Published: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Seahawks' Miller still waiting for chance to shine
Seattle has had to use its star tight end more as a pass blocker than a pass catcher
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Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press
Seattle receiver Zach Miller (86) has the ball knocked loose by Pittsburgh's LaMarr Woodley during the fourth quarter of the Steelers' 24-0 victory over the Seahawks on Sept. 18.
RENTON -- Two games into his first season with the Seahawks, tight end Zach Miller was asked about his lack of production.
Miller, one of Seattle's big free agent signings, wasn't putting up big numbers like he had in Oakland, but that was not the product of poor play on his end, but rather the team's need to keep Miller on the line of scrimmage to help a young offensive line.
Seven weeks later, Miller is still waiting for his chance to shine, and the Seahawks are hoping they can give it to him.
At the midway point of the season, Miller, who Seattle signed to a five-year, $34-million contract, has just 11 catches for 99 yards and no touchdowns. In four seasons with the Raiders, Miller never had fewer than 40 catches, and had 60 or more in each of the past two seasons, making him the top tight end on the free agent market this offseason.
However, thanks to Seattle's frequent inability protect the quarterback -- Seattle has allowed 29 sacks, the second highest total in the league -- Miller has been more of an extra offensive tackle this season than dangerous pass catcher.
"Zach could help us by just being more of a factor," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "And that's not on him. It's on us to get him the football.
"He's been a terrific factor blocking and helping us in pass protection. He had a great game last week for us, but not in the numbers way that you would see. If we can make him more of a threat by getting the ball in his direction more, that'll help us."
Miller is the Seahawks best pass-catching tight end, but he also happens to be their best blocking tight end. That often has meant a more active role in the passing game for backup Anthony McCoy than for Miller, but despite having no catches in two of his past three games, Miller won't complain about his lack of catches.
"I just want to win, and it's tough having only two wins so far," said Miller, who went without a catch only once in his four seasons in Oakland. "It's nice to have all those numbers, but I'd rather be winning. ... With a young offense line, sometimes you're asked as a tight end -- especially against some of these rushers in the NFL, guys like DeMarcus Ware -- to help out your tackles. No matter how good your tackles are, sometimes you've still got to help them out. And especially with a young offensive line, I expected to be in protection more."
While Miller knew his numbers could fall off a bit this year, neither he nor his coaches want that trend to continue. Now more than ever, good NFL offenses rely on tight ends who can make plays in the middle of the field and beat zone coverage. As much as Miller is valuable as a blocker -- he was a big part of the reason Seattle kept Ware from registering a sack last week -- eventually the Seahawks will have to find ways to get him more involved as a receiver.
"That's the challenge for us," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "Some of the things that we had to do last week to take care of the protection -- we left our tight end in at times, as well as our (running) backs in at times. We had some different schemes for him, so I thought we did a nice job of mixing that up and still were able to get the tight ends out.
"That's kind of the challenge because Zach is our ace in the hole as a blocker in terms of protection and in terms of the run game, but then he can do some good things in the pass game. ... So that's something that we definitely need to look at and balance."
Notable
QB Tarvaris Jackson was limited in practice Wednesday as the Seahawks continue to monitor his pectoral injury.
"The gains are very slight. It's all about how he feels from one day to the next," Carroll said. "His strength is there, which is a really good sign. ... It's really a day-to-day thing."
Receiver Sidney Rice (foot) didn't practice, but should be fine for Sunday's game, Carroll said. Tight end Cameron Morrah (knee/toe) didn't practice and will likely sit out Thursday as well. Linebacker David Vobora (concussion) was also sidelined. Receiver Kris Durham, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, has been dealing with a torn labrum for a while and will need surgery, Carroll said.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
Miller, one of Seattle's big free agent signings, wasn't putting up big numbers like he had in Oakland, but that was not the product of poor play on his end, but rather the team's need to keep Miller on the line of scrimmage to help a young offensive line.
Seven weeks later, Miller is still waiting for his chance to shine, and the Seahawks are hoping they can give it to him.
At the midway point of the season, Miller, who Seattle signed to a five-year, $34-million contract, has just 11 catches for 99 yards and no touchdowns. In four seasons with the Raiders, Miller never had fewer than 40 catches, and had 60 or more in each of the past two seasons, making him the top tight end on the free agent market this offseason.
However, thanks to Seattle's frequent inability protect the quarterback -- Seattle has allowed 29 sacks, the second highest total in the league -- Miller has been more of an extra offensive tackle this season than dangerous pass catcher.
"Zach could help us by just being more of a factor," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "And that's not on him. It's on us to get him the football.
"He's been a terrific factor blocking and helping us in pass protection. He had a great game last week for us, but not in the numbers way that you would see. If we can make him more of a threat by getting the ball in his direction more, that'll help us."
Miller is the Seahawks best pass-catching tight end, but he also happens to be their best blocking tight end. That often has meant a more active role in the passing game for backup Anthony McCoy than for Miller, but despite having no catches in two of his past three games, Miller won't complain about his lack of catches.
"I just want to win, and it's tough having only two wins so far," said Miller, who went without a catch only once in his four seasons in Oakland. "It's nice to have all those numbers, but I'd rather be winning. ... With a young offense line, sometimes you're asked as a tight end -- especially against some of these rushers in the NFL, guys like DeMarcus Ware -- to help out your tackles. No matter how good your tackles are, sometimes you've still got to help them out. And especially with a young offensive line, I expected to be in protection more."
While Miller knew his numbers could fall off a bit this year, neither he nor his coaches want that trend to continue. Now more than ever, good NFL offenses rely on tight ends who can make plays in the middle of the field and beat zone coverage. As much as Miller is valuable as a blocker -- he was a big part of the reason Seattle kept Ware from registering a sack last week -- eventually the Seahawks will have to find ways to get him more involved as a receiver.
"That's the challenge for us," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "Some of the things that we had to do last week to take care of the protection -- we left our tight end in at times, as well as our (running) backs in at times. We had some different schemes for him, so I thought we did a nice job of mixing that up and still were able to get the tight ends out.
"That's kind of the challenge because Zach is our ace in the hole as a blocker in terms of protection and in terms of the run game, but then he can do some good things in the pass game. ... So that's something that we definitely need to look at and balance."
Notable
QB Tarvaris Jackson was limited in practice Wednesday as the Seahawks continue to monitor his pectoral injury.
"The gains are very slight. It's all about how he feels from one day to the next," Carroll said. "His strength is there, which is a really good sign. ... It's really a day-to-day thing."
Receiver Sidney Rice (foot) didn't practice, but should be fine for Sunday's game, Carroll said. Tight end Cameron Morrah (knee/toe) didn't practice and will likely sit out Thursday as well. Linebacker David Vobora (concussion) was also sidelined. Receiver Kris Durham, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, has been dealing with a torn labrum for a while and will need surgery, Carroll said.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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