One of the things Mike McDonald was able to quickly establish upon his arrival with the Seahawks was a competitive culture on the field, and one could also say it extended off the field. The competitive and continual improvement culture is evident in year two. Macdonald’s communication style is direct and consistent, with clear expectations. With one preseason played, there is intense competition between the players for reps.
The competition’s hot. This is the time where you put your hard work on display and I wouldn’t say that we’re exclusively evaluating these guys off of game reps, but it does matter on how it shows up in the game. We get a lot of great observations out here at practice every day, how you go about your business in the building matters a ton too, “ said Macdonald. “ It’s going to be fun to see these guys practicing against Green Bay in the joint practice and ultimately in the third game. You have all these opportunities to get to know the guys, see how it fits. Not easy decisions, which is a great problem for the Seahawks. We’re deciding between a lot of great players. You saw it last year, how we started the season with our roster isn’t necessarily how it looked week three, six, 12, how we finished the season, but these are guys that I can confidently say that we’re investing in in our building and no matter how it shakes out, we want them to be here so we can develop them, and eventually they can earn their opportunity to be on the field.”
The ability to build and continually improve a roster is a unique talent that usually takes years to develop. Macdonald seems to have mastered the skill in just his second year. Last year, the team acquired linebacker Tyrel Dodson in the offseason, and he started at middle linebacker for the first seven games. The team acquired Earnest Jones IV, who took over the MIC duties and moved Dodson to weak-side linebacker. The team waived Dodson after the team’s Week 10 bye.
Macdonald was gracious and pointed regarding the move. “ We really appreciate T-Dot,” Macdonald said at the time . “He’s worked extremely hard, rehabbed throughout the offseason here. There was an opportunity for us when we sat and took a step back to realize where we were. It was the best thing for us to move forward that way, giving the other guys in the room an opportunity to step up.”
TYRICE KNIGHT STEPS UP
That opportunity was given to Tyrice Knight, who stepped up and became the starting weakside linebacker next to Jones. Knight finished the season starting eight of the nine games. Knight was the expected starter until he suffered a knee injury in Week three of Training Camp. Another medical issue popped up, and Knight is now sidelined but expected back for the Week One opener. Jones is back practicing with the team after taking some time off following his father’s passing. With two in catch-up mode, Drake Thomas and Patrick O’Connell have been given an opportunity to showcase their talents.
“We talked about this the other day, but those next two guys, Patty-O (Patrick O’Connell) and Drake (Thomas), have had great camps. We have this ‘in the defense’ competition of stats and hustle plays and tackles, basically tracking production and Patty-O leads that over camp. Drake’s right there, “said Macdonald.
“ They haven’t started yet in their career, but we believe in the development guys, guys are allowed to get better. You see the improvement of those guys. Josh Ross, I thought he got started with a good camp, but it’s unfortunate with his hand. We saw Jamie (Sheriff) back today in a walk-through capacity, and you know how we feel about Jamie. Great opportunity in front of him, but just like T-Knight (Tyrice Knight), he didn’t start until he did, and then he’s a starter. These guys, they haven’t started yet until they get a chance to start, and hopefully they keep taking advantage of those opportunities.”
A UNIQUE WAY TO FOSTER COMPETITION
What is unique about Mike’s competitive environment is that each player can create who they are and what they want to be. So there are no labels, and that’s a unique way of building competitive competition. The same “ hot competition is happening on the offensive line when Macdonald and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak are hoping sooner or later to cement a starting offensive line. The biggest battle is at the center where Jalen Sundel and Olu Oluwatimi are interlocked in a head-to-head battle. Anthony Bradford looks to have the upper hand at right guard over Christian Haynes. Tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, and rookie Grey Zabel are steps ahead of the competition in their respective positions. With two more preseason games left, Macdonald says he is in no rush to pick the starting five. “
Right now, the plan is not to rotate. We’re narrowing in on what we want to do. We have a process. Right now, we want to stick to it. We’ll name a starting five at some point said Macdonald
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