Seahawks’ offensive line still looked terrible in Week 1 against the Packers

The Seahawks offense had a hard time getting anything going on Sunday in its season debut against the Packers. Much of the blame rests squarely upon the offensive line.

Seattle knew this was a need heading into the season after Russell Wilson’s performance suffered because he was constantly under pressure. Wilson was sacked 41 times and took 111 hits during the regular season, and he was sacked six times in two postseason games.

To address the line, the team brought in former first-round pick Luke Joeckel, who washed out with the Jaguars. Head coach Pete Carroll said in March that he expected Joeckel to play left tackle, but Joeckel landed at the top of the depth chart for the left guard position.

Rees Odhiambo, a third-round pick by Seattle in 2016, won the left tackle job after George Fant went down with a torn ACL in preseason play. Justin Britt is at center, Mark Glowinski is at right guard, and Germain Ifedi has shifted from guard to right tackle this season. But this unit doesn’t look much better than last year’s.

It allowed three sacks on Sunday, and Wilson was under so much pressure that he couldn’t get into a rhythm. He finished with just 158 yards and a fumble, and this play sums up why:

Wilson’s protectors are literally chasing behind the Packers defenders they were totally incapable of blocking.

The line did not fare much better in run blocking. Wilson was the team’s leading rusher with 40 yards, but one of those was a 29-yard dash. Green Bay’s defense was able to keep the Seahawks out of the end zone completely,

Perhaps Seattle should consider some other options. We know someone who’s available.

If the Seahawks line can’t protect Wilson and get the run game going, it could be a long season in Seattle.