Preseason football doesn’t really matter.
At least that’s what we tell ourselves when the Seattle Seahawks lose. Frankly, I wasn’t sure if the team actually bothered to show up for most of the game against the Green Bay Packers until the “Cody White drive,” where he caught a TD pass from Jalen Milroe to make the score 20-7.
There were more chances for Seattle, but they were allergic to the football today. It happens.
We weren’t expecting to see any starters for the Seahawks,
so that wasn’t a surprise. In fact, many of the players on both sides of the ball were far down the depth chart and likely won’t make this team. Don’t tell that to the Packers, who had many of their starters on the field to begin the game. That’s not an excuse for the putrid showing by Seattle since they couldn’t make up the difference later in the game against Green Bay’s backups. Hopefully they got some good work in during that joint practice, because today’s game was ugly!
Seahawks Droppings
- Mixed results from Milroe. Mike Macdonald told us that Jalen Milroe would play the entire game, which excited the entire fan base. Instead of taking a step forward with increased playing time, today’s game was more of what we’ve seen so far this preseason. Milroe is a developmental QB with tantalizing traits, yet needs plenty of seasoning. His offensive line didn’t do him a ton of favors today, but Milroe needs to have better ball security. That shotgun snap from Mason Richman that went through his hands was a little off target and likely too hot. Still, it should have been caught. Milroe once again showed his athleticism on running plays and had a few pretty passes mixed in there. He’s a work in progress that could pay huge dividends for this team in a few years.
- Jacardia Wright continues to make plays. I’m not so sure that I wouldn’t rather have Wright on the practice squad than Damien Martinez. Holani didn’t play today, and he’s likely locked up a spot on the 53-man roster. Maybe they try to get both Wright and Martinez on the practice squad, but I’ve been more intrigued by what I’ve seen from Wright. Martinez played better last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, looking more like the explosive and powerful back the Seahawks had in mind when they drafted him. Today, he looked tentative against Green Bay and was regularly brought down on first contact.
- Cody White stepped up even though he’s probably on the outside looking in when it comes to the 53-man roster. He’s like that AAAA player in baseball – good enough to stick around, but can’t quite make it in the big leagues. He could be another player for the practice squad that could be called up in a pinch.
- Seattle is fortunate that Jake Bobo wasn’t injured more seriously. He was part of a nasty collision trying to field a punt and you could see on the replay that Bobo was knocked out on the field. Injuries are the worst thing that can happen in the preseason. Bobo is going to be a core part of special teams and is a red zone threat as well. Losing him for any period of time in a meaningless game would’ve sucked. I’m glad he’s OK!
- Nehemiah Pritchett looks like a much more confident player in his second season. Sure, he gave up that circus catch to Matthew Golden early in the game, but he was actually in decent position. Pritchett also had an interception in the first preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The depth behind Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen doesn’t look so bad now with Pritchett, Josh Jobe, and Shaquill Griffin.
- It may not have felt like it, but Seattle actually outgained Green Bay in yards 253-206. It was the 4 Seattle turnovers, 2/13 on third down, and 1/4 on fourth down that killed them. Count them up, that’s seven times the Seahawks gave the ball back to the Packers. They’re lucky the game wasn’t worse, to be honest.
That was a crappy game, no two ways about it. The good thing? Preseason is over! It looks as if Seattle came out of it without any major injuries, which is really the most important thing. Next up are the roster cuts. Remember that the initial 53-man roster will almost assuredly not be the final 53-man roster, as the Seahawks may be active in waiver claims. Also, don’t rule out a classic John Schneider cutdown day trade.
