Tag: Mike Iupati

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ win over Cowboys

Seattle’s 38-31 victory over Dallas was anything but boring, and featured both the best and the worst that the Seahawks had to offer.

The Seattle Seahawks entered Week 3 with two wins under their belt and an eagerness to test themselves against the Dallas Cowboys’ potent offense. An eventful 60 minutes later, the Seahawks had triumphed, 38-31, to stand alone atop the NFC West with a perfect 3-0 record. There was good, bad, and even ugliness to be found in just about every aspect of the game – here are just a few things that stood out . . .

THE GOOD

Ability to capitalize: The Seahawks offense in Week 3 was not as effective as it was in Weeks 1 and 2. Although Russell Wilson threw for five touchdowns, three of them to receiver Tyler Lockett, much of Seattle’s momentum was generated from Dallas penalties as opposed to stringing together precise throws or long runs. The Cowboys relinquished 59 yards on 10 flags, one of which negated a Wilson interception and another of which gave Seattle a second shot at a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. In future weeks, the Seahawks cannot rely on the opposing defense to play sloppily; however, Seattle definitively showed on Sunday that this team will find a way to create and take advantage of key opportunities to score.

Alton Robinson: Robinson, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, bullied Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throughout the entire game. The rookie defensive end was responsible for a late-game sack and two tackles for loss in his NFL debut and nearly had more were it not for Prescott’s ability to scamper when needed. The Seahawks will likely be giving Robinson more action in the coming weeks, especially with their noted issues in the pass rush.

THE BAD

Tre Flowers: Flowers, filling in for the injured Quinton Dunbar at cornerback, was only saved from the “ugly” category this week due to an early pass breakup and an extra-point block. The rest of his performance was less than stellar in just about every way: a dropped interception, two (declined) penalties, key missed tackles, and losing Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup on a 43-yard touchdown pass. The Seahawks’ issues in the secondary were only amplified by Flowers’ woes, as Prescott made them pay with 472 passing yards – 294 of which came on 13 throws of 10 or more yards.

THE UGLY

Metcalf’s gaffe: As the first quarter wound down with the score tied 9-9, Russell Wilson unleashed a superb 62-yard bomb to D.K. Metcalf, who trotted towards the end zone for a no-doubt touchdown. The problem –  Cowboys rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs, who was not as far behind as Metcalf had thought. Just before the goal line, Diggs reached his arm out and punched the ball out of Metcalf’s arms, where it bounced through the back of the end zone for a Dallas touchback. Metcalf has been such a prolific pass-catcher for the team that it can be difficult to remember that he is only in his second year as a pro, and thus susceptible to the occasional mental lapse that plagues many young players. This could have been costly for the Seahawks – after all, they only won by seven points – but it is unlikely that Metcalf will make such an error again.

Injuries: Week 3 was no kinder than Week 2 to the Seahawks on the injury front, as a number of key players – headlined by star safety Jamal Adams and running back Chris Carson – had to leave the contest due to various afflictions. In all, six Seahawks missed part or all of the game following injury: Adams (groin), Carson (knee), guard Damien Lewis (ankle), guard Mike Iupati (knee), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (knee), and center Ethan Pocic (knee). Coach Pete Carroll said after the game that the severity of many of the injuries are unknown, although both Iupati and Pocic were able to return to the game.

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Pete Carroll updates Seahawks injuries after Week-3 win over Cowboys

Coach Pete Carroll provided a number of injury updates after the Seattle Seahawks win over the Dallas Cowboys Week 3.

The Seattle Seahawks injury concerns started days before the team’s Week-3 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, a game that saw numerous players leave the matchup and not return.

“Unfortunately, even before the game happened, Quinton Dunbar’s knee acted up and he wasn’t able to go,” coach Pete Carroll said in his post-game press conference. “Neiko’s hip didn’t make it through the week, and he couldn’t go. Lano Hill, his back situation, it just showed up yesterday. We weren’t sure what was going on with that one, but he couldn’t go either. All those guys fell out before we even started the game. We were scrambling to get our guys up on the roster.”

As far as in-game injuries, Carroll was able to provide updates on those as well.

Guard Damien Lewis suffered an ankle sprain and safety Jamal Adams a groin strain.

Four players suffered knee injuries, which is concerning, although the exact nature of each has yet to be determined.

“Chris [Carson] got his knee twisted at the end of a play. I don’t know about that, but he has a sprained knee to some extent,” Carroll continued. “Jordyn Brooks had a knee sprain, also, earlier in the game. Guys rolled up on him. [Ethan] Pocic had a knee issue that he finished the game with. I don’t know how he did that, but he did. Mike Iupati had a knee situation also that he finished the game with.”

