The Seattle Seahawks’ second preseason game gave Brock Huard plenty to sort through Monday morning, and he didn’t hesitate to separate the players who helped themselves from the ones who left a mark for the wrong reasons.
After Seattle’s 19-16 road loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday night, Huard focused first on the defenders who seemed to move the needle. On the “Blue 88” segment of Brock and Salk, he singled out linebacker Connor O’Toole, defensive end Rylie Mills and linebacker Chazz Surratt as the biggest risers.
“In this whole conversation of Jared Ivey, Jamie Sheriff, Connor O’Toole - these edge guys that you want to see somebody emerge as maybe just a fringe roster guy - I think Connor O’Toole played with his hair on absolute fire. I think he punctured the edge numerous times.
Obviously had a great play on a third down late in the game, blowing up a back and then the quarterback and making the tackle for loss. Just the edge that he set, the edge that he played with.
“I thought Rylie Mills from game one to two, I thought the pads were down, I thought the destruction and the block destruction was higher in the middle of the line. So I’d probably put those two, and then certainly Surratt.
I mean, that guy, he looked like Tyrice Knight from the week before. So I’d probably put those three the highest up.”
Huard’s down list started with the wide receiver depth chart, where he said the group at the bottom of the rotation had a rough night. He pointed directly to the fundamentals that slipped against Tennessee.
“Frisman Jackson, the receiver coach, you had to be really disappointed in that collective group effort. You false start, you false start, you false start, you push off and you extend your hands as obvious (as possible), you don’t fight back for the ball.
I thought the whole bottom of the receiver (group) with Jake Bobo missing the year now, with our guy Tory Horton out again for some time, said Mike Macdonald. Cody White, the fumbled punt, really bad fundamentals on that.
So I think for Frisman and his group, especially on the bottom of the roster, that was a pretty disappointing effort.”
The Seahawks were outscored 16-0 from the second quarter on in the loss, and Huard’s take reflected that split: a few defenders flashing real juice, and a receiver group that left too many plays on the table.
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