Marshawn Lynch did not have a sports hernia and could be back in three weeks, Jay Glazer reported.
With Lynch out, Thomas Rawls is in the spotlight.
Today is Russell Wilson’s 27th birthday.
The Seahawks activated Jeremy Lane and again released Bryce Brown.
Find all kinds of previews of Steelers-Seahawks.
Cliff Avril says Ben Roethlisberger will be a challenge to bring down.
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.
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.
It’s a good thing the Seahawks are finishing the first half of the season with a couple of struggling teams, because their offense still has its own issues to reconcile.
Sure, the Seahawks finally finished an opponent Thursday, dominating the San Francisco 49ers like they did last year, but the Seattle offense still functioned only about half as well as it should. And Pete Carroll knows things have to change if the Seahawks are going to win another Super Bowl this season.
Russell Wilson was sacked five times and Marshawn Lynch had to fight too hard for most of his 122 yards. While the line gave the running back some good cutback lanes early on the first drive, it took five tries for him to score from the 3-yard line. In fact, about half of Lynch’s 27 runs went for three yards or less. That explains why his teammates were so fired up by his performance — he did most of it himself.
Carroll thinks Seattle’s mostly neophyte line is getting better at run blocking, based on Lynch’s best game of the season and the 200-yard rushing day at Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago. But the simple fact is the unit is still far too inconsistent. And it is pathetic at pass blocking.
Continue reading Offense still has big problems, but Carroll has a plan to fix them
The day after the 20-3 win over the 49ers, Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN the Seahawks didn’t do anything they weren’t supposed to do. He also talked about Russell Wilson’s interceptions, among other things.
The Legion of Boom talked about yet another dominating defensive performance vs. the 49ers.
Marshawn Lynch had his best game, despite hurling on the sideline. “We’re going to go as far as he takes us,” Doug Baldwin said.
Michael Bennett had a career-best 3.5 sacks — though he made a good point he should have gotten partial credit for a fourth.
Will Tukuafu played a lot, as fullback and defensive lineman, and six defenders played every snap.
The Seahawks still have plenty to prove, Dave Boling correctly says.
The great rivalry between the Hawks and Niners is dead, as the teams head in different directions, Danny Kelly writes.
Almost a year ago, the Seahawks were in the exact position they are in now — struggling to find themselves as they prepared to face the Carolina Panthers.
The Seahawks have many of the same problems they had last year at this time: Their defense has had trouble against tight ends as Greg Olsen comes to town; their interception total is uncommonly low; Bobby Wagner is hurt; Marshawn Lynch is a story; the offense is in transition; and Derrick Coleman won’t play again.
Continue reading Different year but same opponent and problems
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 