Alex Gibbs has had quite a week.
In the past two days, the veteran offensive line coach – and guru of the zone-blocking scheme – acquired the bodies he needed to rebuild the left side of the Seahawks’ line. Thursday, Oklahoma State tackle
“It has been a good week for me – a very good week for me,” Gibbs said. “Because I’ve got two pieces into the puzzle, and I’ve only got a couple more things I’ve got to get done to get it where we can go back to being the way they were three years ago, four years ago, five years ago.
“It was a tightly knit group that understood each other, that communicated and they lost that. Now we’ve got to get it back and, trust me, we’re hard at work getting that done by the minute.”
That group, of course, featured the All-Pro tandem of tackle
Gibbs didn’t pull any punching, saying that Okung will step in at left tackle for Jones, who is contemplating retirement after missing all of last season and the final four games in 2008 while undergoing and recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee.
“We’re going to throw him right in. He will be our starting left tackle – Day One, Hour One,” Gibbs said. “And we will live with him whatever the pain is.”
Those would be growing pains, as Okung makes the transition to the NFL and Gibbs’ blocking scheme.
That’s where Hamilton comes in to play. A big part of his role will be helping Okung make the adjustment not only to the next level, but playing in Gibbs’ style of zone blocking – just as Hamilton did with Pro Bowl tackle Ryan Clady after the Denver Broncos selected him in the first round two years ago.
“We needed a player that had done that, that knew this system, that I knew to help (Okung) make the transfer,” Gibbs said. “That’s what Ben is for. Ben will lineup inside of him and guide him daily through this whole process.
“So he’s Coach One, I’m Coach Two.”
Gibbs was effusive in his assessment of Okung, who was generally considered the top tackle in this draft class but had to watch while Oklahoma’s Trent Williams went to the Washington Redskins with the fourth pick.
“It was obvious that (Okung) was one of the top, top players in this draft,” Gibbs said. “He and Trent Williams both went very quickly. We would have loved to have either of them. They were both great players. In our minds, they can’t miss.”
But the Seahawks had 10 anxious minutes while waiting for the Kansas City Chiefs to make their selection at No. 5. When the Chiefs opted for Tennessee safety Eric Berry, Gibbs had one of the players he not only coveted, but needed.
“I was scared to death because I know line coach there very well and he wanted this kid as bad as I did, or worse than I did,” Gibbs said. “And he didn’t get him. So we quickly texted him and said, ‘Ha,ha.’ ”
It was obvious that Gibbs enjoyed getting that last laugh. It was just as obvious what Gibbs liked about Okung.
“He has tremendously long arms and tall stature,” Gibbs said of the 6-foot-5 Okung, who has 36-inch arms. “He’s nasty and football is his life. He’s so committed to what he wants to do. He doesn’t have a lot of fanfare. He doesn’t have a lot of side views. He doesn’t have a lot of contingencies.
“He’s football. It’s the most important thing in his life and he is a committed young player, which is rare in today’s world – to get them where they come out and it’s everything they want to be. So we’ve got a guy who will come early, stay late and aspires to be outstanding within himself.”
For his part in this love story, Okung was somewhat stunned.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed,” he said during a conference-call interview from the NFL draft headquarters at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. “It’s definitely a blessing just to be considered. I believe Seattle made the best choice.”
So do the Seahawks, and especially Alex Gibbs.
