Skip to main content
Advertising

Seahawks Secondary Receives Reinforcements as Richard Sherman, Will Blackmon & Tharold Simon Return

The cornerback trio saw their first action of preseason against the San Diego Chargers.

The 'Legion of Boom' looked a little more familiar in Saturday night's 16-15 win over the Chargers in San Diego.

Richard Sherman (hip), Will Blackmon (groin), and Tharold Simon (shoulder) each saw their first action of the 2015 preseason. The trio of cornerbacks had been held out of Seattle's first two exhibition games this year, with Sherman and Blackmon nursing minor setbacks and Simon having started training camp on the team's physically unable to perform list.

Still absent from the L.O.B. were the team's two starting safeties - Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, with Thomas (shoulder) expected to be ready for the regular-season opener and Chancellor having yet to report to Seahawks camp. Without the All-Pro players, the Seattle secondary featured Sherman starting at left cornerback opposite veteran Cary Williams, Blackmon working in the nickel, and Steven Terrell and Dion Bailey at the safety spots. The unit surrendered 140 yards through the air in the first half of play to Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense, but more importantly, helped hold San Diego to just six points on a pair of field goals.

"We look like we're coming into form just like we always do," said Sherman, who recorded two tackles at Qualcomm Stadium. "It'll be great to get Earl back soon, but like I said before the young guys are stepping up and they're getting great reps and they're playing good football. So I think we're playing good ball. I don't know what the stats were or whatever that we gave up, but I thought we played good in the first half and then the young guys came in and held it down."

Simon, the third-year player who Seattle drafted in the fifth round out of LSU, entered Saturday's game in the second half and saw time at right cornerback. It's a position head coach Pete Carroll said Simon will compete at moving forward and his performance in San Diego showed why. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound Simon was tested early and found himself in good position defending a deep ball intended for Chargers wideout Jacoby Jones. The ball slipped right through Simon's hands, but he managed to stay stride-for-stride with the speedy receiver.

"I wish I could get it back," Simon said of the play. "But I'm going to get back in the swing of things and sooner or later those things are going to start coming down with me.

"I just know I've got to get my wind back up out there in practice for next week, just run around crazy and make sure I'm good to go," Simon added. "But other than that, I felt wonderful, I felt great just going out there and playing ball."

Simon said he felt good about his coverage skills at San Diego - he finished the game with a pair of passes defensed. But he admitted he needs to improve playing off of blocks from opposing wide receivers, something the All-Pro corner Sherman also took note of in his assessment of Simon's play.

"Tharold's going to be a great player once he gets it all figured out," Sherman said. "Today he had his moments. He had his moments where he shined and looked like he's capable of looking on that fade where he should have intercepted it. That's what he's capable of. Obviously, he also had some mental lapses - didn't play off blocks very well on some plays, but that's part of getting the rust off and getting back into game shape and things he hasn't had, the practice reps to get him prepared for those types of plays. But overall, I think he had a good game"

Blackmon, meanwhile, was the first-man-up at the nickel cornerback spot with the No. 1 defense. Acquired in free agency this offseason from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Saturday's matchup was Blackmon's first game-action since October of 2014 - he finished last year on injured reserve following surgery on a broken finger.

"I know I made a few mental errors out there, but I felt good," said Blackmon, who finished the game with four tackles. "I was on a couple things that caught me a couple times when [Chargers wide receiver] Stevie [Johnson] got me on one route, but for the most part I just had good energy. I was happy to just finally be on the field."

Photos from the Seahawks' 16-15 win over the San Diego Chargers.  

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
2025 Pro Bowl Voting Is Now Open!

2025 Pro Bowl Voting Is Now Open!

Vote for your favorite Seahawks players to send them to the 2025 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, February 2nd.

Advertising