September 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll doesn’t really care that the Seahawks’ offense is struggling in the first half. Jimmy Graham does, though.

Doug Baldwin doesn’t like the offense’s performance either: “We’re awful on third down right now.”

Baldwin also said he doesn’t want to find out how the Hawks would do without Marshawn Lynch, who is questionable for Monday vs. Detroit with a hamstring injury after a calf injury sidelined him to start the game vs. the Bears.

Golden Tate, former Hawk now with the Lions, said defenses know what Detroit’s offense is doing before it does it.

The Lions and 49ers are running very simple offenses, allowing defenses to beat them consistently, John Clayton surmised.

The Seahawks are getting big contributions from rookies for the first time since 2012.

The Seahawks are again chasing the Cardinals in the NFC West. Here’s a good look at the factors in that race by Bob Condotta.

The Bears were good medicine for the Seahawks’ defense, which improved from 17th to third in overall defense and 21st to second in pass defense.

NFL teams set a record for penalties through the first three weeks, but the Seahawks were a small part of that — tied for the second fewest penalties (18), if you can believe that.

State of the team, Week 3: Chicago

Is this the beginning of the end for Lynch?

September 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Is this just a minor injury hiccup for Marshawn Lynch or are we seeing the beginning of the end?

Back issues have dogged him throughout his career, but the Hawks have managed him well and he has not missed a game since 2011. Now he is dealing not only with that recurring issue but a hamstring injury that could keep him out Monday against Detroit.

“We’ve just got to wait and see,” Pete Carroll said Monday, adding, “We really probably won’t know until Friday. The MRI will be important though when we get the results back from that.”

Carroll said Lynch’s “calf thing is resolving” and it’s all about the hamstring, which Lynch injured on his bobbling fourth-down catch at the end of the first half vs. the Chicago Bears.

Continue reading Is this the beginning of the end for Lynch? →

CHAWK LINES, Week 3: Chicago

September 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kam Chancellor got a warm welcome from the fans and inspired his teammates to their first shutout since a 23-0 win over the Giants in 2013.

Jimmy Graham played a big role, scoring the only offensive touchdown. His seven catches were the second most by a tight end in team history.

With Marshawn Lynch sidelined, Thomas Rawls gave the Hawks a spark — becoming the first Seattle runner other than Lynch to go over 100 yards since Robert Turbin in 2012.

Lynch’s calf/hamstring injuries are “nothing to be alarmed by,” Pete Carroll said, although his status was unclear after the game.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 3: Chicago

September 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks activated Kam Chancellor and waived Dion Bailey on Saturday. Bailey could end up back on the practice squad.

As Chancellor returns, the Seahawks are starting over.

The Jimmy Graham Conundrum explained by the principals.

The Chancellor saga showed new Seahawks fans it’s not all fun and games. Will they welcome him back Sunday vs. Chicago?

#CHIvsSEA will pit the Bennett brothers against each other for just the third time.

Three keys to the game from Seahawks.com include the Seahawks stopping Matt Forte.

The Chicago Tribune (via The Seattle Times) breaks down five keys to the game.

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Injury report, Week 3: Chicago

Lynch a game-time call, and Hawks tracking data on Chancellor

September 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

When Kam Chancellor first started telling people he was coming back to the Seahawks on Wednesday, one of the things he said was, “Me and Marshawn started a mission two years ago. I can’t let my dog down.”

It was interesting — and many would say appropriate — that the defense’s heartbeat was recognizing the offense’s thumper as a kindred leader of the team. But, as Chancellor potentially makes his return Sunday vs. Chicago, Lynch might not be with him.

The running back is questionable with a calf injury suffered in Green Bay.

“Yeah, he’s got a calf that we’re working on,” Pete Carroll said. “We’ve been able to condition him some, but we just want to make sure and take care of him during the week, and so he’ll run tomorrow and we’ll see if he’s OK, and it will go all the way to game day on this one though.”

If Lynch can’t play, Fred Jackson would make the start and Thomas Rawls would back him up.

As for Chancellor, the team seems to be planning on him playing.

