Raiders vs. Seahawks: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Seattle
Just before the Seattle Seahawks erupted onto the field at CenturyLink Stadium for their game with the Oakland Raiders, cameras captured a circle of Seahawks linked together, swaying side to side, with Richard Sherman yelling at them all, demanding an answer to his questions.
"Who's got my back?"
"I got your back."
"Who's got that swag?"
"I got that swag."
As the players reached maximum fervor, Sherman brought them all together and raised his fist. They all raised theirs in imitation, connected once more, then broke for the field.
He may not have played a single snap in Seattle's 31-21 win, but tonight Sherman's teammates had his back and most definitely had that swag.
The first half was a completely one-sided affair.
The fact that Seattle's first-team offense hadn't scored a single touchdown this preseason was a major talking point among fans and pundits—despite the fact that this is, well, the preseason—but Russell Wilson assuaged any fears that may have existed early on.
On Seattle's second offensive play of the game, Wilson hit rookie Tyler Lockett perfectly in stride for a 63-yard touchdown. The play would also be Wilson's last.
The Seahawks defense followed that up by holding Oakland to a three-and-out on the very next drive, with their next offensive drive producing a 55-yard Steven Hauschka field goal—basically a chip shot for the 30-year-old following last week's 60-yard game-winner.
Oakland gained just 13 yards on 13 plays in the first quarter, stymied at ever turn by the disruptive force of Frank Clark, who produced four tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and another handful of "wow" moments while pushing around the Raiders linemen.
Clark's end zone strip-sack and Jordan Hill's subsequent fumble recovery put Seattle up 17-0 early in the second quarter, but as most preseason games tend to do, things started to go off the rails a bit from there.
Oakland clawed back behind two Matt McGloin touchdown passes to cut the Seahawks lead to 17-14 early in the third quarter, but the insertion of B.J. Daniels at quarterback and a return to form by the defense stifled Oakland's offense for the majority of the second half.
Daniels would lead Seattle on two long drives that ate up almost 10 minutes of clock, with each ending in a touchdown to push the lead to 31-14 more than midway through the fourth quarter.
Oakland chipped in a late, meaningless touchdown with under a minute to go, and just like that, the preseason came to a close.
Seattle finished the preseason 2-2, winning its last two games.
Position Grades for Seattle
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | B |
| Running Back | B+ |
| Wide Receiver | B |
| Offensive Line | B+ |
| Defensive Line | A- |
| Linebacker | B |
| Cornerback | C- |
| Safety | C |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coach | B+ |
Quarterbacks: Russell Wilson threw just one pass, but it went for 63 yards and a score, granting him a perfect quarterback rating. R.J. Archer didn't commit any serious errors but failed to really move the offense. B.J. Daniels made some nice throws for a guy who is in the process of transitioning to receiver, but as expected, his legs were the stars here.
Running Backs: Christine Michael showed some nice vision early on, cutting through holes and blocking well. Thomas Rawls was the real standout, showing a nifty combination of power and finesse in addition to catching two balls. Rod Smith could have stood to see more action, but his aggressive red zone running meshed well with Seattle's identity.
Wide Receivers: Tyler Lockett had the offensive play of the game, but Kasen Williams and Kevin Smith made inspiring final pushes to make the team. Chris Matthews and Ricardo Lockette, however, may have put Carroll and his staff in a difficult position when discussing team cuts.
Offensive Line: It looked like an extra week of practice really helped Tom Cable's starting offensive line smooth out some issues. The reserves had a few missteps, but both the run-blocking and pass-blocking were the best they've been all preseason. Seattle's 224 rushing yards were more than they had in their first three preseason games combined.
Defensive Line: Frank Clark played like a man among Pee Wee football players. Jordan Hill, David King and Cassius Marsh all made highlight plays of their own, with Hill swooping in for the defensive touchdown on Clark's strip-sack.
Linebackers: Kevin Pierre-Louis looked much better in coverage this game and made some strong open-field tackles. Brock Coyle also found himself everywhere the ball was, finishing with five tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection.
Cornerbacks: It was an ugly outing for Seattle's secondary. With none of the starters playing, Tharold Simon, Will Blackmon, Mohammed Seisay and Marcus Burley all had difficulty against Oakland's aerial attack.
