Tag Archives: Pete Carroll

Special teams had been Hawks’ rock, but it got rocked by Rams

October 20, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ special teams had been the rock of the team all season — the main reason Seattle had been in every game. And then they went to St. Louis, where the Rams have a history of beating the Hawks on special teams.

Punter Jon Ryan had been a huge factor all season for Seattle. He was the regulation MVP of the overtime win over the Denver Broncos, flipping field position with booming kick after booming kick. He was a big reason the Hawks still had a late chance to win in San Diego. And he helped make sure Washington never started past its 20-yard line in Seattle’s Monday night win.

He and Ricardo Lockette had become their own special battery, Ryan pitching fastballs to his speedy catcher, who typically made it downfield in time to prevent any kind of runback or to keep the return to a minimal gain.

Ryan had punted 18 times, and opponents had returned three of them for a total of 21 yards. Denver returned just two of six punts, and Washington didn’t have a single return on six kicks.

On top of that, Ryan had converted a big fourth down on a fake field goal in the fourth quarter of the win in Washington.

The Hawks had been just as good on kickoff coverage, yielding just 16.6 yards per return. In all, they were one of the league’s top four or five special-teams units.

And then they went to St. Louis, where Jeff Fisher’s staff once again outsmarted Pete Carroll’s. And, once again, the Hawks left with a close loss, 28-26.

Continue reading Special teams had been Hawks’ rock, but it got rocked by Rams →

State of the team, Week 7: At St. Louis

Seahawks showed folly & wisdom in Harvin saga

October 18, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ stunning trade of Percy Harvin says a lot about John Schneider, Pete Carroll, Darrell Bevell and the entire franchise.

They were naïve, hopeful, enabling and nearly self-defeating, but they also realized what a colossal error it was and probably made a great move — however shocking it was — in order to save their offense and season.

The ill-advised decision (we said it then, so we can say it now) to trade for Harvin and give him a $67 million contract last year was easily Schneider’s biggest gamble since he and Carroll arrived in 2010. And, unsurprisingly, the GM lost big time.

Continue reading Seahawks showed folly & wisdom in Harvin saga →

Week 7: At St. Louis, X's & O's

Bevell: ‘I can do a better job … but execution is what it comes down to’

October 16, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Darrell Bevell has taken a lot of heat this week for the terrible performance by the offense in Seattle’s 30-23 loss to Dallas on Sunday.

Among the biggest failings, Marshawn Lynch carried the ball just 10 times (despite gaining 61 yards) and Percy Harvin netted minus-1 yard on six touches. That had many people pointing the finger at the play calling.

Bevell laid most of the blame on poor execution by the players, but he also admitted he needs to get the ball to Lynch more.

“It’s overall execution. There’s not one thing,” he said. “I can do a better job. I can get us into some better situations. We can run the ball more like everyone’s asking. … But overall execution is what it comes down to.”

Continue reading Bevell: ‘I can do a better job … but execution is what it comes down to’ →

The roster, Week 7: At St. Louis

Don’t expect to see young skill players much

October 15, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll has been complaining about the NFL’s roster rules all season, lamenting the fact that he has had to sit young skill players for most of the year.

Last Sunday, second-round wide receiver Paul Richardson joined fellow rookie receiver Kevin Norwood and second-year running back Christine Michael on the inactive list.

Carroll said he will try to get the league to change the game-day roster rule next offseason, but — as roster choices are being questioned in the wake of the offense’s ongoing struggles — he said he is not going to change his game-day personnel.

Continue reading Don’t expect to see young skill players much →

Injury report, Week 7: At St. Louis

Primarily good news about the secondary

October 15, 2014 cc Leave a comment

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.”

Continue reading Primarily good news about the secondary →

Week 6: Dallas, X's & O's

It’s time to put offense back in Beast Mode

October 12, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Dallas Cowboys came to Seattle with the 20^th-ranked run defense in the league. You would think the Seahawks would have tried to exploit that weakness using their top-ranked rushing offense.

