Seahawks lost on offense, seek rhythm

RENTON – Pete Carroll knew something was wrong with his offense on the first series against Cleveland on Sunday.

After the Seattle Seahawks converted two first downs on the opening drive by using the no-huddle offense, four penalties and a sack pushed the team back to its 18-yard line. Running back Justin Forsett mustered 6 yards on a draw on third-and-31, but Seattle was forced to punt.

The drive was a sign of how Seattle’s herky-jerky offense would play for the rest of the game, a 6-3 loss at Cleveland.

“We just got off to a bad start that was kind of shaky, and we weren’t quite sure if we were going to ever get clean with what we were doing,” Carroll said. “So it took us a while to get going, and it affected us, unfortunately.”

Seattle’s leading receiver, Doug Baldwin, finished without a catch for the first time this season. The rookie out of Stanford said everyone on offense understands they could have played better.

“I’m extremely surprised that we didn’t execute and do what we know we are capable of doing,” Baldwin said. “It’s just frustrating. But there’s nothing to do but to go watch the film and see how we can get better from it.”

The Seahawks have to put this one behind them and quickly figure out how to establish some offensive rhythm with Cincinnati coming to town Sunday. The Bengals are a surprising 4-2 and have the No. 2-ranked defense in the league.

Getting starting running back Marshawn Lynch back on the field should help. Seattle had to play without its top runner when Lynch suffered lower-back spasms during warm-ups, which forced him to be a late scratch.

Leon Washington and Justin Forsett are capable backups, but neither brings the physical style that Lynch does to the offense. With the possibility his back injury might force Lynch to miss another game, Carroll has to consider finding another physical runner as a backup plan.

“We like our guys,” Carroll said. “They all do good stuff. But it’s nice to have the combination. For years, I’ve always utilized that, so to not have it was obvious.

“We didn’t have much time to prepare for that this week. So we just had a moment’s notice. It would be like if you went out the first play and got hurt. Then, now what are you going to do?”

Whether Lynch plays on Sunday, the Seahawks still have to establish better rhythm on offense. According to Seattle receiver Sidney Rice, that means improving in several areas.

“It’s tempo and attitude,” Rice said. “We have to do better with our tempo and execution. The coaches had a good game plan. We just have to go out there and execute.”

OT POLUMBUS WAIVED

Seattle waived offensive lineman Tyler Polumbus on Tuesday, creating an available roster spot to bring back defensive back Roy Lewis or receiver Deon Butler off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

The Seahawks received Polumbus in a trade with Detroit in August 2010 for a seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft. The former University of Colorado player started five games at left tackle and three games at left guard last season, including two playoff games.

Heading into this season, Polumbus was expected to be the swing tackle behind Russell Okung and James Carpenter, but Breno Giacomini assumed that role once the regular season began.

And with rookie Jarriel King returning from an ankle injury and showing the ability to play tackle and guard, Polumbus, 26, became expendable.

Seattle now has nine offensive linemen on the active roster. The Seahawks haven’t announced how they intend to fill the available spot on the active roster.

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks

SUNDAY

Cincinnati at Seattle, 1:15 p.m., Ch. 7, 710-AM, 97.3-FM SEAHAWKS’ NEXT OPPONENT

CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-2)

1:15 P.M. SUNDAY, CENTURYLIINK FIELD

AGAINST THE SEAHAWKS: The Seahawks hold a 9-8 advantage in regular-season games and are 4-3 against Cincinnati at home. But the Bengals won the only postseason meeting when Seattle was an AFC team – 21-13 at Riverfront Stadium in a 1988 divisional-round game. Seattle won the last meeting against the Bengals, 24-21, at CenturyLink Field in 2007.

Stats and stuff: The play of rookie quarterback Andy Dalton allowed the Bengals to deal Carson Palmer to Oakland. Dalton has thrown for 1,311 yards, completed 62.4 percent of his passes and has seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He has an 84.3 passer rating. Dalton’s favorite target is the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, A.J. Green, who leads all rookies with 29 catches for 453 yards and four touchdowns. … Former USC player and Seattle native Taylor Mays is a backup safety for the Bengals, while former Seahawk Kelly Jennings is a reserve cornerback for Cincinnati. … The Bengals have lost four straight and 11 of the last 12 in West Coast road games. Since a victory at Seattle on Nov. 6, 1994, the Bengals’ only West Coast win was 34-27 at San Diego on Nov. 23, 2003. … The Bengals’ leading rusher, Cedric Benson, will not play against Seattle on Sunday because he’s serving a one-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Quotable: “What kind of sacrifices are you willing to make for the next 10 weeks for us to be champions? What can you do for the next 10 weeks so we can keep growing together and accomplish something big? We’re not even halfway through (this season) yet. There is so much work to do.” – Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, challenging his players to get into the right mind-set for the rest of the season.

Eric D. Williams, The News Tribune

BENGALS’ SCHEDULE

Sept. 11 Bengals 27, Browns 17

Sept. 18 Broncos 24, Bengals 22

Sept. 25 Niners 13, Bengals 8

Oct. 2 Bengals 23, Bills 20

Oct. 9Bengals 30, Jags 20

Oct. 16 Bengals 27, Colts 17

Oct. 23 Bye

Oct. 30 at Seattle

Nov. 6 at Tennessee

Nov. 13 Pittsburgh

Nov. 20 at Baltimore

Nov. 27 Cleveland

Dec. 4 at Pittsburgh

Dec. 11 Houston

Dec. 18 at St. Louis

Dec. 24 Arizona

Jan. 1 Baltimore