Preseason game No. 4: Seahawks vs. Raiders
Published 6:14 pm Friday, September 2, 2011
Pregame
Kickoff is still an hour away for the Seahawks’ final preseason contest, but while you wait, here’s a list of the players who aren’t expected to play today: Receivers Deon Butler, Isaiah Stanback, Mike Williams, Sidney Rice and Ben Obomanu, RB Marshawn Lynch, S Kam Chancellor, CB R
oy Lewis, LB David Hawthorne, TE Cameron Morrah, TE John Carlson, DT Colin Cole, DE Pierre Allen.
I’ll be back with updates from the game, though they’ll get less frequent as the game gets into the second half (deadlines).
T-Jack picked
So far this preseason we’ve been able to blame a lot of Tarvaris Jackson’s struggles on the offensive line, and occasionally Golden Tate’s hands, but after leading Seattle into the red zone, Jackson threw a very ill-advised pass into double coverage. That ended what was looking like one of the more promising drives this No. 1 offense has put together.
Also of note, James Carpenter was in with the first-team offense after splitting reps this week with Breno Giacomini.
Following the interception, Oakland had a pretty good drive going, but it stalled out after a false start penalty and some impressive pressure that led to an incomplete pass. Sebastian Janikowski then missed a 52-yard field goal attempt.
Long pass leads to FG
Golden Tate came into this game with something to prove after a rough go in the preseason, and so far he is looking good. He had a 43-yard catch on Seattle’s first play after the interception, and that eventually set up a 25-yard Jeff Reed field goal that made it 3-0 Seahawks
Thomas Clayton TD run makes it 10-0
Not sure if there is room for Clayton or not on the final roster, but he is making the decision difficult. Clayton scored from 1-yard out, following a nice lead block from FB Michael Robinson, giving the Seahawks a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Throughout camp and the preseason games, Clayton has looked like the team’s most effective short-yardage back (though that excludes Marshawn Lynch, who has barely played). Will Clayton make Seattle’s roster? Hard to say, but he’s going to find a job somewhere after this preseason.
Also, Tarvaris Jackson was out of the game for that series, and presumably is done for the night having completed five of seven passes for 88 yards and one pretty bad interception in the red zone.
Raiders get on the board
It’s now 10-3 Seahawks following a 34-yard field goal by Janikowski. Seattle had it’s No. 2 defense on the field, and gave up some chucks of yardage, but held strong at the end. Several rookies made nice plays on the defense for Seattle, including open-field tackles by linebackers Malcolm Smith and KJ Wright. Jeron Johnson came from a deep safety position to break up a short pass on third down that forced the Raiders to settle for a field goal.
Seahawks lead 10-3 at halftime
Not sure how important the score is at this point (we’re in full backup mode now), but Jeff Reed had a field goal blocked at the end of the half to keep the score tied.
As mentioned earlier, Golden Tate is putting to rest any doubt he’ll make the team. Not only does he have the 43-yard catch, but he has also returned a kickoff 34 yards and a punt 43 yards. So no, Golden Tate is not going anywhere.
While the subs are mostly taking over this game, Seattle did make a point of getting extra reps for left tackle Tyler Polumbus and right guard John Moffitt.
Reed FG makes it 13-3
Sorry, but this will have to be it for updates until after the game. Have to finish the story for tomorrow’s paper. Josh Portis came int at the end of the third quarter, and thanks in large part to a pass interference call, the Seahawks moved down the field quickly, but had to settle for a field goal.
It is worth pointing out that Carpenter stayed in the game for that entire drive. Moffitt came out after a couple of plays when the third quarter ended. It’s clear they want to get that young line as much work as they can before the games start to count.
