Amid the noise, how does this 0-2 start compare to Russell Wilson’s other Seahawks Septembers?

Russell Wilson has an answer to his coach asserting he is “over-trying.”

But is he playing all that poorly?

“I’d rather be trying than not trying, huh? I guess that’s how I look at it,” the Seahawks’ quarterback said Thursday.

He was responding to coach Pete Carroll telling Seattle’s KIRO-AM radio Tuesday that Wilson was “over-trying” by extending plays that aren’t there.

“I’m finding Russ over-trying a little bit. He’s pressing in difficult situations to try to see if he can come up with a way to make something happen instead of just getting rid of the football,” Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle on Tuesday. “But in the long yardage situation, we need to get rid of the ball and just give up on the play because it’s not happening, and not take an additional pressure.”

That was the day after Wilson got sacked six times and made two crucial turnovers in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 loss at Chicago.

“I always give 100 percent, give everything I can, from a preparation standpoint all week, from the time you get back on the plane to the time you get to get back on the field,” Wilson said three days before Seattle (0-2) plays its home opener against Dallas (1-1). “I can say that for every game that I have ever played in my life I’ve always given everything that I’ve hard. Doesn’t matter what the score is, doesn’t matter how much we are up or how much we are down. That’s all I know.

“So, I love playing hard. I love playing as tough as I can go. And I will keep swinging.”

Wilson has had no running game of any significance whatsoever so far. He’s been sacked more than anyone else in the league. He’s been missing wide receiver Doug Baldwin for 6 1/2 of this season’s eight quarters because of the Pro Bowl wide receiver’s sprained knee.

Through all that, how is Wilson doing statistically to begin this season compared to this point in each of his previous six seasons?

He’s thrown for more yards and more touchdowns than he has through any other first two games of his career. That’s while getting sacked more this month than through the first two games of any other season. He’s also thrown his most interceptions through two games, though one was desperate heave short of midfield on the final play of the loss at Denver.

So Wilson’s month has not been as bad as it may seem, at least statistically.

But statistics aren’t taking unnecessary losses holding onto the ball on third and long, either.

Wilson has been on the Seahawks’ injury report this week for one of the few times in his career. He’s listed with a new hamstring injury, though he practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday. He has yet to miss a game in his seven-year career with Seattle. He will start again Sunday against the Cowboys for the 99th consecutive time in the regular season.

Wilson said he felt hamstring pain while running away from chasing Bears pass rusher Khalil Mack (again) late in Monday night’s loss in Chicago.

“I’m fine. I’m good to go,” Wilson said.

“You know, you got to report everything nowadays, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not sure if gambling is going to change the game and everybody has got to know everything now.”

What he, Carroll, new play caller Brian Schottenheimer and every person who has watched the Seahawks’ first two games know is Wilson has played better than he has so far this month.

But he needs more help.

The NFL-high 12 sacks he’s taken are twice as many sacks as he took through two games of 2017. It’s four more than he absorbed in the first two games or 2015. That’s the only other time in Wilson’s seven-year career as their starter the Seahawks started 0-2.

Yes, Seattle has faced two of the NFL’s best, most relentless pass rushers in its first two games: Denver’s Von Miller and Chicago’s Mack. They have bull-rushed and sped past right tackle Germain Ifedi and left tackle Duane Brown, looped inside and not picked up by center Justin Britt and right guard J.R. Sweezy.

And now the offensive line is unsettled again. Britt and left guard Ethan Pocic are hurt. Neither has practiced this week. Backup Joey Hunt could start at center with Sweezy moving to left guard. D.J. Fluker is back from three weeks out with a hamstring injury to debut at right guard.

But Wilson has also held onto the ball too long as the pocket has tightened and eventually fallen apart around him.

Wilson said three of the Broncos’ six sacks of him in the opener was his fault. A safe count from the Bears game was two. So five of the 12 sacks have been on Wilson. That’s why Carroll said this week, much to the bemusement or agitation of Seahawks fans, that his team’s pass protection is actually better than it’s been in recent seasons.

“I’m not going to talk a whole lot about that because it doesn’t mean much to you guys until we start doing it,” Carroll said. “But I think you’ll see, in time.”

