Pocic is currently the starting center

[auroraave]

Getting reps with the A team does not mean he is the opening day starter. I don't understand how you draw that conclusion.

Then what does it mean then? To be fair Pocic hasn't had many snaps at C during the season.. So we don't know how he will perform there.

i would think it means you have to see what you have with every single player - you have to start making your depth chart somehow. I think it's important at the most critical position on the oline to get as much data as possible before making any roster decisions - that's all this is. PC naming a starter now is highly unlikely. Pocic has tenure, knows the players, the playbook. They stacked the roster with lineman who are still getting up to speed on this team. This seems completely ordinary. The weakest spot on the oline was center last season - now we have excellent competition for that spot - and real depth. This is a positive, not a negative. Remember all the injuries last year - specifically at center? They are addressing that right now.

[D-train]

If you sign a guy and you intend to start him then you need to have him playing with the first team in order to get as much time together as possible to gel. Isn't that what PC preaches all the time. A cohesive unit on the o-line?

[Michael K.]

Since when do first team reps not mean you are the starter? You lost me there. Where the rest of the guys getting first team reps backups too?

[Donn Beach]

show me where PC said they signed Finney to be the starting center, that became the narrative as the most likely possibility, fact is he hadn't really played that much center so not sure why it was a given. You can argue for the money he is a lock to make the roster, but for an actual role, I thought that was based on competition. Did they pay too much, who knows? I think we have to play the season and find out how valuable he ends up being, how much he actually contributes, as i understand it, depth at offensive line is the greatest need among the different positions, the amount of starts you can expect from your starters though the course of a season. My take is they signed him for his flexibility. It allowed the other roster moves that followed, cutting Britt and Fluker. The three moves saved them $8.5 mil in cap space

You may be wondering, "Who is B.J. Finney?" He spent five seasons with the Steelers from 2015-19 after going undrafted out of Kansas State, one on the practice squad and four on the active roster. Finney has made 13 career starts split between left guard, right guard and center. That versatility surely increased his value in free agency.

It also makes his role on the Seahawks harder to predict. Let's start with his experience at center. Seattle has now added Finney and Joey Hunt (tendered) in consecutive days. That could mean that the Seahawks plan to cut Justin Britt in the coming days as a cap casualty. Seattle would save $8.5 million by parting ways with Britt, who is currently working his way back from an ACL tear. Given that the Seahawks only had about $21 million in cap space prior to signing Finney and are still in need of a star pass rusher and a right tackle, this option is possible if not likely.

Seattle's need at either guard spot is far less pressing. D.J. Fluker, like Finney, has a cap number of around $4 million, so cutting him doesn't make sense. Fluker should remain at right guard for that reason. Jamarco Jones and Phil Haynes are expected to compete for the starting left guard job. So while it's possible that Finney is now thrown into the mix at that spot, it doesn't make as much sense as Option A regarding Britt and the center position.

https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/sea ... eres-guess

[ThePro]

show me where PC said they signed Finney to be the starting center, that became the narrative as the most likely possibility, fact is he hadn't really played that much center so not sure why it was a given. You can argue for the money he is a lock to make the roster, but for an actual role, I thought that was based on competition. Did they pay too much, who knows? I think we have to play the season and find out how valuable he ends up being, how much he actually contributes, as i understand it, depth at offensive line is the greatest need among the different positions, the amount of starts you can expect from your starters though the course of a season. My take is they signed him for his flexibility. It allowed the other roster moves that followed, cutting Britt and Fluker. The three moves saved them $8.5 mil in cap space

You may be wondering, "Who is B.J. Finney?" He spent five seasons with the Steelers from 2015-19 after going undrafted out of Kansas State, one on the practice squad and four on the active roster. Finney has made 13 career starts split between left guard, right guard and center. That versatility surely increased his value in free agency.

It also makes his role on the Seahawks harder to predict. Let's start with his experience at center. Seattle has now added Finney and Joey Hunt (tendered) in consecutive days. That could mean that the Seahawks plan to cut Justin Britt in the coming days as a cap casualty. Seattle would save $8.5 million by parting ways with Britt, who is currently working his way back from an ACL tear. Given that the Seahawks only had about $21 million in cap space prior to signing Finney and are still in need of a star pass rusher and a right tackle, this option is possible if not likely.

Seattle's need at either guard spot is far less pressing. D.J. Fluker, like Finney, has a cap number of around $4 million, so cutting him doesn't make sense. Fluker should remain at right guard for that reason. Jamarco Jones and Phil Haynes are expected to compete for the starting left guard job. So while it's possible that Finney is now thrown into the mix at that spot, it doesn't make as much sense as Option A regarding Britt and the center position.

https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/sea ... eres-guess

Show me where Carroll has named any player besides Wilson or Wagner the starter? That's a silly take. You acquire G/C with a 2nd round tender and then give him 8 mil you would naturally to expect that player to be a starter.

So far Finney has been a disappointment. That money could've been used elsewhere.

[D-train]

12th man rising's take: This seems like an ugly situation.

https://12thmanrising.com/2020/08/23/se ... ng-center/

[ThePro]

12th man rising's take: This seems like an ugly situation.

https://12thmanrising.com/2020/08/23/se ... ng-center/

I didn't get the impression it was an ugly situation as .more of a puzzling one. If they were that high still on Pocic and that's ok. Why didn't they draft a young player there to compete with him? I dunno maybe some guy from Wisconsin? Badass I think was his name?

[D-train]

12th man rising's take: This seems like an ugly situation.

https://12thmanrising.com/2020/08/23/se ... ng-center/

I didn't get the impression it was an ugly situation as .ore if a puzzling one. If t hff eyes were that high still on Pocic and that's ok. Why didn't they draft a young player there to compete with him? I dunno maybe some guy from Wisconsin? Badass I think was his name?

Yeah too early to call it ugly but I can see it getting ugly within a month.

[Donn Beach]

the only thing i am going to be concerned about is how well the line plays If it plays well enough and stays healthy so Finney sits on the bench, I could think of worse situations. If it plays like shit and he sits then that would be ugly. Maybe they signed him for too much money but I think they liked his versatility even if its coming off the bench. I think they want to have depth at oline that doesn't fall off dramatically from the starters.

[Donn Beach]

heaps on Pocic

“He is continuing to run with the (first team) and he’s doing a good job,” Heaps said on Thursday. “I wonder if this is another classic Pete Carroll situation where ‘hey, I’m going to give the young guy or the guy who has the least experience or the guy who in my mind might be second on the depth chart, I’m going to give him an opportunity to run with the ones and he is going to stay there until he proves he can’t handle it.’ And so far Ethan Pocic has shown this staff that he can handle it.”

Heaps also noted that the Seahawks have a “mock game” on Saturday, and that game will be “a key one” for the starting center competition.

"It's going to be a wide-open competition," Carroll said. "We're going to let those guys go. We'll try to settle this sooner than later for the continuity purposes. The center spot is rotating right now as the starter."

Pete on Pocic

"He played everything in college, but mostly at center – where I thought he looked the best," Carroll said of Pocic on Monday. "He had a fantastic offseason. He's as primed as he's been. He's had a couple good days to get us started. The competition is on."

Joe Fann

If I had to guess, I'd still say that Finney ends up being Seattle's Week 1 starting center against the Falcons. However, whoever wins the competition could have a short leash, meaning it's possible that we see both players sat some point this season.

https://sports.yahoo.com/fann-biggest-t ... 35746.html