Three Things from the Seahawks’ preseason opener vs Kansas City

You win some, you learn some.

And then there are times that you learn from a game in which you win on the final play. That finish wasn’t the most important thing to come out of the Seahawks’ 17-16 victory in Kansas City. Here’s a look at what we learned from Seattle’s preseason opener and what we’re still trying to figure out.

Three things we learned:

1. Justin Britt is off to a better start at center than he was at left guard.

That’s more a commentary on the timeline for Britt’s switch to center this season than it is how quickly he’s taken to his third spot in three years. Last year, Britt spent the first two weeks of training camp at right tackle, which was the position he started at as a rookie. That changed after the first preseason game when the Seahawks hit control-alt-delete on their offensive line, moving Britt from right tackle to left guard, which allowed Seattle to accomplish two things: 1) It got Garry Gilliam into the starting lineup and put Alvin Bailey on the bench; 2) It put Britt behind the 8-ball with the regular season just four weeks away. Britt’s first preseason start at left guard came in Kansas City last year. This year, he debuted at center in that city, and he felt more comfortable because he’d had weeks instead of days to prepare. “I feel like I’ve been there for a while,” Britt said after the game, “and I think that’s really that the coaches helped, making the move during OTAs and early offseason and gave me time to prepare myself.”

2. Christine Michael is going to make this team.

That constitutes a surprise to many. Well, to be more straightforward, it constitutes a surprise to me, because while Michael was absolutely adequate – you could even say he was solid – when he returned to Seattle last December, it seemed the writing was on the wall when the Seahawks chose three running backs in the draft. But Michael has looked the best of any Seahawks running back over the first two weeks of training camp. He has been more explosive than fifth-round pick Alex Collins and certainly more durable than third-round pick C.J. Prosise, who has missed two weeks with a hamstring injury after being slowed by an injured hip over the offseason. After Michael gained 44 yards on seven carries in Kansas City, coach Pete Carroll was already envisioning how he would fit into a backfield with Thomas Rawls, who returned to practice last week. “When Thomas gets out there,” Carroll said, “those two guys give you a little one-two punch that we’re kind of excited about, and then we’ll see. C.J. is going to come back this week; we’ll see where he fits into it also.”

3. Mike Morgan is going to be Seattle’s starting strong-side linebacker.

Experience is going to win out over upside on this one. Eric Pinkins – who was drafted as a defensive back – got caught looking inside on a first-half running play in which he should have been setting the edge. Third-year defensive end Cassius Marsh played exclusively along the defensive line against Kansas City. Morgan has played under Carroll for 10 years and counting and after an offseason in which he turned down a contract offer from Pittsburgh, he’s the overwhelming favorite to earn a starting role for Seattle’s defense.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. Should the Seahawks be worried about their run defense?

Let’s start with a qualifier: it’s not like the Seahawks hemorrhaged rushing yards. In two possessions, the starting defense allowed 24 yards on five carries and the rushing touchdown it gave up was on a play that began inside Seattle’s 1-yard line. Still, some of those yards seemed awfully easy. Chiefs running back Spencer Ware gained 9 yards on his first carry of the game. He also scored on the Chiefs’ first crack at Seattle’s goal line. Then – when Kansas City was pinned against its own goal line after Russell Wilson was intercepted – Ware rushed for 11 yards to get the Chiefs out of trouble. There are lots of potential reasons for why Seattle didn’t appear to be the big, bad defensive bully. Most significantly, Seattle was starting two rookies with Michael Bennett ill. But with Seattle lighter up front than it has been in recent years and poised to start rookie Jarran Reed at defensive tackle, it’s worth watching whether the Seahawks still have that steel-toed toughness against the run.

2. Did Garry Gilliam’s switch to left tackle just stall?

When right tackle J’Marcus Webb left practice with a knee injury last week, Gilliam moved back to right tackle, which was his position last year. Bradley Sowell – a veteran Seattle signed in the offseason from Arizona – stepped in at left tackle, the position Gilliam was expected to fill. The reason? “We thought that Bradley had made pretty good progress staying at the left side,” Carroll said. “We could go right back to being solid with Garry at the right side.” In other words, instead of having Gilliam learn the left side while Sowell got up to speed on the right side, the Seahawks are looking at reducing uncertainty by putting Gilliam back at the position with which he’s most familiar and then getting Sowell ready to play on the left side. “Really it’s just to get as solid as we can as early as we can with what we can count on,” Carroll said.

3. How did Brandon Browner get out-Brownered by a rookie?

Ask Tyvis Powell. The undrafted defensive back out of Ohio State had the hit of the game as his first-quarter block of D.J. Alexander on a punt return left the Chiefs linebacker with sore ribs. Then Powell nearly saved a touchback in miraculous fashion, and finally picked off a pass for good measure. It’s the kind of impact Browner once provided for Seattle. In addition to being a Pro Bowl cornerback, Browner was a special-teams menace, and he once knocked down three different Arizona players on a single punt-return play during his first tour with the team. Browner is trying to make the team as a safety this time around, but the performance of a young buck like Powell on special teams might make that even more difficult.

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