The Seattle Seahawks saw their first game action Saturday afternoon, coming away with a somewhat miraculous 17-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason opener. The Seahawks left the dramatics until the end as backup quarterback Trevone Boykin took the team 88 yards in 67 seconds with no timeouts, completing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Tanner McEvoy as time expired. Troymaine Pope then scored on the two-point conversion to give Seattle the victory.
But despite the compelling comeback, there’s only so much one can read from the first preseason game. For every minute the Seahawks’ top players spent on the field, they spent five baking in the Missouri sun on the sidelines. Starting quarterback Russell Wilson played a grand total of one series, while the first-team defense stuck around for just two. Kansas City used five different quarterbacks. Truth be told, preseason games are more about filling in the back end of the 53-man roster than about gaining information on those who will carry the load once the regular season begins.
Nevertheless, there were some insights that could be gleaned from Saturday’s action. Here’s a few:
The offensive line is not yet set
The Seahawks have been mostly consistent with their first-team offensive line throughout training camp: Garry Gilliam at left tackle, Mark Glowinski at left guard, Justin Britt at center, Germain Ifedi at right guard, J’Marcus Webb at right tackle. But Webb suffered a twisted knee during practice in the run up to Saturday’s game and did not dress, leaving an opening.
However, instead of just having a member of the second unit step into Webb’s position, Seattle instead switched Gilliam to the right side, where he played last season, and inserted Bradley Sowell at left tackle.
This is an interesting development. Gilliam was anointed the successor to Russell Okung at left tackle, thus being given the crucial responsibility of protecting Wilson’s blind-side. But Gilliam’s offseason was interrupted by surgery to remove a cyst from his knee, and the switch back to the right side Saturday could be interpreted as the Seahawks not being completely sold on the move of Gilliam to the left side. It’s a situation that bears watching as the preseason continues.
Christine Michael impressed
Michael was Seattle’s biggest standout on offense. With Thomas Rawls still recovering from his ankle injury, Michael was given the first-team snaps at running back and he made the most of them. Michael looked explosive as he gained 44 yards on seven carries, showing a good burst through the hole and an ability to break tackles. He also considerably outperformed rookie Alex Collins, his main competition as the alternative option to Rawls, as Collins was held to five yards on three carries.
No one has ever doubted Michael’s physical tools. The question about Michael has always been about his focus. The Seahawks decided Michael would never figure it out when, after two years, they pulled the ripcord and traded Michael to Dallas just before the the start of last season. Michael was subsequently released by both Dallas and Washington and his NFL future seemed bleak. But the Seahawks, in desperate need for a running back late last season because of injuries, decided to give Michael a second shot, and a humbled Michael was better the second time around.
It’s a small sample size so far, but it seems Michael has carried that changed attitude over into this season and is a legitimate candidate to retain his roster spot.
Boykin must show more
The rookie free agent, who’s trying to prove to the Seahawks he deserves to be Wilson’s backup, had an up-and-down game. His final numbers look promising — 16-for-26 for 188 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions — and he guided Seattle to four scoring drives while not turning the ball over once. However, almost all his stats were compiled during the final drive.
For the most part Boykin looked like a rookie seeing his first NFL action. He both overthrew and underthrew open receivers on third down, and he made one particularly poor decision when running the read option. Boykin looked far more comfortable at the end of each half while running the two-minute drill, which more closely resembled the up-tempo offense he ran in college at TCU.
There is plenty of speculation that the Seahawks, who have Super Bowl ambitions, will eventually find a more proven veteran to serve as Wilson’s backup. Boykin will have to progress during the preseason to silence that speculation.
Tyvis Powell showed the importance of special-teams play
The best way for those on the bubble to force themselves onto the final roster is to stand out on special teams. That being the case, no player helped his cause more than Powell.
Powell, an undrafted rookie safety out of Ohio State, stood out on three different special-teams units. He made a huge block on the punt-return team to spring Tyler Lockett, made a great tackle on kickoff coverage to pin the Chiefs deep in their own territory, then made a tremendous hustle play on punt coverage to just miss out on keeping the ball from going into the end zone for a touchback.
Powell had other highlights, making an interception on a tip drill late in the game and also showing versatility by playing some cornerback. But it was his efforts on special teams that will carry the most weight with regards to making the team.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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