DC Kris Richard: Seahawks will have tough decision at strong-side LB

RENTON – You wouldn’t have a good sense as to which of the Seahawks’ candidates at strong-side linebacker is in the lead to win that job if you just listened comments from Seattle’s coaches.

Such as this one from defensive coordinator Kris Richard.

“They’re progressing each and every single day,” Richard said Wednesday. “All the candidates, they’re all true, viable candidates. So it’s a good problem to have. They’re going to make it really difficult for us to make the ultimate decision at the end.”

Coach Pete Carroll hasn’t really handicapped it, either, calling the competition between Mike Morgan, Cassius Marsh and Eric Pinkins “wide open.”

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But anyone who has watched Seattle’s practices over the offseason and the first two weeks of training camp would come to the conclusion that if any of those three have an edge, it’s definitely Morgan. He’s most often gotten the first crack at strong-side linebacker during team drills, including on Sunday when the Seahawks held a scrimmage.

He’s also by far the most experienced of the three, both at strong-side linebacker and in Seattle’s defense. Marsh and Pinkins are both third-year players who are still relatively new to the position having switched from defensive end and cornerback, respectively. Morgan is entering his sixth season in the NFL, and he previously played for Carroll at USC. The two have been together for so long that Carroll often jokes that he’s been coaching Morgan since grade school.

Richard was asked Wednesday how Morgan’s experience with Seattle’s defense is evident.

“It’s comfortable for us because we know him and we’ve seen him out there,” Richard said. “Where it shows up is that there aren’t very many mental mistakes. So where maybe some guys who don’t have as much experience as him, you see a little bit more mental mistakes here and there. He’s able to get the alignments, the communication and things like that. It’s just much more crisp because he has more experience.”

Here are a few more notes from Richard’s media availability on Wednesday:

• Asked to identify how second-year cornerback Tye Smith looks different now compared to his rookie season, Richard noted that he looks faster. “Maybe the reason why he looks faster is because he’s not thinking so much. That can really be a real reason why. Year 2 in our system, he’s experienced this game, he understands what we’re asking of him, and he’s playing faster. That’s why he could look faster because he’s playing faster.” Smith, a fifth-round pick last year, appeared in only four games as a rookie. He’s been working both outside and in the slot this offseason and in camp. He was at right cornerback Wednesday when he undercut a route to intercept a pass from Jake Heaps.

• Richard acknowledged that the preseason will be an important gauge of how well the Seahawks are tackling considering their practices never consist of completely live contact. He said that no decision has been made yet as to how much the starters will play in Saturday’s preseason opener at Kansas City.