Seahawks deal with old issues again in loss
SEATTLE – Hey, here are new issues for the Seahawks:
Pass protection and their offensive line.
Seattle’s three-year-old problems returned in Thursday’s second preseason game at CenturyLink Field, an 18-11 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings sacked Russell Wilson four times in the first half. That half was so ugly for Seattle the best thing to say about it was it was only Aug. 18.
The Seahawks trailed 11-0 at halftime, and by that same score into the fourth quarter. The Vikings outgained them 200 yards to 106 in the first half.
It took Trevone Boykin’s second rally in as many preseason games to tie the game, at 11 in the fourth quarter. The undrafted rookie quarterback strengthened his case for the No. 2 job behind Wilson by leading a 65-yard drive to a touchdown, then leaping recklessly across the goal line over a defender for the two-point conversion that made it 11-8. Then Steven Hauschka kicked a 49-yard field goal with just under 6 minutes left to tie the game.
But then, in the face of a free blitzer running at him, Boykin threw a pass into the flat and into the arms of Minnesota’s Marcus Sherels. Sherels ran 53 yards the other way with the interception touchdown with 1:23 left, and Seattle lost.
The Seahawks’ starting offense managed those 106 first-half yards on 29 plays, an underwhelming average of 3.7 yards per snap. Seattle punted four times on five drives. The other drive ended when the Vikings stuffed rookie running back Alex Collins up the middle for no gain on fourth and 1 at the Minnesota 41 in the first quarter.
Coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday he wanted to see his starting offensive and defensive line control the line of scrimmage better in this exhibition than last week’s.
They did not.
The most alarming play was Wilson’s and the starting offense’s last one. On third-and-long and trying to get a two-minute drill going, Wilson ran around while right tackle Garry Gilliam let his Viking defender go. In fact, Gilliam didn’t hit anyone on the play. Blitzing safety Andrew Sendejo hit Wilson 18 yards behind the line, crumpling the invaluable legs of Seattle’s $87.6 million quarterback beneath his body weight and into the turf.
You could almost feel the home stadium gasp.
Of the four sacks, Wilson held onto the ball an extra-long time on two of them. New left tackle Bradley Sowell thought Wilson had already thrown the ball on a play deep in Seattle’s own end in the first quarter. The quarterback still had the ball, though, and Sowell’s man, Minnesota star end Everson Griffen ran in free to dump Wilson for a 10-yard loss.
The other sack came when the Vikings blitzed a linebacker off Seattle’s right edge, inside Gilliam. Collins took a fake handoff then missed the blitz-pickup block as Wilson got dumped again.
Sowell is playing left tackle and Gilliam right tackle, where he started all last season, since last week’s knee sprain sustained by J’Marcus Webb. Webb, signed as a free agent from Oakland this spring to a two-year contract with $2.75 million guaranteed, had been the starting right tackle from May’s minicamps until Aug. 10.
Wilson finished 5 for 11 passing for 77 yards. Three of his passes were dropped, by Collins and tight ends Brandon Williams and Luke Willson.
Through two preseason games, the Seahawks’ starting offense has played six drives and produced 167 yards on 39 plays (4.3 yards/play) with 11 first downs, one interception, one turnover on downs – and zero points.
The offensive line has allowed four sacks on 30 drop-backs this preseason.