The Seahawks beat the Titans 27-17 to open preseason play, but really, who cares about the score?
We want to talk about quarterbacks, right?
Well first, a quick word on the defense. After being a top-10 defense last season, the Seahawks have been built up quite a bit on that side of the ball, not just locally, but by national media as well. As good as the Seahawks were last season on D, it is fair to wonder if a young group, and in particular a secondary that played out of its mind last season, can back it up. Well we need to wait for the regular season to know for sure, but if this game was any indication, the defense looks like it just might live up to the hype. Brandon Browner took an interception 23 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, the run defense (when the starters were in anyway) was excellent, and the Seahawks added two more turnovers later in the game.
“There has been a lot of talk about how good we are, and how we might get overconfident,” said safety Earl Thomas. “We did great tonight, and I’m very proud of the work that we have been putting in.”
OK, but what about the quarterbacks?
Well as expected, we saw a half of Matt Flynn and a half of Russell Wilson. Flynn was solid, though he wasn’t asked to do a lot in terms of throwing the ball down the field. He made one mistake, failing to recognize a linebacker dropping into coverage, but otherwise it was a solid, yet unspectacular night for Flynn 11 for 13 passes for 71 yards.
Wilson came in in the second half and was very impressive. Now we have to point out that he wasn’t going against starters, but he still put on quite a show, completing 12 of 16 passes for 124 yards while rushing for 59 and a touchdown. Like Flynn, Wilson missed on one throw, resulting in an interception, but it was otherwise the type of performance that will keep him in this quarterback competition.
Wilson’s biggest play, a 39-yard touchdown pass, got a big assist from Braylon Edwards, who made an impressive, leaping catch over a helpless cornerback.
Later, Wilson put an exclamation point on the game with a 32-yard touchdown run.
“It’s a good start,” Carroll said of both quarterbacks. ” … Very, very positive outing for them.”
And speaking of Edwards, he made a strong case for making this roster with his performance Saturday night (well, aside from one dumb block in the back penalty after Wilson had run out of bounds). When the Seahawks signed Terrell Owens, the though was that he might make the roster at Edwards’ expense, but Edwards had a very good week of practice following the signing, and looks like someone determined to show he’s still capable of putting up big numbers.
“That’s just what Braylon’s been doing in practice, and so that was cool that he carried it over,” Carroll said.
Also, there was one injury of note for the Seahawks, with tight end Zach Miller suffering a concussion taking a hard hit on a first-half catch. Carroll said they’ll be cautious bringing Miller back and go through all the usual concussion protocol. Other than that, Carroll said a few minor muscle injuries crept up, but there were no other significant injuries.
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