Seahawks on the run; is passing deep next?
RENTON – The Seattle Seahawks have finally established a consistent running game, rushing for more than 100 yards each of the past three games.
But another important step in coach Pete Carroll’s overall philosophy on offense has yet to develop – creating explosive plays down the field.
The Sea-hawks have 18 catches of 25 or more yards this season, 20th in the league.
Receiver Sidney Rice was signed to be Seattle’s deep threat, but the Seahawks have not consistently worked Rice into the offense.
Despite missing two games with a shoulder injury, Rice is tied for the team lead with 32 catches for 484 yards and two touchdowns, an average gain of 15.1 yards per catch.
But just seven of Rice’s catches have gone for 20 yards or more. Further, Rice has been targeted 55 times, which fails to crack the top 20 in the NFC.
Seattle’s go-to receiver was targeted just three times against St. Louis, finishing with three catches for 35 yards, including a 14-yard score.
To be fair, Rice was part of Seattle’s most explosive play on offense. However, he was the one throwing the ball on a 55-yard completion to Mike Williams on the first play of the game.
“We’d like Sidney to throw maybe eight to 10 times a game,” Carroll joked. “We’re working on that.
“Sidney’s a great player. I think he’ll have more impact when he’s getting the ball seven or eight times a game. That’s where we’d like to get him – in that mode and sometimes more.
“I think that would be the right fit. It hasn’t happened consistently yet. But he’s out there and he’s working it. And he came through (and) made some big plays for us, obviously.
“He’s such a good, all-around football player that you just want him to be around the ball a lot. To pull off that throw, that’s an extraordinary play now. You (go) back and look at it, the time he had to gauge where Mike was at and all of that, I don’t know how he did it. But he put the ball dead on the money. So we want him to be more active, yeah.”
INJURY UPDATE
Carroll said wide receiver Ben Obomanu has an ankle sprain and an injured knee.
“We’ve got to wait and see,” Carroll said, when asked about Obomanu’s availability this week. “He’s a really tough dude, and he comes back from stuff. And we’ll give him a chance because he’s overcome a lot of stuff in the past.”
Safety Atari Bigby and defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove should be able to practice in a limited capacity this week. Both missed Sunday’s game with hamstring injuries.
Carroll said QB Tarvaris Jackson, who came through the game OK, is feeling his best since straining his pectoral muscle in October.
“I don’t know what that means, but we’re encouraged by anything on the positive side,” Carroll said.
Carroll said the team will make a move with rookie offensive tackle James Carpenter, who has yet to be placed on the injured reserve list after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee last week.
EXTRA POINTS
After watching film, Carroll said Breno Giacomini held his own at right tackle, while Paul McQuistan had a tough time at right guard.
“He had a few penalties in there that are going to distract me from giving him a really good grade on the day,” Carroll said about McQuistan. “But I was impressed with Breno. He had only a couple plays in pass protection that he really had a problem. In the running game he was pretty solid, except for one cutoff block he missed. … But I thought he looked a little farther along and more comfortable.” Carroll noted that McQuistan struggled when started earlier this year, then his play improved as he got more comfortable. …
Carroll offered his condolences to the Seattle Mariners upon hearing about the slaying of outfielder Greg Halman. “I just want to take a moment to pass out our condolences to the family of Greg Halman, and the loss to the whole Seattle Mariners organization and all of that of course, but to the family in particular,” Carroll said. “It’s a tragedy and a terrible thing that happened.”
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
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