Written by DSA Hawker | 07 August 2009

I apologize if today is a bit thin, but there really wasn't a whole lot to reflect on. So hopefully my notes turn out to be more than it looks like in front of me. So I am going to start off my "article" with a nice little thing that I think will get everyone jazzed:

HOOK AND LADDER!

Yes, well, it wasn't really a hook and ladder per say, more of a In and Ladder, but it was still a hook and ladder -- and it actually worked.

Burleson was wideout left on the play, and Housh was wideout right. Hasselbeck dropped back and both Burley and Housh streak for about 20-ish yards. Burleson runs a long curl, while Housh cuts towards the middle of the field and inwards a bit to get separation from the three defenders around him.

Hasslebeck fires a pass to Housh up the right side about three yards into his cut. At the same time, Burley is running towards Housh from the left. Housh catches the ball cleanly and takes about three more steps. Burleson runs behind Housh without hesitation and Housh flips him the ball.

All of the defenders are chasing 84 at this point, and when they realize that Burleson has the ball it is too late and he's running up the right sideline for a TD.

HB PASS

Hass snapped the ball and Forsett instantly took off. Hasselbeck pitched the ball to Forsett, who was running a hard right sweep. He was a little deep when he got the ball so he ran hard to approach the line of scrimmage. The defense bit and came up to stop the sweep. That is when Forsett stopped and then threw up a bomb to Michael Bumpus who was running up the right sideline uncontested. He caught the ball and took off for a TD.

That was actually the second time they ran that play. Both times they used Forsett as the running back/passer, and both times it worked lovely. The first HB pass went to Ben Obomanu, who had about 15 yards between him and the DB trailing him. Forsett threw a beautiful pass then, and followed it up with another beauty to Bumps. It was awesome.

Maybe we should make Forsett our 3rd string QB?  Yeah, I'm talking about Teel and Rowe -- more to come on them.

There's plenty more to read, just click "Read More" below for player by player wrap-ups!

OFFENSE OBSERVATIONS

• Either our o-line was weak today or our d-line was pumped full of steroids. All I know is that the d-line was winning match ups all day in both the drills and the scrimmage. The o-line looks like a big mess.
• The o-line's problems basically led to zero ground game today. All of the runs up the middle were stuffed and sweeps were stopped by solid defensive performances.
• I really like Locklear as our RT, really I do, but based on his last two performances he is not a LT. He's getting beat by pure speed and that is all he would face on the left side. His first drop step is too slow, as if he's waiting to see what is going on. By the time he sees something, the DE is already halfway around him and then he's playing catchup. This approach works against the big strong left defensive ends he faces as a RT, but not when he's supposed to be protecting Hasselbeck's back. This makes me appreciate Walter Jones even more because he makes it look so effortless and his first step looks like he does nothing, but that's just because he's good. With Locklear you can see him scrambling to get his feet and body backwards to stay in position. Next year I hope we draft Eric Berry and our future LT with our two 1st round picks (thank you, Denver).
• Way too many short routes and dumps for a practice if you ask me. The QBs are having to settle for the short routes, which I think it's because 1) the d-line was doing a great job, 2) The DBs were doing a good job, and 3) the WRs were doing nothing to get open. Don't get me wrong, there were some good plays by the WRs, but obviously not enough and not on a consistent basis.
• While the team was switching out QBs for the offensive scrimmages I noticed that Rowe was getting a lot more time than Teel and even went in rotation before him. Is that an indication of anything?
• Still a heavy dosage of motion used in this offense, especially with the TE. On one play there were 2 TEs on the right, then both of them moved on an audible to the left side of the line and set up shop. Shortly thereafter, the inner TE motioned back to the right and set up, THEN the remaining TE on the left motioned to the right and goes back to his original spot.  From there the play turned into a run up the gun that went nowhere, but that's just one example.
• The WALL on Kickoff Returns was a combination of Vallos and Big Red Bryant. It was awesome to see Red out there -- he will rip a whole KO team apart -- but Vallos? I want to see a combination of Big Red and Mr. Wrotto. Now that would be fun to watch.

