SB Nation - Brandon Frye

Meet Mike Gibson

John Morgan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:03:36 -0000

Birthdate: November 18, 1985

Height/Weight: 6'4"/308

College: California

College Position: LT

Starts and Games: 22 and 26

Notable: Gibson played two seasons at California after transferring from Solano Junior College. Gibson was the starting left tackle for the Bears for most of 2006 and 2007. The 2007 team allowed only 11 sacks, best in the Pac-10 and fourth overall in the nation. Gibson was an honorable all Pac-10, but not considered a great pro prospect.

He was however considered a pro prospect and was invited to the 2008 NFL scouting combine. There he benched 225 pounds 31 times and led all offensive linemen in the three cone drill. That, his build and his reputation as a "nasty" and "technically sound" blocker makes me think a little of Max Unger. Like Brandon Frye, Gibson came to the pros typecast a guard, but does give Seattle some left tackle depth.

The real question and the one not answerable from second hand information and stopwatches is how well does he move? As you might guess, youtube is bereft of Mike Gibson highlights, but here's a familiar face that played beside him: Justin Forsett. Gibson is 53.

And for a sense of his pass blocking:

Gibson strikes me as at least interesting.

Auditing the Seahawks Roster: Left Tackle

John Morgan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:19:47 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

I assume this is an optical illusion and Matt Hasselbeck doesn't really dwarf Kurt Warner. Warner is all smiles. Hasselbeck has the wan smile of a man with tenderized insides. Flipping the two expressions starts with improving the offensive line. Improving the offensive line starts with a starting caliber left tackle.

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Seattle has assembled quite a motley crew at left tackle. The bye week is a good time to determine the future of the position and how Seattle should get there.

Walter Jones: Here's my hope: Jones does not return to the Seahawks this season. With his time off stretching well over a year, Jones begins recapturing the joy of not playing. He realizes he has nothing left to prove to the league, no need for the remainder of his contract, and a long life ahead of him, knees, shoulders and brain intact. Walter Jones announces his retirement and Seahawks fans everywhere can begin what will be a lifelong tribute to the greatest Seahawk to ever put on Blue.

Sean Locklear: Seattle signed Sean Locklear to a five-year, $32 million contract in 2008. That contract contained escalators if Locklear eventually took over at left tackle. He started this season as Seattle's starting left tackle, but wasn't there long before being sidelined with yet another injury. Injuries have become a major problem for Lock. He is not a superstar and does not play a position Seattle needs a superstar, but he doesn't become a good target for release until the offseason of 2011. He is guaranteed $12 million and, to my knowledge, has only been paid a hair more than $6 million.

Locklear has the skills to be what Seattle needs in a left tackle. He is good in pass pro and a good fit for a zone blocking scheme. He has good footwork, takes good angles and knows how to pull out, cut and block on the move. His most recent injury is another in a line of disconnected, fluke injuries that have plagued him. Perhaps Locklear lacks the ability to protect his body, but that is such a hard thing to know. Locklear's injuries are not the degenerative kind. He does not have the weakened shoulder joints or bollocksed up knees of a player in premature decline. He hasn't shown lingering effects from his injuries and Malcolm Gladwell does not weep for his brain.

Locklear gives Seattle freedom to approach the draft and offseason with options. The team might add a better talent at left tackle and move Locklear back to right tackle. It might think there is better talent at guard or right tackle, and decide to keep on Locklear and hope he develops. It could move Locklear to guard. His injuries have hurt his value, and he is no longer cheap, but his contract is not burdensome. Locklear has a place within this organization for now, be it starting at left tackle, starting at right tackle, starting at guard, insuring a draft pick, providing depth or just being a bridge until a better player can take over.

Brandon Frye: Frye got thrown in the deep end and couldn't learn to swim before he had to be dragged out, gasping. For a little while, he flailed his arms and kept his head above water. Then the big kids jumped in and pulled off his shorts. Dwight Freeney did to Frye what Jay Ratliff did to Steve Vallos. Vallos returned the next season and proved he could provide depth at center. Frye could return next season and start.

