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State of the team, Week 4: At N.Y. Jets

Cable hopes butt kickings will make his revamped line better

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new-york-logoThe Seahawks are finally going to have their so-called first-team line together, but that doesn’t figure to help them much as they face another stellar defensive line in New York.

Germain Ifedi hasn’t played an NFL game yet and will be slow to get back into the groove, so we can expect Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson to dominate the line of scrimmage the same way Miami and Los Angeles did.

In case you forgot, the Seahawks were horrendous on offense in those two games. They scored just 15 points, ran for just 180 yards (3.2 per carry) and gave up five sacks and 18 hits on Russell Wilson, who sprained an ankle trying to get away from Ndamukong Suh.

Usually one of the league’s best rushing teams, the Hawks have been a middling unit so far with their revamped line going against strong defensive fronts. Even in the blowout of San Francisco, they were barely above average — 127 yards on 31 carries (4.1 average).

Led by Williams, the sixth pick in the 2015 draft, the Jets are the third-ranked run defense in the NFL — much better even than the Dolphins and Rams. So the Hawks are going to go nowhere on the ground in this one either.

Tom Cable just hopes these butt kickings will make his unit better down the road.

Continue reading Cable hopes butt kickings will make his revamped line better →

CHAWK LINES, Week 4: At N.Y. Jets
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Russell Wilson says he will play vs. the Jets.

Germain Ifedi, who could return this week, said he was happy his high ankle sprain did not keep him out longer.

Nick Vannett also is back from his own high ankle sprain, which kept him out six weeks.

Luke Willson says his turn as H-back means defenses can’t key on the Seattle two-TE offense.

Tom Cable and Bradley Sowell talked about the improvement of the offensive line.

The Seattle O-line faces yet another tough D-line, with Leonard Williams and company.

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Franchise history, The roster

Spiller helped Hawks get Lynch, now follows him

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lynch-and-spillerA big reason the Seahawks were able to get Marshawn Lynch in 2010 is C.J. Spiller, so it’s somewhat ironic that the guy who helped Seattle get Beast Mode now steps into the same backfield.

Spiller was the ninth overall pick by Buffalo in 2010, joining Lynch and Fred Jackson in a suddenly – and surprisingly — stacked Bills backfield. John Schneider, in his first year running the Hawks alongside Pete Carroll, tried several times to acquire Lynch that year – finally getting the Bills to part with him in October.

While Lynch went on to star for the Hawks for most of the next six seasons, Spiller ended up a part-time player behind Jackson in 2010 and 2011 before breaking out in 2012, with 1,244 yards (6 per carry), 43 catches and eight total touchdowns. He hasn’t done much since, though, as injuries have knocked him around.

The Hawks obviously are hoping that won’t be a problem as he steps in as the third-down back.

Continue reading Spiller helped Hawks get Lynch, now follows him →

State of the team, Week 3: San Francisco

Was that just a false start to season? Wilson’s health will tell

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san-francisco-logoPete Carroll viewed this week as a season reboot and — after his Seahawks blasted the 49ers 37-18 — he reiterated that thought: “It really feels to me like we’ve started.”

It’s easy to feel that way when you more than double your season scoring output, double your season touchdowns in just one quarter and tally a 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers while continuing to play the same shutdown defense.

It’s easy to feel like you’ve started when your offensive line finally didn’t have to face a stellar defensive front and had a fighting chance. Although the offensive line committed three holding penalties, it played easily its best game of the three so far. The players apparently focused on fixing individual flaws on every play, a strategy that helped Seattle rack up 418 yards and convert 64 percent of its third downs.

But was it just a false start? Will the Hawks have to wait until Week 6 for their season to really start?

Continue reading Was that just a false start to season? Wilson’s health will tell →

CHAWK LINES, Week 3: San Francisco
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CHAWK LINES -- 49ers at Seahawks

“We needed this badly,” Pete Carroll said after his team beat the 49ers by double digits for the fifth straight time, 37-18.

Russell Wilson has a sprained knee, which could keep him out this week vs. the Jets. And Thomas Rawls is out for several weeks with an injured fibula.

Russell Wilson’s knee injury cast a cloud over the Seahawks’ romp of the 49ers.

Wilson “lucked out” that the injury wasn’t worse than the apparent sprained MCL.

Wilson and Jimmy Graham showed the chemistry they have worked hard to create.

Christine Michael continues to be “a really good story.”

