SB Nation - Kyle Williams

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.

The Offensive Line Part 3: The Healthy Year

John Morgan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:51:01 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Players like Matt Hasselbeck make but also create hard decisions. He has been undoubtedly Seattle's greatest quarterback ever, but when is too soon to prepare for the future? And how can you win when you know the player you acquire is not likely better than Hasselbeck's past?

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Steve Hutchinson is an amazing talent. Seattle wasn't building a line of amazing talents. Chris Gray was sagging, Walter Jones in decline, Sean Locklear as serviceable as ever and Chris Spencer and Rob Sims still getting their feet wet. But it had a healthy line. Jones missed one game, the only game missed by Seattle's starting five, and he missed that game as a precaution. It's not well remembered today, but Seattle's 2007 offense was good, even with Shaun Alexander. It was a twelth ranked offense and a 9^th ranked passing offense. The run game was solid outside of Alexander. Maurice Morris had his best season as a pro.

Seattle was healthy in 2007 and other than right guard, it did not seem to have pressing needs at offensive line. Jones was writing the book on modern dominance at left tackle and his historic peers at the position commonly played into their mid- to late-thirties. Sims and Spencer were the subject of Mike Holmgen's scorn, but neither player played that bad, and both were still very young at a position that historically peaks late.

The big flub happened in 2006 and hurt Seattle in the 2007 draft. Tim Ruskell traded the Seahawks first round pick for Deion Branch and then signed him to a six-year, $39 million. He desperately wanted out from Darrell Jacksons's contract, could not retain Joe Jurevicius after Vicious signed for less to play for his hometown Browns, had no interest in keeping Jeremy Stevens, was about to lose Bobby Engram to Graves Disease, and had signed Nate Burleson as a inexpensive project wide receiver and return man. Burleson has fulfilled both roles well. He has cost Seattle $2, $3.5 and $4 million against the cap his first three seasons.

Ruskell saw the Seahawks a contender and didn't see a better opportunity to add a wide receiver. He may have reached a bit, but the enormity of his decision is overblown. Late first round picks are seldom superstars and often outright busts. Had Seattle switched Branch for a generic, late-first round receiver, that receiver would have underperformed the disappointing Branch. It could have used that pick elsewhere however. It could have drafted Ben Grubbs, Arron Sears or Justin Blalock. All three have been solid, though Sears career may be over after a frightening concussion.

This marks the point where we can first say Ruskell was deemphasizing the offensive line. He didn't add significant talent in a significantly talented class, opting instead to draft project player, Mansfield Wrotto, in the fourth. The team made a run at Kris Dielman, but when Dielman frowned at Seattle's weather and went home to San Diego to sign for less, the Seahawks didn't have a plan ‘B'. Its good health at offensive line may have hidden a rotting foundation. Chris Gray started 16 but arguably shouldn't have started one. Excepting Jones, it wasn't very talented, and the youth movement Ruskell started with Spencer, Willis and Sims, was not added to or challenged. Tom Ashworth and Floyd Womack were still primary depth and the most promising successor to Jones was Locklear.

The year that Ruskell's plan was its most effective was also the year Ruskell's plan looked most ominous. Seattle didn't land one of that free agent class's big name guards and didn't acquire talent that could start in a pinch. Had the same injuries occurred that year as have this, Seattle was thinner and weaker and more likely to collapse with Tom Ashworth, Mansfield Wrotto and Steve Vallos thrust into action than even Kyle Williams, modern Wrotto and modern Vallos.

But it didn't and line depth didn't seem like such an awful big deal in 2007. What line could look good blocking Shaun Alexander? It had young parts, an ageless veteran and a defense that was starting to look like the future of the team.

The Offensive Line Part 2: The Transition

John Morgan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:58:30 -0000

This is the season Seattle lost Steve Hutchinson and the foundation of its offensive line began to crumble. Walter Jones was still among the very best at his position, but he was 32 and would turn 33 less than a week after Seattle was bumped out of the playoffs.

