Huard: Seahawks have promising young core taking shape on defense
Dec 24, 2021, 12:45 AM | Updated: 1:13 am
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
It’s fair to have concerns about the future for the Seattle Seahawks considering they are now guaranteed to finish with their first losing season in a decade, but it’s not all doom and gloom if you look at the team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
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Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, who was the color commentator on the FOX TV broadcast of the Seahawks’ 20-10 loss to the Rams on Tuesday night, had some very positive observations to share Wednesday about a number of young Hawks defenders when he joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Mike Salk Show for his daily segment.
Huard said he saw promising signs from lesser established players at each level of Seattle’s defense, and it’s a trend that has been seen throughout the season.
“Some of their young defensive personnel that we’ve been liking and talking about β from (defensive end) Darrell Taylor to (linebacker) Jordyn Brooks, even new young corners who kind of were thrown into the fire, the young safety (Ryan Neal) β those guys are coming,” Huard said. “… Jordyn Brooks was awesome, he played terrific. Neal was good, (cornerback) Bless Austin did what he could to scrap, (cornerback) Sidney Jones shows you that he can play and be a starting corner in this league. I thought there was a bunch of encouragement. Darrell Taylor had maybe the hit of the year.”
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 22, 2021
What impressed Huard wasn’t limited to the young Seahawks’ performances in the game or their numbers on the stat sheet, either.
“To see them in person, to kind of watch them in warmups, to watch them carry themselves, to watch them play with some of the violence they did but also some of the smarts they did, that’s a real testament when you’re a 5-8 football team with a 2% chance to make the playoffs.”
That last part is something that Huard indicated is especially important for a Seahawks squad that is nearing perhaps the least certain offseason since head coach Pete Carroll’s arrival in 2010.
“This is usually the time that people start to make their offseason plans, and that’s just not happening,” he said.
You can hear Huard’s full discussion with Mike Salk in the final segment of the podcast at this link or in the player below.