Safeties: Keenan Lambert, Ronald Martin and Dion Bailey combined for 15 tackles. They generally didn't let anyone get behind them, though the cornerbacks could have used some backup on several plays.
Special Teams: Jon Ryan was pinning the opposition inside the 20-yard line, per usual. Steven Hauschka nailed 55-yard field goals like they weren't an issue, per usual. The return game lacked Lockett this week, but Smith had a pretty 28-yard punt return featuring quality open-field blocking. The coverage teams left something to be desired, but they stopped the big play, which is what's important.
Coaching: Carroll and his staff did an excellent job of getting almost everyone who needed one a final look. The offensive play calling was better than it had been and dialing it up on defense despite playing with backups paid dividends early.
Important Note No. 1: Seahawks Have Difficult Decisions to Make at Key Positions
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The fourth and final preseason game isn't about the starters—it's about the men fighting to become one of the 53.
This last game is a battle for football life and, for some, their livelihoods. For many, this was their final time wearing a Seahawks jersey, but there were several individuals whose game tape is going to make life hard on the coaching staff during the cutting process.
Individuals on both sides of the ball may have played themselves into or out of roster spots against Oakland.
B.J. Daniels (6-14, 43 YDS, 1 TD, 7 CAR, 75 YDS) wasn't truly a "bubble" player entering this game, but when he stepped on the field in the third quarter as a quarterback, it reminded everyone of just how valuable the burgeoning wide receiver-return man can be.
Following a dominant first quarter, Seattle's offense had gone dormant, but Daniels was a fresh breath of life.
Daniels capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a beautiful 15-yard touchdown pass to Kasen Williams, who hauled it in through contact while keeping his body in bounds. Daniels' passing stats were solid, but his footwork, including one memorable pump-fake and run that left defensive end Josh Shirley floating in the air like a fool, made him look like a poor man's Mike Vick.
Daniels' touchdown partner Williams (2 REC, 25 YDS, 1 TD) had a strong outing on offense and special teams, but so too did Kevin Smith.
Smith proved his worth not only as a receiver (4 REC, 25 YDS) but also as a stellar return man. Smith returned three punts for 50 yards, including a 28-yard romp that featured a full speed cut across the field, leaving half the Raiders coverage team scrambling to make up ground.
Chris Matthews (1 TGT, 0 REC) and Ricardo Lockette (2 REC, 8 YDS) were both outplayed by two receivers fighting desperately to make the team. No one thought Matthews or Lockette would lose their spots this preseason, but the performances of Williams and Smith made it appear as if it's not a completely crazy proposition.
As for the running backs, all three turned in quality efforts.
Thomas Rawls looked particularly impressive shedding would-be tacklers and keeping plays alive much longer than they should have been. He ran for 87 yards on 11 carries and caught two passes for 16 yards. His six-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter wasn't the best run you'll ever see, but he made a quick, decisive cut and ran it in nearly untouched.
Christine Michael, who got the start, finished with 39 yards on eight carries, and Rod Smith went for 20 yards on four attempts.
Smith looked dangerous near the goal line, but his opportunities were few. Rawls appeared to be the most versatile of all three. the running back performances will be heavily discussed before Saturday's cuts.
Defensively, most eyes were on the secondary.
Will Blackmon, Mohammed Seisay, Tharold Simon, and Marcus Burley all had something to prove against Oakland, but their performances could be characterized as turbulent.
Seisay had three tackles and two pass deflections, with one breaking up a would-be touchdown to Seth Roberts. But two plays later, Seisay got played by Roberts on a six-yard touchdown reception to the back corner of the end zone. He was also whistled for an illegal block above the waist on a Daniels punt return.
But perhaps worst of all, Seisay was escorted off the field by team doctors at the very end of the game with an apparent shoulder injury.
Burley didn't fare much better. The former Colt got turned around badly on a 28-yard touchdown to Rod Streater, losing both his position and the ball while allowing Streater to make the play despite being called for defensive pass interference. Burley also had team physicians look at his right foot after coming up hobbling.
Blackmon did't give up any huge plays but didn't do much to distinguish himself on the field.
Tharold Simon didn't escape unscathed, either. Simon was whistled for pass interference on 3rd-and-10 from the Seattle 19-yard line. The miscue set up a Seth Roberts touchdown.
