The Seattle Seahawks have made a couple of roster moves and
they may be tipping their hand at what's going on inside the organization, personnel--wise.
Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider announced today that
they had traded offensive guard John Moffitt to the Cleveland Browns in
exchange for Brian Sanford, a 6’2” 280 lb. defensive lineman who can play up
and down the line making him versatile and perhaps valuable to the Seahawks who
clearly made this move in an attempt to shore up the defensive line, a line
that is currently suffering from a bevy of health issues.
Moffitt was the 75th pick overall in the 2011 NFL Draft
by the Seahawks and started the first nine games that season before getting a
season-ending knee injury. He played in eight games last season, starting six. Moffitt was a team favorite in the locker
room and also a favorite of local radio hosts, mostly for his sense of humor
and lighthearted honesty and humility.
Unfortunately, those characteristics are typically valued by players who
can perform on the field in contrast to their easy going, funny man persona in
the locker room and with the press. He
will be missed by the guys at ESPN Seattle and KJR 950 AM; however he never
really got into a groove of consistency, despite his high draft position and
high expectations coming out of Wisconsin and a very respectable college
career.
 |
| Seahawks trade G John Moffitt to the Browns for DE Brian Sanford. |
The trade was really a need for need type of transaction
has Pete Carroll was uneasy with his defensive line and their injury problems,
as the Cleveland Browns were suffering in their offensive line after leaving
Brandon Weeden out to get mugged too many times in a collapsing pocket that
never really gave the rookie quarterback a chance to throw in a rhythm the way
he did at Oklahoma State as a 28-year-old senior. If Moffitt can stay healthy, he has a good
shot at starting in Cleveland and Sanford might be able to contribute if he can
beat out a couple of other Seahawks hopefuls, and there is also the injuries
that might make Sanford’s chances better as camp progresses. It will all depend on whether or not Sanford
can learn the system and whether or not he is a polished player after three
years in the NFL. Dan Quinn’s defensive
line schemes are somewhat complicated with a lot of stunting, requiring players
to develop a sense of chemistry so that confusion doesn’t open up holes in the
line allowing ball-carriers to knife through the line of scrimmage without
pressure.
 |
| Dewayne Cherrington makes a tackle while playing for Mississippi |
In addition to the trade for Brian Sanford, John
Schneider and Pete Carroll were busy trying to bring in more talent to
challenge for a spot in the defensive line rotation. Dewayne Cherrington was
signed yesterday, a defensive tackle who will probably play the three technique
and the five technique. Dewayne
Cherrington is a very large man at 6’3” 335 lbs. He was picked up by the New England Patriots
as an undrafted unrestricted free-agent.
Cherrington is massive and has the strength to match his enormous frame. At the NFL combine, Cherrington managed 36
reps of 225 lbs. and bench presses 525 lbs and squats 675 lbs. Both Cherrington and Sanford are beasts on
the defensive line, Cherrington is one of the strongest players in the NFL, and
what’s better is that both of them have the quickness and frame to fill in to
the Seahawks defensive line and perhaps provide help at both the running game
and the interior push to force quarterbacks out of the pocket where the edge
rushers like Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and O’Brien Schofield can pursue at
the edge.
No comments:
Post a Comment