If you're a fan of soccer, baseball, the NBA draft or the WNBA, this is a great time of year for you. If NFL news is your thing, however, it's a little slow these days as teams enjoy a break between offseason workouts and training camp. Slow time or not, it's always a good time to talk Seahawks, so it's time once again to open up the mailbag and answer questions from you, the fans. As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to your question this time around.
@Morg826 asks, "Tell me about the most exciting position battle this offseason—punter! Does Jon Ryan have a shot to keep the job?" @wenfot also asks about the punting competition.
A: I feel like getting multiple questions about punting only highlights how much Jon Ryan has come to mean to Seahawks fans in his 10 seasons as the team's punter, and for good reason. And while Seattle did use a fifth-round pick on Michael Dickson, a very talented punter, the rookie from Texas is hardly a lock to unseat Ryan.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has mentioned on a couple of occasions that, despite drafting a punter, that competition is ongoing and won't be decided quickly.
"They're battling every session that we go," Carroll said on the final day of offseason workouts. "It has been competitive, we've been keeping score and keeping track of everything so that we have really good info to figure it out in time. We don't have to hurry to make these decisions at all."
And as was covered in a recent feature in The Athletic, Ryan isn't backing down from the competition at all. With a background in Australian Rules Football, Dickson is a uniquely talented player, which is why the Seahawks traded up in the fifth round to get him, but that doesn't mean he will just be handed the job. So yes, as strange as it might sound, the punting competition will be one to watch in training camp.
@thomasknight asks, "Why will Harry Kane win the golden boot?"
A: For those unfamiliar with soccer, the golden boot is the trophy given to the high scorer in a given tournament, and if England's striker does win it, it will apparently be because the soccer gods are looking upon him favorably during this World Cup. Don't get me wrong, Kane's a hell of a player, but when you get a hat trick by scoring twice on penalty kicks, then a third time by complete accident, things are going your way.
Knight, who apparently is very confident in England, also asked, "To what extent can the Super Bowl winning Seahawks team be compared to the World Cup winning England team of 2018?" I won't pretend to know English soccer well enough to come up with a clever comparison, other than to say that, like Seahawks fans who were hungry for the team's first Super Bowl title in 2013, England fans also have waited a long time with their team having not won a World Cup since 1966. If England does win, all I ask is that Brits please keep the celebration going until October when we're in town. Thanks.
@gnarlyraddad asks, "What type of tight end will Will Dissly be?"
A: The Seahawks drafted Will Dissly in the fourth round in large part because they saw him as the top blocking tight end in the draft, with general manager John Schneider noting after the draft that the UW product was the "closest thing to Zach Miller that we've seen." So in light of that, it's safe to say you'll see plenty of Dissly in a more traditional tight end role lined up next to a tackle rather than split out wide or in the slot. That being said, Dissly has shown good hands in offseason workouts and looks like he can also be a factor in the receiving game, with Carroll noting that he "probably looked better in the passing game than we expected. We saw him catch the ball well, but he just looked really clean running routes and all so that was great."
@TheCrappyTotals asks, "Why haven't the Seahawks ever worn throwback uniforms like other teams? It would be fun to see them in the old royal blue jersey, silver pants and silver helmets."
A: Ah yes, a Q&A classic. I've covered this before, but for those who have missed it in the past, the NFL allows teams only one alternate uniform (not including the color rush uniforms introduced in 2016), and for the Seahawks, that alternate has been their wolf grey uniform since 2012. So unless the Seahawks give up wolf grey or the NFL loosens its uniform rules, throwbacks are out for now. But I agree, seeing the current Seahawks in that old royal blue and silver combination would be pretty cool. Maybe someday.
@Shaunblahblah asks, "What moment of your life sticks out where you thought, dang, I'm old?"
A: Haha, great question, and I feel like I'm having more of these moments with every passing year. A big one recently was registering for my high school's 20th reunion, which takes place later this summer. Another was having to recently explain who Pearl Jam is to a Seahawks player who shall go unnamed. Also, it was odd to realize during rookie minicamp that some of the early 90s hip hop songs playing had been released before a single player on the field was born.
@Lougheed_E asks, "Is Chris Carson still viewed as the starter at running back heading into training camp? Who's his biggest competition for the starting job?"
A: Carroll raved about Chris Carson's offseason, saying the second-year back "has looked incredible the whole time, the entire offseason." But the Seahawks coach has also made it clear that he sees running back as a pretty wide-open and competitive position. Rashaad Penny is a first-round pick, so obviously the Seahawks see him as a potential impact player having made such an investment in him, but he's not the only player pushing Carson, last year's starter before sustaining a season-ending injury, for playing time. Mike Davis wasn't on the active roster for much of last season, but after being promoted from the practice squad, Davis played well in the starting role, and he also stayed healthy through the end of the season, no small accomplishment given Seattle's injury problems at that position over the past couple of years. And while he has yet to be able to stay healthy for an entire season, C.J. Prosise has been very productive when healthy, so he can't be counted out in any running back competition either.
@RAYKation asks, "What happens first, Mariners make it to the World Series or SuperSonics come back to Seattle?"
A: Seeing as the NBA has made no announcements on expanding and that a remodeled arena is still a couple years away, let's hope it's the Mariners. Heck, let's be greedy and hope the Mariners can win a World Series this fall. That being said, the optimist in me still believes we'll see NBA basketball return at some point in the not-too-distant future. Seattle is just too good of a sports town and too big of a market not to have an NBA team here someday, right?
