A hint appeared in our Thursday one-liners regarding a hint from Seahawks coach Pete Carroll regarding a potentially intriguing personnel alignment. But then the NCAA lowered the boom on Carroll’s prior employer, and everything he previously said since leaving USC had instantly been forgotten.
Here’s a quick refresher. With the Seahawks claiming receiver Isaiah Stanback on waivers from one of the coach’s other prior employers, Carroll suggested that Stanback could line up from time to time at the position he played in college, nearly beating the Trojan as the signal-caller for the University of Washington.
“He can offer some help to do some things if we needed it at the quarterback spot to salvage a few situations,” Carroll said.
In other words (possibly), Stanback may be used in a Wildcat-style package.
Of course, it’ll only truly be the Wildcat if Stanback already appears on the field as a receiver, and then slides into the snap-taking position after coming out of the huddle. That specific approach poses a much greater challenge to defenses, since they get a much more limited opportunity to adjust than when, for example, Mike Vick trots out and Kevin Kolb comes off.
It remains to be seen whether Stanback can crack the primary receiver rotation in Seattle. Or, for that matter, make it onto the 53-man roster.