Injury Concern: Defensive Tackle

I would have labelled this post 'Marcus Tubbs', except 'concern' implies that there's some uncertainty in the situation. With Marcus Tubbs, there's no uncertainty - he's gone. Yeah, I know there's talk that he was released so that he wouldn't take up a roster spot, and that he could potentially return once his knee heals, but that's not going to happen. I wish the best for Tubbs, but the Seahawks have to move on.

I wasn't counting on Tubbs being available much, if at all, this year, but as long as there was a chance that he could play even 15-20 snaps a game, the potential of the Seahawks defense was that much better. It's not a coincidence that in 2005 Tubbs had his most productive year and the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl. In the three years (2004-2006) that Tubbs was a contributing member of the Seahawks defense the Seahawks allowed 42 fewer rushing yards per game and 0.99 fewer yards per carry. Be it from Tubbs or another source, that kind of production will be necessary for the Seahawks to contend for the Super Bowl.

The first team tackles are set: Rocky Bernard and Brandon Mebane. They aren't an elite tandem, but they're pretty darn good. Mebane may have pro-bowl potential if he can improve his ability to get the quarterback. So, minus injuries (which, with Bernard, you never know), I'm fine with these two.

The backup tackle picture is still a bit fuzzy. Red Bryant appears to be the only one with a guaranteed roster spot due to his size and upside. His unpolished, though, and missing most of training camp certainly won't help make him game ready. Ideally Bryant can be a solid second-team tackle by the end of the season, which would be a huge boon to the Seahawks' overall run defense. The current second team tackles are probably Craig Terrill and Howard Green. That tandem generates a decent pass rush but gets gashed against the run. The Seahawks have a couple of other tackles in camp but none have shown themselves to be any better than these two (especially after Green's showing against the Vikings). Ultimately, if Bryant can replace one of those two, probably Greene, the Seahawks can probably match the Tubbs-era run defense. That would be awesome.