Rookie Mini Camp thread

[D-train]

Good stuff. Love these new guys already.

[Donn Beach]

Enjoy your retirement Duane.

Sure the PC optimism


George Fant

"Yeah, he has surprised us from the first day that he stood on the practice field," Carroll said. "He just physically understood how to do the stuff that we were asking him to do. There was no way we could have anticipated he would jump to it as quickly as he did. We're really excited about him. He's been way ahead of the curve in that regard, very unusual transition he has made."

Germain Ifedi

“He’s playing good, solid football. This is the best he’s played. He’s played the most consistent football,” Carroll said in his press conference prior to Wednesday’s practice. “He’s doing a good job. He’s played tough and he’s been really steady and all that.”

[D-train]

Now don't be turning on your other boy PC! At least don't take his poster off of your ceiling.

[Michael K.]

May never know with Fant, since he got hurt. They both played for Cable, who's ideas are ancient. Ifedi was a fucking Guard, always was, and always should have been. There was zero reason to put him at Tackle.

I once heard Ray Roberts break down Ifedi on 710. The guy was really good describing O Line play. He basically threw Cable under the bus, described everything from how stupid his stance was to his foot work and hand placement. He was a mauler, not a Tackle. Cable was a fucktard, and PC and JS were stupid to treat him like some kind of messiah!

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Oh my MFing God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2rVcxkbIQc

How much do you want to bet that "slight" hamstring issue will linger through training camp and pre-season?

[SeattleAddict]

Enjoy your retirement Duane.

Sure the PC optimism


George Fant

"Yeah, he has surprised us from the first day that he stood on the practice field," Carroll said. "He just physically understood how to do the stuff that we were asking him to do. There was no way we could have anticipated he would jump to it as quickly as he did. We're really excited about him. He's been way ahead of the curve in that regard, very unusual transition he has made."

Germain Ifedi

“He’s playing good, solid football. This is the best he’s played. He’s played the most consistent football,” Carroll said in his press conference prior to Wednesday’s practice. “He’s doing a good job. He’s played tough and he’s been really steady and all that.”

Fant was a basketball player learning to play tackle, the ultimate "project" who'd played only one year of football (at TE) and he is still in the NFL, so not sure why the shade... seems like a very accurate assessment. Fant actually turned into a nice niche player, I thought. As for the Ifedi quote, it sounds a little like a backhanded compliment that is really saying he wasn't playing very well before that. Ifedi was tough and strong, he was just slow and lazy.

I'd say both quotes were pretty damn accurate.

[D-train]

Yes I thought the same. Very different than the quote about our two new stud Bookends.

[D-train]

Posted this on the M's forum but I went to a Candlebox concert last night and when the lead singer started talking about Seattle I threw this hat on the stage. He signed it and had his band mate sign it and then through it back and it landed perfectly on my wife's head. Like a 1 in 10,000 lucky toss. Crowd went crazy and she started crying. Just an unreal moment.

[Gametime]

May never know with Fant, since he got hurt. They both played for Cable, who's ideas are ancient. Ifedi was a fucking Guard, always was, and always should have been. There was zero reason to put him at Tackle.

I once heard Ray Roberts break down Ifedi on 710. The guy was really good describing O Line play. He basically threw Cable under the bus, described everything from how stupid his stance was to his foot work and hand placement. He was a mauler, not a Tackle. Cable was a fucktard, and PC and JS were stupid to treat him like some kind of messiah!

Hiring bad coaches in on Positive Pete. Then holding onto them too is on Positive Pete. Guy is like Teflon nothing sticks to him.

[D-train]

By Adam Jude
Seattle Times staff reporter
RENTON — Ken Walker III wasn’t asked to do much in his first day in his new No. 9 Seahawks uniform. For that matter, the Seahawks didn’t ask much of any of the newcomers participating in the team’s three-day rookie minicamp that began Friday afternoon at the VMAC.

But coach Pete Carroll left open the possibility that that could change come this fall, when this rookie class could be asked to plug some important holes in the Seahawks’ depth chart.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some guys have a shot at pushing for a lot of playing time out of this class,” Carroll said. “… It seems really specific (to the team’s position needs) and we can all kind of visualize how that’s going to happen.”

Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, the two new offensive tackles, will compete for a chance to start immediately. And Walker ought to be a key figure in a revamped offense in this post-Russell Wilson era. As the second running back taken in the NFL draft last week (No. 41 overall), Walker could emerge as the No. 2 running back in the Seahawks offense behind Rashaad Penny.

Walker made a good impression, anyway, in the light, 45-minute workout Friday. During one passing drill, he made a nice adjustment on his route and used one hand to haul in a wayward pass from undrafted rookie QB Levi Lewis.

“Ken, he took off now,” Carroll said. “He’s a rocket. He caught the ball really well today, too, which we’re really excited about.”

Walker said he prefers to go by Ken (he was listed as Kenneth when he was drafted). The 21-year-old Arlington, Tennessee, native is listed at 5-foot-9, 211 pounds on the Seahawks roster, and he had no complaints about his first day on the job.

“I gotta say it was more excitement, you know, being around the guys,” said Walker, who ran for 1,636 yards in 12 games last year for Michigan State and won the Doak Walker Award as college football’s best running back. “It made it much easier for me to just come and be who I am.”

Running back is generally seen as a plug-and-play position for rookies, and it’s reasonable to expect one as accomplished as Walker to make a relatively smooth transition to the NFL.

Walker said it helps, too, that Michigan State ran a pro-style offense.

Michigan State’s Ken Walker III (9) runs against Michigan during an NCAA college football game last October in East Lansing, Mich. (Al Goldis / AP)

Michigan State’s Ken Walker III (9) runs against Michigan during an NCAA college football game last October in East Lansing, Mich. (Al Goldis / AP)
“That was a big thing for me like when I went to Michigan State I wanted to get in that pro-style offense,” he said. “And, you know, when I was at Michigan State, it made a difference because we were able to watch them on NFL teams. And it was just like our offense, just different terminology.”

Carroll said that has been apparent.

“Coming to us, he even understood the terminology to some extent, too, so it’s really going to facilitate him being comfortable with the transition,” Carroll said. “So we’ll expect no issues there at all. He’ll be able to ‘go.’ He’s very bursty, very quick.”

Walker, for now, does not project as a third-down back. He wasn’t much of a factor catching the ball out of the backfield at Michigan State last season, posting 13 catches for 89 yards and one touchdown.

More importantly, Carroll said Walker has a lot to learn about pass protection, which has to be the top priority for any running back coming in on third down.

“Let’s wait and see on that one, as far as making him a third-down guy,” Carroll said. “He’s got a ways to go, pass protection-wise. That’s a real challenge for him. So we’ll see. I know his attitude will be in it. He’s a terrific, competitive kid. That (pass protection) needs to be a priority, and we’ve already talked to him about that.”