Grey Zabel didn’t try to hide from the rough night. After Seattle’s offensive line was reshuffled again, the Seahawks guard owned the difficulty of flipping to a spot he had never played before and facing a matchup that Chicago was quick to exploit.
“It was a challenge, an opportunity for me to grow, get outside my comfort zone, and ultimately become a better player,” Zabel said Thursday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, via radio host Gregg Bell.
The move came because of Seattle’s blockbuster addition of All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson, who made his Seahawks debut against the Chicago Bears in Week 8. That pushed Zabel over to right guard, where he lined up next to right tackle Abraham Lucas. The adjustment was immediate, and the Bears made sure Zabel felt it.
Chicago rarely sent Jeffery Simmons at Nelson. Instead, the Bears leaned into the matchup they wanted, using the Pro Bowl defensive tackle against Zabel. Pro Football Focus charged Zabel with three pressures allowed and one sack.
Zabel didn’t dodge that part of it, either.
“There are places that I need to become better at on the right side, especially hand usage and getting my sets in correctly,” Zabel said. “But that just comes with practice, time ... You don’t have much of that in the NFL, so we gotta kind of jump from last week to this week and just get better.”
He added, “I knew it would be a challenge; at the end of the day, it’s taking one side of your body and completely flipping it. ... You’re a competitor, you want to win and got out and to the best you possibly can for your team, for the guys next to you, for the O-line, and ultimately your quarterback to keep him clean.”
Zabel also said, “I won’t downplay how good Jeffery Simmons was. And I won’t downplay how bad I was….
“Got to wear a blow to the chin.”
Seattle’s line issues weren’t limited to Zabel’s switch. The Seahawks were also without starting left tackle Charles Cross, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Week 7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. That left Seattle with new starters in three spots: Josh Jones at left tackle, Nelson at left guard and Zabel at right guard.
The bigger question now is how fast the group can get healthy and start building real continuity.
There was at least one encouraging note in the run game. ESPN’s Brady Henderson pointed out that the Seahawks averaged just 3.6 yards/designed run with Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet back and Nelson making his Seattle debut, but he also noted that there were glimpses of what Nelson can add there.
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