Hawk Talk highlights: Cary Williams’ struggles, future with Seahawks

The Seahawks benched cornerback Cary Williams in the second half of their win over San Francisco. (AP)

Danny O’Neil hosted a live Seahawks chat on Tuesday, as he does each week during Seattle’s season. The full transcript can be found here. Highlights are below.

Judge Smails asked whether Seattle’s defense is worse than in years past at defending tight ends, and if so, who’s to blame.

O’Neil: Yes. It is worse. I don’t know if you would ever say it has been the strength, but it hasn’t been a vulnerability. And in 2013 everyone couldn’t heap enough praise on the Seahawks for the way they defended Jimmy Graham without using defensive backs. I think the answer to the difficulty lies not in the safety, but cornerback Cary Williams. He was on the side of the defense where San Francisco’s Vance McDonald caught the second-quarter touchdown on Sunday. He was on the side of the defense when McDonald had the 39-yard reception in the third quarter. Williams was responsible on both of Tyler Eifert’s touchdown catches in Week 5 at Cincinnati. He was the one that was given the hook.

JC asked about the likelihood that the Seahawks cut the recently-benched Williams once Jeremy Lane is activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list, which is expected to happen this week.

O’Neil: Somebody brought this up yesterday, and I dismissed it out of hand. Then looked a little closer, and I’m not so sure. I believe they’ll find room elsewhere – like linebacker Nick Moody, who was hurt again. Or perhaps even with offensive lineman Kristjan Sokoli. And I think they would keep Williams ahead of rookie Tye Smith, who projects as a nickel corner almost exclusively, but I don’t know.

howker asked if the Seahawks saw something in Williams that he didn’t actually have.

O’Neil: I think the biggest factor has been his difficulty in adapting to the Seahawks’ style of turning and running with opposing receivers rather than making a hard jam. And his repeated difficulty in recognizing how the tight end impacts him in zone coverages.

Another Stupid Question asked how big the gap is between St. Louis’ Todd Gurley, the 10th overall pick, and fellow rookie running back Thomas Rawls, whom Seattle signed as an undrafted free agent.

O’Neil: Not as big as the difference of being the No. 10 overall pick and being undrafted. The difference is that having seen Gurley run in the best defensive conference in the country, the SEC, you have a better foundation for being able to project forward. With Rawls, all signs are very positive, but we’re still really early in the process.

Dani asked what the Seahawks must do to regain their form from the last two seasons.

O’Neil: Two things need to happen: Rawls must show he’s capable of producing not at the clip he has, but a steady starter’s numbers while also not fumbling (that’s huge). And Seattle’s secondary has to button itself up. I believe that the secondary is the bigger question right now on this team and whether the deficiencies at Williams’ spot can be corrected.

mediocre asked about how the Seahawks feel about Russell Wilson becoming a so-called “celebrity quarterback.”

O’Neil: I wouldn’t read too much into that idea that suddenly everyone is worried. I think there’s always a question about how a young player will handle getting a big contract and the status that comes with being a franchise quarterback. I don’t think that Seattle’s front office is suddenly on alert and wishing that it hadn’t signed him to the extension. But there’s always concern about how a player will handle the next step in his career.