BRADY HENDERSON

Cable praises blocking of Seahawks receivers: ‘We don’t have divas’

Dec 9, 2016, 6:00 AM

Tyler Lockett delivered a key block on Thomas Rawls' 45-yard touchdown run. (AP)...

Tyler Lockett delivered a key block on Thomas Rawls' 45-yard touchdown run. (AP)

(AP)

RENTON – You don’t rush for a season-high 240 yards like the Seahawks did last week without excellent blocking. And as Tom Cable noted, that means more than just his offensive linemen.

Cable on Wednesday talked proudly about what the Seahawks’ receivers mean to the running game with their willingness and ability to block. He mentioned one play in particular from Sunday night, Thomas’ Rawls 45-yard touchdown run, which was aided by a block from Tyler Lockett.

“Tyler is out there running a route, and then he recognizes that now it’s become a run to Tommy and Tommy is coming out to me, so he turns around and becomes a blocker and he gets the touchdown block on the play,” Cable said. “Every week we talk about, you have a good run game, it’s because of your perimeter people. You try to block them and fit them right, run it right and make good decisions, but the big plays and the big runs comes from the outside guys.”

Lockett was the beneficiary of key blocks from tight ends Brandon Williams and Nick Vannett on his 75-yard touchdown run, which Brock Huard broke down in his Chalk Talk video. Plays like that are part of the job description of a tight end. They’re not always a given with wide receivers, but when you play in an offense that prides itself on running the ball – even if Seattle has thrown more this season – they have to do some of the dirty work.

“We’re really fortunate here. We don’t have divas, we have tough guys,” Cable said. “They love catching it and making all those flashy plays, but they’re more than willing to block for us, and we really appreciate them.”

Dirty work is a term that Doug Baldwin has used while defending Jermaine Kearse, who’s come under some criticism this season as his production has dipped. One example of that, as pointed out by ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia, was a play from the second quarter of Sunday night’s game, when Kearse peeled back and leveled a defensive back to help free Baldwin for additional yards after the catch.

Jimmy Graham did his part Sunday night as well. He sprinted to the flat and cleared out a cornerback to spring Lockett on a first-quarter bubble screen, which gained 40 yards. Coach Pete Carroll brought up Graham unprompted on Monday.

“One thing too that we haven’t mentioned that I thought we should bring up here, Jimmy has been doing a really good job of blocking,” Carroll said. “He has really come along in his game and added to the factor. It wasn’t so obvious last year. He was working at it and trying to get it done, but this year has really been a step up for him. He’s really joined in and really taken great pride at it and worked hard at it. We’ve seen it. If you guys go back, we’ve seen a lot of perimeter blocks that he’s done a great job in springing plays. He’s also done a nice job in the line of scrimmage.

“He’s still improving but I think it’s an obvious improvement and make note of it, because he’s worthy of it.”

Graham may never be mistaken for Zach Miller, but after coming to Seattle last year with a reputation as someone who was unwilling and/or unable to block, he seems to have improved that part of his game.

“He came to us from a system that didn’t demand him to block a lot,” Carroll said. “He was on the backside of a lot of stuff, and it was just not part of the makeup of the position. When we brought him in right from the start and we talked about him becoming a complete player and running, catching, blocking, all of that, he was more than willing to do that. It’s just taken some time. He’s got such a magnificent body, he’s so big and tall and got great feet and he can move well. He just hadn’t called on it in the past.

“We’ve asked him to be a part of it and he’s done a really good job. Point of attack, backside stuff, perimeter blocks – he does well in all of that. He’ll continue to get better because he’s new at it, it’s new to him. He’s having fun with it and taking pride in it and like I said, it’s been positive.”

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