QUARTERBACKS

Jeff Rowe: Looked a lot better today. Doesn't mean he was great, or even good, but still a lot better. He didn't make any standout plays, nothing worth even mentioning, but he completed some passes, moved the ball and did a good job delivering the ball on target in drills

Mike Teel: Ohhh boy did Teel look out of place. My last writeup I said Rowe looked like a scrub, well hand the scrub cap to Teel for today's performance. He was mediocre during QB drills and then just looked completely lost during the scrimmage and goal line drills. Nothing was on target.  On one play Payne was running a shallow post and Teel's pass was about 10 yards to his left (this could have been caused by a bad route by Payne, but I'm not sure) Then on a streak up the right of about 25 yards he threw the ball into the heels of the CB. Later, on back of the endzone passes he completely threw it out of bounds on both the left and right sides on the endzone. That's just a few examples.  The kid showed nothing today, which is sad. Sorry Teel -- I hope you don't read this, but if you do just be encouraged to shut me the hell up. Trust me, I want you to shut me the hell up and actually start worshipping you. Come on man, you can do it!

Seneca Wallace: He looked like Seneca, nothing else to really report other than he had good pocket movement/awareness with our o-line being the D's whipping boys. He also fired a nice bullet into a crowd of three to Obomanu, who caught it cleanly for a TD.

Matt Hasselbeck: Hass showed some good arm strength today, applying some zip on his passes including a nice one to Houshmandzadeh between two defenders. He did have problems during the scrimmage, however, throwing up interception(s?), throwing the ball away, and missing his target a bit. Still, nothing too drastic in my opinion.

Running Backs

There wasn't a whole lot to note since the RBs were shut down all day, but . . .

Justin Forsett: step on up -- you just won yourself a roster spot! Out of all of the RBs, J-Forse was the only guy who actually did anything and looked good with the ball, not to mention that he is a better quarterback than two of our actual quarterbacks. I feel that he has separated himself from his very thin competition with Moore and established himself as our true 3rd RB.

Devin Moore: Did what he could with the underperformance of the o-line and the defense's dominance, and that wasn't a whole lot. He had a few flashes though, including a really nice jump turn and catch on a tough ball. I still think he can really contribute to this team and I hope he can show enough to warrant a roster spot; he still has too much explosiveness and potential to be cast off, even if he ends up on the practice squad. The team's gotta give him a chance and hopefully he can step it up in the preseason and showcase his playmaking ability.

TJ Duckett: Run into a pile of people, run into a pile of people, fall into a pile of people . . .

Julius Jones: Had a few good plays, including a nice off-tackle run where he bounced out to the right sideline and took it all the way. Probably wouldn't happen in a game, but would have been a solid run nonetheless.

Justin Griffith: Had another drop today. This one wasn't due to brick hands, but because he isn't agile enough to flip his hips and change his direction. He was running out towards the sideline when the ball came over to him, so he turned his head and part of his upper body. Really, he only had to turn completely around and move over a bit to make an easy catch, but in the process he just seemed to get stuck on himself. His legs and body didn't really cooperate -- the upper body tried, but his lower body was stuck going in his previous direction. I think there's a reason he's a FB and not a TE, or RB, or anything else for that matter.

RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS

Cameron Morrah: Still looks pretty slow and lumbering to me, not really what the scouting reports I've read has said about him. However, he made an awesome catch where the ball was sailing over his head: he planted his foot and dove, twisted in the air, and then caught the ball above his head while stretched out and then landing on his back. Great effort and catch.

John Carlson: Looked good out there, still nice and smooth in everything he does. No big crazy plays to point out, but I still gotta just mention him due to his awesomeness. Why won't they make a Carlson away jersey? I need one.

