When the Seahawks surprisingly chose Christine Michael in the second round of the 2013 draft, it seemed a clear heir-apparent setup for replacing Marshawn Lynch.
As we wrote back then, Michael looked as though he could be the next Shaun Alexander — the highly drafted running back waiting to bump the veteran star from the roster.
But, two years later, Michael was sent packing and Lynch remained the main man — until now.
And now Thomas Rawls looks like the Alexander to Lynch’s Ricky Watters.
Prove it.
That’s what we have to say to the Seahawks’ offense.
Yeah, the unit turned in its best performance of the season Sunday in Seattle’s 29-13 win over the 49ers. But it was the 49ers, who are a shadow of the hard-hitting, hard-to-beat unit the Seahawks had faced the past three years (these Niners rank 28th on defense).
So, the Seahawks are going to have to prove it against the Steelers’ 23-ranked defense this week and then — better yet — the Vikings’ ninth-ranked unit next week.
No matter how the season ends for the Seahawks, they have some key changes to make next year.
They certainly don’t need to blow up the team completely – even if they miss the playoffs. But they will need to make a few small detonations — even if they make the postseason and even if they somehow manage to win the Super Bowl (which seems like California dreamin’ at this point).
Whether Pete Carroll intends to stay beyond 2016 or not, John Schneider needs to fix the problems that have been holding this team back from greatness and help avoid becoming, as he has called it, “one of those teams that skates in and skates out” of contention.
Bottom line: The Seahawks cannot go through another year with such a disjointed offense holding back a potentially great defense. And they have to make some changes to the defense as well – beyond Bruce Irvin leaving in free agency (they will get a taste this week of how Frank Clark and Kevin Pierre-Louis might replace him).
Continue reading No matter how season ends, Hawks have to make changes next year
Marshawn Lynch wants to play vs. the 49ers but appears to be a game-time decision.
Paul Richardson is out with a hamstring injury, which is too bad considering he showed what he brings with a 40-yard catch vs. Arizona.
Earl Thomas criticized Seattle’s commitment and will to win, saying, “We need to give it up for each other.”
With Bruce Irvin out a couple of weeks with a sprained knee, Frank Clark is expected to get more playing time.
Clark talked to 710 ESPN about his days as a gang member when he was a kid in Los Angeles.
Russell Wilson insists his big contract and high-profile relationship with Ciara have not distracted him.
Pete Carroll thinks the Seahawks can still win the NFC West. What else would you expect from Positive Pete?
Yeah, the Cardinals have a few tough games left — Cincinnati, at St. Louis, Minnesota, Green Bay and Seattle – but they would have to lose at least three of those and the Seahawks would have to win out to win the division.
How can Carroll possibly think the Seahawks are going to win out when they have tough games themselves against Pittsburgh, Minnesota, St. Louis and Arizona the rest of the way?
Carroll said, “To call it now is the biggest mistake you could ever make.” Well, we’re calling the division now. We’ll see who made the mistake in seven weeks.
Continue reading Sorry, Pete, your team will not win the West
Unless the Rams become more of a factor than we expect them to, the NFC West will be won by Seattle or Arizona.
So, it’s appropriate that they start off the second half of the season together, both coming off byes, and playing what should be a hard-hitting, highly intriguing game on “Sunday Night Football.”
This matchup brings a very interesting dichotomy: Each team sees the other as the top dog.
Continue reading Hawks & Cards each see the other as the top dog
Paul Richardson is expected to make his season debut Sunday vs. Arizona.
Jeremy Lane is “one day at a time,” but Russell Okung is expected to play vs. Arizona after missing the Dallas game.
Ricardo Lockette returned to Seattle. Okung and Marshawn Lynch had stayed in Dallas with him last week.
Michael Bennett talks his usual goofy gibberish about his fine for hitting Matt Cassel and other things.
Nice feature from ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia on Cliff Avril, who lost his dad earlier this year and has been playing as well as ever this season.
The Seahawks have been highly disappointing this season as the combined effects of a Super Bowl hangover (i.e., not fully trusting Pete Carroll anymore), contract squabbles and new additions have yielded the worst-case scenario: a 4-4 record.
But, they won two straight before their bye and now have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games.
Let’s take a look at each position to see how it has performed, what it needs to do better the rest of the year and what it might look like next year.
QUARTERBACK
Russell Wilson is completing a career-high 68.8 percent, but that has done nothing to help the offense in the red zone, where Seattle is the league’s worst offense.
Wilson’s crew has been the main culprit in meltdown losses against Cincinnati and Carolina – games the Hawks should have won.
Wilson is in his fourth season now and should be playing at a consistently high level, but he is not. Some of that is due to the subpar OL in front of him, some of it is due to the inconsistent play calls, some of it is due to him.
Wilson needs to have more urgency. He needs to change plays more at the line. He needs to account for blitzers. He needs to move more to create better passing lanes. He needs to find his open receivers more quickly and get the ball out fast.
The Hawks have little room for error in the second half, and Wilson needs to play like it.
Way back in April, we said a 4-4 start would be the worst case for the defending NFC champions. Well, unfortunately, here the Seahawks are.
Pete Carroll understatedly called their record “nothing to be shouting about.” Hell, it’s barely anything to whisper about.
“But,” he pointed out, in his oddball way of speaking, “it did put us in a position where we have a second half to really go forward. We have all of the matchups in the games that we need to play in the division to settle issues and go for it and take it as far as we can.”
He has to hope that is farther than the last time the Hawks started 4-4. In 2012, they rallied to finish 11-5 and had to hit the road for the playoffs, where they beat Washington and lost agonizingly in Atlanta (kinda like they have lost some of their games this season).
It’s just how Carroll’s slow-starting team typically does it. Since Russell Wilson became quarterback, the Seahawks have gotten better as the season has progressed. They are 20-12 (.625) in the first half and 20-4 (.833) in the second.
Last year, they rallied from 3-3 to finish 12-4, and Carroll thinks they are in a similar spot this year.
“I don’t think it feels much different than it did last year,” he said. “I think it’s very similar. It’s unfortunate that it takes us a while, but I think this is an opportunity to observe what it’s like to be where we’ve been and to come back.
“If we’re able to put the second half together like we plan on, then we’ll be really proud of that.”
What do the Seahawks think of their situation entering their midseason bye?
The offensive line played pretty well in Dallas, but Pete Carroll is correct when he says, “It’s just one game. It doesn’t mean you’ve made it over the hump.”
Field Gulls broke down the way the Seahawks used the middle of the field.
The Seahawks have been using Jimmy Graham more and more.
As expected, the Hawks made no trades. They really had no room to do so unless they wanted to swap big-salaried players or make a minor deal that probably would not help.
The Seahawks were emotionally rattled by Ricardo Lockette’s neck injury and incorrectly called the hit by Jeff Heath a “dirty play.” (Lockette clearly ran right into him.)
Lockette had neck surgery is expected to spend the week in Dallas.
Jeremy Lane is expected to start practicing next week but not return until perhaps Week 11. Will he reclaim his nickel back spot?
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 