Seahawks Jamarco Jones Surprises with 'Smooth' Transition to Guard
Following a hamstring injury that forced starting right guard D.J. Fluker out for the rest of the game, second-year lineman Jamarco Jones was relied on to fill in as his replacement at a position he had never played before.
Jones, a fifth-round pick out of Ohio State, has served as a backup behind starting tackles Duane Brown and Germain Ifedi this season. But with reserve lineman Ethan Pocic suffering a neck injury a couple of weeks ago, the Seahawks had been trying Jones out at right guard during practices in case of an emergency.
Despite the position change, Jones was able to perform quite effectively against arguably the best interior pass rusher in the league in Rams superstar Aaron Donald. According to ESPN Stats and Info, in surprising fashion, Jones recorded a 95 percent pass blocking win rate against the Rams stout defensive front.
Speaking with reporters Friday morning, coach Pete Carroll couldn’t been more pleasantly surprised by the unexpected success of Jones after checking in for Fluker.
“He did really well. I was shocked that it was so smooth for him to move to the right side and play guard when there’s no background of it other than in practice,” Carroll said. “He moved his feet well. He played strong. Assignment wise, he was solid. At the time, Fluke unable to go, we’re fortunate that he stepped up like he did.”
Carroll continued to rave about what an impressive job Jones did amid difficult circumstances while applauding the team’s depth at both the tackle and guard positions.
“I think it’s a remarkably good showing for him and for us going forward. As for our depth and all of that, he’s healthy and ready to go,” Carroll added. “We have a kid chomping at the bit to be part of it. Our coaches have always trusted him from the start. He has really good awareness and really good sense for the game. He’s a natural. He’s been playing the game and it showed up.”
Seattle's coaching staff, including line coach Mike Solari, certainly deserves a ton of credit for preparing Jones to potentially having to come in and play at guard during a game. The moment Pocic was sidelined with a back injury, Carroll and his coaching staff took it upon themselves to begin preparing Jones if they needed him.
“He had just been so comfortable playing left tackle, we thought that was a big enough focus for us,” Carroll said. “There haven’t been any issues. We’ve just done enough to get him prepared to play. That’s what he did.”
With the team uncertain of the severity of Fluker's hamstring strain, the Seahawks are very fortunate that Jones was able to step up in a big way for them in such a critical game. If Fluker is sidelined for a significant amount of time, Jones will hopefully be able to sustain the impressive performance he produced against the Rams until the seven-year pro returns healthy.
