I got an email from Greg in Tennessee, who claims to read the Seahawks blog here religiously (although I’ve never seen him toss in coins when the offerings platter was passed). He did, however, offer four topics that he’d like analyzed and discussed here in coming days.

1) Ray Willis … where does he fit in and what can he add?
2) Who would I label the most underrated and overrated Seahawks?
3) Will Jim Mora be the next Seahawks head coach?
4) Tim Ruskell … Is he the genius Greg thinks he is?

One at a time, in installments, here we go.

When I first heard that Willis was going to get some time at right guard, it seemed absurd. The man is walking around in a great tackle’s body. And those guys are too rare to use at guard. He’s a long-armed 6-6, 327. The NFL is crawling with 6-4, 300-pound guys to play guard, but 6-6, 327 tackles are far more precious. From what I’ve seen of him in drills at tackle the last couple years, he’s got good feet and that crucial talent of locking a guy out when he gets his hands on him. I seem to recall that some of the smaller really quick guys gave him more trouble, but that’s based on memory and a limited sampling of practice reps.

He’s spent two years apprenticing starting tackles Walter Jones and Sean Locklear. But this is his third season, and instability along the offensive line was a limiting factor for the offense last year. Jones isn’t ready for replacement, and Locklear has been capable. So what to do with Willis?

If they decide that Willis is among the best five guys up front, which I don’t doubt, my initial suggestion would have been to kick Locklear (6-4, 301) down to guard and move Willis into the RT start ... leaving both at more natural positions. But Chris Gray has been the RG and played it with such durability and toughness that he deserves first dibs at holding the spot, even at age 37.

Here’s where we get into a little bit of the psychology of offensive line coaches. I’ve always sensed a great hesitance among them to replace somebody who is doing the job with somebody who might do it better, but hasn’t yet proven it conclusively. The offensive line is different in this regard than almost any other unit on the team. Backups are rotated in across the defense all the time and have plenty of chances to prove their skills. Receivers and running backs get shuttled in frequently. But unless starting offensive linemen have a bone sticking out, they tend to stay in the lineup, leaving back-ups with little chance to prove themselves in regular-season circumstances. Unless an injury or high draft status is involved, it may be harder for an offensive lineman to unseat an incumbent starter than any position other than quarterback. Last season, the Hawks made a move that I loved that bent that tendency a bit, using both Chris Spencer and Rob Sims at left guard. By doing that, Sims was ready to ease in as a starter when Spencer had to move back to center for the injured Robbie Tobeck.

But Willis hasn’t had that chance. The more I saw of Willis in the minicamps, the less bothersome the idea of him at guard seemed. He didn’t look too “long” in there. Practices were only in shorts and helmets, but he looked like a good enough drive blocker for a tall guy. Guards have evolved into more compact guys because they operate in cramped space and have to deal with ground-huggers like Chuck Darby. Those guys enjoy leverage advantages over guys who are 6-6.

Here’s what Shaun Alexander had to say when asked about Willis at guard: “I have been pleasantly surprised with Ray. His feet are in the right place. His attitude is perfect. It reminds me of Hutch (Steve Hutchinson) when he first got in here. He was so hungry. He was doing way more stuff right than what he should do. That is kind of what Ray is doing. Hopefully I didn’t give him too much of a mountain to climb by comparing him to Hutch but I expect great things out of him this year.”

Willis has a great deal to prove at either position. But it’s apparent he’s going to get a chance to earn a spot. If forced to project, I’d say that given time to break in and adapt, Willis can be a better long-term right tackle in the NFL than Sean Locklear. He might eventually turn into a left-tackle kind of guy if the need arises.

Willis showed the staff quite a bit in the minicamps … things that may be more important than footwork and mechanics. With Gray and Jones absent for stretches of camp, Willis saw action at both guard and tackle, rarely getting a rep off … and he did much of it with a cast protecting a broken bone in his hand. Football coaches love to see that stuff. They like to reward it.

The fact that Mike Holmgren so openly declared the spots on the right side of the offensive line open for competition made this the hot topic heading into camp. Holmgren doesn’t just say things to the media accidentally, without a motive. It leads guys who want jobs to fire up and guys who have jobs to fight to keep them. It also means that at least a couple guys are going to have to perform pretty well to keep Ray Willis out of the lineup.