Hawk Talk: Will Seahawks move Richard Sherman around vs. Arizona?

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.

Evil Penguin asked about which Cardinals receiver Richard Sherman will cover Sunday if he doesn’t stay put at left cornerback.

O’Neil: Larry Fitzgerald and it’s not all that close. One of the biggest factors in Fitzgerald’s resurgence this season has been the big-play ability out of the slot. You put Sherman on him and watch what happens when people stop being polite.

Zorn on the 4th of July asked if O’Neil is surprised by running back Chris Johnson’s resurgance in Arizona.

O’Neil: Shocked. Must be something in the water down there. Steve Nash became a Sun and all of a sudden thrived despite years of back problems before that. Then it was Carson Palmer, whom I thought was cooked then went down there and was great. Now, it’s Chris Johnson, who was last in the news for catching a bullet but who’s once again running like a bullet.

Ciara asked which returning player – wide receiver Paul Richardson or nickelback Jeremy Lane – will be more important to the Seahawks.

O’Neil: Jeremy Lane, and it’s not all that close. Jeremy Lane could be what takes this defense back to the pass-picking, quarterback-destroying unit that it has been.

Brandon asked about the biggest reason for the Seahawks’ struggles in the red zone, where they rank last in the league in conversions.

O’Neil: That Seattle has lost touch with the scripted offense. Maybe that’s overstated, but in the red zone – where things get compressed – the defense has less ground to cover when Russell Wilson starts running around. And Seattle hasn’t been able to run the scripted play effectively and efficiently enough to be able to pop it in.

Gantiz asked whether Seattle’s offensive line will gel enough to allow the Seahawks to make another late-season run.

O’Neil: I don’t know. I do think that the win in Dallas was a really positive step. Not just because of the lack of sacks given up, but because you saw the physical style of play up front.

AnnoyingHighSchoolDebateClubber responded to O’Neil’s statement that the Seahawks might let left tackle Russell Okung leave in free agency by contending that Seattle mistakenly parted with other offensive linemen like James Carpenter, Breno Giacomini and Max Unger.

O’Neil: So you think the Seahawks should have kept Carpenter, Giacomini and Unger at the expense of retaining, say, K.J. Wright or Cliff Avril? I disagree. You play to your team’s strengths as opposed to trying to minimizing any and all weaknesses. An NFL team is best served – in a salary cap era – of trying to retain its best players as opposed to trying to keep any vulnerabilities from showing through. You simply can not pay competent veterans at every single position. You have to have younger, first-contract players do the job that capable veterans will do in some spots. And if those younger, first-contract players struggle, then you work to improve them.

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