The Seattle Seahawks returned to the practice field Sunday for their first public practice following preseason game No. 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. Here are five observations from today when 1,636 Boeing employees took in practice:
1. Brandon Marshall had his most active practice.
The Seahawks have slowly brought along veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall since adding him as a free agent as he recovers from toe and ankle surgeries. But Sunday's practice definitely looked like a big step forward in his recovery process.
Marshall made a few impressive grabs during team-drills, including a one-handed grab down the sideline between a pair of defenders. Earlier he showed off his big physical frame with a touchdown grab over rookie Tre Flowers and later he snagged a touchdown from Russell Wilson on a slant route across the middle. At one point during practice, Marshall and Wilson were even isolated and did some private one-on-one work to continue building their chemistry.
After practice, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said this was Marshall's most active day of work since joining the team.
"He continues to be closer to full-go, cut-it-loose," Carroll said. "He can play, but we haven't really let him go upfield, downfield, top-speed and all that stuff yet. We've restricted him some and he's been told to be restricted when he plays just to make sure we don't have any setbacks. Today was his most active day. We're going to continue to expand from there. We're looking very good."
2. Wide receivers were all over the place.
To build off the first observation, there were a ton of nice plays from the group of wide receivers during practice. Tyler Lockett hauled in the longest throw of the day, reaching out for a long touchdown bomb from Wilson in team drills. Damore'ea Stringfellow stretched and made a great leaping catch near the sideline over Shaquill Griffin. And days after making a big catch over a defender versus the Colts, second-year wideout David Moore once again made a tough catch by firmly hauling in pass from Austin Davis with two hands over cornerback Jeremy Boykins.
3. Game review.
It's hard for Carroll to add much following games in terms of assessment without being able to re-watch the game film. On Sunday, he offered his thoughts about how the first preseason game went and was overall happy with how beneficial it was for rookies and younger players trying to make the team.
"The best thing that happened was the young guys really had an opportunity to do some things and they did it," Carroll said. "I thought Rasheem (Green) looked really good, Rashaad (Penny) did a nice job in his carries, you could see a little burst in there. Michael (Dickson) kicked the ball nice, Jacob Martin rushed the passer well. Dissly caught a couple balls and looked good blocking. Looking at the draft picks and couple free agents, they just did good stuff and it showed like we hoped they'd show. And showed us the kind of things we're looking for in the first time. We were really pleased when we got to the film and got to see all that."
4. Play Of The Day
Today's play of the day came early in the team's scrimmage. A short pass from Wilson to running back Chris Carson was a tad high and tipped off the fingers of Carson, with the ball deflecting in the air. After a few bobbles, linebacker Austin Calitro came away with a nice interception on a heads-up play. Later on, Calitro weaved through a gap and also made a a great stop in the backfield of rookie running back Rashaad Penny.
5. Griffin brothers reunited on the field.
Last season was the first time Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin didn't play on the same football team. Ever. That drought for the twins came to an end against the Colts with them playing in the same football game once again. Although it was limited because of snaps and where each currently sits on the depth chart, it was a cool moment Shaquill touched on after practice Sunday.
"It felt good being back out there," Shaquill said. "It's an experience of a lifetime, something that we wanted to get back to eventually and we're glad it happened and we're glad the organization made it happen ... I didn't play as much that game — you get in, you get out — but to see him going around and making plays and having fun doing it with his teammates, it was a great moment. I enjoyed it and I know he did too."
Photos from Day 11 of 2018 Seahawks training camp, presented by Safeway at Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
