The Seattle Seahawks are seemingly aching to play another NFL team. At this point in the calendar every real competitor around the league is desperate to get out there and actually hit somebody wearing a different uniform than their own. Scuffles at training camp in this last week before the preseason games begin are common - and the Detroit Lions got into more than one today during joint practices with the New York Giants.
Seattle will have to wait until Saturday afternoon to face a live opponent in the person of upstanding Michigan man Jim Harbaugh and what will no doubt be a physical LA Chargers team. The following week they'll have some joint practices of their own with the Tennessee Titans ahead of their preseason matchup.
For now, all the Seahawks can do is hit eachother, and that's exactly what they've been doing the last several days at practice as training camp has gotten particularly physical.
The latest dustup came today between starting running back Ken Walker and cornerback Riq Woolen, who's also gotten into a beef with star receiver DK Metcalf recently. Edge Derek Hall and offensive tackle Stone Forsythe as well as safety Marquise Blair and receiver Dee Williams have also gotten into it lately, per Brady Henderson at ESPN.
Riq Woolen and Ken Walker scuffled after a play today. Not uncommon in camp, especially when pads are on. I wondered if we'd see fewer fights under Mike Macdonald, but not so. Woolen/DK Mectalf have gone at it, as have Derek Hall/Stone Forsythe and Marquise Blair/Dee Eskridge.
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) August 5, 2024
Other reporters have described practices as getting scrappier every day.
Last couple practices been real scrappy. Today’s post-play rumble was between K9 and Riq. Some pushing and shoving turned into some swinging and a pile up before it all got broken up
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) August 5, 2024
This is good and healthy for a hungry young team, so long as none of these scuffles escalate into full-blown brawls, where there's great potential for injuries. That seems less likely to happen now than it was under former head coach Pete Carroll, who encouraged players to get amped up to their absolute max, sometimes resulting in some overheating.
From all accounts new head coach Mike Macdonald is a cooler customer who is more focused on discipline than passion. As long as he can keep them from killing each other over the next two or three practices they'll be just fine.
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