Hawk Talk highlights: Jimmy Graham’s involvement isn’t solely on Darrell Bevell

Danny O’Neil hosted a live Seahawks chat Tuesday, as he does each week during the season. The full transcript can be found here. Highlights are below.

Paul Martin asked if offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would keep his job if the Seahawks were to go 10-6 and lose in the first or second round of the playoffs.

O’Neil: Depends on how things play out. I don’t think he’s on thin ice or in danger of being fired. I also think that you need to remember that this isn’t Bevell’s offense, so to speak. Tom Cable is the one who designs the run game and orchestrates the protections. Then you have Russell Wilson’s ability to scramble and Pete Carroll’s standing desire to be the best scrambling team in the league. Then you’ve got Bevell’s passing game.

TrekDude said Bevell has shown an inability to work playmakers into Seattle’s offense, pointing to Percy Harvin and now Jimmy Graham.

O’Neil: I think that this is a very fair take, but I would add one component to it. Some of this falls on the quarterback, too. Carroll has always said he wants his quarterback to be a point guard, distributing the ball to the playmakers. At least a little bit of the discussion about how to make the most of unique offensive talents has to touch on Wilson and his willingness to provide or give opportunities. Because if Wilson isn’t going to trust guys who are added or in some ways adapt and cater to their unique talents, then you should stop acquiring those players and only pay guys who Wilson shows he works well with.

An anonymous guest asked how bad Cary Williams must have played Sunday to lead the Seahawks to first move Richard Sherman from his usual post on the left side of the field and then reportedly sign a free-agent cornerback, Crezdon Butler, off the street.

O’Neil: Well, the depth off the street has way more to do with Tharold Simon’s injury and the fact that Jeremy Lane may not be back this year than it does with anything with the starters. I think it was pretty clear that Seattle didn’t want to have Williams matched up on A.J. Green on the outside. One of the rules on this defense is that you absolutely can’t get beat deep on the outside. Just can’t. It got Brandon Browner benched in that game at Indianapolis in 2013, and it predicated a switch to move Sherman on Sunday. Now, there might not be anyone other than Green who can beat a corner like that deep.

TrekDude said Williams’ play so far has been unimpressive.

O’Neil: He played an absolutely great game against Detroit. It was not his best game against Cincy. The real challenge for Williams is not coming up as hard as he has in the past. They don’t want him to jam like he did previously because they don’t want to leave him vulnerable on the back end. Green showed that vulnerability most jaw-droppingly.

Paul Martin asked about the possibility of Steve Sarkisian reuniting with Carroll on the Seahawks’ coaching staff in some capacity assuming he overcomes the alcohol problems that led to his firing from USC.

O’Neil: Great question. Don’t know the answer. I believe that Carroll is someone who would be willing to give someone an opportunity at redemption. But I really couldn’t tell you whether that would be the best fit. And most of all, Sark needs to get healthy.

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