The offensive linemen each picked one thing to focus on improving this week.

The Seahawks have the league’s No. 1 total defense and third-down defense and the No. 2 scoring defense, but they lamented the two late TDs they allowed the 49ers.

Week 3: San Francisco
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CHAWK LINES -- 49ers at Seahawks

Russell Wilson said “last week was a battle” and his ankle is feeling better.

Thomas Rawls is doubtful with a shin injury, and Tyler Lockett is listed as questionable.

Rawls has been too overzealous and needs to slow down a bit once he is back out there, coaches say.

Lockett said, “As long as I’m alive, I’ll keep on fighting.”

Jimmy Graham will “continue to grow with us,” Darrell Bevell said.

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State of the team, Week 3: San Francisco

Carroll: Season restarts this week

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san-francisco-logoA year ago, the Seahawks got off to a 0-2 start and soon found themselves at 2-4, two games behind Arizona in the NFC West.

They never made up that ground, failing to win the division for the first time since 2012, and ended up going on the road for both playoff games. It ended with a lackluster loss to Carolina in the divisional round.

Pete Carroll would like to avoid all of that this year by getting off to a better start. What’s that, you say? Too late? They are a mere 1-1, coming off a dud 9-3 loss to the division rival Rams?

In his Friday interview with Dori Monson, Carroll pointed out that all four NFC West teams are locked at 1-1 (it’s the only division where every team is tied) and this week is basically a restart for the teams in the division.

“When we started the season, we were all evened up; everybody’s all evened up right now,” he said. “It’s what are you going to do about it now that counts.

Continue reading Carroll: Season restarts this week →

State of the team, The roster, Trades

Joe Thomas? Still a fantasy trade

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san-francisco-logoThe Seahawks’ offensive line has endured a couple of rough games against stellar defensive fronts so far, and Bradley Sowell has been the most consistent problem player.

While we can expect Germain Ifedi’s eventual return to steady the right guard spot and Mark Glowinski and Justin Britt to continue to improve, left tackle is the one spot where there seems to be no help on the horizon. The Hawks are basically playing without a true left tackle this season.

Granted, Sowell will not have to go against great defensive lines like Miami’s or the Rams’ every week. And the coaches probably are counting on him holding his own against less stellar players than Robert Quinn.

But, in the wake of the slow-footed Sowell’s horrendous start to the season — three flags, one sack, one blocked field goal allowed, numerous pressures and hits surrendered — a lot of Seahawks fans are wondering once again whether John Schneider would make a deal for Cleveland All-Pro Joe Thomas.

The answer, like it was in the offseason, almost surely is no.

Continue reading Joe Thomas? Still a fantasy trade →

CHAWK LINES, Week 3: San Francisco
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CHAWK LINES -- 49ers at Seahawks

The Seahawks have been bad on offense for about six games now.

There are a lot of reasons for the poor running attack so far.

With C.J. Prosise and Thomas Rawls ailing, the Seahawks loaded up on running backs at this week’s tryout session.

One of the only good things on offense in L.A. was the re-emergence of Jimmy Graham, who feels “like a beast.”

Larry Stone says it’s not time to panic yet: “This Seahawks team, under this quarterback, has earned a little bit of rope.”

As disappointing as the offensive stats are, the defensive stats have been downright nasty.

Here are six 49ers to watch when they play in Seattle on Sunday.

Marshawn Lynch supports Colin Kaepernick’s protest against cop violence. (Anyone who has a problem with it isn’t paying attention to the news: Another unarmed, non-threatening black man was killed by a cop in Tulsa this week.)

 

Week 2: At Los Angeles

This offense looks as bad as the 2011 crew

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at-los-angeles-logoPete Carroll said last week that his team was ahead of where it was at this time last year. He’s probably rethinking that opinion after the Seahawks scored just three points in yet another loss to the Rams on Sunday.

While the defense is playing to the right standard, giving up just 19 points in the first two games, the offense has reverted to 2011 levels. That’s right: Russell Wilson and company are actually worse than they were early last season, scoring as poorly as the pre-Wilson 2011 unit, which was led by Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst.

The Seahawks have scored 15 points in two games. The last time they had two-game stretches that bad was in 2011, when they scored 13 total in a split with the Steelers (24-0 loss) and Cardinals (13-10 win) and then 15 in losses to the Browns (6-3) and Bengals (34-12).

Continue reading This offense looks as bad as the 2011 crew →