Turf Show Times
The Seattle Seahawks have been intentional over the last few years in fixing their offensive line:
You’d think that after significant investments in draft capital that Seattle’s offensive line would be trending in the right direction; however, they are still weak along the interior.
That is bad news when you face the Los Angeles Rams, who have four very good bodies to throw at you inside: Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, and Tyler Davis. Fiske and Turner each recorded eight total pressures in two games last year against Seattle, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Turner had seven alone in Week 9.
The Seahawks better come prepared to block LA’s game wreckers in the interior, although this does seem to be a deteriorating situation in the pacific northwest.
Jalen Sundell has started all nine games for the Seahawks. He hasn’t practiced this week because of a knee injury, and he’s likely to miss Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup.
Has Sundell been good this year? Well, not by most standards. He’s still the best of the three interior offensive lineman for the Seahawks. His replacement, Olu Oluwatimi, is a former 2023 fifth round pick who has made nine starts in three seasons. The coaching staff seems to prefer keeping him out of the lineup if at all possible.
Zabel has received mostly high praise from fans in Seattle, but this might be the case of confirming priors in the context of draft status and overweighing positive plays. The rookie has a PFF grade of 49.3 while his running mate on the right side, Bradford, is slightly better at 50.8.
Using a threshold of at least 350 snaps, Zabel is PFF’s fifth-worst guard in all of football. Bradford is the tenth-worst. Penalties are a major issue for this duo, as Zabel has been flagged three times and Bradford has drawn two penalties as well.
Rams fans seem disappointed with the production of Fiske and Turner this season. Fiske has only notched one sack and Turner has two.
Sacks are an outdated statistic; however, and this duo is still causing chaos for opposing quarterbacks.
Of all defensive linemen with at least 160 pass rushes, Turner is 13th in total pressures (27) and Fiske is 19th (22). Fiske also has roughly 60 less pass rushes than Turner because had early season injuries that limited him in Weeks 2, 3, and 4. He also played only 25 snaps against the Saints.
When Fiske has been healthy, he’s been his normal disruptive self. The sacks are soon to follow.
The dam could break as soon as this weekend versus...
