvin Bailey: Could be playing OT also, but might rotate into the OG mix. Was forced into action a little earlier than optimal last year due to injuries. Showed promise but also struggled at times.

Stephen Shilling: Bellevue native who comes over from San Diego where he played in 17 games over the course of 3 years (he was called up from the practice squad in the middle of his first year, was in the last cut of preseason and resigned in December of his second year, and then played in almost all of the games as a rotation player last year.)

Greg Van Roten: Former GB player who was supposed to compete for their starting C position this year but was kind of surprisingly cut (it was reported that this was because they wanted to get bigger along the OL). Could compete to start at OG.

Jared Smith: 7th round pick last year who went on practice squad in Sept. and then IR in Oct. Played DT in college.

Garret Scott: 6th round pick. Currently set to play at OT, but could play some OG. Maybe practice squad guy?

Gerry Gilliam: Rookie FA out of Penn State. Another OT prospect who could play OG.

Bronson Irwin: Rookie FA from out of Okla.

Of course it is hard to pin down specifics in the rotation because of the Seahawks wanting to use guys at multiple positions but who gets kept at what level of playing time?

 

[Uhsplit]

My guess is we will continue as the status quo. Carp and Sweezy as starters.
FWIW, the Bleacher Report has Carp @ #52 in top 70 NFL Guard Rankings currently and Sweezy as #44.

I like Sweezy as a project that has earned his position. Each year he seems to improve and he is a great value cap wise. Looking at our future cap situation requires guys just like Sweezy to maintain some type of fiscal responsibility. We need 7th rounders that can start who eat up about .5% of the years cap limit.

Carp is in his contract year. I see him playing and starting the year, then leave without a contract offer next year.

Britt is versatile like McQ was and if he doesn't take the RT position as the starter, he should get playing time along the line to give him experience and also cover in case of an injury.

We won the SB with essentially the same line. I do not see a big drop off from last year (losing Breno and McQ) and we just got younger on the OL. It continues to be a work in progress.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

My guess is we will continue as the status quo. Carp and Sweezy as starters.
FWIW, the Bleacher Report has Carp @ #52 in top 70 NFL Guard Rankings currently and Sweezy as #44.

I like Sweezy as a project that has earned his position. Each year he seems to improve and he is a great value cap wise. Looking at our future cap situation requires guys just like Sweezy to maintain some type of fiscal responsibility. We need 7th rounders that can start who eat up about .5% of the years cap limit.

Carp is in his contract year. I see him playing and starting the year, then leave without a contract offer next year.

Britt is versatile like McQ was and if he doesn't take the RT position as the starter, he should get playing time along the line to give him experience and also cover in case of an injury.

We won the SB with essentially the same line. I do not see a big drop off from last year (losing Breno and McQ) and we just got younger on the OL. It continues to be a work in progress.

#52? LOL, that's like marking him as one of the worst guards in the league lol. 2 starting guards * 32 teams = 64 guards.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Looking at our OG options, it appears that there could be a lot of competition for what was last year a weak position:

James Carpenter: Has been underwhelming by comparision to his lofty draft status. But there is a plus side in that the team has reported that he is in good shape and has dropped 15 pounds coming into this year. Plus it is a contract year so he might actually be motivated for a change.

JR Sweezy: Entering his 3rd year now. Very strong but has been inconsistent. Currently penciled in a starting LG.

Michael Bowie: Rookie last year who was forced into some starts at OT because of injuries. Showed promise but struggled at times. Was consistantly in the rotation at both OT and OG in the latter part of the year. Is currently penciled into starting RT spot but will face competion from draft pick Britt.

Alvin Bailey: Could be playing OT also, but might rotate into the OG mix. Was forced into action a little earlier than optimal last year due to injuries. Showed promise but also struggled at times.

Stephen Shilling: Bellevue native who comes over from San Diego where he played in 17 games over the course of 3 years (he was called up from the practice squad in the middle of his first year, was in the last cut of preseason and resigned in December of his second year, and then played in almost all of the games as a rotation player last year.)

Greg Van Roten: Former GB player who was supposed to compete for their starting C position this year but was kind of surprisingly cut (it was reported that this was because they wanted to get bigger along the OL). Could compete to start at OG.

Jared Smith: 7th round pick last year who went on practice squad in Sept. and then IR in Oct. Played DT in college.

Garret Scott: 6th round pick. Currently set to play at OT, but could play some OG. Maybe practice squad guy?

Gerry Gilliam: Rookie FA out of Penn State. Another OT prospect who could play OG.

Bronson Irwin: Rookie FA from out of Okla.

Of course it is hard to pin down specifics in the rotation because of the Seahawks wanting to use guys at multiple positions but who gets kept at what level of playing time?

As a fan, the OG situation looks iffy right now. Not excited about Carpenter and Sweezy as starters and the backups are a bunch of players picked at the last two rounds of the draft or players cut from others teams. Hoping some of these no name guys end up being gems. It's always possible that the Seahawks could pick up someone once rosters cuts start happening.

