The Seahawks got a clearer read on both sides of the ball during Day 9 of training camp, and the defense made sure the offense didn’t have the whole conversation in Renton.
It was a hazy Tuesday with wildfire smoke drifting west from the terrible and deadly fires in Spokane, a situation that has already affected the Seattle area and is expected to continue through the week. The air quality was already sitting at a moderate 99 in Renton as this was being written, and Wednesday’s forecast is supposed to be even worse.
That leaves open the possibility of an indoor practice, though nothing had been decided yet. Thoughts and condolences went out to everyone affected in the Spokane region.
On the field, the defense answered back after some recent camp chatter that had made it sound like Seattle’s offense was having its way. That wasn’t the case in the portions of practice that looked more like a scrimmage.
Per the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta, the Seahawks were in full pads for the third time in camp Tuesday and finished with several scrimmage-style series between the No. 1 offense and defense. The first unit defense forced a three-and-out on the opening series when Sam Darnold missed Rashid Shaheed down the sideline on third and long, with Nehemiah Pritchett sticking in coverage. Pritchett, who appears to be winning the battle for the third corner spot, stood out again.
John Boyle of Seahawks.com also noted that the defense controlled one modified scrimmage segment, with the No. 1 offense stopped twice without scoring and the No. 2 offense also getting stymied. The defense made plenty of noise beyond that, including multiple pass breakups from Ty Okada, a run stop in the backfield by Ernest Jones IV, and a play from Uchenna Nwosu in which he got free from the blocker in front of him and jumped to bat down a Darnold pass.
One of the clearest position battles right now is at safety, where Ty Okada seems to have the edge over rookie Bud Clark. Condotta reported that Clark has seen some work with the No. 1 defense in recent practices, but Okada has been the more consistent partner next to Julian Love.
During Tuesday’s scrimmage work, Okada and Love took all the snaps as the deep safeties with the starters, while Clark mixed in as a third safety and worked deep with the backups. That doesn’t close the door on Clark, but Okada is the steadier presence at the moment.
New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury also made it clear he wants more from the run game. With Zach Charbonnet sidelined by injury, the overall picture has included blocking, technique, and backfield decisions, and Fleury wasn’t sugarcoating where he thinks things stand.
“I want us to be better. We are moving in the right direction.
We have been efficient in practice, but I see things through a different lens. It’s not the success of the play on the practice field.
I’m looking at everyone’s alignment and technique and there’s a lot of room for growth there. Not to say that we’re doing poorly but I expect that to be an extremely reliable portion of our game and it’s not there yet.”
Tory Horton is still getting on the field, and that matters after his cracked tibia. He had one maintenance day during the first week of camp, and that’s been about it. Horton has ramped up well, continues working with Sam Darnold, and is trying to shake off the rust while building toward a second-year jump after a promising but shortened rookie season.
There’s also a question hanging over Jalen Milroe and whether the Seahawks could bring back a package for him this season. By most accounts, the second-year quarterback has had a strong camp, and Fleury said his passing efficiency has stood out. The door is open for him to have a role, but the first step is simple: he has to keep proving he can play quarterback.
“Potentially. If he’s going to be active on gamedays, we’re going to have ways to use his skills to our advantage and surprise defenses with that.
The decision about that is going to be based on how well he plays quarterback. We have to get over that hurdle first.”
Field Gulls is also on site in Renton this week and will be at VMAC and Lumen Field for training camp practices on Aug. 5, 7, and 8, with reactions and observations coming from those sessions. The Seahawks Syndicate crew is back as well, with live shows set for Fast Fashion Brewing in SoDo.
Corbin Smith will join the Aug. 5 show at 7:30 pm PT, and the Town Hall-style show on Aug. 7 at 7:30 pm PT will include a ticket giveaway for the Seahawks-Cowboys preseason game. The final show is set for 2:30 pm PT before Fan Fest on Saturday.
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