I like Ray Willis a lot, but he is not matched to Seattle's scheme. It's hard watching a big man move so well and yet clearly not well enough to do what is asked of him. Watch Willis attempt to pull across the front of the line and engage an opposite field linebacker and you'll see for all his open-field blocking ability and big-man quicks, he is simply not quick enough to arrive in time. Frye is. Frye is the type of player a zone blocking scheme should have. He isn't huge and he doesn't eat small countries for breakfast like a Philly right tackle, but he has decent size, good versatility and very good athleticism. He isn't a mauler, but can maul when he has the angle or an assist. Most importantly, he can get out and cut that opposite field linebacker to spring C.J. Spiller for a 93 yard run off left tackle.

Kyle Williams: When Williams practice squad eligibility expires, so does his usefulness to Seattle. It's not your fault, guy, blame Vallos. I know I do. For everything. As Maggie Simpson so eloquently put it: "You're the reason I can't talk."

The Offensive Line Part 4: A Failure Not Earned

John Morgan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:00:42 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

It's hard not to be mad after yesterday's travesty, but class, and the ability to direct one's anger where it belongs, separates the losers of yesterday and the losers of tomorrow.

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Offensive line, right? It's a joke made thousands of times since 2005. From what little I saw of yesterday's game, the line was bad enough to kill the offense itself. The Seahawks week six line, Kyle Williams - Steve Vallos - Chris Spencer - Max Unger - Ray Willis, is the worst line Seattle has started since Tim Ruskell took over. Williams and Vallos are essentially replacement level talent, and Spencer to Willis is not the kind of intimidating right side that can hide a piecemeal left.

Seattle was poorly built but lucky in 2007 and as things turn out, it has been well built but unlucky in 2009. Kyle Williams was never meant to start. Seattle imported a player from across the country to keep Williams on its practice squad. Williams was buried behind Sean Locklear, Brandon Frye and theoretically Walter Jones.

Let's blow up the Jones situation again. Jones underwent microfracture knee surgery last fall. I thought that might be the end of his career, but I was in error. It might still be the end of his playing career, but Jones is very much a Seahawk and very much on the Seahawks roster. He cost $8.6 million against the cap each of the last two seasons and I believe costs even more than that this season. Maybe Jones is never going to play again, but in Ruskell's world, Jones is an investment and a failing one Seattle can't shake.

Before training camp, Jones passed his physicals. His microfracture surgery was a success. The rub is that the procedure is not likely to preserve Jones career and its short term consequences have left Jones unable to play. So the greatest player in Seahawks history, through no fault of his own or others, has become a big, fat boondoggle.

Seattle did invest into its tackle position. It signed Locklear to a contract with incentives if he stuck at left tackle. Locklear has been reasonably healthy and had shown some skills that could translate. The team was not relying on Locklear for its future, but with the entire tackle situation queered by Jones health, Locklear represented a cheap, low-downside bridge from the Jones era to whatever followed. Seattle re-signed Ray Willis to a two-year, inexpensive contract. Willis seems like a steal now that his early-career health problems are behind him. Funny how unpredictable injuries are.

Seattle's success kept it just outside 2008's historic offensive tackle class and it's hard to discredit Seattle for selecting Aaron Curry fourth overall in 2009. Linebacker is not typically a foundational position, but Stafford was gone, Sanchez was iffy, the tackle class overblown -- its best talent taken at two and its second best talent Andre Smith. Eugene Monroe is tossed around, but Monroe had serious injury concerns. He started the season for Jacksonville but has since been benched. If you saw the solution to Seattle's offensive line woes on October 11, you weren't sitting in Qwest Field.

At the time and in the short term, Curry appears to be the right pick. Seattle then traded its second round pick for the 2010 first round pick of the Denver Broncos. It was team with a rookie coach, Kyle Orton at quarterback and one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2008. It was a smart decision then and whatever has happened since doesn't change that.

Unless it wasn't a smart decision. Eben Britton was available. He is playing right tackle now and may forever play right tackle. Seattle could have selected Andy Levitre, though Levitre is a guard. It could have drafted William Beatty, but neither player has done much for their respective teams. Instead it traded that pick for a better pick and traded back into the second to draft Max Unger. Unger has started all season and seems mostly competent for a rookie right guard.

So it was a smart decision. And yet Seattle's offensive line is in ruins. That is a microcosm for this entire debate. Tim Ruskell has made many smart decisions, but the Seahawks are not winning games. A general manager's job is to build a winning football team. Seattle is 6-20 over the last two seasons. It has clear and recognizable weaknesses at offensive line and in the secondary. Both are units Ruskell has invested in.