That run was paved in part by Tim Ruskell's first ever pick, Chris Spencer, replacing an effectively retired Robbie Tobeck, and rookie Rob Sims replacing the irreplaceable Hutchinson. When Spencer and Sims helped spring an already washed-up Shaun Alexander for 108 yards and two touchdowns against the sixth-ranked Bears rush defense, all was right, Ruskell was in good graces and the future of the Seattle Seahawks seemed bright.

The line was crumbling though. Jones was approaching old, and the intolerance to pain medication that once stood as a testament to his greatness began to loom as a horrible "what if?" Sims could not replace Hutchinson. Chris Gray was 36. Without that insane left side to protect him, Sean Locklear could no longer be trumped up by contrived stats. Seattle was halfway between the collapse of an all-time great offensive line and a rebuilding effort that couldn't possibly be as successful.

Seattle did not invest much into rebuilding the line in 2006. The draft was a bit top heavy and talent poor. Seattle could have selected Guy Whimper with its Sims pick, Willie Colon, Chris Kuper or Jeromey Clary, but if Sims has maybe not been the most valuable lineman selected in the second day, he has been a good player for the pick and more successful than much of his class.

Seattle could have spent an earlier pick but didn't. It's almost impossible to argue that had Seattle kept spent its first or second round picks on offensive linemen, it would be a better team today. Its first round pick, Kelly Jennings, has busted, but so has Winston Justice, selected 39^th, and neither Deuce Latui, 41^st, nor Daryn Colledge, 47^th, strike me as significantly better players than Sims. It could have made a play at a tackle like Marcus McNeill, Andrew Whitworth, Jeremy Trueblood or Eric Winston, but it believed itself set at tackle, and it seemed to be.

Instead, Ruskell added Tom Ashworth. Ashworth was awful: Another body on the pile of winners and veterans that Ruskell has burdened the team with. But Ashworth was fourth string and therefore as likely to play as Kyle Williams. Sean Locklear had been healthy to that point. Ashworth was behind Jones, Locklear, Ray Willis and even Floyd Womack.

Injuries became a factor. Locklear missed five games. Willis missed 15 and was put on IR. Womack was starting at left guard. Locklear's injury forced Ashworth into action and he played like the fourth string tackle he was. The line did not play well and compared to 2005, it was awful.

The talent Ruskell had added was good. It was young and cheap and seemed promising. The line had declined from a peak it could not possibly reach again, but where it had been expensive, aged, but elite, it was now turning into cheap, young and serviceable.

The Offensive Line Part 1: Ruskell the Rookie

John Morgan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:41:21 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Seahawks fans are eager for a fall guy after watching their guy fall, but sometimes things go bad without an easy enemy to blame.

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Normally I take this time to rewatch the game a few times and decide my storylines for the week. I have still yet to see the game. The bye week is on its way and there's plenty to discuss, but actual tape analysis might be a little slow coming.

I didn't need to see it to know that starting Kyle Williams beside Steve Vallos was going to be a problem. It was a not so subtle and not so brief reminder that football coaches can overvalue intelligence and intangibles. Vallos chemistry with Williams didn't make it off the practice field. The more important matter is how did Seattle's line get so bad? Could it be significantly better? And is there still hope for improvement?

From Caviar to Cat Food

Seattle started two future Hall of Fame talents on its Super Bowl bound 2005 team. Walter Jones was the best tackle of a historic class. The best tackle in the history of the NFL, according to some. No one currently associated with the Seahawks deserves credit for Jones success or Jones eventual decline. Three fifths of that historic 2005 line are retired or nearly so. The remaining two are paving the way to Canton for another back and injured, respectively. Knowing that so much of that talented line simply got old is cold comfort, but comfort.

