THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks go the 'X' route with first pick

The quote was vintage John Madden.

“You can draw up all the plays you want,” said the Hall of Fame coach, “but when they snap the ball, if my Xs knock all your Os on their asses, you’ve got no chance.”

That particular down-home truth is fading from the NFL, as more and more teams use gimmick offenses, throw 60 times per game, and …

As we saw with the parade of wide receivers selected in the first round of the draft Thursday night (not to mention trades and zillionaire contracts for Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown), there seems to be even more desire to wing it, sling it, and hope that five touchdowns will be enough.

Except that Madden has at least one disciple left in the league.

Pete Carroll still wants his teams to punch you in mouth, run up your chest, possess the football, and beat you with defense and a thuggish running game.

Oh, yeah, Pete loves that.

AH, BUT …

The Seahawks essentially were held hostage by a franchise quarterback who wanted to go about things differently.

For lack of a better term, Russell Wilson wanted to cook.


Thus, Seattle shipped Russ and his skillet to Denver, in exchange for a bundle of draft picks.

The Seahawks (at least after one round of the draft) proved they’re willing to roll with the previously dreary Drew Lock at quarterback.

Do you get the message here?

They want to RUN the damn ball.

If Lock is, indeed, in charge of this offense, he will be asked to hand off the ball a lot — and occasionally throw a play-action pass, presumably to a wide-open receiver.

The problem (one of them, anyhow) was that the Seahawks couldn’t really run because they couldn’t push anyone around.

As former NFL quarterback and Seattle radio host Jake Heaps put it: “You want to be a bully? You want to go into every single game, and you want to be the aggressor and be physically more dominant than your opponent? “Then you have to be strong in the trenches on your offensive and defensive lines.”

CARROLL and general manager John Schneider emphatically agree.

They proved it Thursday evening in Las Vegas, selecting Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross with the No. 9 overall pick.

There was a tiny hint of irony in grabbing Cross, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound kid — yes, really, at 21 and having just finished his redshirt sophomore season, he was the youngest player in the draft.

But that’s not the irony, actually.

Cross, if you think about it at all, has been more of a pass blocker than a run-game road grader in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense in Starkville.

Several scouts and execs, though, claim that the youthful giant can learn to excel in the rushing game.

Every team, though, HAS to throw the ball eventually, and the Seahawks are currently without either of last year’s starting tackles, Duane Brown on the left and Brandon Shell over on the right.

SEAHAWKS fans perhaps were/are hoping to add a quarterback as Wilson’s heir apparent — and it’s still possible that they’ll draft a “project” QB — but whoever inherits that role will need some help up front.

That much was painfully obvious.

As for Cross, there are worse traits than being considered an outstanding pass blocker, and he certainly got some work at it.

Cross was involved in 1,243 pass-block snaps in Leach’s bombs-away circus.

“Two-year starter who plays with a high level of consistency from game to game, no matter the opponent,” NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote of Cross (per Sports Seattle).

“Cross is an average athlete but he’s strong, plays to his length and has sticky, strong hands. Despite limited starting experience, he’s well-schooled and knows how to play.”

It all sounds fine, and …

Pretty darn necessary.

As for all you Seahawks junkies who are dying for a new quarterback, hey, only Pitt’s Kenny Pickett was chosen in the first round.

So, Malik Willis is still there as we begin round two.

I love him.

Let me get Pete on the phone …

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published monthly during the offseason.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”