Abe Lucas playing a full game? Seahawks get good news on 2 key defenders for Arizona game
Abe Lucas is ready to stack games on a line that needs him to.
And his offensive coordinator believes he may be ready to play the entire game this time.
The starting right tackle missed practice Thursday but is full go to play Sunday at Lumen Field when the Seahawks (5-5) play the first-place Arizona Cardinals (6-4) to the NFC West lead. Lucas played 42 of 60 snaps last weekend when Seattle won at San Francisco. It was his first game in 11 months following winter knee surgery and a long recovery and return from it.
Rookie Mike Jerrell spelled Lucas for one drive in each half last weekend against the 49ers.
Ryan Grubb says that likely will not be necessary Sunday against the Cardinals.
Asked following practice Lucas missed Thursday whether his right tackle is ready for a full game, no “pitch count” this weekend, the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator said: “Yeah, I think he is. I think we’re going to let him go out there and eat and see what he can do.”
What did Grubb see Lucas do against the 49ers, in his first game having Lucas as his right tackle on a line that’s used four of them this season?
“Really good. He’s super-physical,” Grubb said. “You know, he’s got the right demeanor. On the sideline it was noticeable, his intent and mindset. He’s a very intense guy, loves playing. It was great to have him back.”
During Seattle’s final, 80-yard drive over the last 2 1/2 minutes of the game while down 17-13, Lucas won nine of 10 pass-blocking reps. Significantly, 49ers All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa was out of the game after he aggravated a hip injury. Most of those final-drive snaps for Lucas were against veteran pass rusher Leonard Floyd. Lucas won seven of those one on one. Two times, Anthony Bradford had no defender rush at him inside, so the right guard came out to help Lucas on double-team blocks.
The one time Floyd beat him on the final drive, it was after Lucas has stymied him initially. Then Smith stepped up in the pocket. Lucas didn’t see that. He disengaged from Floyd, who ran up the field and sacked Smith from behind.
Smith completed 7 of 8 passes on that final drive. He took off scrambling twice for 29 more yards.
The first scramble happened because Floyd appeared tired of getting repelled by Lucas. Floyd bounced off a chip block by running back Kenneth Walker, then just stood in place, far wide right of the pocket. Lucas waited for Floyd to rush. He never did.
Smith saw the freeway-wide lane Floyd created by just standing there. The quarterback sprinted through it for 16 yards. That got the Seahawks into the red zone with 39 seconds left in the game.
Smith won the game two plays later with a 13-yard scramble for a touchdown to the left, opposite Lucas.
Lucas said with a laugh after the game he was exhausted by then. He said as he saw Smith cross the goal line he thought: “Thank you, Jesus!”
“Turned and walked towards the sideline.,” Lucas said in the locker room at Levi’s Stadium minutes after the Seahawks ended their six-game losing streak to San Francisco. “I was like, ‘I need to go get some oxygen!’”
Grubb didn’t sense that.
“I was actually really impressed with his ability to sustain on that last drive,” Seattle’s play caller said. “I know that was hard, and just when you get into longer drives like that, if you’re not in game shape yet, it’s certainly tough. It speaks a little bit to his demeanor and the type of mindset that he does have.
“But he played great. He didn’t play perfect. But, yeah, we were all really, really impressed. I think moving forward he’s going to be a big time difference-maker for us.”
Leonard Williams full go for Arizona run
Leonard Williams missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with a new foot issue. But Friday he wasn’t on the team’s injury report for Sunday’s game.
So the $60 million defensive end is full go to start against Arizona’s recently new offense that is far more dedicated to running the ball with quarterback Kyler Murray under center than the Cardinals used to.
In 2021 Murray was in shotgun formation the second-most times of any NFL quarterback. In 2022 he was in shotgun more than anyone. That was under Arizona’s former coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Jonathan Gannon replaced Kingsbury as Cardinals coach following the 2022 season.
Now Murray is 16th in the 32-team league for times in shotgun formation. The Cardinals are having Murray taking direct snaps from center and handing the ball to lead back James Conner: gap-scheme runs with pulling blockers. It’s a return to more old-school ball than the former free-wheeling, playground style Murray had been playing with, and largely failing with.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald last opposed Arizona in 2019, when he was a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens.
“They were almost exclusively gun,” Macdonald said.
“They’ve done a really good job of building this (2024 Cardinals) offense around Kyler, around some of the things they were doing in Cleveland (where Arizona offensive coordinator Drew Petzing last coached), some of the other coaches they have on staff you can see some of the influences that they have.
“It’s a well-designed, kind of full entourage of stuff for them.”
Arizona is in first place averaging more than 149 yards rushing per game. The Cardinals lead the league in first downs gained by running the ball. With the bullish Conner, they are second in yards rushing after contact.
So, yes, it’s good for the Seahawks to have Williams healthy to play Sunday.
Rayshawn Jenkins returning
Macdonald said following practice Friday, barring the unexpected, the team is going to activate starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins from injured reserve Saturday so he can play Sunday. He’s missed the last four games with a hand injury.
That means a corresponding move of a player off the 53-man roster is coming.
Army Rangers say hey
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 1:18 PM.
