Field Gulls
Well this has certainly been unexpected.
The most impressive preseason game the Seattle Seahawks have played in ages was last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. The most impressive player of that game was Anthony Bradford.
No, John Gilbert did not hack my account on the new system.
2024 was the season of Anthony “here, sir, please have a sack” Bradford.
This year seems to be a little different.
So a question for you, faithful 12s: Are you ready for a season of Jalen Sundell at starting center and Anthony Bradford at starting guard?
To be honest, I’m not quite sure to make of this recent development. Not only have the reports – rather consistently – been that the offensive line has been doing business all throughout training camp, but the Week 1 line will be different than most everyone predicted.
These guys were abysmal last year. I truly don’t remember watching anything as bad as the first half of the first game against the Denver Broncos to start the 2024 season. Geno Smith could not breathe. In that half, Bradford had two penalties and gave up a safety.
But now? It’s been multiple weeks of standout practices and two impressive preseason starts. And that’s weird. It’s also unquestionably the best thing for the team. He’s got continuity with Abe Lucas on the outside, and a far higher upside than Christian Haynes, who by all accounts is just not beating people in competition.
Believe me when I say, it’s going to take a while for some to even realize that he’s been this good for a couple months now.
An additional, equally important piece of this conversation is how Olu Oluwatimi’s injury continues to lag, and Jalen Sundell continues to impress. Which brings us to the very real possibility – neither confirmed nor denied by Mike Macdonald – that the Seattle starting line will be:
Those five started the avalanche that ended in 268 rushing yards. Well actually, they even did that without Charles Cross.
Personally, Bradford was my most-picked on player of 2024. I thought it was a foregone conclusion he’d never see the field this year.
I am – quite sheepishly – prepared and excited to be wrong.
