The Seattle Seahawks have played two preseason games, and the full first-team offense has been in the game for six drives. Here’s the results of those drives:
VERSUS KANSAS CITY
1) 10 plays, 61 yards, 4:21, ended with an interception
VERSUS MINNESOTA
2) 11 plays, 56 yards, 6:59, ended with a turnover on downs
3) 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:44, ended with a punt
4) 6 plays, 30 yards, 3:14, ended with a punt
5) 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:33, ended with a punt
6) 6 plays, -4 yards, 1:11, ended with a punt
So the totals for Seattle’s offense with Russell Wilson at quarterback are as follows: 39 plays, 154 yards, 3.9 yards per play, 0 points. We haven’t exactly seen fireworks yet from the offense that produced 32 points per game during the second half of last season.
Here’s what Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said about the offense Tuesday:
“I’d like to see obviously some areas of improvement. Offensively we need to make sure we’re putting points on the board. We’ve had some very nice drives, moved the ball, but we’re not scoring points, so we have to do a better job of handling that, making sure we finish some of those drive.”
Though the offense has yet to score, the Seahawks’ first-team offense has been able to move the ball on the ground. Specifically, Christine Michael has looked good, carrying the ball 17 times for 99 yards in the two games:
“The nice part of what we’ve done on offense is to be able to see us run the ball the way that we want to. The offensive line looks good, the running backs look good, we’re handling all of the situations very well, putting up some good yardage. So that’s where we are, that’s who we are, that’s where we want to start, and I like where we’re at with that.”
An issue that cropped up last Thursday against Minnesota was sacks, as Seattle’s quarterbacks were sacked six times. Wilson was sacked four times in the first half, and after the game Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Wilson should have gotten rid of the ball faster on two of those. Here’s Bevell’s take on the sacks:
“The protection has been solid. I know that coach talked about it. We ended up giving up six sacks, obviously that’s too many. But there’s never really one place you can pin those on. I’m not going to stand up here and say, ‘Hey the offensive line gave up six sacks, the receivers gave up the sacks, the quarterback.’ There’s a lot of nuances and things that go into it, things we were able to look at on tape, we were able to make the corrections, and we feel like we’ll continue to move ahead. I really like where we’re at, I like what the guys are doing up front, and we just have to continue to improve in that area.”
As for those guys up front we’re starting to see some clarity in the interior, with Justin Britt at center and Germain Ifedi and Mark Glowinski at guard seeming to have cemented their starting positions. However, there’s still questions at tackle. Garry Gilliam continues to play on the right side after starting training camp on the left, and Bradley Sowell continues to occupy the spot on the left. Now free-agent signing J’Marcus Webb, who missed the first two preseason games because of a knee injury, is ready to step into the mix as he’s expected to play in Thursday’s game against Dallas:
“There’s a good rotation going on up there. We feel like there’s a good rotation going on here in practice as well. We’re giving all those guys a chance to win positions. Jahri [Evans] is moving in and out at guard, we’re rotating the tackles as well, Webb was back in practice so we might get an opportunity to see him if he continues to progress. There’s still a lot of shuffling that’s going on. The cool part of this third preseason game is to see those guys play together as long as they can, going into the third quarter, so we’ll be able to have good evaluations there.”
We should get a longer look at the first-team offense Thursday as Bevell said the starters would play into the third quarter.
Other notes from Tuesday:
– Strong safety Kam Chancellor has returned to participating in practice after sitting out because of a groin injury. However, Chancellor said Tuesday he doesn’t know yet whether he will play in Thursday’s game.
– Ifedi did not practice Tuesday. Bevell said Ifedi was rested because of an oblique issue. However, he said the team hopes it’s just a one-day thing. Ifedi being out gave Evans, a 10-year veteran and six-time Pro Bowler, a chance to work with the first unit.
– Rookie running back C.J. Prosise, who’s been absent for much of the preseason because of a hamstring injury, has also been practicing. Bevell said the hope is Prosise, who was drafted with the idea of being Seattle’s third-down back, will progress enough to be able to play Thursday.
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