How Mike Macdonald, Ryan Grubb got regular-season preparation in Seahawks’ joint practices

The Seahawks’ first joint practices since the first George H. W. Bush was president weren’t just for the players, to get them ready for real games.

They were key trials for Seattle’s new coaches.

The two days of full-pads, 11-on-11 scrimmaging between Seattle’s starters and those for the Tennessee Titans in 93-degree heat and humidity at Saint Thomas Sports Park that ended Thursday were the most realistic trial runs first-time head coach Mike Macdonald and his 21 new assistant coaches will get before the season begins Sept. 8 against Denver.

Those coaches include new offensive (Ryan Grubb), defensive (Aden Durde) and special-teams (Jay Harbaugh) coordinators. They used the time between the two practices as a rehearsal for studying an opponent’s game film then game-planning for the next “game” — in this case, the next day of scrimmaging against the Titans Thursday.

“Even from (Wednesday) to (Thursday), we did some different things, just to be able to combat some of the stuff they were doing on offense or on defense,” Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo told The News Tribune on 93.3 KJR-FM radio just after the joint practice ended Thursday.

“And it’s cool to be able to get a taste of that, what he’s going to do to get ready for Sundays.”

The game-plan prep between the Wednesday and Thursday practices in Nashville was similar to the game-preparation cadence Macdonald and Grubb will have this season: a Sunday game, Sunday night into Monday film review of it, then film review of the next opponent and game-planning Monday into Tuesday so the players can then practice that plan Wednesday through Saturday.

Seattle’s offense had a better day against Tennessee’s starters Thursday than on Wednesday. Smith completed more passes far down the field, including a 50-yard rainbow to Metcalf streaking down the left sideline about 20 yards behind cornerback Jarvis Brownlee for a touchdown on the first play of scrimmaging.

After an inside run by Kenneth Walker, Grubb called for wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to run 40-plus yards down the seam. Smith overthrew him.

It was long pass after long pass from Smith and the Seahawks at a depleted Titans secondary during the two days of scrimmaging. Tennessee was missing injured starting cornerbacks Chido Awuzie and L’Jarius Sneed.

Smith was more accurate Thursday hitting on deep passes than he was Wednesday, when he overthrew the open Bobo and Metcalf down each sideline. Grubb’s also installed new plays to attack what Tennessee showed on defense Wednesday.

“The offense had had a better day (Thursday), I think, than we did “Wednesday),” Bobo said.

“Obviously, you can attribute that to Grubb and his staff getting things done.”

Metcalf, Smith-Njigba and Bobo (Tyler Lockett rested a sore leg) repeatedly ran past the Titans’ Brownlee, a rookie fifth-round draft choice from Louisville, and Gabe Jeudy-Lally, a rookie free agent from Tennessee.

“They had a tough task over there. DK is as good a receiver as there as in football,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “I think Jaxon Smith-Njigba is probably one of the better slots as a young player. So they had their hands full.”

That’s what Grubb intends to do to Seahawks opponents this season.

The former University of Washington offensive coordinator used more of the playbook and pushed the ball down the field more in the closed joint practices against the Titans’ starting defense, certainly more than he did in the televised preseason opener last weekend at the Los Angeles Chargers. Same with Macdonald on a defense that moved players around more before the snap, and blitzed more.

Nickel defensive back Devon Witherspoon was blitzing repeatedly the more the joint practices went on this week.

The head coach again called the plays from the sideline over wireless communication into the helmet speaker of middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson, as Macdonald has done all the offseason practices and training camp, and will do this season.

All of it is far more than what Macdonald and Grubb will show the rest of the league in the televised second preseason game at Tennessee Saturday (4 p.m., KING-5 television).

How much more did Grubb on offense and Macdonald on defense use of the playbook and installation in the closed, joint practices?

“I think significantly more than you’d be comfortable putting out to everybody (in the televised preseason games),” Macdonald said.

“Some of the things you’re showing, it’s a balance of like, ‘Hey, this is our best stuff right now, let’s see how it looks.’ It’s just some stuff we want to — not experiment with — but, let’s see how it looks that we really might not have as many reps as we want against someone that we’re not used to how they’re motioning and shifting, and the plays that they’re running.”

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Jake Bobo on Ryan Grubb’s offense

Macdonald and general manager John Schneider hired Grubb to be Seahawks’ play caller this winter after the two seasons Grubb had running UW’s offense. He had Michael Penix Jr. leading major college football with 4,900 and 4,600 yards passing the last two years. Penix was the runner-up for last season’s Heisman Trophy running Grubb’s offense.

But many overlook that Penix’s and the Huskies’ success throwing so many deep shots to now-NFL wideouts Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan came after Grubb established the running of 1,200-yard rusher Dillon Johnson at UW.

Plus, Washington had college football’s best offensive line; it won the national award for it last season. That allowed Johnson the lanes to run, Grubb to call play-action passes that froze the middle of run-weary defenses, and Penix time to wait for Odunze and McMillan to run such deep pass patterns for game-changing plays.

That’s why the Seahawks also hired UW’s offensive line coach, Scott Huff, to be its new line coach.

The still-unsettled, unproven offensive line is the key to Grubb being able to deploy his total UW offensive package with the Seahawks.

Asked Thursday to define Grubb’s scheme, Bobo said without hesitation: “Explosive, number one.”

“Then I would say variable, to be honest with you,” Bobo said. “And, uncharacteristically, it’s (his) balance. But, also, there’s no keys.

“In the run game, we have so many ways to get to just base inside run. In the pass game there’s so many different ways for him to push the ball down the field — or, to put G (Geno Smith) in position to push the ball down the field.

“So, putting people in different spots, moving guys around with motion, it’s fun to plan. I’ll tell you that for sure. And then also just being able to wrap your head around what we’re going to be able to do. When we actually (regular-season) game plan for a defense, that’ll be fun to get to that point.”