Joe Newton: Ran some good routes and made some good plays while taking advantage of some unsuspecting LBs. I've always liked Newton and hoped he could have squeaked onto the squad, because he has the receiving ability. But man, he looks like a twig in his lower body. He'd get eaten up in blocking.

Michael Bumpus: Just gotta give Bumps a hand, since he was the first player out of the locker room. Good for him. He also caught a nice HB Pass from J-Forse and then won a great physical one-on-one battle with Marquis Floyd. I like Bump and think he's been one of the better looking receivers out there and worthy of a roster spot.

Deon Butler: Made a nice one-handed-tip-catch on a pass that was high and he really had to stretch for i.  Then in one-one-one drills he went up against Travis Fisher and completely thrashed him. He ran somewhat of a . . . zig zag? He ran forward about 8 yards, planted his left foot, cut right immediately, planted his right foot, cut left, took a step, then planted his left foot again and cut right, then accelerated. This left him open for a catch while Travis Fisher stumbled over his own feet.

Logan Payne: Came up limping on one play. He made a nice catch on an in-route while battling Josh Wilson and then had another great battle with Babineaux where both of them caught the ball at the same time and Payne had to wrestle it away from him.

Nate Burleson: Made a few plays, including the Hook and Ladder and also on the 1st play of the scrimmage he was in the middle of the field and Hasselbeck hit him perfectly, then Burleson took it all the way to the house. The play would have been a TD in a game. Great play.

TJ Houshmandzadeh: Not as impressive today, but that is okay -- he will still tear it up in the season. Had a great endzone battle with Jennings on a short post route where Housh was able to successfully shield Jennings from getting to the ball. He also had that great catch from Hasselbeck in between two defenders in the endzone. He did drop one pass, but it could have been tipped by Josh Wilson, I couldn't quite tell since Wilson was on his side and trying to squirt his hands into Housh's grip. He also gave up on one post endzone pass from Hasselbeck, thinking the ball was going out of bounds; Wilson was nearby and falling over, but still tried to make a play on the ball. He would have intercepted it if he wasn't already kind of falling to the ground.

Courtney Taylor: 15 minutes into practice he had to run into the bushes and take a leak. Not sure if that means anything, but hey, he had to take himself out of drills. I guess I can't talk too much crap because I did the same thing back in my football days. So go Taylor, good job for doing it in front of your adoring fans. I'm sure someone collected a dirt sample to sell on eBay after that.

Joking aside, Taylor made a BEAUTIFUL toe-tapping TD catch on the right side of the endzone against Kelly Jennings. There is nothing Kelly could have done, as the ball was well out of reach and actually out of bounds. Taylor was able to reach out with his entire length, nab the ball, and keep his toes about two or three inches inbounds. But he also did have one ugly play: on 4th down during the 2 minute drill, Hasselbeck fired kind of a tough pass to catch causing, Taylor to dive for the ball. He cleanly got two hands on the ball, then dropped it before he hit the ground. Tough catch and great effort by Taylor, I give him props for that, no easy thing to do, but as a professional, you HAVE to make that catch and it was definitely more than catchable.

KICKERS AND PUNTERS

Brandon Coutu: He did all of the kicking today. Does that mean anything? He was 6 for 6 during his kicking drills, including a 55 yarder straight down the middle with plenty of room to spare. He was kicking with the wind, but his accuracy owed more to his leg than the wind.

Jon Ryan: He actually did a nice job punting. He had three lame punts, but other than that he was BOOMING them. Ryan was kicking 60+ yards, including one that was near 80 with the wind. He needs to get rid of those three lame ones and be perfect every time, but when he was on he was on.

