We talk a lot about offensive lines. Understandably so. The league has a problem. And while many Seahawks fans think the problem starts and ends in Seattle, the reality is there’s a dearth of talented and available O-liners at the pro level.

There are reasons for it. A point we often touch on (and one backed up multiple times by John Schneider when he’s asked about O-liners) is the preference of the top college athletes to play defense. As Brock Huard suggested a few weeks ago — Walter Jones is probably playing three-technique if he’s a college freshman in 2017.

Now, former NFL quarterback turned QB guru Jordan Palmer has suggested another potential problem to consider.

When asked by Mike Salk on 710 ESPN about the changing face of the game and the emergence of a different quarterback profile, Palmer had this to say:

I believe the game is going towards the mobile quarterback. If you look at what’s happening at the college level, with the similar constraints on the coaching staff that they do in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) in the NFL, and so the position — and everyone thinks quarterbacks are the ones that aren’t being developed — the number one position, if you talk to real coaches, is O-line. They don’t have enough padded practises in college to really teach it. And then in college they also don’t run the ball a whole lot so you get kids learning how to do one thing pretty good. Then they go to the NFL and what’s happening is these older linemen are going to start retiring, you’ve got a bunch of young guys who don’t know what they’re doing. And there’s not enough time in the CBA to fix it. So the way that I think it’s going to play out to the layperson and somebody just watching on TV is it’s going to create a precedence for quarterbacks who can extend the play.

It’s a subject that has come up more often in recent weeks. Due to the CBA practise restrictions, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for teams to sufficiently develop their offensive linemen early in their careers. There will always be exceptions — but those exceptions will likely be the true standout players who go in the top-20 of the first round (the Zack Martin, Taylor Lewan types).

The Seahawks haven’t been in range to draft the top offensive linemen in a draft class for five years. They’ve always been picking late in the first round. They’ve been forced to develop later round picks or players that fit a certain physical profile.

Imagine how difficult that is considering what Palmer is saying here?

It’s something to think about when judging Tom Cable.

We’re seeing Germain Ifedi show signs of development this year in his second season. Maybe, just maybe, some growing pains were inevitable given Palmer’s points above? It took Justin Britt three years to settle into the pro’s but now he’s one of the finest center’s in the league. Ethan Pocic didn’t start the season and perhaps now we understand why? His debut performance against the Giants was encouraging.

We can go down the list really. James Carpenter took a while but developed into a productive guard. J.R. Sweezy, a former defensive tackle at NC State, became a regular starter quite quickly. It took Max Unger some time to turn into the player he eventually became. We saw positive signs with George Fant before his knee injury. Luke Joeckel was making strides before his recent surgery.

That’s not to say every decision or error is suddenly justified. Perspective is important though and Palmer highlights a point worth noting. Teams are limited in what they can do because of the CBA and it’s taking O-liners longer to get to grips with the pro-game.

If anything the Seahawks were ahead of the curve. They were one of the first teams to start an elusive quarterback capable of extending plays. They deliberately made the scramble a feature on the offense — embracing the situation rather than fighting it. They seemed to identity a ‘type’ of linemen they could mould and develop without owning a pick in the top-20.

We’ll see if their way of doing things can produce a solid O-line as it gains further experience.

The good news for the Seahawks is Ifedi, Pocic, Britt, Joeckel and Fant are all trending up.

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