Ruskell drafted Ray Willis and he starts. He drafted Chris Spencer and Spencer starts, but has missed time because of injury. He draft Rob Sims and Sims starts, but has missed time because of injury. He drafted Unger, the rookie. He signed Sean Locklear as a low-downside stop-gap until the team could know what to do with Walter Jones, and Locklear's injury has been felt worst of all. He drafted Steve Vallos and Mansfield Wrotto, but Vallos has shifted around and started bad. Wrotto can't seem to impress Seattle's coaches. He got Brandon Frye for nothing, but Frye went down, and Williams for nothing, his asking price, and Damion McIntosh for almost nothing, but maybe a week too late.

Ruskell built his line through the draft and without great expenditure. His picks have been mostly mild to moderate successes. He may not envision an elite line or maybe just never saw value when Seattle was on the clock. That might be arguable, but it isn't indefensible.

So how did the offensive line become offensive? Injuries, age and one very bad decision, it would seem. Steve Hutchinson hangs over Ruskell. Walter Jones, Robbie Tobeck and Chris Gray got old. Jones, through not fault of anyone, has become a burden. Locklear, the young tackle many were gushing about in 2005 has suffered a rash of disconnected injuries. Sims, the young guard many were gushing about in 2006 has suffered a rash of disconnected injuries. Kris Dielman said "no". Unger is a rookie. Spencer has been competent and not too long ago was a steady, established starter. Mike Wahle filled in for a season before his body broke down. Tom Ashworth was expunged. No one Ruskell inherited from 2004 except Hutchinson who was worth retaining wasn't retained.

Revisiting Ruskell's decisions when they were made does not reveal great missed opportunities, but missed opportunities. It does not reveal a general manager that ran a historically great line into the ground, but instead one crucial mistake and the irrepressible destructiveness of time. It does not reveal a man who ignored the line, but added good talent to it, good overall, good respective to the available players and good respective to their cost. It reveals that yesterday's game, awful as it was, is the kind of game every franchise endures. Ozzie Newsome saw it week one of 2007. Bill Polian saw it in week three of 1987.

They saw, we saw, an everyday, frustrating as hell, meltdown -- The kind that happens every Sunday. But there's no heads to call for and no easy answers to rebuilding.

Seattle Signs Damion McIntosh, Puts Brandon Frye on IR

John Morgan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:51:38 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Seattle placed Brandon Frye on injured reserve today after he suffered a neck stinger against the Jaguars.

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That news via Danny O'Neil, with a hat tip to Dukeshire and quickhandsandfeet for alerting me.

I hope Brandon Frye is ok. Neck stingers vary in severity, and though teams sometimes IR an injured player to retain him without taking a roster spot, Seattle is not in a position for a such shenanigans. I don't think. We probably will not receive updates until next year, but hopefully rest and time off is enough and he can return next year and provide valuable depth.

Damion McIntosh is a ten year veteran that played for Mike Solari in Kansas City. He was cut, in part, because his performance no longer matched his salary. He also isn't much of a pass defender. McIntosh played left tackle in 2007, but shifted to right tackle in 2008. Solari was his coach in 2007. He gives Seattle more overall depth at tackle, but I hope he isn't counted on to play left tackle against a good edge rusher. McIntosh is more power than finesse.

Third String Left Tackle Brandon Frye Doubled Over on the Turf

John Morgan — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:32:23 -0000

The Kyle Williams era may be upon us.

Update: Via astute listener dcrockett17: The radio is reporting a shoulder stinger for Frye. His return is questionable.

Seahawks Release Michael Bennett, Sign Kyle Williams

John Morgan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:29:10 -0000

Per MFAN, the NFL Network ticker is reporting that Seattle has released Michael Bennett and signed Kyle Williams from its practice squad. Seattle is thin and desperate at offensive tackle. I never thought I'd write this, but godspeed Brandon Frye. An in-game injury could force Seattle to pull Max Unger and prep him for emergency tackle duties. Good grief.

Seattle would like to retain Bennett, but a team like the Titans or Lions could snatch him. I don't think he is returning.