Seattle, like so many teams around the league, is seeing an enormous amount of injuries so early in the season. Carroll said they are just trying to make sense of it all.

“That’s a lot of stuff,” Carroll said. “We’re not used to seeing all those names coming out of one game. It’s hard to say. For everybody talking
about the injuries and all that, you would think it would be muscles and strains and that kind of stuff would be more of what you’d be seeing, but we’re seeing a different variety of things.”

Fortunately for the players, they have a couple of rest days to recover before returning to the practice field on Wednesday.

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PFF selects Duane Brown as Seahawks’ most underrated player

Pro Football Focus noted that Duane Brown of the Seattle Seahawks has been a top-10 tackle in the NFL since 2006.

The Seattle Seahawks’ offense is considered the team’s biggest strength heading into the 2020 season. Russell Wilson is obviously a big reason why, but the team has loaded up on weapons around him – including Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Will Dissly, Greg Olsen, Chris Carson, and now Carlos Hyde.

However, it was a member of the offensive line, a known weakness for the Seahawks, who was selected as the team’s most underrated player by Pro Football Focus.

Duane Brown joined the team halfway through the 2017 season, and he has been a steady force at left tackle each of the last three years. He’s not only the team’s best blocker, he is a team leader and mentor – something this team will need a lot this year with so much turnover up front.

Per the article:

The Seahawks’ offensive line has been bad in recent seasons. There is no getting around that. The overall weakness of the group reflects poorly on Brown, but he has been the lone bright spot for nearly his entire tenure in Seattle after nine-plus years with the Houston Texans to begin his career. In fact, Brown (82.2 overall grade since joining the Seahawks) is the only player along the line with an overall grade above 65.0 and 1,000 or more snaps played since 2017. Per PFF WAR, he’s been the eighth-most-valuable offensive tackle in the PFF era that stretches back to 2006. There may still be a lot of questions with the group up front for Russell Wilson, but he can still rely on Brown to provide strong play at left tackle.

Brown will look to lead a unit that could have as many as four new starters next season, depending if Phil Haynes can wrestle a starting job away from Mike Iupati.

Regardless, Brown will be instrumental to this unit’s success in 2020, both on and off the field.

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Duane Brown a virtual leader for Seattle’s new look offensive line

Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown is doing his best to virtually help Seattle’s young offensive linemen get ready for the 2020 season.

At 34 years old and entering his 13th NFL season, Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown is the unquestioned leader of Seattle’s rebuilt offensive line.

The team lost three starters from last year’s team – Justin Britt, D.J. Fluker and Germain Ifedi – as well as sixth lineman/tight end George Fant.

Mike Iupati is the only starter re-joining Brown in 2020, and he will have to compete with Phil Haynes to even get his old starting job back.

All this means Brown, who has taken on a leadership and mentorship role for the Seahawks the past three years, has his work cut out for him – not just with a plethora of new faces, but with a global pandemic making it far more difficult for him to impart his wisdom and help build team chemistry ahead of Week 1.

“Good offensive line play, a major factor is chemistry and continuity,” Brown told reporters over Zoom on Wednesday. “We lost a big chunk of our starting pieces this offseason. We’ve got some new faces, we’ve got some guys who have been in the system, we’ve got some guys who haven’t been here, so just getting to learn each other, learning the terminology, communication, just learning how we do stuff here, all of that stuff is important.”

“I’m doing what I can now, virtually, over texts, phone calls, just to try to build as much chemistry as possible until we’re able to meet and physically go on the field and do stuff,” Brown continued. “Once that happens, we’ll have a small window to try to build each other up as much as possible until the season starts… I’m going to do what I can to try to fill them in as much as possible on what to expect when it’s time to go.”

Most of the offensive line positions are wide open at this point, although free agent pickups B.J. Finney and Brandon Shell are expected to start at center and right tackle, respectively, with third round pick Damien Lewis expected to replace Fluker at right guard.

The team has plenty of others who will fight for starting jobs as well, including Joey Hunt, Ethan Pocic, Chance Warmack, Cedric Ogbuehi, and Jordan Simmons – among others.

Brown is working hard to help the young guys who are new to the team, since they have not had an opportunity to work on the field during either rookie minicamps or OTA’s, which has hampered their development and ability to learn the playbook.

“For the young guys who haven’t been a part of this team, I’m doing my best just to try to talk to them to tell them what to expect,” Brown continued. “We’re going over our playbooks, any questions that anyone has, I’m answering for them. Whenever we’re up and going, we just have to try to shorten the learning curve as much as possible to get that continuity. Again, we have a lot of guys that were in the system last year, so it probably won’t be as drastic as it seems. But it still takes a little bit of time just to get that going, and OTAs and minicamp and things like that are essential. We’ll make it happen.”

