Scott Huff, hardest job on new Seahawks coaching staff: Getting the offensive line right

Scott Huff isn’t used to this.

He came from coaching the best offensive line in college football last season, at the University of Washington, to the national championship game in January.

Now he’s coaching the most troublesome part of the Seahawks’ offense, if not the team. The offensive line has been Seattle’s problem for much of the last decade.

After seven years at UW, Huff arrived from across Lake Washington this offseason to become Seattle’s new offensive line coach. It’s his first job in the NFL.

“The hardest thing for me is not taking the 520 (bridge, from eastern Seattle suburbs to UW). I have to stay on the 405. That’s the struggle,” Huff joked to The News Tribune on the edge of the field following practice this week for Sunday’s game between the Seahawks (2-0) and Miami Dolphins (1-1) at Lumen Field (1:05 p.m., channel 7).

“Yeah,” Huff said of his new work commute to Seahawks headquarters down Interstate 405 to Renton, “but there is no toll bridge.

“I’m saving money.”

That may be the best thing about his new job so far.

The rest of it is the hardest one in all of the Seahawks’ Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

The team’s offensive line began this season with as ugly a first half of a game five blockers could have. In the opener Sept. 8 against Denver, Seattle’s O-line allowed a sack on the season’s first play. On the second play, pressure up the middle past new center Connor Williams resulted in quarterback Geno Smith getting hit as he threw. The interception that became quick points for the Broncos.

The line committed two penalties — by the same guy, right guard Anthony Bradford. The second one was in the end zone, for a safety. Left guard Laken Tomlinson allowed inside penetration off the snap for a tackle for loss in the end zone by Denver and a second safety. Two safeties in one half, because of the offensive line.

Right tackle George Fant injured his knee. Stone Forsythe, the Plan C at the position, finished the game.

New offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, Huff’s colleague on the Huskies’ coaching staff the previous two years at UW, wants to run effectively to set up his deep-strike passing game and open his entire playbook. It was closed. Lead back Kenneth Walker had just 19 yards on seven carries in the first half of the opener.

The Seahawks were losing, at home. Because of Huff’s offensive line.

He and new coach Mike Macdonald’s staff got after the blockers at halftime two weeks ago. They responded to open holes Walker ran through for 84 of his 103 yards in the second half. Seattle scored 17 unanswered points to win.

Last weekend at New England, Huff’s O-line got pushed back and around by the Patriots’ defensive front. Walker missed the game with an oblique injury. Fill-in lead back Zach Charbonnet gained just 38 yards on 14 rushes. Smith avoided multiple sacks with deft maneuvers in an out of the pocket. His 33 completions in 44 throws for 327 yards rallied the Seahawks to a win in overtime.

Suffice to say, Huff is not satisfied.

“You know, the second half of the Denver game really felt like we came off the ball, ran the ball,” he said. “Well, obviously, we didn’t run the ball to our standard in the New England game.

“We want to be balanced at the end of the day. We want to give the option to run or throw.”

Huff said the problem has been sharing line calls and what the defensive fronts are presenting, and basics such as footwork, hand work and striking and driving defenders.

“We need to be more consistent with our communication and fundamentals,” he said.

New center Connor Williams

The communication starts with Williams. He is two games into his Seahawks career, having arrived only a month ago from a free-agent signing eight months after he tore the ACL in his knee. Williams just started practicing in late August. He has been learning Huff’s line calls, Grubb’s extensive playbook and complicated terminology, Smith’s ways and cadences plus his fellow linemen.

It’s not easy. And it’s shown.

Grubb realizes this.

“Just really impressed with Connor, how well he’s done processing the information,” the OC and play caller said. “There’s a difference between playing center and another position. I mean, he is making a lot of decisions literally every play to set the plate for the offense. So I think it’s amazing.

“And the guy works really hard at it. I think that he’s only going to get better the more comfortable he gets. The faster he plays it is going to keep getting better.”

Macdonald said he saw “a big jump” in Williams’ play at New England compared to his Seahawks debut week one.

Huff has been impressed with how quickly Williams, Miami’s starting center the previous two seasons and a four-year starter at guard for Dallas to begin his NFL career, has picked up the offense.

“It’s a lot. It’s been a lot,” Huff said. “But he’s working really, really hard.

“It is funny, so many things that we’ve done in between OTAs and training camp and stuff, you forget that he hasn’t gotten a lot of those reps. But he’s done a really good job of catching on really quick. He’s obviously a really smart guy.

“He’s a good player, and so we’re pleased with with with how he’s been performing so far.”

Alternating right guards

Bradford has four accepted penalties in two games.

Rookie third-round draft choice Christian Haynes played one series in each half in New England last weekend at right guard, replacing Bradford. The Seahawks marched to a touchdown on the only drive Haynes played in the first half.

Macdonald began this week saying rookie Haynes “probably” deserves more reps in games.

Huff said they are going to continue to alternate at the spot until the line improves.

“It’s just until we feel like we got it right,” Huff said.

“I think Anthony played played pretty good last week, you know? And there’s obviously things that everybody needs to work on. But he felt like he took a good step last week.”

Bradford got a penalty in the first half at New England for unnecessary roughness. He threw down to the turf a Patriot he was blocking away from the play as it ended.

“You’d always rather say, ‘Whoa1’ than ‘Giddy up!,’ you know?” Huff said.

“But yeah, we certainly don’t want (that). I mean, that can be a drive killer, right there, and so you want to be smart.

“Yeah,” Huff said, coyly, “I think we’re going to learn from that one.”

Tomlinson is 32. He’s in his 10th season. He signed a one-year contract this offeason, worth up to $4 million. He was a Pro Bowl left guard with San Francisco, but that was now three years ago.

He has been beaten off the snap inside at left guard multiple times in each of the first two games. Inside penetration past a guard ruins plays far more than outside; a defender that wins inside at the snap wins the shortest route to the ball. He immediately is into the chest of the quarterback or the ball carrier.

Haynes started 49 consecutive games while spending six years at the University of Connecticut before Seattle drafted him. All were at right guard. He did learn and play both left and right guard in training camp. He and Bradford started the final two preseason games at left and right guard, respectively, last month.

Huff said he’s still adjusting to NFL game-day roster. He just has fewer linemen available in games.

In college, the rosters are 85 for road games and over 100 for home games. In the NFL, it’s 53 players.

“I will say that’s one thing that has been different for me personally, as the offense line coach, from the college game to the NFL game is college you’re two deep everywhere (10 and more linemen available), right? Where we’re in the NFL we have eight guys (active for games).

“Whatever happens during the course of the game, you got to be ready to to adjust on the fly.”