Brandon Frye Picks Ray Willis Out of a Block, and Other Havoc Created by Dwight Freeney

John Morgan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:55:53 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

On one snap, Dwight Freeney was so dominant, he ran past Brandon Frye, pressured Wallace from the pocket and created a pile that picked Ray Willis. Willis couldn't run past the Frye-Freeney pile, and that allowed Robert Mathis to loop under the pocket and strip Seneca Wallace from behind.

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My wife has the next two days off. I coordinate my half days with her weekend, but luckily, she's a slugabed. I should have another 90 minutes or so before she stirs.

I plan on completing my look at Ray Willis over the next two days. Seattle's inability to sustain a drive coupled with the Colts ability to drive at will meant Willis only participated in ten snaps in the third quarter. The first drive featured a good looking reach block, but little else. Seattle ran a quick pass in which Willis did not factor, then came the reach block, and Seattle finished its drive with a desperate screen pass to Justin Forsett.

Quick passes defined the following drive. Willis had a couple good blocks, handling a stunt, clearing on an edge rush and keeping Robert Mathis in front of him though he was clearly rushing the passer and nothing else.

A brief aside: If Seneca Wallace was trusted to audible and could effectively, this game would have been very different. What killed Seattle out of the blocks is that Knapp game-planned to rush at the Colts undersized defensive line. Any time Mathis edge rushes, he puts himself so out of position, a rusher could easily exploit that short right edge and get a free release into the second level. Indianapolis anticipated this. It was obvious from the personnel they played. Matt Hasselbeck would have seen Raheem Brock at left defensive end and audibled some of those runs into passes. That could have kept Seattle in it early, and kept the rush viable. Seattle could have ran at Mathis and not allowed him to load up for a sack on every play. But it didn't.

Seattle's second drive ended with a forced fumble by Mathis. It was not Willis who allowed the sack, but a combination of Dwight Freeney's dominance, Brandon Frye's weakness, Wallace's slow decision making and Mathis' quickness and agility. Willis was a minor player.

We'll start just after the snap, notice the wide spacing on Indy's line and that Wallace is in shotgun.

Willis has a zone, of course, but we don't always consider the ramifications of that. In this next shot, we see that Willis is initially forced to block both the defensive tackle and the defensive end, because both are attempting an outside rush and therefore both are in Willis' zone. He does a good job and is able to pass the tackle to his guard. We can also see that Wallace is beginning a three step drop after receiving the shotgun snap. Seattle incorporates drops into their shotgun, perhaps a WC modification, perhaps a holdover from Holmgren, but it doesn't always seem wise. After his drop, Wallace is very deep in the pocket.

This next shot is critical. Neither Willis nor Frye has admirable control of their assignment, but the difference between Willis and Frye is stark. Mathis is attempting to loop around Willis and Willis is in decent position to use his momentum against Mathis and chuck him. Freeney is approaching Wallace from in front and facing his back. Frye is attempting to block a man running forward by shoving his side. That isn't likely to succeed.

And it doesn't. This final shot is a step ahead. We see Freeney has mucked up the pocket and effectively taken out both tackles. His pressure forces Wallace to step up (he should have anyway). More importantly, Frye finally does block out Freeney, but at the expense of Willis. Willis is picked out of the play and Mathis can take a long, looping route past Freeney and Frye and to Wallace. Willis has no hope.

Wallace doesn't see or doesn't bother targeting his outlet receiver. He runs forward, double clutches and is stripped before he can complete his wind up. This, in the Seneca Wallace Portfolio of Pocket Killing, is not a stand out example. This is Dwight Freeney so overmatching Brandon Frye that even after Frye has pushed Freeney down, Freeney's influence frees Mathis and Mathis strips and sacks.

Ray Willis Excels in Secret

John Morgan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:17:38 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Not pictured: Holding

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The New England schoolmarms thought I was retarded. The complete silence the prosecutor, the failing grade and desk stuffed with September lunches the evidence. That's the word they would use too -- retawrded. Bad enough the school board had taken their paddles, they wouldn't lose the right to call a retard a retawrd. My defense was not..cogent. I picked my nose. Till it bled. A nervous wreck dead-wringer for Macauly Culkin, hunched over his spilled desk, balled toilet paper pressed to his nose, stammering nonsense and a little too interested in the greening brown paper bags at his feet, I was neither sympathetic nor promising. If not for second grade CATs*, I would have been sequestered to the second portable from the dumpster: A place of paste eating, high spirits and dim futures.

