Jeb Putzier & All Things Mini Camp

by: Michael Steffes

The Sirius NFL Radio weekend crew spoke with Jeb Putzier today in between practices. Rather than taking my diligent notes(sorry I was driving) and reporting everything he said, I am just going to summarize some of the important things that came out of the conversation. I am paraphrasing a bit more than usual on this one, but hopefully the spirit of what he said will be clear.

To Continue....

First off, he said that there is a whole lot of head spinning going on this weekend. He said that he and some of the new guys are trying real hard to understand what is going on. He said the Seahawks have a unique way of calling things. He said it is not just the new guys though. He said Mike Solari is using very similar verbage to his past stops, but it is totally foreign to the incumbent linemen. So he has an edge there. He said it will take a bit but they will get it all figured out so that it comes naturally and they can just go out an play.

He was asked how he approaches mentoring a young kid like John Carlson. He said that sometimes it can be hard, because he wants to be on the field as much as possible, but he also wants the team to win above all else. He said Carlson has made it really easy because he knows his place and "isn't a punk or anything." Because of this he has already stayed after practice and worked with him.

They asked about Jackson. He said he hasn't gotten to spend much time with him, but he has seen him crash through and blow up several running plays. Said he looks good, or at least he thinks it is Jackson who looks good, he is still getting to know everybody.

He was asked if Mike Holmgren addressed the situation of being a lame duck coach. He said there was no formal address, but players on the team have told him how much respect they have for Holmgren and some of the other coaches whose last year it is too, and that they want to send them out a winner.

Finally, he said in the brief time has been on the field with #8, he can tell he is one of the smartest quarterbacks he has ever played with. He is like another coach out there. He is giving out pointers like, "if you a make this one little tweak we have a huge play." He said he also throws a great ball. --This made me think of the old days when people used to speculate that Hass had some weird spiral that made all the receivers drop passes. So much for that!

I am bit curious about the other coaches leaving. I wonder if there is some resentment about Mora getting the job. I have to imagine it won't be a problem. It could also be that Mora will just be bringing in his own staff. My guess is the guy being mentioned is Gil Haskell. Marshall and Mora worked together on a top rated defense before, so him staying is a possibility. Plus we all know Mora's connection to Gregg Knapp (O Coordinator), whose contract will be up after this year in Oakland. I am assuming the new coaches are Mora guys, but who knows. It would be aggravating to say the least to see the line and running game preform at a top level and then the coaching staff dismantled. But all that for next year. For now, it appears the team has a singular purpose, to send the walrus out a winner.