There weren’t a ton of bright spots on Saturday for the Seattle Seahawks in their 20-7 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders, but we did learn a lot about the team’s young defenders and a few things about some offensive players. For the most part, the offense was abysmal, especially due to the fact that the starting offensive line was particularly weak. The defense managed to recover in the second half after a lackluster start, and the defensive line was especially good. With that in mind, we’ll start by discussing the players who disappointed this week.
Disappointment #1: LT Stone Forsythe
Listen, I don’t blame Stone for his performance, given that he’s a rookie taking his first-ever NFL snaps, but he did show why he was a sixth-round pick against the Raiders. He was especially bad in the first half, committing a holding penalty and allowing a big hit on Geno Smith. Forsythe gave up a lot of pressures, but with Duane Brown sitting out for the whole preseason, he should have the chance to redeem himself.
Disappointment #2: CB Tre Flowers
Tre Flowers was probably the biggest disappointment for Seattle on Saturday. Now entering his fourth NFL season, Flowers has still yet to fulfill the potential the coaching staff sees in him. Despite having the typical Seahawks cornerback build, he has failed to translate his physical traits into any sort of consistent on-field play. Flowers looked lost at times in the first half and was beaten handily by the Raiders’ receivers.
Disappointment #3: LB Ben Burr-Kirven
While he will still likely make the roster, the University of Washington product did no favors for himself in terms of earning more playing time. He and Cody Barton were shocking in run defense in the first half (with the difference between their performances being Barton’s two sacks). It seems that he likely won’t have a shot at any of the starting jobs anytime soon.
Disappointment #4: TE Dominick Wood-Anderson
Wood-Anderson’s performance wasn’t necessarily disappointing; if I’m being honest, I’d never seen him play football before tonight. It was just tough to watch a player squander his opportunities in the way he did, dropping two targets and coming away with a false start. Hopefully he will get another chance in Seattle or somewhere else in the league.
With the lowlights out of the way, let’s discuss who looked good in Saturday’s game.
Highlight #1: Rasheem Green
Green was great tonight from the first snap, where he generated pressure that led to a Bryan Mone sack. He was able to generate pressure all night, and his impact on the game was much larger than his one sack would suggest.
Highlight #2: Deejay Dallas
Dallas was the surprise returner for kickoffs tonight, and had a solid one at the end of the first half, throwing his hat in the ring in the crowded competition. He also found the most success in the running game of any of the Seahawks backs, and scored the lone Seahawks touchdown of the game on a stellar 43-yard touchdown reception. Dallas is currently competing for his spot on the roster, and if he keeps producing performances like he did tonight, he will be hard to leave out.
Highlight #3: Alton Robinson
Despite having one embarrassing moment in coverage against the Raiders’ Zay Jones, Robinson had a very solid night generating pressure for the Seahawks. The second-year product had five tackles and a QB hit, and was frequently causing trouble in the Raiders’ backfield.
Highlight #4: Ryan Neal
Ryan Neal was one of the Seahawks’ only bright spots in the secondary tonight, flying around the field in the first half and coming up with a heads-up interception on an errant throw from Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman (on a pressure caused by Robinson). After having a breakout season last year due to Jamal Adams’ injury issues, Neal seems poised to have some impact on the Seahawks’ defense this year.
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