 

[NinerSickness]

 

[jakedog56]

As a fan, the OG situation looks iffy right now. Not excited about Carpenter and Sweezy as starters and the backups are a bunch of players picked at the last two rounds of the draft or players cut from others teams. Hoping some of these no name guys end up being gems. It's always possible that the Seahawks could pick up someone once rosters cuts start happening.

I think that Sweezy should be decent but he is not an All-Pro by any stretch of the imagination. But as Uh stated, we need guys who are servicable with low cap hit to offset the big numbers the stars are getting or going to get.

I hate myself for thinking that Carpenter might perform well this year but the early reports have been encouraging. I think that this is the first time that he has shown up from the offseason in decent shape and the contract year might motivate him but even if he has a good year I can't see prioritizing him for a new deal next year.

Shilling and Van Roten were brought in specifically to compete with Carp and JR for the starting jobs but the fact that they were rotation players on their former teams tells you what state our OL is in. None of these guys are worldbeaters at thier positions.

Bailey and Jared Smith are kind of wildcards in this situation. Bailey might end up being a backup OT but he could also start at OG. Smith was stashed on the practice squad and then IR but he is a work in progress in the transition from DT.

Britt could slide into the OG spot also. I didn't list him because my assumption was that they drafted him specifically to play RT but he could slide inside. I would think that he is a bit tall for an OG at 6'6" but surprisingly the Seahawks have no OL at all listed under 6'3". I thought that optimal OG height was considered 6'1" to 6'4" range at max.


I really do not know enough about the other rookies to make a judgement. I will say that it is hard to evaluate with the Seahawks tendancies to move guys all over the OL.

My hope is that either Bailey or Britt can play well enough to unseat Carpenter. Then Van Roten, Shilling, and Jared Smith play into rotation roles.

Of course if Okung gets injured again all of the guys get shifted around and chaos erupts again. The OL seemed to handle Unger getting injured ok but Okung getting injured really screwed up everything. McQuistan was a servicable OG but he was horrible at OT. I don't know if we have a better situation this year if we have to cover a similar situation this year.

 

[dredinis21]

I think that Sweezy should be decent but he is not an All-Pro by any stretch of the imagination. But as Uh stated, we need guys who are servicable with low cap hit to offset the big numbers the stars are getting or going to get.

I hate myself for thinking that Carpenter might perform well this year but the early reports have been encouraging. I think that this is the first time that he has shown up from the offseason in decent shape and the contract year might motivate him but even if he has a good year I can't see prioritizing him for a new deal next year.

Shilling and Van Roten were brought in specifically to compete with Carp and JR for the starting jobs but the fact that they were rotation players on their former teams tells you what state our OL is in. None of these guys are worldbeaters at thier positions.

Bailey and Jared Smith are kind of wildcards in this situation. Bailey might end up being a backup OT but he could also start at OG. Smith was stashed on the practice squad and then IR but he is a work in progress in the transition from DT.

Britt could slide into the OG spot also. I didn't list him because my assumption was that they drafted him specifically to play RT but he could slide inside. I would think that he is a bit tall for an OG at 6'6" but surprisingly the Seahawks have no OL at all listed under 6'3". I thought that optimal OG height was considered 6'1" to 6'4" range at max.


I really do not know enough about the other rookies to make a judgement. I will say that it is hard to evaluate with the Seahawks tendancies to move guys all over the OL.

My hope is that either Bailey or Britt can play well enough to unseat Carpenter. Then Van Roten, Shilling, and Jared Smith play into rotation roles.

Of course if Okung gets injured again all of the guys get shifted around and chaos erupts again. The OL seemed to handle Unger getting injured ok but Okung getting injured really screwed up everything. McQuistan was a servicable OG but he was horrible at OT. I don't know if we have a better situation this year if we have to cover a similar situation this year.

It is typically easier to integrate a new C then it is to cover for an injured LT. LT is on an island many times whereas C have interior help with lack of space to maneuver as well as help from the OG on either side.

 

[cdumler7]

It is typically easier to integrate a new C then it is to cover for an injured LT. LT is on an island many times whereas C have interior help with lack of space to maneuver as well as help from the OG on either side.

Usually the LT on the OL is supposed to be your best blocker. So yes them going down should be the biggest blow to the OL. Saw it with the Broncos this year when Clady went down as it changed up everything on the OL. They had to switch schemes just a few games into the season to help protect Peyton's blind side. Same thing with Seattle in you see a quality blocker like Okung go down it all of a sudden makes it to where the team has to send extra help to cover up the average blocking at the most important position on the OL. This means then that extra help that used to go elsewhere is no longer available.

Thankfully for the Seahawks they have a smart shifty running quarterback in Wilson that can help cover up some of those deficiencies but the interior blocking could very well be the undoing of the season. I'm looking at the NFC West and the improvement made on the interior DL's for a couple of the teams and it could mean trouble not only for Seattle but really any team they play. You control the line you usually control the game.

 

[jakedog56]

Well, I hope for improvement on the OL but it was the weak link last year. The plus side is that they are really, really young. Unger is the oldest at only 28. It would be nice to get a few of these young guys under reasonable long term deals at some point and try to stabilize the situation.