Seahawks’ Britt coming on strong in second season

RENTON, Wash. – The guy who goes against Justin Britt, who knows his strengths and weaknesses, can tell a difference. “He’s not leaning, he’s not really telling with his eyes what he’s going to do,” Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril said. “Those are good things, but it makes my training camp harder.” The guy who lines up next to Britt describes him as a “wily” vet and not the rookie who occasionally messed up calls. “He’s a different player now,” guard J.R. Sweezy said, “and you guys will see that when we start playing games.” Even Britt, a second-round draft pick in 2014, agrees there is something different after a sweet-and-sour rookie season. “I struggled at first,” Britt said. “I was a little timid in a lot of ways. Not like I was in college. In college, I felt dominant and confident. I get here, and it’s just a whole new world. You need reps, just like coming out of high school into college. It’s just night and day compared to last year. Not to be cocky but confident.” Britt allowed 41 quarterback hurries last season, according to Pro Football Focus, the third-most in the NFL. Pro Football Focus rated Britt as the 74th-best offensive tackle last season and gave him a negative review in all but five games. (The site also selected Britt as one of two tackles on its all-rookie team.) When Britt struggled, offensive-line coach Tom Cable said he usually was leaning forward, off-balance, leaving him vulnerable. “It’s just whenever you go to punch or something, your upper body goes forward,” Britt said. “How are you going to stop a guy going this way if you’re going that way?” It goes hand-in-hand with the area Britt said he has improved most. “Probably just being more patient,” he said. “Not being so hesitant and freaking out.” Britt said his worst game last season was in Week 9 against the Raiders, and his best game might have been the Super Bowl. The difference in how he looks, in how he moves in the two games, is noticeable even to a casual observer. He seems more balanced and more decisive in the Super Bowl. There is no second-guessing, or if there is, it isn’t as obvious. “He’s much more capable of showing what his ability is like than worrying and thinking and wondering,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He didn’t know if he was right most of the season. He was kind of hoping he was.” The Seahawks wanted Britt to get stronger this offseason, and he should be better suited for the league’s stronger ends. Carroll also said Britt is more in tune with the offense and what’s expected of him – the complex choreography on the line during each play. Cable told a story from this offseason. He was fishing up in Canada without cell service. When he resurfaced, his phone blew up. It was a stream of texts between Sweezy and Britt, ranging from watching film together to grabbing dinner. The two spent two weeks before training camp at the Seahawks’ headquarters trying, in the words of Sweezy, to understand the playbook as well as Cable. It was especially important for Britt, who picked up the playbook quickly but wasn’t so sure of what to do in tandem with Sweezy. “There were times last year where I’d be that ornery rookie thinking I knew it all, and he would make a call,” Britt said. “I would disagree, the ball would be snapped, and we would both mess up. The objective now, the question really, focuses on consistency: Can he do it play after play, series after series, game after game? “We saw flashes of it,” Cable said. “We saw a young guy that was not affected by down moments, and he could move by them and fix them in the middle of the game. “We want to eliminate some of those negatives and just see a little more consistency.”