When you have a rookie offensive lineman, you obviously want him to display football acumen and technical consistency. But if you get a guy with all that, AND he can just level opponents over and over? Well, that’s the kind of thing that can get a coaching staff excited.
Seattle Seahawks rookie right tackle Abe Lucas, selected out of Washington State with the eighth pick in the third round, already put up several demolition blocks in Seattle’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Seahawks RT Abe Lucas absolutely dominated in his first NFL game
“I think Abe had a really good first game,” Seahawks head coach Pete Caroll said Wednesday. “It’s a lot to ask a rookie to go in there and be on it as well as he did. He made a big statement that he’s in the competition- it’s legit. Jake really just knows his stuff, he’s really sharp, he’s tough, physical, makes great decisions, and all that kind of stuff, so he played solid too. The offensive line played really well in general. But, for a first-time guy to get in there and do his thing, I thought that was really good. Same for [ninth overall pick and rookie left tackle] Charles [Cross], but I was maybe a little more impressed with how Abe did.”
Earlier in the week, Carroll credited Lucas with three knockdown blocks in his professional debut, and we showed you two of them in the aforementioned article. Against the Bears on Thursday night, Lucas had another one — this time, against Bears defensive lineman Trevis Gipson. As was the case against the Steelers, you do not want Lucas to get a head of steam going in a straight line, because if he does, he’s out to waste you on the field. This wasn’t much of a gain for Seattle, but you take your victories when you can.
“I mean, to me, it’s less about showing people up or anything like that,” Lucas said Thursday night after Seattle’s 27-11 loss, in which he was one of the few bright spots for his team. “Certainly, it’s nice to have that success, but it’s more about just doing stuff right to help the team out. Anybody can do it one game, anybody can do it two games, I’d like for it to be as consistent as possible. But that’s just another part of my game I just try to keep working on.”
Because we love offensive linemen here at Touchdown Wire, we’ll also show you Lucas’ two knockdowns we caught against the Steelers.
With 30 seconds left in the first quarter of that game, Travis Homer took the ball for a 16-yard run. Watch Lucas (No. 72) and the way he just relishes the opportunity to drive linebacker Delontae Scott (No. 50) right into the ground.
And then, with 3:40 left in the second quarter, fellow rookie Ken Walker took the ball for what became a four-yard run. Lucas pinched inside to help, and Steelers linebacker Buddy Johnson (No. 45) got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Buddy, keep your head on a swivel.
It’s official: Abe Lucas has put the NFL on notice.