Sunday would be convenient.

Edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence and the Cowboys will be chasing Wilson all over CenturyLink Field. Lawrence had one of the Cowboys’ six sacks of Eli Manning last weekend in a win over the Giants. Lawrence had 14 1/2 sacks last season. Dallas is second to Chicago in the NFL in sacks, with nine. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli isn’t known as a blitzer, but he blitzed more ever last weekend. Linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks all swarmed Manning. Some in Dallas believe former Seahawks coordinator Kris Richard is influencing more blitzing as the Cowboys’ new secondary coach.

Know what else would help Wilson? The Seahawks actually, truly running the ball more this time.

Mack last week, and especially Miller in the opener in Denver when he sacked Wilson three times, disregarded the idea Seattle might run. They just came off the edge after Wilson, with a step head start on Ifedi and the Seahawks’ blockers they wouldn’t have had if they had to read run-pass blocking keys at the snap first. Miller and Mack rushed from outside in to keep Wilson from escaping around him.

Wilson’s pocket has also collapsed around him as he’s held onto the ball. Ifedi said this week the Seahawks’ linemen are emphasizing giving Wilson a bigger pocket by gaining leverage and holding their ground longer, not retreating back into their quarterback so much.

A running game—even the mere semblance of one—would slow their retreat.

After a winter, spring and summer of Carroll vowing to re-establish the run as the basis for the offense, lead back Chris Carson has 13 carries in Seattle’s 119 plays. Seattle’s running backs, including rookie first-round pick Rashaad Penny (17) and Mike Davis (three), the starter at the end of last season after Carson broke his leg, have just 20 carries between them.

That’s 33 runs and 86 pass calls (Wilson’s thrown 69 times, been sacked 12 and scrambled out of pass plays five times). That’s 73 percent passes, 27 percent runs.

That’s not why Carroll hired Schottenheimer as his new offensive coordinator and Mike Solari as his new line coach to install man-on-man, drive run-blocking techniques.

Carroll tried to cover for his offensive coordinator this week. He said he told Schottenheimer to come out throwing deep to begin the second half Monday night, to exploit what Carroll saw as a weakness with a Bears cornerback outside. The result: six plays in the third quarter, six passes, 1 total yard of offense in those two drives that were three and outs. The score stayed 10-3 Chicago. Carson stayed on the sideline having not touched the ball over the game’s final 42 minutes.

Thursday, Schottenheimer owned the lack of running plays.

“I need to do a better job. I’ll be the first to say that,” he said. “It’s just one of those things where you get a lot of thoughts and advice as a play caller. Not just from Pete. From everybody—until it’s third and 22 and you’re backed up on your 1-yard line (and) you’re like, ‘Hey guys, what do you like? Hello? Hello?’

Schottenhimer was joking. He laughed.

“I think some of it’s me learning Pete a little bit,” the play caller for the Jets’ top-ranked rushing offense a decade ago said. “Hey look, I get paid to call the plays, I need to do a better job. Sometimes it gets you off your game, when you’re looking at different things. It’s not Pete. It’s just different things. It’s hard to find a rhythm sometimes.

“But I need to be better. And I will be.”

What, specifically, does he need to do better in calling plays, to help Wilson and Carson and the offense?

“If you look at week one, I got away from the running game a little bit too fast,” Schottenheimer said of the 27-24 loss at Denver when the running backs got 14 carries in 55 plays.

“We know what we need to clean up. We’ve been emphasizing that. We started last week with red zone and we did a nice job in the red zone last week. I think we’ll find our rhythm again this week. We know we need to be better. Nobody likes sitting here at 0-2. We’re competing to (improve).”

Wilson’s been 0-2 before. Three years ago. The 2015 Seahawks rebounded to make the playoffs for the fourth of six consecutive times.

These Seahawks aren’t as talented and experienced, and are more beaten up.

Yet it won’t surprise you that Wilson isn’t doubting he can rebound again.

‘Without over-thinking things, we’ve played two games,” Wilson said. “We haven’t played a whole season yet. ...

“Let’s make it happen.”