With an undefeated preseason in their rearview mirror, courtesy of 17 to 13 win over the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, the Seattle Seahawks coaches and front office have turned their attention to the business end of NFL football. The Seahawks have until 1 p.m. PST time to trim their roster to 53 active players. The depth and talent on this years team is sure to cause General Manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll some sleepless nights.
Here are some position battles that will cause Schneider and Carroll some second guessing.
BACKUP QUARTERBACK
Going into minicamp, it was a foregone conclusion that Trevone Boykin would be the backup to Russell Wilson. Wilson spent the off season working out and came in looking fit, trim and injury free. While the coaches were happy with Wilsons commitment to rebounding from an injury ridden season, the thought of forcing their star quarterback to play through injuries is not something they wanted to repeat. Its safe to say, the coaching staff wanted to make sure if a minor injury cropped up , the backup quarterback would be able to give the team a chance to win if Wilson needed a respite.
Unfortunately for Boykin, he had his worst preseason in two years and the poor play opened the door for nomadic six-year veteran Austin Davis who saw limited action with the St Louis Rams before they moved to LA, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos.
Boykin finished the preseason 30 of 50 for 410 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Boykins passer rating for the season was 66.3
Davis finished the season with better numbers, 24 of 35 for 316 yards, two touchdowns and, passer rating of 115. In addition to the good numbers, Davis engineered the game winning drive against the Raiders. What formula Carroll and Schneider will use to determine the backup qb is anybody’s guess, what we do know is that decision will be made by 1 pm Saturday afternoon.
WIDE RECEIVER
Doug Baldwin ( 6-114) and Paul Richardson (3-35) look to be some what set as starters. Baldwin is solid while Richardson who has been happened by injuries could be in a battle with Kasen Williams (9-208,1TD), Tanner McEvoy( 5-88 1TD), Tryone Swoopes(7-69), Jermaine Kearse(4-79), Kenny Lawler(5-56,2TD) Amara Darboh(3-22) and a healthy Tyler Lockett. It’s difficult to gauge where Lockett is in the pecking order since he has not participated in a preseason game.
RUNNING BACK
Thomas Rawls and off season acquisition Eddie Lacey are in a battle for the starting position for week one. Rawls has seen limited action in the preseason with just two carries for three yards, while Lacey finished the preseason with 51 yards on eleven carries. The play of Cris Carson ( 24-102 2TD) and Mike Davis (24-106 ) has complicated the decision process regarding who is the backup and maybe even starter.
Carson is a rookie who impressed coaches with his effort and talent. Davis spent two years with the San Francisco 49ers before the Seahawks picked him up off the waiver wire last May. Alex Collins( 22-89,1TD) and J.D. McKissic ( 12-61) have also had good preseasons making the cut down the 53 man roster that much more difficult.
