Seahawks Blog
Danny O'Neil covers the Seahawks for The Seattle Times.
Blog Home |
E-mail Danny |
Subscribe |
Twitter feed|
Seahawks forum
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print
Share
Roster breakdown: The defensive version
Posted by Danny O'Neil
Defensive ends
Average kept 2002-'08: 4.7
| POS. | 2008 | '07 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 |
| DE | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Pencil them in: Cory Redding and Patrick Kerney are the starters; Darryl Tapp and Lawrence Jackson the backups.
Roster hotspot: The competition for the fifth defensive end will be a good one. Baraka Atkins has good size, but seventh-round pick Nick Reed has shown an ability to be a threat during training camp. Let's see what happens when the exhibition games start.
Defensive tackles
Average kept from 2002-'08: 4.5
| POS. | 2008 | '07 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 |
| DT | 4* | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| *Does not include Rocky Bernard, who was suspended for the first game | |||||||
Pencil them in: Colin Cole and Brandon Mebane are the starters, Red Bryant and Craig Terrill are the backups.
Roster hotspot: Kevin Brown has spent time on Seattle's practice squad, and undrafted rookie Michael Bennett has played tackle during this training camp, and he could be a candidate to develop. The versatility of Cory Redding -- and his experience playing tackle -- could give the Seahawks the flexibility to have four defensive tackles on the roster.
Linebackers
Average kept from 2002-'08: 7
| POS. | 2008 | '07 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 |
| LB | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
Pencil them in: Starters are Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill and Aaron Curry; D.D. Lewis is a veteran back up who can play all three positions.
Fairly safe: Lance Laury is a special-teams mainstay, and David Hawthorne and Will Herring have played similarly important roles. Dave Philistin and Shane Simmons face long odds to make the final roster.
Safeties
Average kept from 2002-'08: 4
| POS. | 2008 | '07 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 |
| S | 3* | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| *Does not include Jordan Babineaux, who was suspended for the first game | |||||||
Pencil them in: Deon Grant and Brian Russell are currently the first-string safeties, and Jordan Babineaux the top backup at both spots. C.J. Wallace has made himself a special-teams mainstay, which is how he played his way onto the roster in 2007.
Roster hotspot: The Seahawks have liked the play of seventh-round pick Courtney Greene. If they keep five defensive tackles, does that open a spot for Greene on the active roster? Jamar Adams certainly looks the part of a front-tier safety, but he continues to get third-string reps. He will have to do something extraordinary during the exhibition games to move past the practice squad.
Cornerbacks
Average kept from '02-'08: 4.1
| POS. | 2008 | '07 | '06 | '05 | '04 | '03 | '02 |
| CB | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
Pencil them in: Marcus Trufant and Ken Lucas are the starters, Josh Wilson is the nickel back and Kelly Jennings currently sits fourth on the depth chart.
Roster hotspot: Kevin Hobbs has shown signs of becoming a real playmaker at times, but he's going to have an uphill climb to make the roster as the team hasn't carried more than four cornerbacks going into the regular season since 2003.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 8:02 AM
Recently listed
Popular searches
Feb 7 - 8:22 AM Programming note
Feb 5 - 7:43 PM Vote for your favorite Super Bowl commercial
Feb 4 - 9:00 PM Get your Super Bowl ads here
Feb 4 - 3:36 PM Seahawks Cortez Kennedy selected for the Hall of Fame
Feb 3 - 10:47 AM Patriots are pioneers in using statistical analysis
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Club promoter convicted in brutal 2010 murder of Des Moines prostitute
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature 438
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looming 350
- Sheriff's office unhappy with 911 dispatcher in caseworker's call 283
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising 238
- Source: NY, California to sign mortgage settlement 225
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color 177
- Oregon live game thread 155
- Pac-12 picks ... including the UW game 140
- Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise' 84
- Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details 82
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- A wandering gene's destructive path | Book review
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review
- UW opening incubator facility for startups
- Controversial principal at Lowell Elementary takes job in Tacoma
