Pete Carroll ‘sick’ over Marquise Blair knee injury; Ugo Amadi time at nickel for Seahawks
Just when Marquise Blair was impressing and asserting himself as a key to the Seahawks’ defense, he’s gone from it.
The team’s new nickel defensive back on a team that has returned to playing that scheme the majority of snaps this season sustained what appears to be a major knee injury in the first half of Seattle’s wild, 35-30 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night at empty CenturyLink Field.
Coach Pete Carroll was reluctant to say much more than the Seahawks’ second-round draft choice last year is headed to get MRI exams to determine the extent of the injury. Blair got hurt while getting banged around trying to tackle New England running back Sony Michel.
But what the coach did say said plenty about how severely the team’s medical staff believes Blair is injured.
“I’m sick about it,” Carroll said, the only time he sounded deflated in an otherwise sunny post-game Zoom call.
“It’s probably fairly serious.”
Carroll also mentioned the Seahawks now must count on the return of Ugo Amadi.
Amadi ended last season as Seattle’s primary nickel defensive back, as a rookie. The draft choice from Oregon replaced long-gone Akeem King, who replaced long-gone Jamar Taylor late last season as the fifth defensive back in passing situations.
Amadi lost the job in the offseason. That was after Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. had months to dissect Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers targeting Amadi for key third-down conversions at the end of the Seahawks’ loss to the Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs in January.
Amadi is 5-foot-9. Blair was the Seahawks’ choice for nickel in 2020 because he’s 6-1, a better matchup against big inside receivers in foes’ three-, four- and five-wide receiver formations. Plus, Blair is a strong safety who plays far more ruggedly than his listed 196 pounds.
But not anymore.
“He’s been such a cool part of this team, already, in the early part of the season — and such a significant part,” Carroll said, shaking his head.
It’s now Amadi, beginning next Sunday against a Dallas team (1-1) that scored 10 points inside the final 2 minutes to beat Atlanta on Sunday.
The Seahawks allowed Matt Ryan 450 yards passing in their 38-25 win at Atlanta in their opener. Sunday night, Cam Newton came out winging it all over CenturyLink Field in the second half. Newton finished 30 for 44 passing for 397 yards and a touchdown.
Allowing 847 yards passing in the first two games isn’t a recipe to win the NFC West that has three teams off to a 2-0 start: Arizona, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle.
The Seahawks sacked Newton once in 45 drop backs Sunday night. Once again, Seattle’s only pressure came when they blitzed. They might have to continue playing more nickel defense to afford sending All-Pro safety Jamal Adams out of the secondary on blitzes to create pressure that otherwise is not happening up front.
Adams has two of the team’s three sacks through two games. End Benson Mayowa has the other one, on a fourth down in Atlanta.
One sack by a defensive lineman in 91 drop backs by quarterbacks isn’t going to get it done over the 16-game regular season for this shaky Seahawks defense.
To complicate the issue, rush end Bruce Irvin left late in the game with a sprained knee. Carroll did say Irvin was walking around the locker room after the game.
Defensive end Rasheem Green, the team’s sack leader last year with four, missed the game with a pinched nerve in his neck he suffered in the opener.
Now Amadi is heading into the most featured role of his young career.
“The other side of it is, Ugo Amadi came in and did a really good job. Had eight tackles, and a tackle for loss, and had a really good game for us,” Carroll said. “Had a couple good pressures, and all of that.
“We are going to really ask him to step up and be a factor for us.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 10:40 PM.
