Seahawks take first ‘major test’

Published 10:01 pm Friday, August 13, 2010

RENTON — Tonight, for the first time in more than 10 years, Pete Carroll will coach an NFL game.

Sure it doesn’t count, and no, we can’t begin to judge Carroll’s return to professional football based on one preseason game, but that doesn’t mean this game isn’t significant to the new Seahawks head coach.

“These are huge,” said Carroll who last coached an NFL game in January of 2000 before New England fired him following the season. “It is what it is, it’s the first game in preseason, but to us this is the first major test and it’s our first opportunity to make major assessments in what’s going on and see where we have to go.”

Carroll wouldn’t say how much the starters will play, but it’s safe to assume most won’t play past the first quarter. But even if the game is decided in the fourth quarter by a bunch of guys who won’t make the team, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to be learned from tonight’s game against Tennessee.

Gibbs’ offensive line

Offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, the guru of zone blocking, was one of Carroll’s key hires, and after more than a decade of producing 1,000-yard rushers with dominant blocking, he’ll try to do the same in Seattle. Teams can only simulate run blocking — and this scheme in particular — so much in practice without risking injury to the defense, so this will be the first good measuring stick for the line.

“Really, this is blocking and tackling time is what it is,” Carroll said. “We’re going to play full speed for the first time on Saturday night.”

In particular, it will beinteresting to see how left tackle Russell Okung, the No. 6 overall pick who missed the first week of training camp, will do in his first game setting.

How will Hasselbeck look?

After spending most of his career learning from Mike Holmgren, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is learning his third offense in as many years, and at 34 he is coming off of back-to-back subpar seasons. Hasselbeck has stood out in training camp, but it will be interesting to see how he does in his first game situation running offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates’ offense.

New wide receivers

Mike Williams went from top-10 pick to NFL washout, but after two years out of the NFL, the former USC standout is getting a second chance with his former college coach. At 6-5, Williams gives Seattle a size element at the position that it didn’t have before. Now he has a chance to show if he can translate a promising training camp into results.

Second-round pick Golden Tate seems to come up with a big play every day in training camp, and while he still has a lot to learn, he looks like he could be a steal as the 60th pick in the draft. He’ll get plenty of chances to show what he can do Saturday.

“We’re going to play him a lot on Saturday night and give him a lot of opportunities,” Carroll said. “… We’re going to get a good look at him right off the bat.”

New-look D-line

Seattle replaced both of its starting defensive ends, and both are departures from the traditional mold. Red Bryant, a converted tackle, is far bigger than most ends, while Chris Clemmons plays a position known as “Leo,” which is something of a hybrid between a linebacker and end. He is charged with doing something the Seahawks didn’t do enough of last year: putting quarterbacks on their back. The starting tackles, Colin Cole and Brandon Mebane, are back, but there are new faces on the depth chart who will have their first chance to shine.

“This will be a very good indication of how we’re doing at the line of scrimmage,” Carroll said. “We’re going to see, we’ve seen them against our guys and now we need to see them against somebody else. I’m anxious to see how the nose tackles play, I want to see Kevin Vickerson play in there with Colin (Cole) and how those guys play nose. But of course Red (Bryant), this is his first big test at his new position.”

Safeties young and old

As of now, the Seahawks’ starting safeties are a 21-year-old rookie, Earl Thomas, and Lawyer Milloy, a 36-year-old entering his 15th season. For Thomas, Seattle’s second first-round pick, this is his first look at NFL action. For Milloy it’s a return to the starting lineup after playing in a limited role in his first season with Seattle last year. Both have plenty to prove this season.

Special teams

The return game hasn’t been a particularly explosive for the Seahawks in recent years, but the hope is that the addition of players like Tate and Leon Washington can change that. Washington, who is still coming back from a broken leg, probably won’t play tonight, but Tate should be involved in punt returns, and perhaps kickoff returns as well.

The kicking and punting jobs are secure with Olindo Mare and John Ryan returning, though Ryan could be pressed into double duty if Mare’s sore calf isn’t ready. Mare did return to practice Thursday after two days off, but the team isn’t likely to take chances with its 37-year-old kicker if he isn’t 100 percent.

Sideline

How will Pete Carroll handle his first NFL game in a decade?

As he pointed out, he dealt with only a handful of two-minute situations during a decade of dominance at USC. He’ll certainly run into several this season, so even though a win or loss doesn’t matter tonight, how he handles tight situations will be revealing.

“There are a lot of situations that come up and we’ve been grilling ourselves as a staff to get prepared, and the players, that need to know,” Carroll said. “We won’t get all of those done, but we are in the mindset. It’s important for me to transition … in the college game we might have had four or five really critical two-minute situations in nine years, so that’s different. I look forward to that.”

Also, Carroll wouldn’t say whether his coordinators will spend the game on the sideline or up in the coaches’ box. He did confirm, however, that defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, not Carroll, will make the defensive calls.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog