Wide receiver Paul Richardson’s torn ACL is bad news, especially because the rookie had emerged as a key contributor, but the Seahawks have the depth to withstand it.
Richardson’s loss is Kevin Norwood’s gain as the other rookie, who was inactive Saturday against Carolina, figures to play vs. Green Bay next Sunday and in the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks have had a tumultuous season at tight end, so why stop now?
Zach Miller has been on IR since midseason, and Tony Moeaki and Cooper Helfet have been taking turns sitting out games for the past month — leaving Luke Willson to alternate great weeks with horrendous ones.
Expect more of the same.
It would have been nice for the Seahawks to win in Kansas City — if only for the Hawks to show they can beat a good team, something they haven’t done since they beat Denver in Week 3.
If the Hawks had been able to tackle better, convert a third or fourth down in the fourth quarter or perhaps get a call or two to go their way, they might have avoided falling three games behind streaking Arizona (9-1, with six straight wins) as the two prepare to meet for the first time this week in Seattle.
Continue reading Hawks need 5 wins; can they get healthy, stop the run, get some calls?
While the defense deals with the sudden loss of top-notch nose tackle Brandon Mebane for the rest of the season, the offense is making plans to go on without Zach Miller — perhaps forever.
With Luke Willson trying to rally from a sprained ankle and Cooper Helfet dealing with a bum knee (and Anthony McCoy on IR), the Hawks’ only two healthy tight ends right now are guys they just signed.
The Seahawks’ defense lost Brandon Mebane at just about the worst possible time.
The nose tackle had
anchored one of the league’s top run
defenses, but now the Hawks will have to
proceed without him just as they prepare for a stretch that includes some of the toughest rushing offenses on their schedule.
With Mebane out for the season with a torn hamstring, the Hawks will have to get more out of 29-year-old Tony McDaniel and 34-year-old Kevin Williams, plus second-year tackle Jordan Hill.
With Greg Scruggs and Cassius Marsh already out for the season, the Hawks are suddenly very thin on the D-line. (Five of the 12 players on injured reserve are defensive linemen.)
The Seahawks’ offensive line should look more like itself this week, and the secondary could be at full strength (in numbers, if not in health) for the first time this season, according to reports from Pete Carroll’s press conference.
Center Max Unger, who has missed four games with a sprained foot, and Russell Okung, who sat Week 9 with a calf injury, are both expected to play Sunday vs. the New York Giants.
Okung was to be limited in practice today, and Unger is gone for personal reasons. But both are expected to practice fully Thursday.
Earlier this week, Pete Carroll was looking forward to getting injured players back in the next couple of weeks and having his full roster available soon.
Little did he/we know it would get worse before it got better.
The Seahawks have been without four starters for the past 2-3 weeks and will be without six today, with safety Kam Chancellor and left tackle Russell Okung joining tight end Zach Miller, cornerback Byron Maxwell, and linebackers Bobby Wagner and Malcolm Smith on the sideline.
Chancellor was not on the inactive list, but he apparently will sit with injuries to his groin, hip and ankles. It will be the first game Chancellor has missed since Week 4, 2011. With Jeron Johnson (concussion) out, DeShawn Shead figures to get his first start at safety.
Alvin Bailey, who filled in at both guard spots briefly last week, figures to start for Okung.
The Seahawks have taken a number of injury hits over the last month, but some of those guys will be returning in the next week or two — with two notable exceptions.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Miller “are going to be awhile,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday.
Wagner has missed the past two games with turf toe, and Miller had ankle surgery during the Week 4 bye. Both met doctors on the East Coast while the Hawks were in North Carolina over the weekend, the coach said.
“Both those guys got updated on their progress and where they’re going,” Carroll said. “We were not given a timeline for them. Neither one of those guys are ready to come back this week. So we will have to wait and see what happens with those guys.”
The news is much better for kick returner Bryan Walters, center Max Unger and cornerbacks Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane.
Continue reading Wagner, Miller remain out, but Hawks are getting healthier
The Seahawks — largely healthy for the first month — suddenly are suffering through an avalanche of injuries.
When they play in St. Louis on Sunday, they will be without four starters and two reserve defensive linemen and might be down to one tight end as well.
Already out were tight end Zach Miller (ankle), center Max Unger (foot) and linebacker Bobby Wagner (turf toe). Joining them is cornerback Byron Maxwell (calf) and D-linemen Jordan Hill (ankle) and Cassius Marsh (broken foot).
On top of that, wide receiver Percy Harvin (thigh) and tight end Luke Willson (groin) are questionable.
Continue reading Six players out; Harvin & Willson questionable
The Seahawks’ move to release defensive back Steve Terrell and bring back D-lineman Greg Scruggs on Tuesday appeared to be a sign that the Seahawks feel much better about their secondary this week than they did last week.
And Pete Carroll’s words today seemed to confirm that, as he said cornerback Byron Maxwell might be able to play Sunday in St. Louis.
“He’s made a big jump, and we’ll see,” Carroll said of Maxwell, who suffered a strained calf vs. Dallas last Sunday. “We’re going day to day with him and will see what happens. He’s shocked the guys that he’s back as quick as he is to this point. We don’t know what that means until the weekend.”
