Sheil Kapadia, ESPN Writer 9y

What we're learning about Jimmy Graham's role, the state of the offensive line

Here are five observations after having re-watched the Seattle Seahawks' third preseason game against the San Diego Chargers.

1. It is probably going to take the team a few regular season games to figure out how they want to use tight end Jimmy Graham. He had two catches for 24 yards on five targets Saturday night. According to Pro Football Focus, Graham has played 52 preseason snaps, and he's been used as a run blocker 36.5 percent of the time. The results have been mixed. On an early Marshawn Lynch 3rd-and-1 carry, the Seahawks didn't generate any kind of push, and Graham let a defender slip past him as the run was stopped short of a first down. He did a good job on Robert Turbin's 7-yard run in the first. But in the third, Graham looked like he was unsure of which defender to block, and a defensive lineman went right past him in the red zone to drop Turbin for a 7-yard loss. In other words, Graham appears to be a work in progress as a run blocker.

2. There was good and bad on the offensive line. Let's start with the positives. Drew Nowak looked comfortable and figures to be the starting center in Week 1. He had nice blocks on Lynch's 6-yard run and Turbin's 7-yard carry in the first. Later, Nowak and Justin Britt passed off defenders on a stunt, giving Russell Wilson time to throw. Garry Gilliam also was solid. He actually played every snap and held up well in pass protection. Gilliam did a really good job on Turbin's 5-yard run to the right in the first quarter. And J.R. Sweezy had a very good game.

The issues came on the left side. Alvin Bailey was beaten twice off the edge, once giving up a sack and the other time allowing a hit on Wilson. He was also called for a false start. And we might be underestimating the difficulty in Britt moving from tackle to guard. He gave up a hit on Wilson in the first and later allowed pressure, forcing Wilson to scramble. Britt was also called for holding on a run play. The guess here is that they'll stick with him at left guard and hope he can learn on the job in the regular season.

3. Several backups stood out. Cassius Marsh was all over the place on special teams. On Tyler Lockett's touchdown, Marsh made an initial block and then sprinted towards the end zone looking for someone else to hit. On the ensuing kickoff, he forced a fumble. Marsh also had a couple really nice plays against the run, although it appeared that he got caught inside on the end around that picked up 42 yards in the second half.

Linebackers Kevin Pierre-Louis and Brock Coyle were active, combining for 11 tackles. The Seahawks have nice roster depth at this spot.

4. The Seahawks have not been a big blitzing team, but if Saturday was any indication, they might send more pressure under Kris Richard's direction. On one play, they lined up Frank Clark next to Cliff Avril on the left side and also brought a blitz. Clark walked the center back into Philip Rivers' face, and Jordan Hill got a sack. Pierre-Louis blitzed once in the red zone and affected Rivers' throw. Steven Terrell hit Rivers and forced an incompletion in the first on a six-man pressure. And Coyle crushed Kellen Clemens on a blitz in the third.

We'll see if Richard was just trying some stuff out or if the Seahawks are going to be a little more blitz-happy in 2015.

5. And some leftovers: The Chargers went with 10 personnel (one RB, no TEs, four WRs) on an early third down, and the Seahawks were in nickel. That meant Terrell, a safety, matched up in man coverage against Stevie Johnson. Johnson had a 34-yard catch and run for one of San Diego's biggest plays of the day. ...On a third-and-1, Rivers tried to use tempo to keep the Seahawks in nickel and run the ball. Good idea, but K.J. Wright blew the play up and forced a fourth down. ...Brandon Mebane was active and looked unblockable at times. ...Backup defensive lineman David King moved well laterally and made a couple nice plays against the run. ...Bobby Wagner appeared to be in midseason form.

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