Pete Carroll’s ‘absolute support’ for fumbling Chris Carson as Seahawks’ lead back
If Pete Carroll was to show any more support for Chris Carson than he already is, he’d be picketing in front of Seahawks headquarters wearing a sandwich board with a blue number 32 on it.
The Seahawks’ coach stated firmly—for, oh, about the 32nd time already this week—that he is not replacing Carson as his lead running back for Sunday’s NFC West game at Arizona following his fourth fumble in three games.
Carroll was asked on Wednesday what his conversations have been like with Carson since he lost a fumble last weekend against New Orleans. The Saints returned it for a touchdown. That put Seattle behind for good midway through the second quarter of Carroll’s first September home loss in 10 seasons as Seahawks coach.
“Here’s all I’m going to say about that: You’re going to see absolute support for our guy,” Carroll said before Wednesday’s practice.
“He’s a great football player. We love him. You’re going to see what that looks like. There’s been a lot of players over the years, through the ages, that have had issues, at times. They put it to rest and it’s behind them and all that. That’s what’s going to happen here.
“You will not see me waver in my support for Chris and belief in the guy as a football player. That’s been the conversation. That’s the only message he needs to hear from me.”
The coach said he isn’t the only Seahawk who’s been talking to, and supportive of, their 1,100-yard rusher from a year ago.
“He’s heard it from his teammates, as well,” Carroll said.
“We expect him to tear it up.”
The Seahawks need him to “tear it up.” Carson has 159 yards and one touchdown rushing through three games, an average of 53 yards per game. That is far off the 71.9 yards he averaged last season. The Seahawks’ NFL-best rushing offense from 2018 is ranked 15th in the league through three games of 2019, at 110.7 yards per game.
A broken leg cost Carson the final 12 games of his rookie season of 2017. Then various injuries kept him out of two games last season. That’s why Carson has one career game in three seasons against the division-rival Cardinals, whom Seattle plays twice each season. He had 122 yards on 19 carries in Seattle’s 27-24 home win over Arizona in the 2018 regular-season finale Dec. 30.
Rashaad Penny is Carroll’s alternative as lead rushing if the coach ever gets to his breaking point on patience with Carson and if the fumbles continue. Penny, the team’s first-round draft choice last year, missed the loss to the Saints last weekend because of a hamstring injury he oddly got during a lighter, walk-through practice two days before the game.
Penny did not practice Wednesday, though Carroll expects him to perhaps be ready to play Sunday at Arizona. If he plays, don’t be surprised if he gets more carries than usual and splits more of Carson’s playing time.
The cardinal rule of Carroll’s program is “it’s all about the ball.” That is, it’s all about protecting its possession and winning the turnover margin, every game.
Carson’s issue is why Seattle is only plus-1 in turnover margin through three games. That’s tied for 10th-best in the league.
Carson had three fumbles all of last season, when the Seahawks finished the regular season plus-15 in turnover margin and made the playoffs. He’s officially had his 2018 total for fumbles in three games this month.
The Seahawks’ four lost fumbles in three games equals their total from all of 2018.
Carson would own all four fumbles if the official statistics from the win at Pittsburgh in week two hadn’t charged a botched hand-off Carson and Russell Wilson had to the quarterback. Carson was hit by a Steeler blitzing off the edge as he was receiving the ball, causing the fumble deep in Seahawks territory. That turned Seattle’s nine-point cruise in the fourth quarter into a two-point sweat and eventual narrow win.
Carson said after his fumble in Pittsburgh two weeks ago he knows he has to hold onto the ball to hold onto his job as lead back.
He said the same thing after the loss to the Saints last weekend.
“I’ve just got to keep my elbow tucked. That’s it,” Carson said. “I’ve got to protect the ball. That’s it.”
Carroll said the fumble against the Saints, deep in Seattle territory at the end of a 23-yard run that got his team off its goal line, came because Carson violating his coaching by bracing his fall to the turf with his arm while getting tackled. Saints cornerback Eli Apple punched the ball out of Carson’s other arm.
That’s something foes are doing more of in targeting Carson the more he fumbles.
“You see somebody fumbling, of course they are going to try to go after it,” Carson said.
Wilson said after the Saints game he talked to Carson.
“I just told him I still believe in him,” Wilson said. “He’s one of the best running backs in the league. Plays happen. There’s never been a player who’s never fumbled. That’s just reality.
“I think more than anything else, we just got to continue to believe in him. He’s got to continue to believe in himself, which he will. We’re all in this together. I was telling the guys in the locker room, the reality of this game, which is the game we all love, is that you win together, and you lose together. We can go as far as we want together, as well. That’s our focus moving forward. ...There hasn’t been too many teams that go undefeated who win the whole thing.
“We’ve just got to focus on winning the next game. Going on the road...we’re going on the road to Arizona and that’s going to be a tough environment, as always. Division game.
“That always seems to come down to the wire, it feels like. We’ve got to get prepared. In those coming-down-to-the-wire-type games, that’s where we got to play really sharp, really clean, and really focused.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 7:49 AM.
