The Seattle Seahawks have thrived in recent years despite not having a very good offensive line. If/when they ever do, they’ll presumably be even better as a team than they’ve been.
Offensive line coach Tom Cable believes that the offensive line is getting there.
“I’m the most excited coach on the staff right now,” Cable said Friday, via the team’s official website. “That’s what I’ve told coach [Pete Carroll] and [General Manager] John [Schneider] -- I appreciate them putting this together in a year’s time and doing a fantastic job. Our personnel guys nailed this, so it’s just a matter of getting them in the right spots and going and playing ball.”
It’s more complicated than that, or maybe it isn’t. Maybe it’s just a matter of lining up an improved collection of blockers and letting them do their thing.
“I’m excited as camp approaches,” Cable said. “I think we’ve made some progress towards being ready to go to training camp. That means teaching the offense and getting the young kids involved. I think we’re right where we should be at this point. . . Really all those kids . . . they all have matured a year. It’s kind of like a freshman in college. If you play them right away, it can be painful at times, but they make big strides, and they’ve done that. They’ve all matured and handled this thing really, really well.”
How it all fits together remains to be seen. Via comments prepared and distributed by the team, Cable said all of the linemen are learning two different spots. That gives Cable flexibility, and it instills versatility into the line.
Ability ultimately will be the key factor in determining whether the Seahawks have indeed improved along the offensive line. For all of the various strengths on the roster, it has continued to be the most glaring weakness.