So I've a bit of a soft spot for late bloomers. I also a bit of soft spot for being right. I said Ray Willis struggles against edge rushers, so little wonder Robert Mathis, all teeth and claws and quarterback sacks, would run around him and sack Seneca Wallace's exquisitely manicured eyebrows. Except I'm-a half in and no havoc do I see. My biased heart is torn. Do I want Willis to succeed, for his good and the future of the team? Or would I rather be right? I fabricated enough evidence about Brian Russell to tip the scales. I still get a little high reminiscing about his release, but this season has presented so few players for me to destroy. My thwarted ambitions and projected self-loathing have an itchy trigger finger, y'know. We need an enemy. Could Russell's release really be the end of me?

Diagram 1

Big Man is not going to keep up with amoebae like Mathis, but Big Man has geometry on his side. An edge rushing end and a shadowing tackle make two sloppy, but near concentric half-circles (Diagram 1). Willis does not need to be as fast as Mathis to protect the quarterback. He must meet Mathis at a critical point in his edge rush: where his feet are out from under him. There he can wash out or pancake the rusher, nullifying the end or creating sufficient time for his quarterback. That is what Willis was attempting to do when Wallace's panic cost him a hold. For posterity, I did not see Willis hold Mathis even after Seneca's mistake. But it was Wallace's decision to scramble back and to the right of Willis that caused Willis to fall on top of Mathis. Had Wallace stepped into the pocket, the above photo would evidence Willis' dominance rather than his penalty.

Diagram 2

When Wallace escapes the pocket, his line must freelance. That leads to penalties and sacks. Wallace undercuts his line another way too. Consider those circles again for a second. Willis' shorter path compensates for his lesser quickness and agility. The less circular the path an end takes, the more flat his angle, the less advantage the tackle has (Diagram 2). On a Wallace 11-step drop, the pass rusher runs an oval instead of a half moon. The comparative lengths of the paths become closer, and speed a greater advantage.

So it's with a clenched teeth I admit, Willis had an excellent second quarter. He played in 22 offensive plays. The final ended in a Mathis sack. He had two holding penalties. One was Wallace's fault and the other I could not see and do not understand. Here is all 22 with notations.

1. 1-10-SEA 38 (14:51) (Run formation) 15-S.Wallace pass incomplete deep right to 11-D.Butler.

Seattle runs a hard play-action. The line blocks run. Willis pulls into the second level and cut blocks Freddy Keiaho.

2. 2-10-SEA 38 (14:44) 32-E.James right tackle to SEA 43 for 5 yards (92-E.Johnson, 23-T.Jennings).

Willis sinks and contains Mathis. Edgerrin James runs to the left of him for five yards.

3. 3-5-SEA 43 (14:00) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace pass short right to 84-T.Houshmandzadeh pushed ob at IND 49 for 8 yards (23-T.Jennings).

Willis turns a Mathis inside move into a bash block into the defensive tackle. "Bash block" is not recognized football jargon, so I'll define it thus: a block that bashes one defender into another.

4. 1-10-IND 49 (13:42) 32-E.James up the middle to IND 45 for 4 yards (33-M.Bullitt).

Willis moves out Raheem Brock.

5. 2-6-IND 45 (13:13) (Run formation) 32-E.James right tackle to IND 40 for 5 yards (79-R.Brock).

Mathis separates from Willis with a spin move, but the move puts Mathis behind James. He catches up and contributes to the tackle.

6. 3-1-IND 40 (12:30) 15-S.Wallace pass short left to 84-T.Houshmandzadeh to IND 37 for 3 yards (25-J.Powers).

Willis teams with Max Unger to contain Mathis. Quick throw.

7. 1-10-IND 37 (11:49) (Run formation) 15-S.Wallace pass short right to 89-J.Carlson ran ob at IND 21 for 16 yards. PENALTY on SEA-74-R.Willis, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at IND 37 - No Play.

