Is the tune changing on Seahawks’ Sam Howell with preseason showing?

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell stood out with a solid performance in the team’s second preseason contest.

What we learned from the Seattle Seahawks’ second preseason game

The third-year signal-caller completed 11 of 14 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown during the first half of Saturday’s 16-15 loss against the Tennessee Titans. He also led the Seahawks on a pair of drives for field goals, including marching 45 yards in just over 30 seconds for one as time expired in the half.

“I thought Sam was really sharp,” first-year head coach Mike Macdonald said after the game. “I thought we moved the ball, I thought he made smart decisions.”

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard was also impressed by Howell’s showing against the Titans, and he noticed Macdonald had a more effusive tone about his backup quarterback after the game.

“A little different tune then when he filled in for (starter) Geno (Smith) for a week (of training camp) and (Macdonald) gave us that real pregnant pause,” Huard said. “There’s not been many pregnant pauses after these two games.”

Huard shared his thoughts on where Howell ranks as a backup quarterback in the NFL during the daily Blue 88 segment on Monday’s Brock and Salk.

“I think he’s a top-10 guy,” Huard said. “I think he’s kind of nearing that list. I don’t know if he’s top five, but he is what John Clayton – the late, great Hall of Famer in our building – always used to talk about: In a four-game pinch, can he win you a couple games? And I think that answer is yes.”

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Benefitting from the system

Howell played in offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s system last year as the starter with the Washington Commanders. Bieniemy was the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs for five seasons prior, where he had the luxury of superstar Patrick Mahomes running his offense.

Bieniemy brought a pass-heavy scheme that featured deep drop backs and pushing the ball down the field, which worked wonders with a generational talent like Mahomes. However, it didn’t work nearly as well with a first-year starter like Howell leading the NFL in pass attempts, which also resulted in league highs of 21 interceptions and 65 sacks.

New Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s offense pushes the ball down the field too, but there’s creativity with tempo, motion and play design that can help get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quicker. Huard thinks that could benefit Howell.

“This is not a drop back (and take) seven steps (offense). This is not an Eric Bienemy’s Kansas City Chiefs (where you have) to play between the tackles all the time,” Huard said. “This is a lot of read option, read-pass option. This is a lot of get the ball out quick. There’s a variety of screens, there’s vertical shots. There’s a lot of things that I think help a quarterback like Sam develop in that way.”

Sam Howell’s presence

One of the traits quarterbacks can bring to the table that don’t show up in the stat sheet is the presence they bring as a leader while commanding the offense. That’s something Smith has been lauded for, but not something Huard saw much in Howell before preseason games started.

“Sam Howell’s never going to be a 10 presence guy,”  Huard said. “He’s just not. That’s just not, I think, in his DNA, his makeup, his personality. He’s not going to be (former Seahawks starter) Matt Hasselbeck. He’s not going to come in and light up a room and overwhelm and brighten it up and everything else, and he may not do what (Seahawks general manger) John (Schneider) wants to do, which is change the temperature when a quarterback walks in.”

But Huard thinks some of the presence that Howell was lacking has come out during Seattle’s two preseason contests.

“You can’t be a three (out of 10 in terms of presence), and I think early in the offseason, that week filling in for Geno, it was meek,” Huard said. “I’m not going to say mute, but it was nowhere near the presence that was demanded, certainly from Grubb and Macdonald. But I think you’ve seen in these games that’s where he comes to life, that’s where his confidence is, that’s where his playmaking is. Just take it from a three to a six, and there’s no question you can be one of the top backups in this league.”

Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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