Tag: L.J. Collier

Seahawks hoping L.J. Collier can take 2nd-year leap in 2020

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll believes L.J. Collier can take a jump forward in year two, much like teammate Rasheem Green.

It’s no secret L.J. Collier’s first season in a Seattle Seahawks uniform didn’t go as planned. The rookie defensive end suffered a severe ankle injury in training camp, preventing him from gaining valuable playing time during the preseason and ultimately putting him behind the sticks development wise for the entire campaign.

All told, Collier only appeared in 11 games in 2019, often for just a handful of snaps, and he racked up just three combined tackles.

The lack of production by Collier, on a team that was desperate for any kind of help in the pass rush, was no doubt frustrating for all parties involved. However, coach Pete Carroll is confident that with more reps, Collier will get going and take a big step forward in 2020.

“I think he just needs to be in there,” Carroll said on Monday. “Get his play time, get going, get all of camp, get everything organized, he’s got it all together. We would like to play him inside and out, move him a little bit. I hope – I already talked to him about it – he can make the kind of jump that Rasheem [Green] made from year one to year two. I thought Rasheem had a terrific season this year to help us out and start to get his career rolling. Hopefully L.J. will make the same kind of advance.”

Green had a similarly absent rookie campaign, appearing in 10 games with just nine tackles in 2018. However, he burst onto the scene this past season, leading the team with four sacks and recording three forced fumbles, two passes defended and 27 combined tackles.

A Green-like step in the right direction for Collier in season two would be a huge boost for this Seattle defense.

At 24, Collier is already two years older than Green – which likely caps his overall growth. However, despite the rough campaign, there’s still plenty of optimism that Collier can be an impact player in the trenches for the Seahawks, both in the short and long-term.

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Seahawks vs. Packers injury report: Key Seattle replacements for divisional playoffs

Here are a few key replacement players the Seattle Seahawks could utilize against the Green Bay Packers in their NFC divisional-round game.

The Seattle Seahawks held one final practice at home Friday afternoon before heading off to Green Bay ahead of their divisional-round matchup against the Packers.

Seattle did not rule out any players on the final injury report of the week, however, guard Mike Iupati was listed as doubtful to play with a neck injury.

In addition, five players were ruled questionable for this weekend – including tackles Duane Brown (knee) and George Fant (groin) – leaving an already thin offensive line potentially even leaner come Sunday.

With Iupati, Brown and Fant game-day decisions, the versatile Jamarco Jones will likely be charged with filling in somewhere on the Seahawks front five. Jones can line up at either tackle or guard and on both sides of the line.

“He’s done a really nice job to acclimate because he’s been a left side guy, too,” coach Pete Carroll said after practice. “A while back a few weeks, he played right side and did a fine job there. It hasn’t been a struggle for him at all. Either side, either spot really. I think he’ll do good wherever we need him.”

Seattle could also look to Chad Wheeler for a few reps, if needed. Wheeler was just called up from the practice squad this week and has not appeared in an NFL game this season.

As for the defensive side of the ball, defensive ends Ziggy Ansah (neck) and Quinton Jefferson (ankle) are also both questionable for Sunday. Jadeveon Clowney (ankle), who was a full participant on Friday despite limited work during the week, is expected to suit up against the Packers.

With all three defensive ends still banged up, rookie L.J. Collier, who was inactive against the Eagles, may hear his number called this weekend.

Here’s a look at the full injury reports for Seattle and Green Bay.

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Rasheem Green’s consistency a huge factor in breakout campaign

The Seattle Seahawks have gotten a strong sophomore season from Rasheem Green in an otherwise forgettable campaign for their pass rush.

If there’s one thing to criticize on this 11-3 Seattle Seahawks team this season, it has been the pass rush.

Despite offseason acquisitions of Jadeveon Clowney and Ziggy Ansah, not to mention first round pick L.J. Collier, Seattle has struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks all season long.