Willis shadows Mathis, but a Wallace infinity drop undercuts Willis' position. He falls on Mathis attempting to pancake him -- effectively pancaking him. An official five yards away doesn't call a penalty. An official somewhere off screen does. Zebras confer; Willis takes the fall. Fox shows the replay, Charles Davis struggles to remember the name "Robert Mathis". No explanation is given.

8. 1-20-IND 47 (11:24) 32-E.James up the middle to IND 45 for 2 yards (68-E.Foster).

Mathis moves out of position on a run play.

9. 2-18-IND 45 (10:45) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace pass short left to 89-J.Carlson to IND 34 for 11 yards (28-M.Jackson, 33-M.Bullitt).

Wallace infinity drops into a screen pass.

10. 3-7-IND 34 (10:02) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace scrambles right end to IND 34 for no gain. PENALTY on SEA-15-S.Wallace, Illegal Forward Pass, 5 yards, enforced at IND 34.

Mathis attempts an inside move. Willis bash blocks him into the right defensive tackle. Wallace fucks up royally.

(Next Drive)

1. 1-10-SEA 22 (5:23) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace pass short left to 83-D.Branch to SEA 21 for -1 yards (28-M.Jackson).

Willis executes a great cut block. Wallace throws the ball at Deion Branch's ankles.

2. 2-11-SEA 21 (4:48) (Run formation) 15-S.Wallace pass short left to 81-N.Burleson to SEA 25 for 4 yards (25-J.Powers, 98-R.Mathis).

Willis blocks Brock.

3. 3-7-SEA 25 (4:06) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace pass short right to 81-N.Burleson to SEA 34 for 9 yards (23-T.Jennings).

Willis shades his man and shoves him out.

4. 1-10-SEA 34 (3:34) (Run formation) 22-J.Jones up the middle to SEA 41 for 7 yards (56-T.Hagler, 41-A.Bethea).

Willis moves Mathis out and away from the run.

5. 2-3-SEA 41 (2:57) (Run formation) 15-S.Wallace pass short right to 84-T.Houshmandzadeh to IND 39 for 20 yards (23-T.Jennings).

Mathis shuffles in pre-snap. Willis contains him.

6. 1-10-IND 39 (2:21) (Run formation) 22-J.Jones up the middle to IND 36 for 3 yards (41-A.Bethea, 55-C.Session).

Willis reach-blocks the left defensive tackle and then pulls into the second level. He gets a hit on the middle linebacker and then blocks the left outside linebacker.

7. 2-7-IND 36 (2:00) (Run formation) 15-S.Wallace pass incomplete short right to 35-O.Schmitt (23-T.Jennings). PENALTY on IND-23-T.Jennings, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at IND 36 - No Play.

Willis pancakes Mathis. Wallace fingerpaints with my vomit.

8. 1-10-IND 31 (1:52) 15-S.Wallace pass deep right to 83-D.Branch pushed ob at IND 9 for 22 yards (41-A.Bethea).

Willis holds the middle. Branch puts a slick move on Jennings to get free.

9. 1-9-IND 9 (1:47) (Shotgun) 15-S.Wallace pass incomplete short right to 84-T.Houshmandzadeh.

Wallace runs a naked bootleg to the right. Willis does not factor.

10. 2-9-IND 9 (1:43) 22-J.Jones right end pushed ob at IND 2 for 7 yards (23-T.Jennings, 41-A.Bethea). PENALTY on SEA-74-R.Willis, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at IND 9 - No Play.

This one is weird. Indianapolis sets in a 3-4, with Mathis standing over right end, showing blitz. Seattle has two wide receivers left, a wide receiver right, a tight end right, Julius Jones offset slightly left and Wallace under center. Indy is running a kind of blitz, and Mathis edge rushes right end at the snap. That takes him out of the play. Seattle is stretching right, and Willis is responsible to kick out and take out Mathis, but because Indy is blitzing, Willis runs after Mathis after Mathis has run past Jones. Mathis virtually cannot impact this play. The left defensive end cuts in and John Carlson seals the interior. Jones runs directly at where Mathis has vacated. Everything about this play screams good play-call and good execution, but then there is the flag that I never see thrown. Holding: Number 74.

11. 2-19-IND 19 (1:38) 15-S.Wallace pass short left to 22-J.Jones pushed ob at IND 16 for 3 yards (28-M.Jackson).

No one enters Willis' zone and he does not factor nor block anyone.

