It turns out this big Seattle-Arizona clash might not be a very good gauge of where the Seahawks stand vs. the Cardinals, who are Seattle’s biggest hurdle to reaching the Super Bowl.
Half of Seattle’s key offensive players won’t be in the game, with J.R. Sweezy and Luke Willson (concussions) ruled out Friday — joining Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham, Thomas Rawls, Paul Richardson and probably Russell Okung. That means the Hawks are down to second- or third-stringers at four positions.
Marshawn Lynch’s trademark was approved Wednesday for his infamous phrase, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”
Funny timing, considering he isn’t “here” in Seattle and won’t get fined for it.
Pete Carroll said Lynch might make it back for the first playoff game, and the coach also deflected concerns that the team is not controlling Lynch’s rehab as the running back recovers from abdominal surgery.
Lynch has been working with his personal trainer in the Bay Area, as he does every offseason, and Carroll has been relying on reports from that crew regarding Lynch’s progress.
“I would think he can make it back (for the playoffs),” Carroll said. “That’s what we hear. It’s really up to that day-to-day kind of progression that he’s making. There’s a lot of days between next week starting up. We’ll see what happens.”
Continue reading Carroll spins Lynch’s rehab choice, thinks he can make playoffs
It will be a stunner if Kam Chancellor is with the Seahawks next year — his undeserved Pro Bowl spot almost surely sealed his exit from Seattle.
He obviously will use his fourth Pro Bowl election to try to bolster his argument that he should be paid more. Remember, he missed the first two games this season while trying to get a better contract, which is set to pay him $5.1 million in 2016 and $6.8 million in 2017. He quite obviously will try to do it again — and use his “reputation” Pro Bowl vote as proof.
General manager John Schneider already should be planning to trade Chancellor, but this will be the nail in that coffin.
Continue reading Undeserved Pro Bowl spot should spell end of Kam in Seattle
“In this system, we’ve never not had a good back. Whoever it is can go for a thousand. I’m not worried about that so much. … Hopefully (Marshawn Lynch is) with us. If he’s not, then we move on. That’s fine.” — Tom Cable in June 2014.
Tom Cable was right: The Seahawks don’t need Marshawn Lynch. And it turns out they don’t really need Thomas Rawls either — as spectacular as he had been in relief of Lynch.
The Seahawks are a system running team — and, once the five linemen are in sync in their zone scheme, it is tough to stop the system. The Hawks proved that again Sunday, when they rolled up 182 rushing yards with two new backs — born-again Seahawk Christine Michael and Bryce Brown.
And, based on Pete Carroll’s comments Wednesday, Michael and Brown will be the ones to carry the Seahawks’ ground game into the playoffs, if not through to the Super Bowl.
Continue reading Michael & Brown might have to carry running game to Super Bowl
The Zone.
It’s that elusive feeling that athletes or any competitive people strive for — that je ne sais quoi that makes them invincible for a stretch, allows them to be almost superhuman, enables them to make it look so easy.
Russell Wilson is in the Zone.
Continue reading Secret to Wilson’s Zone? Gotta be the shoes
John Schneider and Pete Carroll built the Seahawks into Super Bowl contenders using three strong drafts to start their tenure.
Of their 28 draft choices from 2010 to 2012, 17 contributed in some fashion, a dozen became full-time starters and six have been named to the Pro Bowl at least once. Those three drafts were a great foundation for consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
Then there was 2013. It was a bad draft year for the entire NFL — and Seattle certainly didn’t buck the odds.
Christine Michael’s somewhat surprising return to Seattle and Jordan Hill’s latest injury are reminders.
Anyone hoping Marshawn Lynch will be back before the season finale in Arizona had better rethink that idea. In fact, it appears the Seahawks might be lucky to have Lynch back for the playoffs.
Pete Carroll said Monday he doesn’t know whether Lynch, who had abdominal surgery Nov. 25, will return before the playoffs.
“He went through a big surgery. He’s got a lot to get through, and he’s got to get past that, whatever impact that’s had,” Carroll said. “He’s got to get back into shape and get going. … He hasn’t been able to go yet very hard. He’s going to have to work through that and get himself going again and come back and show that he’s back and ready to go.”
Asked about the timeframe, Carroll said, “I don’t know. We won’t know until the work starts happening.”
It’s becoming harder and harder for the Seahawks to remain a running team.
With Thomas Rawls suffering a season-ending broken ankle in Baltimore and Marshawn Lynch unlikely to return until the playoffs — if then — this offense is all Russell Wilson’s now. But the Seahawks, who came into the game as the NFL’s leading rushing team, clearly are determined to keep running it.
Wilson continued to chew up depleted NFL defenses, throwing five more touchdown passes in a 35-6 win in Baltimore, giving him 16 TD passes and no interceptions in the last four games against San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Baltimore. He is the third player to do that in a season, joining Tom Brady (2007) and Peyton Manning (2013).
Wilson also has the 28th four-game streak with three TD passes since 1960; there have been seven streaks of at least five games with three TDs (per Pro Football Reference).
On top of that, Wilson is the first player to have at least three passing TDs and no interceptions while completing 70 percent in four straight games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Seahawks might seem to have a bit of an identity crisis, but don’t be fooled by Wilson’s gaudy numbers: This is still a running team, and they will have to figure out how to keep it such.
Continue reading Wilson’s streaking & Rawls is out, but Hawks are still a running team
Going into last offseason, the Seahawks were suddenly uncommonly thin at cornerback — and that, in a nutshell, explains why they wasted $7 million on Cary Williams and ended up losing Tony McDaniel.
After the Super Bowl, Richard Sherman, Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon were all facing recovery from injuries of varying severity. On top of that, Byron Maxwell was getting ready to sign a blockbuster contract with another team, which turned out to be the Eagles.
That left young Marcus Burley as the only healthy cornerback and DeShawn Shead as a largely untested emergency option who had more experience at safety. So, the Seahawks covered themselves by signing two veteran corners — Williams and Will Blackmon. And then they drafted Tye Smith in the fifth round.
Blackmon once again did not make the roster, and Williams struggled so badly that he was benched three weeks ago, made inactive the past two games and released Monday.
Pete Carroll and John Schneider have never been afraid to admit mistakes and move on from them — e.g., Percy Harvin last year — and that’s basically what they did here.
But they did it because they have plenty of talent at the position, and the future is bright.
Continue reading Hawks are no longer desperate at cornerback
Three weeks ago, after Seattle lost a shootout against Arizona, the big question was not whether the Seahawks would win the NFC West but whether they would even rally to make the playoffs.
Two weeks ago, the Seahawks put together their best offensive game of the season, blowing out San Francisco 29-13, and the question was whether they could do it again against better opponents, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
Well, they answered both questions emphatically, putting up 77 points in two wins while seizing control of their playoff destiny, and there are no more questions about the offense or the playoffs.
The only question now is: Can the Seahawks do this against Arizona and Carolina — the teams they will need to beat to get to the Super Bowl?
“I think this has been a few weeks that we’ve been feeling like we’re feeling,” Pete Carroll said. “Our confidence, sticking with our style, just the basic principles of what we expect and standards that we’re setting, everybody is really in line right now. This is that feeling that you’re looking for. We have a chance.”
Continue reading Only question now: Can Hawks beat Cardinals & Panthers?
