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'Gotta Love The Blue Angels Practice' & Other Observations From Day 8 Of Seahawks Training Camp

News, notes and observations from Day 8 of Seahawks training camp.

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The Seahawks held their eighth practice of training camp on Thursday, and as is the case at this time every year, practice was periodically interrupted by a very noisy visitor, with the Blue Angels making their annual visit to Seattle for Seafair weekend.

Between flyovers from Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, the Seahawks held their third padded practice of camp, their longest session of the eight held so far, and Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald came away pleased with the work his team got done Thursday.

"Gotta love the Blue Angels practice every year," Macdonald said to open his press conference after waiting for the noise to subside after a jet passed by. "It's something really special. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones around that have that, some added crowd noise on purpose. Sam (Darnold) was like, 'Is that you? Is that crowd noise on purpose?' No, but it was good work. Great practice. Longest practice so far. Physical, good stuff, a lot of situational work we're going through, all three units doing good stuff. I'm excited to watch the tape and we're over halfway through this week, which is a critical week for us. We'll look forward to putting an exclamation point on it tomorrow and Saturday."

In addition to the Blue Angels' annual visit, here are five takeaways from the eighth practice of Seahawks training camp:

1. Nick Emmanwori "keeps executing" and keeps making highlight plays.

Earlier this week, rookie safety Nick Emmanwori had the play of the day for the defense when he picked off a tipped pass and returned it for a touchdown. On Thursday, the second-round pick out of South Carolina was at it again, this time covering rookie running back Jacardia Wright down the right sideline before making a spectacular diving grab, snagging the ball just before it hit the ground. That pick set off a huge celebration from his fellow defensive backs who raced across the field to celebrate with the rookie.

"We keep giving him stuff and he keeps executing," Macdonald said. "You have to be careful that you don't take the playmaker out of the player. That's something that is on my mind. He just keeps learning and keeps executing and keeps making plays. He's got great enthusiasm and anytime you've got a coaching point for him, he's very receptive towards it. We've said this kind of ad nauseam here, but he's just a really fun player to coach. The vets in the room were doing a great job with him, too. Julian (Love), Coby (Bryant), those guys, it's a good group."

Asked about the concept of not taking the playmaker out of the player, Macdonald said, "A guy like me, you've got to tell me exactly what to do all the time for me to operate. For a guy like him, you've got to let him go play. Give him the intent of the play, commander's intent type of idea, and then let him come to life."

2. Jalen Milroe got to show off his speed.

Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe has shown solid growth from spring offseason workouts into his first training camp, a promising start for a player with a ton of upside. But what hasn't been on display much so far in camp is Milroe's running ability, which made him one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the country during his time at Alabama. But on Thursday, fans in attendance got to get a glimpse of that running ability on a few plays, particularly late in practice during a red zone session in which the rookie had a few impressive throws and runs.

"This is the type of mentality we have in practice, which is cool. It's just a great art to today. There were a couple plays early (where) we were throwing a lot at him schematically on the defense," Macdonald said. "But it's good for him to kind of get trial by fire on some of those situational things, and we'll learn from those early in practice. But be able to come back in a critical two-minute situation and win the game for the offense by making two great plays and then operating. That is not an easy operation right there at the end, (he) played the clock, it's great to see. It shows he can rebound, the poise was awesome to see. We ended practice the right way."

Asked his thoughts on Milroe's speed, Macdonald quipped, "Tell me how you felt it on that two-minute drill. It was pretty cool."

3. More Bobo.

Jake Bobo became a fan favorite, not to mention a player who won over coaches and teammates, during training camp two years ago on his way to making the team as an undrafted free agent. And two years later, he continues to find ways to make plays, with Thursday being his most active practice as a pass catcher. Among several catches, Bobo had a nice third-down catch over the middle he turned into a big gain, then most notably, he had a great leaping sideline catch on a deep ball that required some nifty footwork to secure the catch inbounds.

4. With pads on this week, the physicality of the fullbacks is showing up.

One of the many differences for the Seahawks offense this year is that a fullback will play a prominent role in the offense. The Seahawks currently have two fullbacks, converted tight end Brady Russell and rookie Robbie Ouzts, and given that both have the flexibility to play fullback and tight end, and both could have big roles on special teams, there very well could be room for both on the 53-man roster. And now that the Seahawks are practicing in pads, the physical element those two can add to the offense has been on display. Most notably, Ouzts put a huge block on a linebacker to open a running lane.

"It's great," Macdonald said of the fullback element of the offense. "It's great work for our defense. It adds an element of physicality. Both guys are doing a great job. The short yard stuff is fun to watch today, so really exciting. Robbie's doing a great job."

5. D'Anthony Bell keeps making plays.

With returning starters Julian Love and Coby Bryant leading the way, and with Emmanwori adding an exciting element to the position, it's going to be tough for other safeties to find a role in the defense, but D'Anthony Bell, a free-agent addition this offseason, keeps showing in practice that he has playmaking ability as well. Bell has been a special teams standout during his three seasons with the Browns, and that figures to be his mostly likely role with his new team, but he has also been very active on defense, picking off a pass earlier in camp, then adding a forced fumble the next day. On Thursday, he sniffed out a run play for what likely would have been a tackle for loss were live tackling allowed, then later had a physical pass breakup on a pass over the middle.

"He's a physical player, plays fast, decisive," Macdonald said. "Great attitude about him, great spirit. He's got a playmaking ability that a lot of the guys on our defense have, which is really cool. I wish you could take credit for it as a coach, but I think it's one of those things where ball finds energy. You play the right way, play fast, you run to the ball, you make decisive decisions in real time, seems like the ball comes your way. I think the most value you're going to see from him is this guy is a tremendous special teams player, has a leadership capability to him, and has a real command of our punt team right now."

The Seahawks put the pads back on for Thursday's training camp practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

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