12. 3-16-IND 16 (1:31) 15-S.Wallace sacked at IND 21 for -5 yards (98-R.Mathis). WATCH HIGHLIGHT

Might as well click the link and not take my word for it, but Seattle stacks two tight ends left and runs max protect. It's a wonder then that Willis is able to shade, shove out and nearly shove down Mathis, but that John Carlson, John Owens and Brandon Frye cannot contain Dwight Freeney. He sends Wallace a skitterin and skatin towards getting sacked by a stunting Brock and a recovering Mathis. Willis doesn't own his man, but he damn nearly does.

So what to say? What to say. One half in the books, an eye trained on Willis and a notebook full of scribblings, I see little proof Willis struggled. I see Ray Willis knocking around an elite** defensive end.

**Not elite.

*I was later accused of cheating on other standardized tests, including the WASL. This was the administration's way of saying, as my chum Stephen once put it, "you don't look smart."

Where Do We Go from Here? A Frank Discussion about Tim Ruskell

John Morgan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:23:25 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Robert Mathis answering my question for me.

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It's a rough transition from introducing a team to vetting it, but 1-3, having been beat down in two of its losses, behind a competent-looking 3-1 Niners team and with no quarterback to rely on, Seattle's realistic chances of contending are over. What do I mean by vetting? It doesn't mean slagging Seneca Wallace for five days. Wallace is done and defined. It means Tim Ruskell*. It means, does he and does he deserve to lead Seattle into the next decade?

His team took the field on Sunday. It was his defense, personnel, coaching and scheme that Peyton Manning effortlessly scored 28 points on in three quarters. It was his bloated contract at right defensive end. His first round pick at starting right cornerback. It has his hand picked defensive coordinator chewing out Lofa Tatupu on the sideline. His Seahawk for life being chewed out. Who stays? Who goes? Has Ruskell built a foundation? With a franchise defining draft approaching this spring, is Ruskell the man to lead Seattle into 2010?

Wallace only matters, because Ruskell made him matter. Seattle is overdue for quarterback talent. Yesterday, the Sunday before, could have been the start of the sometimes nauseating but always thrilling discovery of a young franchise quarterback. Wallace only matters because instead of the trick-play specialist and extreme depth he should be, Seneca Wallace has been as much the starting quarterback these past two seasons as Matt Hasselbeck. More so, Wallace has almost a hundred more passing attempts.

Instead of microanalyzing formations or describing the interwoven performance of a unit, this week is dedicated to player specific essays. We start with Ray Willis. Willis had a nightmare matchup on Sunday, one I wanted to dedicate some time to before the game. Robert Mathis is not an elite defensive end, but he is an excellent speed rusher. Could Willis, a player I've knocked for being in the blocks watching his assignment rush by him, do enough to survive Mathis? Enough to prove he should start ahead of Brandon Frye?

*That doesn't mean Mike Holmgren. If Seattle moves on without Ruskell this offseason, Paul Allen has better options that the man he replaced with Trader Bob.

Is 2008 Creeping Up on 2009?

John Morgan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:19 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Brandon Jacobs told Seahawks fans to turn off the light on 2008. Will Peyton Manning do likewise this Sunday?

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The human mind excels at recognizing coincidence. It doesn't always analyze it very well. I had a coworker once tell me a flu shot had prevented him from getting a cold. My wife, who works with the elderly, hears "they always come in threes" every few months. Deaths, that is. The amount of time in which those three deaths occur is conveniently elastic, of course. Obvious exceptions are ignored.

Seattle is 1-2 and preparing to travel cross country to face a perennial powerhouse. That powerhouse looks less imposing after losing a valuable starter, but only a fool would underestimate them. It has one convincing win against St. Louis, a close loss and a somewhat lopsided loss that turned on a few big plays. Matt Hasselbeck is injured, but how injured and when he will play again is not certain. Health has been a problem, but one unit is getting healthy while another is more wiped out every day. Is this 2008 all over again?

I would like to say no, but I can't say no with great confidence until after this Sunday. Seattle is a better team through three games than it was in 2008. The Seahawks have performed well at the most important indicators of success: pass offense and pass defense.

