THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Seahawks apply William's theory, all those centuries later

Shout out to William of Ockham.

OK, this will have to be a piercing yell, since William — a friar, philosopher and theologian —made his name in the 14th century.

Still, offering a nod to William is appropriate at the moment, especially from Seahawks GM John Schneider.

Huh?

Where are we going with this, you ask.

William became known for a theory that became known in science, in logic, and much later, in drafting pro football players.

Apologies to William for misspelling over the years, but you know monks and early printing presses could garble a name, right?

Courtesy of the Farnam Street web site, here is the simplest form of “Occam’s razor,” a problem-solving principle which serves as a useful mental model. 

A philosophical razor is a tool used to eliminate improbable options in a given situation.

And you wonder how the Seahawks fit into this?

Well, Occam’s razor can be summarized as follows:

Among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected.

In other words, when choosing a single football player for your roster, discard as many disputing analyses as possible.

Pick the surest thing.

Plus, here’s my corollary to Occam’s razor: Gamble in later rounds, but not with the 18th overall pick.

IF YOU need offensive linemen, grab a good one who can play any position.

Select Grey Zabel, North Dakota State’s hunk of all trades, and you’re off to a great start.

Look, Schneider loves to shock his brethren on NFL draft weekend.

He’ll take a running back high in the second round, even if it’s almost gospel that you’re not going to get proper value.

When everyone goes ooh and aah, John will (and did) repeat the running back choice again a year later.

Schneider and his staff believe in themselves and they’re willing to hit on 16 at the blackjack table.

Or trade back into the seventh round after they’re supposedly done with the draft.

But they won’t slap William of Ockham in the face when the razor provides the correct answer.

They take the best offensive lineman on the board, and exchange high-fives because they landed a guy who literally has played everywhere up front.

With the injuries teams face in the NFL, almost nobody at the line of scrimmage makes it through all 17 games.

Occam’s razor tells you that.

Seriously, the fact that Zabel can play anywhere across the line could be a critical advantage somewhere along the road.

Yes, he’s going to be better at some spots than others.

It was interesting that the Hawks' newest lineman was called a tackle by the public address announcer Thursday in Green Bay, but the first pundits taking a crack at describing him for television placed him at guard.

No doubt that made Schneider smile.

IT’S A cinch every year at the draft.

A general manager or personnel director will insist during an interview that his team is drafting strictly by “best athlete available,” and certainly not according to need.

These fellows aren’t exactly tossing truth into the bin, but let’s say they tend to fudge it.

Draft guru Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network explains the phenomenon this way: “Teams really are sticking to their boards, and picking the best player left.

“Their boards, though, have been put together with team needs looming over everything. They’re being honest about taking the best player, but it won’t be a safety if they have eight of them.

“That’s for sure, because there won’t be any safeties on that board.”

Now, William of Ockham never included this next result with his famous principle, but I promise that John Schneider did — whether he was thinking about Occam’s razor or not.

What does it mean after the fact?

In the case of the draft, let’s say Grey Zabel is a terrific pick and works out for the Seahawks (probably as a guard).

Landing Zabel gives Schneider a little more room to maneuver today and Saturday, as the draft wheels along to round seven.

Seattle hopefully has filled a problem position, and there’s every reason to believe that’s true.

Now, however, the Hawks really CAN shoot for a special athlete if they see a serious benefit somewhere in the later rounds.

In other words, the board opens up when you’ve gotten your top target in the bag.

Just another reason to act on Occam’s razor.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

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