The Seahawks made a lot of changes to their offensive line, but it remains to be seen how exactly the unit will come together in 2020 – and it may be a while until we can see them all together on the field.

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Is this the last chance for offensive lineman Ethan Pocic?

The 2017 NFL draft has been full of duds, including offensive lineman Ethan Pocic. Is it time for the Seattle Seahawks to cut bait?

The Seattle Seahawks’ 2017 NFL draft class is not shaping up to be one of their best.

Pro Bowl corner Shaquill Griffin was a strong pick in the third round, and the team used their second seventh round pick on Chris Carson, but outside of those two picks the class as a whole has disappointed.

Malik McDowell, Amara Darboh, Nazair Jones, and Tedric Thompson are among the early round picks who either never suited up for Seattle, or are no longer with the club thanks to poor performances.

David Moore, Lano Hill, and Ethan Pocic are still with the team, but all three of them could be roster casualties if they don’t prove they deserve another chance during the 2020 season.

Pocic was the first one selected of the group, coming to the Seahawks as a late second round pick. The versatile offensive lineman only played in four games last year, starting one and appearing in 91 total offensive snaps before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

All told, Pocic has appeared in 30 games for the Seahawks, playing every position on the line except left tackle. That versatility is what made him appealing to Seattle in the first place, but his performance thus far has not been enough for him to earn a starting role.

Heading into year four, the door may look more open after the team’s release of D.J. Fluker and Justin Britt, two starters from last year’s line, but the addition of free agents B.J. Finney and Chance Warmack and the selection of hulking guard Damien Lewis in the draft seem to indicate the team is going in a different direction.

Lewis, Finney and Warmack will compete with a host of other interior offensive linemen, including Jordan Simmons, Mike Iupati, Phil Haynes, Joey Hunt and Jordan Roos, for spots on the offensive line in 2020.

Pocic’s best chance of making the roster is at backup center, where Finney is expected to start. He’ll be in direct competition with Hunt, the team’s backup center since 2016, and could face competition from Kyle Fuller and Haynes, who played some center in practice last year.

Pocic could theoretically challenge for a backup spot at tackle as well, where there is considerably less depth, but considering his best performances (which still aren’t great) have been on the interior, it’s unlikely he’d have what it takes to make it at that spot either.

The big question is if Seattle is willing to move on from a second round pick this quickly into his career, but considering the recent move to release both Jones (third round) and Thompson (fourth round) it might be time to cut bait on Pocic and admit that, outside of Griffin, Moore, and Carson, the 2017 draft just didn’t get the job done in the Emerald City.

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Mike Iupati brought in to compete with Phil Haynes at left guard

The Seattle Seahawks aren’t just handing veteran Mike Iupati his old job at left guard, he will have to compete with Phil Haynes for it.

Speaking on the radio at 950 KJR, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider provided some clarity to the team’s guard situation following the selection of Damien Lewis and the subsequent release of veteran guard D.J. Fluker.

“Everybody felt like we were drafting a starting right guard in the National Football League,” Schneider said about Lewis, the team’s third round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. “He’s just a man.”

Even after cutting Fluker though, the team won’t just hand a rookie a starting job on the offensive line. Chance Warmack, who they signed early into free agency, is a former first round pick who the team believes has the ability to start in the NFL as well, and the team brought back Jordan Simmons, who started a few games for them back in 2018.

However, one of the expected sources of competition, 2019 fourth rounder Phil Haynes, is apparently going to compete to start at left guard with veteran Mike Iupati, who the team re-signed last month.

Schneider said the team decided to, “bring Mike Iupati back to add some stability on the left side [and] to compete with Phil Haynes.”

Iupati started every game he played last year, but evidently the little the team saw of Haynes near the end of the year was enough for them to consider it an open competition – which also bodes well for Lewis potentially starting on the right side.

No job is guaranteed on the Seahawks, except Russell Wilson’s, so the position battles all along the offensive line should be fun to track over the summer as this team looks to put the most competitive product on the field ahead of the 2020 campaign.

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Damien Lewis will still face competition to start at right guard

Even after the Seattle Seahawks released D.J. Fluker, rookie Damien Lewis will face competition to start at right guard in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks released hulking right guard and fan favorite D.J. Fluker on Sunday evening, clearing $3.6 million in cap space while appearing to clear the deck for Damien Lewis – the team’s third round pick in the 2020 NFL draft – to start in 2020.

Although coach Pete Carroll sounded very confident that Lewis could start right away – going as far as to say that, “he won’t take a back seat to anybody,” Carroll’s culture of competition won’t allow him to just hand the job to a rookie right away – he’ll have to earn it.

And with 17 offensive lineman still on the roster, even after the release of Fluker and Justin Britt, competition will be aplenty whenever the team is able to get back onto the field.