It is in the top ten in pass defense by net yards an attempt, 5.3, and only has one interception on the season. Interceptions fluctuate quite a bit. If Seattle had a team full of Kelly Jennings, I might say it would underperform in forcing interceptions all season, but it has good hands men in Deon Grant, Jordan Babineaux, Ken Lucas, Aaron Curry and Lofa Tatupu. One could throw Darryl Tapp in there, if they wanted to adjust relative to position. In 2008, Seattle started mediocre, 6.5 NY/A, and got bad.

In reality, it already was bad. Seattle had posted mediocre pass defense stats after facing Trent Edwards, J.T. O'Sullivan and the collective Rams offense. That offense was awful and Edwards and O'Sullivan..well. Seattle had eight sacks against the 49ers, but its secondary was a tortilla Mary. That is, holy.

Seattle's passing offense is a bit below average, but it has faced two tough opponents. The Bears rank sixth and the 49ers rank 11^th in pass defense as measured by NY/A. Seattle ranks 18^th on offense, and has split the season between its starter and its backup. Matt Hasselbeck was brutal in 2008. Through three games, he had 4.9 NY/A. That compares him to 2009 Jake Delhomme (5.3), but without Delhomme's maddening picks.

In those crucial aspects, Seattle is a better team than it was in 2008, but football teams can change their season in one game. Or so it feels. Seattle is traveling to Indianapolis, and the Colts have stormed out to huge lead in NY/A: 9.9. The Cowboys rank second: 8.3. It is also top five in pass defense: 4.7. If Seattle plays at Indy and is crushed, it will be hard to see this season as anything but 2008 repeating itself.

I don't think it is though. The parallels are everywhere, sure. The 49ers are 2-1, including an impressive win and a tough loss on the road against a presumed powerhouse. See: Arizona 2008. But the 49ers passing offense is stagnant, their running back injured and his replacement noted for the wrong reasons. Of course, the 2008 Cardinals were no world beaters. They were lords of a bad division. San Francisco can certainly be that. God knows, Seattle has worn that crown enough times.

The team isn't healthy and the injuries it is suffering do not seem abnormal or likely to reverse themselves. Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones are old and were injured last season. In fact, Jones is still recovering from last season. Josh Wilson, Sean Locklear and Chris Spencer have a history of being injured. Lofa Tatupu is continuing an alarming trend that started last season. Marcus Trufant is the only fluke injury. That happens.

The reason I don't see 2008, though, is that Seattle has shown the ability and has the talent to perform. It has been a very good pass defense and has created pressure without the blitz. The pass offense is talented, skyscrapers more talented than it was last season, and that talent is both at the skill positions and on a developing offensive line. Chris Spencer, Rob Sims and Ray Willis are bona fide assets, Unger is not, but being a rookie should develop, and Brandon Frye has been respectable as a fill in.

Maybe Seattle is going down that path and my optimism is ignoring the coming flood. A blowout loss coupled with a wave of injuries would put Seattle at 1-3 and without a good shot of crawling back. That team could easily finish 4-12. A win, of any kind, would put Seattle in the thick of the West and on path to get healthy and excel down the stretch. Teams with early injuries and new coaching staffs sometimes do that.

The most likely scenario, the most likely scenario before the season even started, is that Seattle is an average team in a bad division that someone will have to win. San Francisco could be this season's Cardinals and Seattle this season's 49ers. The Seahawks could squeeze out wins down the stretch, grasping towards respectability, but be eliminated early and never have a credible shot at the playoffs. San Francisco wins the West and does whatever in the playoffs. The Seahawks take their picks and continue to improve.

That's the real difference. Maybe Seattle tanks. Maybe it has a top ten and bottom twenty pick in 2010. But 2008 was definitely the last season of Mike Holmgren football, and the team tanked because Holmgren's talent had been cast off or grown old. 2009 is distinctly the work of Tim Ruskell and Jim Mora. Whatever Seattle's record, it feels like a team on the rise and not a team stumbling through an ending era. The best players are home grown and the injuries have disproportionately struck leftovers from before Ruskell. Of course, the other edge of a young team that loses is: The Seattle Seahawks could be bad. The young talent organized by Ruskell could be not at the end, but smack in the middle of a disappointing stretch of Seahawks football. We will know a lot more about this season and this team's future after this Sunday. I want a win. I need hard-fought, competitive football.