Tim Ruskell bears some responsibility for the Seahawks losing Steve Hutchinson. As we know his style better, his fingerprints appear all over that botched attempt to save fifty bucks. The actual mistake was minor compared to the outcome. Ruskell was blindsided by a poison pill clause that introduced the world to the phrase "poison pill clause". He was backdoored by a wily GM and a guard that wanted out. If we can't ever fully excuse Ruskell from that mistake, I think we should at least maintain perspective.

The Seahawks line was in need of new blood as soon as Ruskell took over. The interior was comprised of two journeymen soon to retire and a free agent. The 2004 team, the team I affectionately call the Trader Bob Superfund, was bereft of promising offensive line talent. It was the principles, Chris Terry, Floyd Womack, Jerry Wunch and Wayne the Pain Hunter.

As has been Ruskell's lot, he was fixing the team at multiple positions during the offseason. He drafted Chris Spencer in the first, Ray Willis in the fourth and Doug Nienhuis in the seventh in a linemen- and linebacker-centric draft. Neinhuis was a pure bust, but Willis has developed into a cheap, talented right tackle. Seattle re-signed Willis this offseason and he's been a rock on an otherwise chalk line.

Spencer is a bit more controversial. He hasn't excelled and he hasn't been awful. He hasn't been healthy and he hasn't been wracked with injury. Spencer is only 27 and his potential is still strong, a potential that could mean eight more years of productive football, but he's a free agent or restricted free agent after this season and might not be worth his open market value.

Ruskell did invest in the offensive line. He did it at the right time and with some success. Willis was the first lineman selected in the fourth round and he has been the second most successful. I will give Jason Brown the benefit of the doubt, though I am not sure Brown is in fact more valuable than Willis. Seattle could have selected Logan Mankins or Michael Roos with its Spencer pick, but it didn't. Roos is a pure tackle and could have perhaps played right tackle for Seattle, allowing Locklear to move inside, but Seattle didn't see offensive tackle as a pressing need, or guard for that matter. Value for value, Willis has been a similar find to Roos. It's also notable that Chris Gray would play three more serviceable seasons at right guard, but Robbie Tobeck was out of the league the very next season. Ruskell added starter caliber talent at the right positions at the right time in his very first draft as a GM.

It Starts with Chris Spencer and Ends in Victory

John Morgan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:41:17 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Edge has the initial speed to help neutralize the Cardinals hole crushing defensive line, but he hasn't show much else as a rusher. This could be the game Justin Forsett breaks out.

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Let's finish up with the run game and then explore the Cardinals passing attack over the next two days. An effective run game is not necessary for a team to win. Seattle was not very effective running against Jacksonville, but its defense was so dominant it didn't matter. Matt Hasselbeck was firing and the run was mostly used to grind out the clock.

Seattle would like to keep the run game in play, though. That is most dependent on having a lead or keeping the game close, but it also depends on Seattle getting the little bits and pieces rushes that keep defenses honest. It ran on the first play of each of its scoring drives. Greg Knapp frequently passes off play-action and so far Seattle's unspectacular but functional run game has made that possible. Play-action should be particularly important this Sunday.

The Cardinals secondary peaks. It tracks the quarterback and relies on its athleticism to correct mistakes. That will not work against Peyton Manning, but it can work against Seattle. The Seahawks lack a built in deep threat. Deon Butler is fast, Nate Burleson athletic and T.J. Houshmandzadeh is physical, but Hasselbeck floats his deep pass and Seattle is without a jump ball specialist. Deion Branch might be the best mix of speed, athleticism and route-running, but I no longer count on Branch to get targets. Instead, Seattle attacks deep by attacking the middle. The goal is to get good separation and trust the receiver to run the yards Hasselbeck can't pass. If the run game is viable, Hasselbeck can sell play-action and target Burleson on crossing patterns, Branch and Butler on post patterns and Carlson on a skinny-post attacking the seam.

