From: jorgand@sumax.seattleu.edu (Dave Jorgan)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: Seattle Report
Date: 1 Sep 92 06:08:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: sumax.4920
Organization: Seattle University, Seattle, WA





	Today Seattle made its cutdown to the final 47 man roster. Among the
surprising (to me)cuts were Eric Hayes, DT, and Mike Oliphant, RB. I expected
Oliphant to make the final roster, but apparently his miscues on returns
could not be overlooked, nor could the all-around performance of James
Jones be overlooked. James Jones was expected to be released prior to 
training camp, but his fine performance and versatility (can play TE, FB,
RB, and special teams, all well) gave him the nod over Oliphant. Seattle
elected to keep three TE's instead of counting Jones as a TE, keeping
Ron Heller, Trey Junkin (mainly deep snapper) and Paul Green, who should be
the starter.

	Eric Hayes' stock fell quite a bit this season. Slow to recover from
knee injury, Seattle tried to trade him last week but got no takers. If
healthy, he's a great prospect who played very well for Seattle, which is
why I was surprised to see him cut. Seattle elected to keep Joe Nash over
Hayes. Nash played extremely well in the pre-season, but I expected him to
be released, due to age considerations. From the statements made by Hayes,
and the fact Seattle tried to trade him, I don't think Seattle intends to
bring Hayes back even if he clears waivers. If I were Philadelphia, I would
put in a waiver claim on Hayes at once- he could be a passable replacement
for Jerome Brown, and the price would certainly be right.

	However, free agent Tyrone Rodgers made the team outright. Injuries to
Jacob Green and Michael Sinclair really complicated the situation at end,
so Seattle is carrying four DE's. But Rodgers played very well. Millard
played in the last game against San Francisco, so he appears to be ready to
go for the regular season. Huge Mike Friar will probably go on the practice
roster, and he may be a reason why Seattle let Hayes go.

	Linebacker is set, with the only change being Bobby Spitulski-for-Darren
Comeaux. Marcus Cotton was shelved for the year on IR. Rufus Porter led the
team in sacks, and the lack of pass rush from the D-line is a serious
question mark. Seattle only had 5 sacks total in four games, and three of 
those were by Porter.

	At DB, Seattle only kept three healthy cornerbacks, since James 
Jefferson will not be ready until mid-season. Seattle will place Jefferson
on the 4-week IR, then either re-sign Malcolm Frank, who was cut, or scour
the waiver wires for a replacement. Veteran Nesby Glasgow was released, and
young Dedrick Dodge took his place. Seattle has had some coverage problems
in pre-season. Dwayne Harper especially has been beaten by large receivers
- Jerry Rice beat him badly in the final pre-season game, and he is giving
a large cushion, perhaps too large , to his man. Seattle has been leaving
a lot of guys uncovered in the pre-season, which is a very bad sign. 
They only have a few more days to get the guys back into playing form.


	At QB, Seattle looks set with Kelly Stouffer the clear favorite at QB.
He had a excellent pre-season. If he plays this well in the regular season,
he will be the Seattle QB for the 90's, not Dan McGwire. Not only did he
throw well, but he showed poise under heavy pressure, and demonstrated a
quick release and strong arm. The poise is the most important factor- it is
something that he seemed to be totally lacking before, but now, with pass
rushers an arms length away, he is still standing strong and making good
decisions. And believe me, he has had a lot of opportunity to demonstrate
that poise, given his pass protection.

	Dan McGwire hasn't been bad, but hasn't done all that much either.
Seattle has scored only 6 points under his leadership. He simply needs more
experience, so he can make decisions faster. He also tends to lock in on his
reciever instead of looking off, and overall does not seem as resourceful as
Stouffer, who looks to have a better command of the offense and uses all his
weapons more effectively. Interestingly, McGwire, at 6'8" and 250, is 
supposed to be the pocket passer who shrugs off tacklers in the pocket while
throwing, while the 6'3", 215 lb Stouffer, who has 4.9 speed, should be
the more mobile QB, yet, McGwire is the one who has runs of 11 and 24 yards
while Stouffer has made some fine passes while being hit by pass rushers.
McGwire looks slow when scrambling, but recall just how big his strides
are- he may look like he's going in slow motion, but he's eating up a lot
of ground with each stride, so he is not as slow as he looks when scrambling.

