Duane Brown on calls for Fant to replace Ifedi at RT: ‘Right and left tackle are two different worlds’

The Seahawks walked away from their second preseason game with a 24-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but two quarters of playing time for starters gives Seattle plenty of fresh tape to study. Left tackle Duane Brown offered his takeaways during a conversation with 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton Monday. He also addressed criticism of right tackle Germain Ifedi, and talked about the recovery of teammate George Fant from a torn ACL last year.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job, especially in the run game, where I thought we broke open some big runs weeks one and did more of the same early on in the second game,” Brown said.

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“I thought we did a great job in pass protection. (We have) some things to clean up in the second quarter toward the end. But I thought we’ve been on the same page and we communicated well. The Chargers gave us some different looks and some different blitz packages that we did a good job of communicating on. That’s a top-tier defense we went against, and I thought we moved the ball pretty well. We have to clean up some things in the red zone to turn those field goals into touchdowns, but a lot to build on.”

The first-team offense moved well down the field, but went 0 for 3 in the red zone through the first half. Ifedi was the subject of postgame criticism after he struggled in one-on-ones with Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram, leading to a quarterback hit on one third-and-goal situation.

“I think Germain’s been working pretty hard,” Brown said of Ifedi’s play. “He had a surgery as well in the offseason that he had to heal from, and I think he’s done a good job of getting back to 100 percent. He’s playing with better leverage this year. I think his technique has been better. We both had our work cut out for us on the edge going against Melvin Ingram. He’s a top-tier pass-rusher, and I think that was a good challenge for (Ifedi) and for myself as well. I didn’t think he’d played bad. I think he has a couple plays he’d like to have back. But he’s been working hard, and that’s all you can ask from any of us right now.”

Brown also talked about working around fellow tackle George Fant, who spent the 2017 season and this offseason recovering from an ACL injury. With tackles Isaiah Battle and Jamarco Jones injured, critics have proposed Seattle use Fant as competition for Ifedi at the right tackle position.

Fant got work at right tackle in practice Tuesday afternoon, according to the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta.

George Fant got significant work at right tackle today and Carroll says he will compete there with Germain Ifedi. Says that was plan all along once Fant got healthy.

— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) August 21, 2018

Brown told Clayton transitioning to the other side takes effort.

“It’s very tough. Right tackle and left tackle are two different worlds. All the techniques that you learn, you have to switch it in your head. The body mechanics, you have to flip it. You have to teach your eyes to look in different areas. It’s different. But I think George is ready for any challenge. I think whatever the coaches have planned, I’m sure he’ll follow through on it. But for now, the time he’s spent at left tackle, he’s been looking pretty good.”

Chris Carson ‘hasn’t missed a beat’

Despite a fumble at the 1-yard line on Saturday, second-year running back Chris Carson has dominated headlines through training camp as one of the more promising Seahawks. Brown, who joined Seattle in a mid-season trade last year, never blocked for Carson, who was injured in Week 4.

However, he had nothing but good things to say about the young halfback.

“He’s a horse, man. He’s a big back that can move. Great in his vision and changing directions, and it’s been great to have him back. I saw him from afar when I watched him last year before his injury. To have him back, he hasn’t missed a beat. And he looks hungrier than ever. I’m excited. We’ve done a pretty good job of giving him lanes to run through up front but he’s made us look even better when he gets to the second level.”

Listen to Brown’s full interview with Clayton above, or on Clayton’s podcast page here.

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