DEFENSE OBSERVATIONS

• Either our d-line was awesome today or our o-line was pumped full of Valium. All I know is that the d-line was winning matchups all day in drills and the scrimmage.
• Mebane, Mebane, Mebane, Mebane, Redding, Redding, Redding, Redding, Redding, Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl!!!
• The linebackers looked MUCH better today.
• During the drills where the QB and WR go off, the o-line goes off, and the d-line goes off and does their thing, all three groups worked hard and were up tempo and, uh, worked hard. I don't know what it is, but both times I've been to practice it doesn't looked like the DBs and LBs are working at all. They trot through their coverage assignments and then trot through their zone assignments and run some plays at 1/4 speed. The d-line is busting their asses, as are the WRs and QB/RB/OL not too far behind, but the coaches don't push our DBs or LBs at all?
• During d-line drills there was a slalom course set up with those big padded pylons that stand back up when they're tipped over. There are three pylons and then a 4th that is off to the side as the "QB". The d-line goes Right "SLAP PYLON," Left "SLAP PYLON," Right "SLAP PYLON," then turn the corner to "Swipe/Sack PYLON". I was keeping track of who was fast/slow/aggressive/courteous to these pylons:
• The 3 fastest players were Kerney of course, followed by Corey Redding (Pro Bowl) and Derek Walker, of all people. Good Job, Walker. Tapp was a close 4th.
• The most aggressive person was easily Mebane (Pro Bowl!) It was awesome. This guy, instead of "SLAP PYLON" it was more "MAUL PYLON," "TEAR PYLON," "BREAK PYLON" and then he turns the corner with an audible roar and then LAUNCHES himself into the QB PYLON with an intent to "KILL PYLON." He takes out the pylon, hits the ground, and easily rolls up onto his feet and saunters off like nothing. It was great.
• There was not as much DT rotation today, as in Cole and Mebane mixing it up and swapping positions before the snap.

LINEBACKERS

Shane Simmons: The new guy made a play during his first practice. It was a sweep to the right and Simmons was actually taking on an advancing TE (Owens?). He accelerated towards the TE and cut towards his inside shoulder, this actually plowed him right into the TE and the RT AND another blocker, but he put up just enough of a fight to take care of all three blockers before being smushed under 800lbs of meat. This also allowed the rest of the defense to devour the RB. Thankfully, Mebane spit Forsett out after he was done gnawing on him a bit.

Leroy Hill: Showed some good heads-up plays out there. He didn't make any great big play, but was everywhere and doing a very fundamental job of sealing off edges and causing the RB to cut inside into a pile of Mebane/Redding/Bryant/Cole. He actually did a very good job with containment, so round of applause for him, and then he also had an inside blitz where he got instant pressure on the QB. Seneca ran away and Leroy chased him around a bit, but it looked like Leroy let up once he got through the line. I think it would have been an easy sack in a game, not to mention most QBs can't get away as fast as Wallace.

Lofa Tatupu: Had a great interception while he was playing a short middle zone. Burleson was running an in-route from the slot and Tatupu let him by but still kind of shimmied his way, playing just off of Burley's hip. The QB fired and Tatupu easily slid in front and grabbed the ball. Easy-peasy textbook read and react by Lofa. Loved it. He also had an inside blitz and was able to get a tip. Ate up a lot of runs as well, even though the d-line took care of most of them before he could.

David Hawthorne: Not as impressive today with Lofa and Leroy stepping up, but he did have a .5 sack off the edge along with Baraka Atkins.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Nick Reed: TWO SACKS beating the OT around the edge, and Derek Walker right there doing the same on the other side if Reed missed the QB. He did the exact same thing on the second play, destroying the pocket with Kevin Brown coming on the other end.

Baraka Atkins: 1.5 SACKS, the .5 being an edge rush with Hawthorne on the other end and then the full sack on a QB roll-out that he sniffed out a mile away. He abandoned the blocker with an easy push and then cut off the QB before he was even able to complete his turn.

