Hawk Talk highlights: Assessing Tom Cable, Kris Richard

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.

howker wondered about the construction of the Seahawks’ offensive line, asking if Tom Cable was handed personnel not of his choosing or if he “sold management a bill of goods about what is possible.”

O’Neil: It’s a great question. This is how I see the chain of events. Start with the existing guys from last year: James Carpenter. The Seahawks decide they don’t love him. They’re willing to keep him for a moderate price, but if he gets a $4 or $5 million a year offer in free agency, adios. He’s gone. With Max Unger, I think that his trade is a sign of things to come. The Seahawks are going to extend more young players than most people believe will be possible, but they’ll get go of those players earlier than other teams might. It’s why Seattle has tended to sign players to four-year extensions as opposed to the five- and six-year extensions other franchises prefer. From there, the Seahawks look at it and say, “With our limited resources, we believe that Tom Cable specifically and our scouting staff in general can find the younger parts to be able to rebuild our offensive line on the fly.” Did Cable overbill himself? I don’t think that’s the case so much as the team is asking and trusting that he will be able to make this work.

Mike asked is center Drew Nowak is not as good as billed or if he’s not developing quickly enough.

O’Neil: I actually don’t think Nowak has been a disappointment. Yes, I think there are some challenges with him and there have been times he has been overmatched and dominated. But I think the line calls come into play, too. Do you want to give Russell Wilson someone with a little more conventional training and deeper background at the position to help? The Seahawks knew that it was going to be an uphill slog with Nowak over the first half of the season. I’m honestly not sure what triggered their decision that out of the three new starters on the offensive line – I’ll include Justin Britt as a new starter because he switched positions – that Nowak was the one to replace in the starting lineup for a game. Could be that Patrick Lewis was a more viable alternative than they had with Alvin Bailey at the other two spots.

Jeremy–Gilbert AZ thinks Kris Richard is more culpable for the problems with Seattle’s defense than Darrell Bevell is with those of the offense.

O’Neil: But let’s remember how involved Pete Carroll is in the defense. There’s nothing happening on this defense that he doesn’t either have a voice in or have the chance to overrule. I think that they might be missing former linebacker coach Ken Norton’s influence, but not from an X’s and O’s perspective. He was the guy who was the heavy, so to speak, on the coaching staff. The guy who would talk loud and get people motivated. The pass rush has improved over the past three weeks. After having six sacks the first four games combined, they have 13 in the past three. And during a stretch in which Seattle played four opponents in the span of 18 days – two of which were undefeated – the Seahawks outplayed their opponent for 13 of the 16 quarters.

geezer asked if Gus Bradley could return to the Seahawks’ coaching staff next year if he’s fired by Jacksonville.

O’Neil: I doubt it. But that’s just an inference from my end. Not sure why he would want to go back to a position where people will always think that Pete Carroll has a huge hand in the defense. If the Jags do make a change – and let’s remember that in that division, they still have legit playoff ambition – then I would think that he looks to somewhere that he would be in charge of the defense.

Eric asked whether wide receiver Ricardo Lockette will be the odd-man-out once Paul Richardson is activated to the 53-man roster.

O’Neil: I don’t think so. He’s a mainstay on special teams, and I believe that he stayed above the roster equity line with that touchdown catch canceling out the two dumb fouls.

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