Huard: ‘Playmaking depth’ big concern from Seahawks’ preseason opener

The Seahawks opened the preseason on Saturday with a 20-7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and while the fact that Seattle mainly played backups in the game needs to be taken into account, that doesn’t entirely excuse the team’s performance.

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Brock Huard, for one, isn’t letting the Seahawks off that easy.

On Sunday afternoon, Huard shared this post on Twitter that encapsulates why he found the loss to the Raiders concerning:

The eye in the sky in Vegas did not lie. Save for a few flash plays defensively, that was not a pretty picture to the play-making depth of the Seahawks roster

My biggest concern for SEA continues to be the cornerback position. LB’s Brooks & Taylor need to grow in awareness too

— Brock Huard (@BrockHuard) August 15, 2021

Monday during Huard’s regular Blue 42 appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant, he explained his thoughts further. A lot of it has to do with the Seahawks’ struggles defensively on third down, as the Raiders’ offense converted 11 of 17 third downs, including six on their first two drives.

“There were no plays on third down. They couldn’t get off the field,” Huard said.

Even though Seattle didn’t play starters like middle linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback D.J. Reed, the Raiders similarly were playing mainly reserve players. Huard dove into why that makes Seattle’s performance more of a concern than some may think, comparing it to how the team did in the preseason last decade when it was a perennial Super Bowl contender.

“It was your depth, so you wanted to see your depth against their depth. And if you just look at that objectively… remember, when this team was humming, those preseason games were blowouts. They were doing to teams what the Raiders’ depth did to them. They owned them, and to me, that was the concerning factor of that. It was about your depth, the playmaking of your depth, and there was not a whole lot of playmaking to be had Saturday night in Vegas.”

The Seahawks will have a chance to show improvements this Saturday, Aug. 21 when they host the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field for the second of their three preseason games. Coverage begins on 710 ESPN Seattle and KIRO Radio 97.3 FM with the pregame show at 5 p.m., with kickoff set for 7.

You can hear Huard’s full analysis as well as more Blue 42 questions and answers in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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