Darryl Tapp: SACK on an edge rush versus Locklear, simply sped past him

Lawrence Jackson: Got very nice pressure up the middle that led to a tip, but I think it was only a tip because he had to lay up so I'm going to say SACK

Cory Redding: 2 SACKS, one where he was battling Rob Sims for a long time. Sims put up a great fight, causing Redding to go past the QB and have to circle around, but in the end Cory outfought Sims, plus the QB held onto the ball too long. His other sack was a great one where he started on the right of the line and actually worked his way down the line, breaking through the RG. He's a beast and did I mention PRO BOWL???? I'm not sure if I had mentioned that yet.

Patrick Kerney: SACK. Off the snap, he planted his left foot to go diagonally right, then instead of looping around the LT he simply planted his right foot and then JETTED straight to the QB. He was so quick and abrupt that Locklear had no chance to set up before Kerney blew past him.

Kevin Brown: 2 SACKS. One was a standard sack versus a backup and then another where him and Nick Reed rushed off the edge and destroyed what was once a pocket. They both reached the QB at the same time.

Red Bryant: Did a great job stuffing runs, and he can get into the backfield in a hurry. I'm excited to see him during the season when he can get really mad and bust apart some facemasks.

Brandon "Pro Bowl" Mebane: Why don't they make Mebane away jerseys??? I need one. My god I love Mebane, and man does he look TRIM. Not trim as in thin because he is beastly, but he looks like he is carved out of stone. Last year he was a beast but definitely had a gut and bubble butt. Now he's just a solid mass. He's still two steps ahead of all the other d-linemen, who are all getting good jumps. Mebane is just that good. He did get called for offsides cause he jumped early, but I don't care, he's making so many plays I'll deal with a penalty or two. He had a great run stop where he actually ran TJ Duckett down from behind before Duckett could even get to the RT. Mebane fought the LG andC, then had enough speed to catch Duckett before he went anywhere. He also blew up a HB pass up the right side. He fought both the C and G again, cutting into the backfield and completely would have killed the HB before he threw the ball.

Are you guys noticing a trend with all of these d-linemen? I'm both ecstatic about our d-line and worried about our o-line.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Kelly Jennings: Got beat a few times but was in good position for most of the day. But that is always the case with Jennings, always in position but never able to finish a play. Thankfully the times today he was unable to finish were due to great passes and great jobs by the WR. I don't think any CB would have been able to stop the pass on those plays. He also showed some good physicality, jamming Obomanu at the line of scrimmage and holding on to it.

Deon Grant: Had a great backside run stuff, which he followed up with an INT on a 40 yard bomb and then another possible easy INT on a TD pass to Housh. I think Grant knowingly laid up on the ball and let it past him. The second Housh caught the ball Grant was signaling "no" and then kind of flaunting a bit. I think most everyone agreed.

Josh Wilson: Muffed a high KR he tried catching over his head while backpedaling. Had 3 great tips, two of them coming against Houshmandzadeh in the endzone and then another where he flat-out dove on a curl route by Payne, with Wilson jetting in front of Payne for the tip.

Marquis Floyd: Held his own out there and even laid a nice hit on a dump pass to the RB. He closed very quickly and hit the RB with a good whack.

Ken Lucas: Had a great reach-around tip on John Carlson, kind of like a bear hug from behind. The ball went straight into the air and Brian Russell intercepted it. Hasselbeck actually stared down Carlson, but Ken did a good job of making a play while out of position against a bigger player.

Kevin Hobbs: Also held his own, including a very nice twisting deflection in which he wrapped around Burleson for the clean stop.

CJ Wallace: Interception off of a very high pass from Hasselbeck to Houshmandzadeh, but it was overthrown. There was no way Housh could have made a play and Wallace didn't even have to move to catch the ball.

Brian Russell: Didn't do anything bad today. He even had that interception off of Ken Lucas' deflection.

Well that is it guys, hope ya'll enjoy reading up and I'll try to answer anything that you may bring up. And once again, if any of you were there and would like to add something or contest anything I wrote, please speak up and get this puppy rolling. I don't have eyes coming from every angle, so I'm sure I missed some stuff out there. Time to go get some more coffee . . .

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