Kenneth Walker unlikely to play. Seahawks will still run — Zach Charbonnet. O-line changes?
Kenneth Walker has a pain in his side. Another one.
It’s the dynamic lead running back’s second oblique injury in the span of nine Seahawks game weeks. He did not practice this week. The team listed him Friday as doubtful for Sunday, when Seattle (1-0) plays the New England Patriots (1-0) in Foxborough, Massachusetts (10 a.m., channel 13).
Fantasy-football owners have been stressing this week over Walker’s availability for the game — “Did he practice?! Is he playing?!!!” And over his availability beyond this week. When Walker had his last oblique injury, last November, he missed 2 1/2 games. Those were then-rookie Zach Charbonnet’s only two NFL starts so far.
Until, it appears, Sunday in New England.
When asked if the Seahawks had any longer-term concerns with Walker’s injury plus the knee injury that has starting right tackle George Fant also doubtful for Sunday, coach Mike Macdonald said following practice Friday: “We’re just gonna kind of let it play out right now.”
That’s not definitive for fantasy owners, either.
In real life, Ryan Grubb hasn’t been freaking out.
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator called Walker’s 20 runs for 103 yards last weekend that sparked the Seahawks’ rally in the second half past the Denver Broncos to a season-opening win.
Macdonald and quarterback Geno Smith praised Grubb for sticking with the run in game one, after Denver stonewalled Walker to just 19 yards on seven rushes in the first half. Grubb called Walker’s runs to 84 yards on 13 carries after halftime. Walker’s 23-yard touchdown race inside then around right end gave the Seahawks their first lead. They never trailed again while scoring 17 unanswered points.
Grubb, a former college offensive line coach, says he’s not changing his run-based, run-first thinking with Walker out.
Charbonnet is in line for his third career start when the Seahawks play the post-Bill Belichick Patriots Sunday. He caught a touchdown pass from Smith on a wheel route out of the backfield last weekend during that second-half surge past Denver.
“I think ‘Charb’ has a lot of the same skill sets,” Grubb said Thursday. “He’s an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He’s a very, very capable pass protector and obviously a very powerful runner.
“So I don’t think there’s anything in the game plan that would change if Ken wasn’t unavailable.
“So for us, it is business as usual.”
Walker is the more patient runner. He is also more elusive. He usually can make the first defender who has gotten into the backfield, which happened often especially early against Denver with Seattle’s poor offensive line play, miss.
Charbonnet is more decisive, a one-cut-and-go runner.
That does change the tempo of blocks for the Seahawks’ offensive line. Walker’s runs often are longer developing. Charbonnet usually runs through his linemen whether they have made their blocks or not.
Offensive line changes?
The Seahawks played seven offensive linemen against the Broncos.
The starters were Charles Cross at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Connor Williams’ Seattle debut at center, Anthony Bradford at right guard and Fant at right tackle.
Fant got hurt on the 13th play. He injured his knee when he got hit in the back of the leg at the end of a play. He didn’t practice this week.
Stone Forsythe replaced Fant against Denver. Forsythe is likely to make the 10th start of his four-year NFL career Sunday.
Bradford limped off in the first quarter against the Broncos. Rookie third-round draft choice Christian Haynes replaced him.
Bradford missed one play and returned. Officials penalized him for blatantly holding a defender while in the end zone on a stretch run play away from him. That penalty was by rule a safety.
The Broncos got a second safety in the first half of the opener when Tomlinson missed his block on Denver’s Zach Allen off the snap. Allen tackled Charbonnet in the end zone before he had a chance to cut away from him.
Those two plays, plus a sack of Smith on the first snap of the season, Williams getting beat on the second play when Smith got hit and threw an interception plus a false-start penalty on wide receiver Laviska Shenault on the third play was the worst possible start to an NFL coaching career for Grubb.
The News Tribune asked the former University of Washington offensive coordinator if he ever had a start to a game so bad.
The 48-year-old play caller chuckled.
“No. No, I have not,” he said, “not quite that bad.”
Forsythe got pushed back into Smith multiple times by Broncos edge rusher Jonathan Cooper.
Could rookie third-round pick Mike Jerrell get a shot at right tackle with Fant unlikely to play Sunday? Jerrell, from Division-II Findlay, was inactive for the opener.
The Seahawks also elevated tackle/guard McClendon Curtis from the practice squad Saturday, for Sunday’s game.
Grubb hinted, twice, the Seahawks could be making changes on the offensive line soon.
“There’s certainly possibilities like that for us,” he said.
Then, when asked if he’s alternated or changed offensive linemen during games, Grubb said: “I have, yes. Many times before.
“You try not to. Honestly, you’d love to stay solid with the guys you have in there. But out of necessity, if there’s somewhere that you need to rotate or you’re just trying to find who’s got the best feel for the football game, you certainly can do that.
“And we are in that position.”
Kenny McIntosh increased role?
Walker’s injury means Kenny McIntosh is likely to move up to the second running back behind Charbonnet against the Patriots.
On Saturday, the team elevated undrafted rookie George Holani, signed as a free agent from Boise State, from the practice squad. He’s in line to be the third running back for the game Sunday.
Last month, Holani passed McIntosh, Seattle’s seventh-round pick out of Georgia last year, on the depth chart for a time during training camp. That was because McIntosh was missing on pass blocks Holani was making, including in the first preseason game at the Los Angeles Chargers Aug. 10.
Reserve running backs in the NFL don’t play if they can’t block.
Grubb praised McIntosh for responding to coaches’ challenges to get more physical and better in pass protection in front of Smith. The offensive coordinator said McIntosh’s pass blocking has improved.
“It has. Yeah, K-Mac has gotten a lot better,” Grubb said. “It’s been one of the emphases all the way back to OTAs, not even camp. I know he’s worked really, really hard at it.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2024 at 1:47 PM.
