Former NFL offensive lineman Joe Thomas recently joined 710 ESPN Seattle and gave his thoughts on the Seahawks offense heading into the 2020 season.
Thomas expressed his concern regarding the offensive line and the lack of collective experience among the unit.
“It would definitely be concerning to me if I was a Seahawks fan, especially considering the shortened offseason,” Thomas said. “When you’re talking offensive line play, it’s all about experience, it’s all about playing together, being in the system for a long time. Having those changes takes time to get things figured out, it takes time to get on the same page because there is a lot of nonverbal communication that happens at the line of scrimmage before the snap.”
Thomas emphasized that the Seahawks must give quarterback Russell Wilson opportunities to work his magic on the ground and through the air by gaining consistent yardage in the running game to keep the defense guessing.
“I think what Seattle wants to do, especially with a great quarterback like Russell Wilson, is be able to establish the run,” Thomas said. “Force the defense to come up on the line of scrimmage to try to stop the run. It gives Russell so many opportunities to try and extend the play and throw the football down the field. If you eliminate the ability to run the football because you’re getting tackled for loss or you’re getting leakage on the offensive line too consistently because guys haven’t played together and aren’t understanding the nonverbal communication that has to happen, that’s going to be a trickle-down into the passing game and it’s going to hurt Russell.”
He summed up Seattle’s need in a nutshell.
“For Seattle to be successful they need to have a stout offensive line that can get the ball down the field running the football and open things up for the big plays with Russell Wilson’s arm.”
It is enticing to anticipate the potential for the offense in 2020. As long as Wilson is upright, Seattle has a chance in just about any contest.
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