B.J. Finney is expected to move into the starting center role in place of Britt, but Lewis will still face competition from a litany of names; including Phil Haynes, Jamarco Jones, Ethan Pocic, Chance Warmack, Jordan Simmons, Jordan Roos, and Demetrius Knox.

Jones could end up reverting back to tackle, his natural position out of the draft, while Pocic is an option at center as well. However, both guys could conceivably see some work at right guard over the summer.

Lewis’ primary competition is Haynes, last year’s fourth round pick who started the final game of the season after missing the first half of the year while on the PUP list.

Haynes and Lewis are similar players, and Haynes has a full-year of development at the NFL level – which could work in his favor especially with a very different training period leading up to the 2020 season.

Haynes does profile more as a left guard however, and he could settle in as the backup to veteran Mike Iupati, likely paving way for Lewis to start in his first NFL campaign.

There’s a long way to go until then though, and coach Carroll will take every last minute before making his decision of who will be protecting Russell Wilson in the trenches.

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What does the Damien Lewis pick mean for Mike Iupati and DJ Fluker?

Could Seattle Seahawks third-round draft pick, former LSU guard Damien Lewis, be a replacement for either D.J. Fluker or Mike Iupati?

The Seattle Seahawks have been stockpiling offensive linemen as if they were going out of style, and on Friday evening they continued this trend. With the No. 69 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Seahawks selected a guard from LSU, Damien Lewis.

Lewis was a stalwart on the LSU Tigers offensive line as they paved their way into history with a National Championship last season. With a decent selection used on Lewis, it stands to reason the Seahawks intend him to factor into their long term plans at the position.

Which naturally begs the question . . . what does this mean for D.J. Fluker and Mike Iupati?

Both were starters for the Seahawks last year, with Fluker finishing his second straight season in the Emerald City. While the pair was consistent enough, the Seahawks offensive line still struggled and Fluker’s 2019 wasn’t as strong as his 2018 season.

Injury concerns are also nagging for Fluker and Iupati. While both stayed relatively healthy – with both playing in a combined 30 out of 32 games – their health is still a concern for them.

Iupati recently signed a one-year extension with the Seahawks, and Fluker is in the final season of a two-year deal. Neither is breaking the bank for the Seahawks, however, that also means they wouldn’t be much of a hit should Seattle decide to part ways with either.

The addition of Lewis could very well be a move to build legitimate depth on a consistently maligned offensive line, although it’s fair to wonder if this selection signals the beginning of the end in Seattle for either Iupati or Fluker.

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Damien Lewis adds to Seahawks crowded group of guards

The Seattle Seahawks added a 19th o-linemen to their roster, drafting LSU right guard Damien Lewis in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL draft.

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The Seattle Seahawks evidently decided 18 offensive linemen weren’t enough, using the 69th pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft to select LSU guard Damien Lewis.

Lewis gets added to a group of guards that includes returning starters Mike Iupati and D.J. Fluker, as well as backup options Jamarco Jones, Phil Haynes, Ethan Pocic (who also came from LSU to Seattle, back in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft), Jordan Simmons, B.J. Finney, Chance Warmack, and Jordan Roos – among others.

Whew.

However, Lewis absolutely has the traits the Seahawks look for in their offensive linemen. He is a huge, mauling guard who is known for his ability as a power run blocker – which perfectly fits what Seattle wants to do on offense.

Described by NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein as ‘a forklift dressed as a right guard‘, Lewis should come in and immediately compete for snaps – and represents a great option to build the future offensive line around once Fluker and Iupati are no longer in the picture.

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Seahawks make signings of Mike Iupati, Luke Willson official

The Seattle Seahawks made the signing of left guard Mike Iupati and tight end Luke Willson official on Tuesday, bringing the pair back.

The Seattle Seahawks made the signings of tight end Luke Willson and left guard Mike Iupati official on Tuesday, continuing the trend of getting things finalized before the start of the 2020 NFL draft.

Willson reported he was coming back to Seattle way back at the start of free agency, but it took until now for his contract to be finalized, and the terms of the deal are still not known.

Willson will join a crowded tight end room that also includes returners Will Dissly and Jacob Hollister, as well as newcomer Greg Olsen. He will have to compete with Hollister for the No. 3 tight end role, although having him on hand as an injury replacement will be beneficial for Seattle.

Iupati’s return was reported last week, and he is expected to reprise his role as the team’s starting left guard in 2020. After adding B.J. Finney and Chance Warmack, and re-signing Jordan Simmons, it looked like Seattle might move on from the veteran Iupati.

However, coach Pete Carroll loves continuity on the offensive line, and brining Iupati back gives them the same starting left side of the line, alongside Duane Brown, for this upcoming season.

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