Some of that can be attributed to Seattle’s coverage scheme, which allows short, quick passes to be completed, but regardless it has been a disappointing season in that area.

One of the few bright spots has been the emergence of Rasheem Green, a 2018 third round pick who has taken what Pete Carroll likes to call the second-year leap in 2019.

Green is leading the Seahawks with four sacks, along with 20 combined tackles, three forced fumbles and one pass defended.

“He’s doing great,” Carroll said on Wednesday. “I’m just happy that he’s been such a factor now. He’s really playing consistently at run and pass, which is great. Forcing fumbles and being active in the backfield rushing the passer. He’s playing multiple spots. He’s grown into it. He’s a big part of what we’re doing, and I’m really fired up for him.”

Green has lined up off the edge and occasionally as an interior defensive tackle this season – versatility that was a big part of why Carroll and company wanted him coming out of the draft.

Still just 22 years old, Green is younger than many of Seattle’s current rookies, making his progress this season all the more impressive.

“I think when you have younger players, consistency day in and day out, and play after play, usually is an issue,” defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. said on Wednesday. “He’s at a point now where he understands how to be a good player. He likes it, and he knows the routine you have to go through in order to show up each and every week. He’s a guy, if you were to talk to the d-line person by person, if there was one guy they liked where he’s been and where he is now, Rasheem [Green] is a guy they like playing with.”

Green’s emergence as a weapon all across the defensive line has given Seattle a big boost this year, and his continued growth could make him a potential Pro Bowl caliber player in the near future.

For now, he’ll be counted on in a big way on Sunday against the Cardinals, with both Ansah and Clowney still nursing injuries.

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Pete Carroll remains optimistic about Seahawks rookie L.J. Collier

Despite playing 37 snaps and not recording a single statistic, Pete Carroll remains optimistic about Seattle Seahawks rookie L.J. Collier.

Seattle Seahawks rookie defensive end L.J. Collier, the team’s first round pick in 2019, played a career-high 37 snaps on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

While he did not record a single tackle, pressure, or quarterback hit, coach Pete Carroll felt it was the best performance of Collier’s career to date.

“I thought he was really active,” Carroll said on Monday. “He played a lot of plays. I think he played 40 plays or something like that. It was really a good outing for him. He was physical and played tough. We didn’t get to the quarterback with him, but that’s his best game by far of contributing. He’s just going to stay in the mix now. He’s really part of it.”

Depending on one’s optimism level, this quote can be viewed as a positive sign regarding the rookie’s progress this season (progress that was stunted by an ankle injury suffered in training camp) or a negative sign – the team’s first round pick had his best game of the season and didn’t even record a single meaningful statistic.

The answer likely lies somewhere in the middle. Collier’s growth this season has not happened particularly quickly, especially for one of the oldest rookies in the draft, and for him to barely have a role on a defensive line that has struggled for good chunks of the year is definitely discouraging.

However, missing the preseason cost Collier extremely valuable development time. The fact that Carroll sees improvement from the rookie is a great sign that he’ll be a contributor for this team next season, following in the footsteps of Rasheem Green and taking that second-year leap.

Regardless of whether you see the glass as half-full or half-empty, it’s pretty clear Collier won’t have a big impact the rest of this season.

However, there’s still a real chance he’s a big-time contributor on this team, potentially starting as soon as 2020.

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Jadeveon Clowney had treatment on hip, questionable for Week 12

Seattle Seahawks star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is questionable with a hip injury, and had off-campus treatment on Friday afternoon.

The Seattle Seahawks may be without their star defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Clowney is officially listed as questionable with a hip injury, and coach Pete Carroll revealed the star pass rusher was not at Seattle’s practice on Friday while he got treatment on his hip at another location.

“He had a little off-campus treatment today,” Carroll said on Friday. “So, we’ll see how he is on game day.”