Continue reading Lynch a game-time call, and Hawks tracking data on Chancellor →

Franchise history, NFL history, State of the team

Will Kam be to Seattle as Emmitt was to Dallas?

September 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The 0-2 Seahawks have an 11 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 1 percent chance to win the Super Bowl, history says (just three of 204 teams that started 0-2 have done it since the playoffs expanded in 1990).

One of those teams was the 1993 Dallas Cowboys.

Will Kam Chancellor play the role of Emmitt Smith, who similarly sat out the first two games in a contract dispute? Smith came back for Week 3 and the Cowboys won 12 of the final 14 games and earned a second straight Super Bowl win.

Continue reading Will Kam be to Seattle as Emmitt was to Dallas? →

State of the team, Week 3: Chicago

Don’t get too excited about Chancellor’s return yet

September 23, 2015 cc 1 Comment

Let’s not get too excited about the return of Kam Chancellor. He’s not going to be some kind of savior — especially because the Seahawks don’t need one.

And there is a very good chance he will get injured and miss time or be ineffective — it’s a very common result for players who hold out for extended periods and then have to rush to catch up to game speed. Hamstrings, groins and anything else that can be pulled are major concerns now.

The big immediate question: Will the Seahawks resist the urge to just throw Chancellor back into the lineup with three days of preparation time? Will they risk the injuries that so often accompany holdouts?

Continue reading Don’t get too excited about Chancellor’s return yet →

CHAWK LINES, Week 2: At Green Bay

September 22, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Controversy king Mike Freeman is at it again, claiming Jimmy Graham is ready to “explode” if he doesn’t get the ball. Freeman is the same dude who put out the inflammatory report last year claiming there was a schism in the locker room over Russell Wilson, who wasn’t black enough for some teammates. Pay no mind to his anti-Seahawk ramblings.

On a more constructive note, Bob Condotta reviewed every pass play that might have been able to go to Graham and determined what we all knew: He could have been more involved.

Field Gulls gave a much longer breakdown (with screenshots) of Graham’s Green Bay game.

At 0-2, the Seahawks look a lot like last year’s Super Bowl team.

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State of the team, Week 2: At Green Bay, X's & O's

Carroll on Graham: ‘We want him to be a big part of the offense’

September 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll is just as frustrated as everyone else that Jimmy Graham was invisible Sunday night, especially when the Seahawks planned to have the Pro Bowl tight end heavily involved from the beginning, and the coach promises Graham will be more involved going forward.

Graham caught one pass in the first half of the opener in St. Louis, but Russell Wilson went to him more in the second half and he finished with six catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. But in Green Bay he was thrown to just twice and caught one (for 11 yards).

“I’m disappointed because … we want him to be a big part of the offense,” Carroll said. “(Six) balls in the first game and a touchdown pass. (Six) balls is a pretty good day. This day it didn’t work out. We were trying to go to him four out of the first five passes.”

Asked why Wilson did not throw to Graham on those plays, Carroll said, “There’s all kinds of things that happen. We get flustered here or there, get pushed away from the route where it’s going. There’s all kinds of stuff that happens and it isn’t any one thing. If it was one thing, it’d be really easy. It’s a variety of things that happen in the route.”

Continue reading Carroll on Graham: ‘We want him to be a big part of the offense’ →

Week 2: At Green Bay

Carroll: Time to get season started

September 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

“We’re going to go back to work and get the season started.”

— Pete Carroll, after the Seahawks self-destructed in Green Bay.

The Seahawks were their own worst enemy vs. the Packers on Sunday, as they lost by double digits (27-17) for the first time since 2011.

Kind of like the loss to the Rams, the errors came from every corner. Michael Bennett jumped offsides three times, Richard Sherman gave up two big plays, Darrell Bevell and Russell Wilson put together another subpar performance, the offensive line was horrible in the first quarter, Jimmy Graham was nowhere to be found, the Seahawks still can’t run a screen play to save their lives, and the defense once again got picked apart by the short passing game.

After that game, some fans probably are wishing Bennett had held out alongside Kam Chancellor. Bennett led the NFL with 13 pre-snap penalties in 2014, and he now has five in two games this season.

Continue reading Carroll: Time to get season started →