Keeping the run viable could be a Herculean task. Seattle doesn't have a lot of power beside Chris Spencer to control the middle. Edgerrin James might be best matched for attacking inside, his first gear compensating for spotty and vanishing holes, but Julius Jones is the better back and deserves more carries. Justin Forsett also has a strong first gear and his smaller frame and young legs could power him through an inside crease. I am not ready to count on Forsett, but he could sure show something Sunday.

Whoever gets the rock is going to need to stay disciplined. He must move forward and pick his hole and settle for what's given. Seattle will not consistently win its matchups on the edge. Ray Willis faces one of the few defensive ends in the NFL that can best his reach. Calais Campbell will stay in plays Willis would wall other ends out of, and that should create a long edge on rushes right. It doesn't help that John Carlson has been Seattle's least consistent regular blocker. Kyle Williams will face a lifetime's worth of Darnell Dockett if Cardinals defensive coordinator has any sense. Stopping Dockett will be asking too much of Williams, and the Cardinals are sure to take advantage of that matchup by overloading the blindside. Seattle will strap a tight end to Williams hip, but a chip can backfire. A wide rushing defensive back or linebacker can turn a perfunctory chip by John Owens into a free release around the edge. Nothing would slow that faster than a few good gains off left tackle.

Seattle doesn't need and isn't likely to have a productive rushing attack. It does need a run game to kill the clock if it's ahead and a run game to slow the blitz if it's playing from behind. It needs a run game that can convert short yardage and chip away towards the first down marker, keeping the short passing game involved on third down. Seattle doesn't need a productive rushing attack, but it needs a rushing attack, and that starts with Chris Spencer, but isn't real until the ball carrier can get around Kyle Williams and Ray Willis.

Seattle Seahawks Trap, Kill and Skin Jaguars 41 - 0

John Morgan — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:08:10 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Take a bow, Mr. Mora.

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There's a moment when you're walking at night; your shadow shifts suddenly and your lizard brain thinks: Someone's behind me. That's the Seahawks, Gold Diggers, and their armed, talented and sanguinary with revenge.

Every win can feel like the season, but something special happened today. It wasn't just Matt Hasselbeck, but the difference a competent quarterback makes is startling. It wasn't just a passing game beginning to overwhelm with its weapons, but even the Jaguars suck is not enough to discredit the way Seattle played. It was the defense. It didn't turn fluky picks into points, but the turnovers where there. It stopped Jacksonville on every single drive, every single play, every single assignment. It ruled Qwest. It tore the Jags throat out.

There isn't words for the high I'm feeling now. If this is a turning point for Seattle's D, or the turning points was last week when Gus Bradley went off in Indy, it only matters that they turned into something new, something young and dynamic and special, and God help us it never turns back.

It's realistic it never does.

Yes.

22: Nick Reed.

23: Aaron Curry,

24: Brandon Mebane, Lawrence Jackson, Josh Wilson.

25: Darryl Tapp, Red Bryant.

26: Will Herring

27: Lofa Tatupu.

That's a core to build around; a core that gets better each game.

I think Tim Ruskell has a job.

Game Ball: I'm sure I'll see it better in the coming week, but I do not think Kyle Williams was dominant or even good today. It helps a ton that the Jaguars have very little pass rush. But there's no such thing as a fourth string left tackle. Williams is officially replacement level. And Seattle won with a replacement level left tackle. How?

It's complicated but it's simple. No single player other than the quarterback makes an offense and no single player but a quarterback can ruin it. That's been true for at least ten years. Williams took a modicum of experience and turned it into a performance that kept Seattle's busted-ribs quarterback and still-learning offense clean and driving. Do I sing of Kyle Williams, no, I sing of Mike Solari.

Mike Solari has kept this line functioning. Jim Mora may not master a press conference and he's no genius, but he identifies coaching talent like few others. Solari, Greg Knapp, Gus Bradely, Dan Quinn, Tim Lewis and Zerrick Rollins, take a bow. You too, Mr. Mora.

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.