Clowney had a monstrous game against the 49ers in Week 10, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Not having him against an Eagles team that is missing starting tackle Lane Johnson would be a big blow for this Seattle defense.

Carroll said Clowney will meet up with the team before the game on Sunday, and they’ll work him out on the field before determining if he will be able to play.

If Clowney cannot go, the Seahawks will rely heavily on Quinton Jefferson and Rasheem Green to anchor the pass rush, with Ziggy Ansah, Shaquem Griffin and potentially rookie L.J. Collier seeing an increase in snap counts as well.

Look for an update on Clowney’s status roughly 90 minutes before Seattle takes on Philadelphia on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PT.

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Pete Carroll: Seahawks rookie L.J. Collier likely to play vs. Eagles

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll believes rookie defensive end L.J. Collier will contribute in Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Seattle Seahawks have not gotten much production out of their two most recent first-round picks.

Running back Rashaad Penny has taken a back seat to Chris Carson, while defensive end L.J. Collier has struggled to carve out a consistent role his rookie season, often finding himself listed as a healthy scratch. He has been active for six games and has only two tackles.

However, coach Pete Carroll indicated that Collier is close to earning a regular role on defense and said he hopes for Collier to play more in Week 12 against the Eagles in Philadelphia.

“We’d love for him to be out there,” Carroll said. “He needs to work. He won’t get better until he gets out there and can learn and contribute and all that. He’s likely to be playing this week. I want to say that every week because I want him out there and we need him out there.”

Collier was taken late in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft out of TCU. He was billed as a hybrid, Michael Bennett-style defensive lineman, but an ankle injury in training camp prevented him from playing in the preseason and hampered his development out of the gate.

That lack of development, along with a relatively healthy defensive front — especially with Ziggy Ansah and Jarran Reed in the mix — has kept Collier on the outside looking in.

“We’ve been so fortunate to have everybody available,” Carroll continued. “It’s just been opportunities. He’s working at it, getting extra coaching and extra work all the time. He’s right on the edge. We’d love to play him.”

Look for Collier to potentially get some snaps on Sunday in Philadelphia as the Seahawks aim to improve to 9-2 on the season.

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Seahawks’ recent 1st-round picks continuing to struggle

The Seattle Seahawks are 8-2 despite a trio of struggling first-round picks.

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Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has proven to be excellent at finding high-quality NFL players in the later rounds of the draft, and his recent trades have paid off handsomely as well.

However, if there is one area of weakness for Schneider and his staff, it is in the first round.

Earl Thomas and Bruce Irvin were two of Schneider’s earliest first-round picks, and while both of them were extremely successful, the first round has not gone well for Schneider and company since then.

The Seahawks have only made three picks in the first round since Irvin: tackle Germain Ifedi (2016), running back Rashaad Penny (2018) and defensive end L.J. Collier (2019). In 2017, they traded their first-round selection to the Falcons in a draft-pick swap.

While Ifedi has gradually improved, his issues with penalties and struggles in pass protection have been well documented over the past few years. The team declined to give him a fifth-year option, potentially bringing an end to his Seahawks tenure after this season.

Penny is in his second NFL season, and he has already fallen out of favor in Seattle’s run game. Chris Carson dominated the last two seasons, and Penny has struggled to find his footing in the league. He has carried the ball just 36 times for 167 yards and one touchdown on the year, and got benched in Week 10 against the 49ers after just three snaps, one of which included a fumble.

As long as Carson is in tow, Penny’s role will likely be limited to a change-of-pace back — not what you want out of a first-round pick.

Lastly, Collier was selected late in the first round of the 2019 draft. He suffered an ankle injury during training camp, which caused him to miss the entire preseason and has slowed his development.

Collier has been a healthy inactive for a handful of games and has only played a total of 69 defensive snaps, recording two solo tackles.

While there’s still time for Collier, and potentially Penny, to develop into big-time contributors, it’s clear Schneider excels at finding great players in the later rounds and not as often in Round 1.

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