	At wide receiver, Seattle only will keep four, since no formation
the Hawks will use this year employs more than three. Kane was a lock, Doug
Thomas made lots of outstanding catches this pre-season and also locked in
his spot. Louis Clark caught 3 passes for 130 yards against the Cardinals,
which secured his position, and Dave Daniels locked in his spot against
the 49ers with 5 catches and a TD. Brian Treggs, who Seattle liked a lot,
was cut, but is a possibility for the practice squad. Brian Blades is still
unsigned, and I guess Seattle must feel very confident about their recieving
corps, since the money Blades is asking for ($800-900K) isn't exorbitant.
If Seattle goes well for the first few games, look for a trade. I get the
feeling Seattle wants to have a pure speedster in the starting lineup
anyway, so they don't mind that Blades is not signed. If Clark or Thomas
get a case of the dropsies Blades will be signed ASAP.

	Travis McNeal remains unsigned, and Flores appears to have little 
interest in getting him in. McNeal's ludicrous holdout has cost him a spot
on the Seahawks, and he is available for trade. Supposedly the Eagles are
interested in him, but I can't see them giving Seattle a 4th round pick
(the asking price for McNeal.) Paul Green will probably start, I was 
surprised Ron Heller made the team, but he did. Seattle will lack some
blocking punch, for sure, at TE, but will have some pass-catching unlike in
past seasons.


	The offensive line is a major problem. Both Seattle Plan B signees,
Brian Blados and Brad Leggett, were cut. Theo Adams made the team, and
Darrick Brilz really improved a great deal, and is a reasonable backup for
Bryan Millard. The bad news is that Millard has a bad back and may be 
shelved for a while. Seattle has some serious pass-blocking problems at
tackle. Ray Roberts looked good initially but now is struggling quite a
bit in pass protection. Speed rushers are getting around him, Roberts is
not wheeling them outside the pocket but is getting beaten after the
1st couple of steps. Bill Hitchcock is really struggling, he's been beaten
for sacks in every game, sometimes for multiple sacks. He seemed OK last
year. Andy Heck also is having problems adjusting to guard, mainly due
to missed assignments, but he's a smart player and should work it all out
in time. Joe Tofflemire looked good at center- hopefully he'll get the
start.

	The best news is in the backfield. Both Chris Warren and Ruben Mayes
look fine. Warren is running tough and breaking tackles, or dragging them
with him, while Mayes looks really quick and is hitting holes almost
instantly. He too runs hard. I thought Oliphant ran and caught well but
apparently not well enough. Seattle should have a decent running game this
year, as the line has also done a fair job run blocking.


	I felt Seattle made a mistake in releasing Hayes and Oliphant, but
other than that the cuts were pretty much as expected. Seattle must have
felt if they cut Joe Nash, Chuck Knox in L.A. would have grabbed him
right away, else I imagine they might have waived Nash, stashed Hayes on
I.R., and re-signed Nash. But the fact Seattle was trying to trade Hayes
casts doubt on that. I think it would have been better to keep Oliphant
rather than Ron Heller, but it appears Seattle will continue to use Chris
Warren as the main punt/kickoff returner. Treggs and Oliphant, both cut,
were the only other punt returners on the team. This also implies Mayes
and Warren will share a lot of time in the backfield.

	I'll post a update ASAP, when Seattle has finished its roster 
shenanigans and take a look at the upcoming game against the Bengals. Also,
I'll try to get out info on the final starting roster. Until then,



Dave Jorgan
jorgand@sumax.seattleu.edu