Rob Sims Out with an Ankle Injury and Lesser News

John Morgan — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:33:07 -0000

Patrick Kerney likely being out next week would not usually classify as lesser news, but Kerney is at the tail-end of his career and the team benefits from the excuse to start Darryl Tapp. That was one of the tidbits detailed by Danny O'Neil following Jim Mora's press conference, along with the release of Kyle Williams, the re-signing of Justin Griffith and a conveniently tentative but hopeful update on Matt Hasselbeck. Remember when Hasselbeck was such a trooper he was ready to play against the Bears and didn't remember even going to the hospital? This Sunday should mark the third straight contest he doesn't start, and complete 14 consecutive quarters he's missed.

The news-news is Sims. Sims is Seattle's best interior lineman and best, position adjusted, offensive linemen Seattle regularly starts. He has improved in bounds as a run blocker, showing vertical quickness to offset his suspect lateral agility, and is as ever a great pass blocker. Following his career revival in New York, Sims' terrible series against Kris Jenkins seems much less terrible. The ankle injury doesn't sound too severe, and while I hate missing Sims, Wrotto deserves a chance to prove he can be more than depth. Taking the long view on this season certainly numbs some of the sting of injuries.

Mansfield Wrotto will start in place of Sims, and Wrotto isn't too bad really. He should be starting ahead of Max Unger. Unger is getting the Lawrence Jackson experience over production treatment, allowed to miss blocks and be walked over in the name of potential, and if Jackson is any indication, maybe it's worth it. I wonder when Seattle stops playing for tomorrow and starts scraping out wins today.

Kerney is the other Ruskell selection I will spotlight. Look for a piece on his first quarter in just a bit.

Josh Wilson and Sean Locklear Suffer High Ankle Sprains

John Morgan — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:20:18 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

D.J. Hackett has had his career undermined by multiple high ankle sprains. It's a common, benign sounding injury that is debilitating and slow to heal. Josh Wilson and Sean Locklear are out until further notice.

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Danny O'neil is reporting that Josh Wilson and Sean Locklear have both suffered high ankle sprains.

Why is a high ankle sprain worse than a typical ankle sprain? One can figure it out pretty intuitively, actually. A regular ankle sprain involves an ankle overextending medially. The ankle is designed for some medial movement. That means it can twist and turn from a straight position towards the middle of one's body. That motions is called pronation. It does not move well laterally. That motion is called supination. A lateral, common ankle sprain involves movement of the foot medially. The sprain occurs to the ligaments being stretched rather than the ligaments being compacted. When someone suffers a high ankle sprain, it is because the ankle is over supinated. It has moved too far laterally and strained the ligaments on the medial side.

When a foot is over-supinated it strains this group of ligaments.

High ankle sprains can vary in severity. Most are serious though and will keep a player out for 4-6 weeks. High ankle sprains recur, too. Meaning Locklear and Wilson are now more at-risk for another high ankle sprain than they were before the injury. This is one reason injuries are not simply luck.

The loss of Wilson combined with Marcus Trufant's injury and the promotion of Jordan Babineaux leaves Seattle functionally without depth at the cornerback. Dimeback Travis Fisher has yet to play a snap and has missed significant practice time. Babineaux might be moved back to corner to bolster Seattle's depth. The team's depth at safety is comparably strong.

Walter Jones is projected to return this week. He has accomplished superhuman feats before, and if his recovery is complete and Jones is once again an above-average left tackle, that feat would rank among his greatest. Backing up Jones, Seattle has Brandon Frye on its roster and Kyle Williams on its practice squad. Frye played some tackle at Virgina Tech, but has played guard most of his pro career. Yesterday was his first regular season snaps at the position. Williams is a big body that doesn't kill himself with his technique and decision making. He also isn't very good and limits what Seattle can do.

Seattle has relied on quick recoveries in the past and gotten themselves into deep trouble. I wonder if today's announcement foreshadows a Keary Colbert-type move. Seattle could trade picks for an unwanted player. Or it could use those picks to draft younger, healthier talent that can contribute to the Seahawks future.