But, the same Seattle offense that ran for 225 yards on 36 attempts against Washington on Monday chose to eschew the run Sunday in a 30-23 loss. Coach Pete Carroll blamed it on losing the third-down battle, but it certainly was more than that.

True, the Hawks won just 12 of 30 third downs on both sides, which led to a 38-22 edge for Dallas in time of possession. And the defense gave up the biggest conversion — on third-and-20 — with five minutes left.

But the Hawks could have run the ball more than 18 times. Marshawn Lynch carried it just 10 — even though he averaged 6.1 yards per tote. Russell Wilson, who ran for a career-best 122 yards on 11 carries last Monday, ran it just twice for 12 yards vs. Dallas.

Continue reading It’s time to put offense back in Beast Mode →

Week 6: Dallas, X's & O's

Why doesn’t Wilson run more often?

October 11, 2014 cc Leave a comment

After watching Russell Wilson outrun Denver in overtime and use his feet to beat Washington, plenty of Seahawks fans have to be thinking: He controls the game so much when he runs, why doesn’t he do it more often?

The simple answer is he prefers to hand off to Marshawn Lynch on those read option plays and keep his eyes downfield when passing plays break down.

Most of Wilson’s running last season was out of necessity as Darrell Bevell inexplicably failed to move Wilson around behind Seattle’s battered offensive line. After rushing for 489 yards on 94 carries as a rookie — much of that on the read option in the second half of the season — Wilson ran for 539 yards on 96 carries last season.

As expected (by us anyway), this season he is running more. With 209 yards on 29 carries, he is on pace for 836 yards and 116 rushes.

Until Monday, most of Wilson’s runs had been scrambles off busted pass plays. In the 26-20 overtime win vs. Denver in Week 3, he led the Hawks to the winning touchdown on scrambles.

But against Washington, half of his runs were off zone-read keepers — a rare game in which he chose to run the ball 11 times, netting a career-high 122 yards in the 27-17 win. It was part of the plan against the Redskins.

Continue reading Why doesn’t Wilson run more often? →

CHAWK LINES

October 10, 2014 cc Leave a comment

While the Seahawks are facing their old AFC West foes this season, there now is speculation about them potentially having to move back to that division once the NFL puts teams back in Los Angeles.

Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com gives a status report and calls out the best players over the first quarter of the season.

It’s really old news, but Don Banks of SI.com asks Mike Holmgren and Bill Parcells to relive the infamous Cowboys-Seahawks playoff game from the 2006 season.

Pete Carroll says he and former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson put their teams together similarly and he would love to pit his Seahawks against Johnson’s Super Bowl teams from the early 1990s.

The big matchup Sunday is the Cowboys’ No. 2 run offense vs. the Seahawks’ No. 1 run defense as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times and USA Today both preview.

Week 6: Dallas

‘They come in bunches’: Turnovers have been oddly elusive

October 9, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Last season, Seattle became the first defense since the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears to pull off the triple crown — first in yards, points and takeaways.

They have a ways to go this year if they are going to repeat that feat.

While they are the No. 1 run defense, fifth in total yards and ninth in points allowed, they are tied for 31^st in takeaways.

After four games last season, they had 13 forced turnovers on their way to a league-best 39. After four games this season, they have just three.

Continue reading ‘They come in bunches’: Turnovers have been oddly elusive →

Contracts

Only one Russell is going to get an extension

October 8, 2014 cc Leave a comment

After this season, the Seahawks figure to give a contract extension to Russell.

Wilson. Not Okung.

While the quarterback has far exceeded expectations over his first two and a quarter seasons, the left tackle has largely been underwhelming since being drafted sixth overall in 2010.

Both are signed through 2015, which means next offseason is the key time for extensions. Wilson will get his, but it’s hard to see Okung getting one — especially if he continues to struggle like he did Monday night.

The left tackle was flagged for three penalties vs. Washington, including a false start on third down that helped stop a first-quarter drive and a holding on a third-quarter drive that also fizzled.

“I’ve got to play better,” he told The Seattle Times. “I can’t afford to have three penalties. Just a lack of focus. I take full responsibility for it. I can’t help out the line making mistakes like that.”

Continue reading Only one Russell is going to get an extension →