After film study, Seahawks players were allowed to scatter for a week, then they’ll be back at work Monday to begin preparation for the New Orleans Saints.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is pretty happy about his team going into the break with a 10-1 record, but he also knows it won’t mean much if they can’t sustain this level of play after a break.
“Well we’re really happy that we made it to the bye as we have,” Carroll said. “I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot to get to this point in some regards, and in other regards we haven’t done anything yet. We come out of this game and feel really good that we’ve had a couple weeks in a row of playing good complete football. We played strong in all three phases, and there’s still plenty of areas to improve. With the return of the new guys (Percy Harvin, Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini), we felt their presence in the good ways, and we felt the rustiness as well.”
Other than Brandon Browner (more on him in a second) the Seahawks should have everyone available when they return to practice next week. Asked if this is as healthy he’s seen a team this late in the year, Carroll said, “We’re pretty close. This is about as good as I can remember… We couldn’t hope for a whole lot more than what we have now, so we’re happy about that.”
As for Browner, no decision on his return, or if there will be one, has yet been made. And now that the Seahawks have two weeks until their next game, there will be no rush to decide whether Browner is going to make it back late in the season or be placed on injured reserve.
“Hopefully by the end of this week we’ll know more,” Carroll said. “He had a pretty good exam today, I know that, but he’s got a serious groin pull. It’s legit, and it’s not just a pulled muscle, he had some tissue damage and stuff, so it’s a severe groin pull. They’re talking four to six weeks at best, so it’s a long haul here.
On WR Jermaine Kearse, who suffered a concussion Sunday, Carroll said, “He feels a lot better today, but he did have a concussion. He’ll benefit obviously from this week, it’ll be two weeks before he has to get back, so we would think that he would be able to make it. He’s not in bad shape at all now.”
On receiver Percy Harvin: “He’s a little sore. Just normal, first time you get hit in a year and a half, he’s going to feel it, but he’ll benefit from the break as well. When we come back if everything goes like we hoped, then he’ll be right back in the mix and it’ll be a normal rotation, returning kicks and the whole thing.”
Asked about Minnesota’s 38-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that saw Jarius Wright get past Richard Sherman—a very rare sight—Carroll said both Sherman and Thomas could have done better.
“Between the two of them, Earl could have helped him out too,” Carroll said. “They both got beat on the play action and the little juke that they made on the play. Either one of those guys could have helped to make the play, it was just unfortunate. It was really well executed by them and they got us.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
