Notes and quotes from Wednesday’s Seahawks press conferences:
– Once again a big topic of conversation was strong safety Kam Chancellor’s holdout. Chancellor’s holdout reached 41 days Wednesday, and there’s no sign of it ending anytime soon.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he is “disappointed” Chancellor remains away from the team. Carroll also said the point of no return has been reached for Chancellor playing this Sunday against St. Louis, should he choose to end his holdout later this week. So that’s at least one game missed for Chancellor.
Cornerback Richard Sherman also expressed disappointment that Chancellor is not with the team. However, he also said he’s “not surprised” and he “understands his stance.” Sherman said he’s been in contact with Chancellor, but has no indication of where things stand.
Both Carroll and Sherman expressed full confidence in Dion Bailey, who will be filling in for Chancellor as the team’s starting strong safety Sunday.
– While one starting safety is gone, another starting safety is returning as Earl Thomas is ready to go after sitting out the entire preseason recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Thomas received the thumbs up from both Carroll and Sherman, with Carroll saying Thomas’s conditioning has been excellent and Sherman saying he looks “like Earl Thomas III. He’s looked great, fast, dynamic.”
– Carroll emphasized two areas where the Rams cause particular concern, trick plays in special teams and the defensive line:
“(The Rams’ kicking game) is as difficult as you play. They may be as complex as all the teams put together with all the things they do.”
“(St. Louis’ defensive line) is as good a front as you’re going to see. This is as athletic and quick — and also on the attack with their scheme — that we’ll get to. This is a great test for us coming out in the opener. We’ll have a good sense for how (the offensive line) is doing and where we are.”
– Sherman was asked his opinion as a player on the Tom Brady ruling. He didn’t take a strong stance either way, and was accepting of the final results. He also didn’t seem too concerned about recent reports suggesting the Patriots’ Spygate activities were worse than originally reported:
“At the end of the day it’s handled between the lines. If they man up and beat you straight up, they beat you straight up. You can say they knew your plays or they watched this or watched that, but a lot of times if you watch film good enough you find indicators, you find things. So if you’re studying the game the right way you go out there understanding what plays are coming and you know when the plays are coming. But can you make the play? Can you execute? Can 11 guys stop the other 11 from executing their play? At the end of the day that’s what it’s about. You can say you stole scrips or whatever its is, but they still have to win the game at the end of the day. They still have to intercept the ball and still have to execute. That’s what they did, so give them credit.”
—- UPDATE, 4:25 p.m.
It seems Kam Chancellor spoke with the NFL Network’s Dan Hellie, and Kevin Shockey has the transcript of what Chancellor said:
Full transcript of EVERYTHING @DanHellie said about his conversation with @Kam_Chancellor pic.twitter.com/WRuhCgP61z
— Kevin Shockey (@KevinShockey) September 9, 2015
So something to chew on.
Also, we have the midweek injury report. Linebacker Mike Morgan (hamstring) did not practice, while tight end Cooper Helfet (knee), quarterback Tavaris Jackson (ankle) and rinning back Marshawn Lynch (non-injury) were limited.
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