The Seattle Seahawks at 4-7 are on their 4th offensive coordinator in 4 years…but the hiring of Darrell Bevell marked the return of the Seahawks to Mike Holmgren’s version of the West Coast offense. That means a passing game with fewer deep throws, more timing routes and an emphasis on throwing to running backs. The biggest change, however, has been the hiring of Tom Cable as O-line coach to inject some toughness and discipline into the Seahawks running game.
Enter Tarvaris Jackson at QB… the master mechanic who may be ready to put the final dagger into the jet-lagged Eagles season…
Having only three days between games this week was expected to test the Seahawks’ quarterback, and therefore the entire offense, because of the strained pectoral in his throwing shoulder.
But Jackson threw in all phases of practice Tuesday, after also getting in some throws in the walk-throughs Monday night….
“It felt pretty good,” Jackson said of throwing the day after Sunday’s loss to the Redskins, with an eye on Thursday night’s nationally televised game against the Eagles at CenturyLink Field. “I guess it’s kind of healing a little better, so that’s good. That’s good for the future, also. We’re seeing that it doesn’t take me as long to recover, so that’s the one positive I got from Sunday.”
There was another positive for the QB Tuesday, when Jackson threw on three consecutive days for the first time since injuring his right shoulder in the Week 5 win over the Giants.
“It’s interesting, particularly in a short week,” coach Pete Carroll said. “This is a lot to ask of him. He feels good enough to do that.”
Jackson is back at practice, but not out of the woods because of the nature of the injury and the position he plays.
“We have to manage this all the way through this,” Carroll said. “We don’t have all the answers. We listen very carefully to what he feels like and he’s been tuned in to it and the trainers have stayed very close with him to figure it out. And so far they’ve been able to get him ready to play every week. “We really rely on him quite a bit on this. He’s the one who has to tell us what he feels like.”
Meanwhile, a similar drama is being played out with Nnamdi Asomugha’s delicate right knee… Nnamdi wants to play. He seems to want to make a statement in Seattle. While playing for the Raiders the past eight seasons, you always knew where to find the All-Pro cornerback – on one side of the field, taking away any and all receivers who dared test his coverage skills; or on one receiver, eliminating him from the passing game. Since signing with the Eagles in free agency, Asomugha’s role definitely has changed.
“I’m playing the slot a whole lot more. I’m playing safety a whole lot more in certain situations,” Asomugha said today during a conference-call interview. “So there’s a few different things.”
“In Oakland, you just knew it was play corner and take that guy out of the game. Here, I’ve been moving around everywhere and just figuring out where I fit based off the calls and based off the particular position that I’m playing on that down. Because pretty much every game, I’ve been at every position that you can think of in the secondary, and even some downs there in like a linebacker spot.”
At least Nnamdi (if he plays) and the Eagles’ secondary won’t have to worry about covering Sidney Rice… Rice is not expected to play Thursday night because of the concussion he got in Sunday’s game. “It’s very slim that he has a chance to play,” Carroll said. “There’s not a helmet that he could put on his head that he could play with this week.”
The fact that this is Rice’s second concussion this season only increases the concern. “Because of that, we’re going to be very careful at this point and that’s why I’m saying: I’m everything but ruling him out,” Carroll said. “We have to take care of him.”
Rice will be replaced in the starting lineup by Ben Obomanu. Also sitting out Seattle’s practice Tuesday was cornerback Byron Maxwell, while middle linebacker David Hawthorne and cornerback Richard Sherman were limited. But defensive tackle Alan Branch returned after missing Sunday’s game and not practicing last week because of a sore ankle.
When Hawthorne and Sherman weren’t on the field, K.J. Wright moved to the middle, with Malcolm Smith stepping in on the strong side for Wright; and Roy Lewis worked on the left side for Sherman in the base defense and Kennard Cox took over in the nickel because Lewis slid inside.
Here’s the Seahawks injury report:
Did not practice:
WR Sidney Rice (concussion)
Limited participation:
LB David Hawthorne (knee)
CB Richard Sherman (calf)
Full participation:
QB Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral)
DT Alan Branch (ankle)
For the Eagles:
Did not practice:
OT King Dunlap (concussion)
LB Moise Fokou (ankle)
WR Jeremy Maclin (hamstring, shoulder)
QB Michael Vick (ribs)
Limited participation:
CB Nnamdi Asomugha (knee)
RB LeSean McCoy (toe)
CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle)
Full participation:
DT Cullen Jenkins (thumb)
Seahawks Stats’n’Stuff: Rookie wide receiver Doug Baldwin ranks fifth in the NFL with 19 third-down receptions. Punter Jon Ryan is sixth in the league, and second in the NFC, in average (48.3); and ninth in the league and fifth in the conference, in net average (40.1). Leon Washington is eighth in punt return average (11.2) and 13th in kickoff return average (24.2). The Seahawks rank 14th in defense, 11th against the run and 20th against the pass; and 30th in offense, 27th rushing and 25th passing.
My take on the Seahawks: I don’t take them lightly. They’re building and trying to retool things. They got older at a lot of positions and they’ve done some things to try to get younger… QB and offensive line are the two things they’ve made the most plans for change… They’ve changed their schemes under coach Carroll and how they draft… GM John Schneider comes from Green Bay. a size-speed philosophy… The defense they play is a a true hybrid of 4-3 and 3-4… their right defensive end, he’s going to be a pass-rusher first, and the DE on the left is going to be a two-gap run player, and he’ll end up on the tight-end side most of the time. Pete Carroll is known for aggressive gambling on both sides of the ball… He loves to roll the dice on offense and hates settling for field goals. This will be a game decided by which team is the most desperate to change its current losing profile.
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