On a night when Seattle needed at least one of these defensive backs to distinguish himself, the team somehow went 0-for-4.
Important Note No. 2: Offense
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Entering tonight's game, Seattle's starting offense had 12 drives under its belt.
The results: seven punts, four field goals, one turnover and no touchdowns.
Tyler Lockett changed that last statistic the way he does everything: quickly.
On Seattle's second offensive play of the game, Wilson hit the rookie perfectly in stride as the Kansas State product flat out beat Oakland cornerback Keith McGill down the sideline. Wilson's ball floated for roughly 40 yards, landing perfectly in Lockett's arms like destiny preordained it.
With nothing but open field in front of him, Lockett flew from the two Raiders chasing him and waltzed into the end zone for a 63-yard touchdown.
The following drive, Lockett made another play that left the Seahawks sideline jumping over one another.
Wilson had Lockett on a crossing route and rifled the ball behind him, but while falling to the ground, Lockett reached back while maintaining perfect body control and snagged the lost toss before it collided with the ground for a gain of 14 yards.
He wasn't on the field long, but as he tends to do, Lockett left a lasting impression.
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Important Note No. 3: Defense
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On 2nd-and-12 from his own 9-yard-line, Matt McGloin took the snap.
With an almost eerie prescience, Frank Clark exploded off the right edge at that exact moment, blowing by Matt McCants like he never existed.
Clark approached from behind, dove and batted the football from McGloin's outstretched throwing arm, causing the ball to roll. Jordan Hill fell on the ball and all of a sudden the Seahawks were up 16-0.
It was one in a series of incredible plays the rookie made against Oakland.
Clark finished the game with four tackles, one tackle for loss, a sack and a forced fumble, but the numbers hardly measure his full impact.
Clark was in the Raiders backfield as much as any of the Raiders' own players. He pushed through the line and created massive holes for his teammates. His bull-rushing power and speed off the line simply couldn't be stopped.
The veterans on the sideline all sung his praises during in-game interviews.
Though it came mostly against second-stringers, Clark's moments were undeniably impressive. Lockett's touchdown was brilliant and explosive and exciting, but tonight, Frank Clark was the Seahawks' true MVP.
Quote No. 1: Carroll on the Rooks
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The big story Thursday night revolved around Seattle's two rookie phenoms, Frank Clark and Tyler Lockett.
Once again, each played well beyond his years. Once again, each contributed highlight-reel plays.
Obviously, none of this has been lost of Carroll or the coaching staff.
"You're gonna see Tyler playing, and he'll be a big factor for us," Carrol said. "And Frank really has a big role to play for us, we're still trying to carve it out, but he can make some things happen...so it's cool."
With what we've already seen in preseason, the excitement will only build for what Carroll has in store for these two young studs.
Quote No. 2: Injury Updates
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Though Seattle came away with a victory, it suffered some losses in the form of two injured players.
Mohammed Seisay went down near the end of the game with an apparent shoulder injury. He was escorted off the field by team doctors.
When asked about the severity, Carroll was blunt: "He had a dislocation out there. It's pretty severe."
Dion Bailey also fell victim to injury, though thankfully his wasn't as severe. Bailey came out of the game for several plays but re-entered with a heavily taped left hand.
"He has issues with it, but he's playing with it, he tapes it up and he can go," Carroll said. "I have no concern about Dion Bailey; he's fine. He's played some hard-nosed football for us."
That's good news, because if Kam Chancellor continues his holdout into the regular season, Mr. Bailey is going to be taking his place in the Legion of Boom until the two sides can reconcile their differences.
Quote No. 3: Burning Down the Hausch
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Steven Hauschka hasn't done much that could be deemed funny this preseason.
He's missed just one kick, a 58-yard attempt, and nailed everything else that he's lined up for including last week's game-winning 60-yarder.
He went 1-for-1 against Oakland, drilling a 55-yard attempt that looked like it could have been good from 65.
But Haushcka also found himself the butt of some jokes following his bailout on a tackle.
"He had a fantastic preseason; he needs work on his tackling," Carroll said in a jovial tone following the game.
No one expects Hauschka to lay the wood, especially in a preseason game on a play which he knew was coming back due to a penalty. Still, he'll probably be seeing that one on a loop for quite some time.
All statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes courtesy of Seahawks.com.
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