This position group might be the best the Seahawks have in camp

Two days into training camp, the Seahawks’ starting offensive line has looked the part of a group with over 500 combined career starts.

“They’re amazing; that’s the best group we have here at training camp,” running back Rashaad Penny said Friday after practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. “Everything they do is so smooth and crisp. Me watching that, and all the other backs, we all take notice of that. It’s amazing, and they can only keep getting better and better.”

The Seahawks have five players with at least 10 years’ worth of experience on their roster; two of them — Duane Brown and Mike Iupati — are set to start up front for the offense.

Iupati is the lone newcomer of the group, coming to Seattle after five seasons in San Francisco and four in Arizona. In his words, with all of the experience returning around him, he felt like the new kid in school. Not that there’s been a problem with that.

“It’s good,” Iupati said. “It’s been awesome so far. We’ve got a great group of guys and a great organization. It’s been awesome.”

As it’s looked so far, there haven’t been many surprises on the line, with the starting group projected to be Brown at left tackle, Iupati at left guard, Justin Britt at center, DJ Fluker at right guard, and Germain Ifedi at right tackle.

And after a year with just two linemen starting 15 games, the offense is looking for that experience to pay off in the long term. A unit that was considered an issue if not a liability this time last year is now a strength, after blocking for the NFL’s top rushing offense in 2018.

“That’s the most important thing is that consistency from the left to the right,” Russel Wilson said. “I think big Mike coming in with his knowledge of the game, understanding how to play the game and how to play the guard position at such a high level is awesome for us too.”

In the short term, it’s already paying dividends. The biggest cheers from the fans Friday came on touchdowns and long passes. But the loudest yells from the players — and least on the offensive side — came during one of the later 11-on-11 periods, when the offense went to a silent count and drew the defense offsides two plays in a row.

“You go into a loud environment, last year Dallas was really loud, some of the places we’re going early this year are going to be loud,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said after practice. “Getting a head start on that, and I thought they handled it well.”

Iupati said it a lot simpler, with a smile on his face:

“It’s always good to get the defense offsides.”

As the starting unit starts to meld early on in camp, the focus is also on building depth behind those five. Every healthy lineman has been getting plenty of time on the field so far, working toward becoming the first guys off the bench.

“Those five guys are going to be the main guys, but six and seven, and maybe No. 8, they’ve got to be ready to play too,” Wilson said. “That’s really important for us, figuring out who those extra few guys are.”

Wagner watch

When linebacker Bobby Wagner took to the practice field Friday wearing a jersey and a helmet — a stark departure from the hoodie and sweats he was in Thursday — there may have been hope among the crowd at the VMAC that they’d soon be hearing about a new contract for the All-Pro linebacker.

They’ll have to wait at least a bit longer.

Wagner stretched with the team, but stayed out of all drills Friday morning. As the Seahawks broke into special teams groups, he tossed a ball on the sideline with safety Bradley McDougal. As the defense ran through its early calisthenics circuit, he watched from the side with a ball in his arms.

After practice, though, Wilson sounded confident that a deal would be coming soon.

“He deserves to be the highest-paid linebacker,” Wilson said. “There’s nobody better in the game, and that’s just the honest truth. He’s done great things, he’s put up the stats, he’s done all the things. I think he’ll get taken care of.”

Dissly on the way back

For the second straight day, Will Dissly suited up, stretched, and ran through individual drills with the tight ends. Come the team periods, though, No. 88 was far away, in the far corner of the VMAC field, working with a coach against a blocking sled.

But according to Schottenheimer, Dissly — who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4 last year — is well on his way back.

“He looks good,” Schottenheimer said. “Obviously we’re monitoring what he’s doing. He’s getting all of the route work, all the individual, all the install we need to get done, and he’s doing a great job. It’s exciting to have him back out there.”

Other notes from Day 2 of training camp

▪ Schottenheimer called the dynamic between Paxton Lynch and Geno Smith a “fun competition” for the back-up quarterback role.

Smith had one of the better throws of the day, finding Tyler Lockett over the shoulder down the left sideline. Before practice, Smith also did well before the Seahawks took the field in a couple of film room competitions, where Schottenheimer made his three quarterbacks draw up plays for certain scenarios.

“Geno won a couple of them, which made Russ a little (upset), which is good,” Schottenheimer joked. “It’s good when you make him angry.”

▪ The defense spent more time in its nickel package than it did Thursday. Akeem King was the primary nickelback with the starters. When the second team defense took the field, King moved to cornerback and Kalan Reed took over at nickel.

▪ The biggest cheers from the crowd probably came when Wilson kept the ball on a read option, weaved through the right side, and jogged to the end zone for a touchdown.

▪ The defense didn’t have any turnovers in 11-on-11 drills, but Tedric Thompson came down with an interception in 7-on-7 plays, picking a ball off of a DK Metcalf bobble on a deep throw. Wilson said it was an overthrow on his part. Immediately afterward, he and Metcalf worked on that same route.

“You never want to leave the gym on a miss,” Wilson said. “That’s kind of the mentality. I’ve always done that.”

This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 3:19 PM.