RENTON — This is a story about Blair Walsh.
For most of you, the immediate and only appropriate response is: “Just kick it through the darn posts!” Beginning and end of story.
Not for Pete Carroll.
The Seahawks’ coach took a question about his slumping kicker four days before Sunday’s mammoth home test against the first-place Los Angeles Rams in what amounts to the NFC West championship game. And he made it a reaffirmation of faith in a man much of the Pacific Northwest has been vilifying for the past six weeks.
“He’s a good kicker. He has a great leg. He has terrific mechanics, great habits and his mentality stays strong,” Carroll said of the former Minnesota Viking the Seahawks signed last spring to get four years younger and $2.45 million cheaper than outgoing free agent Steven Hauschka.
“Yeah, he missed a couple here and there, but he is doing things right to give himself a chance,” Carroll said of Walsh.
“He’s our guy. That’s who we have. And we hope that he’s going to come through.”
Walsh was asked Thursday if he read or heard about Carroll’s words, and if so did he appreciate them.
“Oh, absolutely,” Walsh said. “He’s someone that sees you every day. He’s someone that knows what you are about and sees what you can do on the field.
“Obviously, the last couple games haven’t gone the way I wanted to. But, you know, it’s nice to hear that from your coach. Absolutely.
“It’s always nice when your head coach believes in you — because that’s how I feel about myself. I try not to get too up or down on results, and realize what I am capable of doing.”
Walsh began his Seahawks debut season 12 for 13 on field goals. The change of scenery — even the oddity of it being to Seattle, of all places — looked like it worked. But he’s gone 8 for 14 since. That includes misses wide left on attempts from 44, 34 and 49 yards in the first half of Seattle’s 17-14 home loss to Washington the Seahawks may end up regretting big-time when the playoffs arrive.
He missed again at the end of the first half last weekend at Jacksonville, from 38 yards to keep Seattle down 3-0 into the third quarter, before he connected from 28 yards in the 30-24 loss to the Jaguars.
Walsh is 20 for 27 this season on field goals.
Hauschka was 33 for 37 last season before the Seahawks let him sign with Buffalo. He is 22 for 25 for the Bills.
When he talks — including his stand-up performance after that meltdown of an afternoon against the Redskins in early November — Walsh exudes self-assurance and professionalism.
And, no, he’s not locking himself in his home between games to avoid making eye contact with Seahawks fans, let alone talking to them.
On Tuesday he joined other Seahawks teammates in a visit to Seattle Children’s hospital for a holiday event in the playroom there.
For the kids who were too sick or fragile to travel outside their rooms downstairs to come see the players, Walsh and some teammates came up to them.
Walsh visited the dialysis ward.
“There were kids in there from 15 years old down to newborn,” Walsh said.
He shook his head.
Seeing that tends to change the way one views missing a field goal.
Is it easy for him in his sixth season, at the age of 27, to block out the widespread criticism from fans, sports radio, the grocery check-out guy?
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy. I think anybody that tells you it is easy is probably lying,” Walsh said. “It’s not that easy to block it out.
“But at this point in your career you have to realize the outside noise is not going determine whether you have the job or not. It’s what you do on the field. And you have to realize that. You have to stay true to your skills and what got you to this point.
“You know, sometimes that can be challenging, when the ball is not going in for us. But you can’t judge your season on one or two games, good or bad. You’ve just got to try to be more consistent and do your job.”
Walsh said his recent misses is not an issue of mechanics or anything he needs to change. Other than, of course, the results.
“You know, I feel confident about the way I am hitting the ball,” he said. “And I know that sooner or later it is going to consistently go in, back to how it kind of was at the beginning.
“It’s definitely a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. But being here, everyone has been supportive and I think they know what I am capable of. And I’ve shown that. I just haven’t been as consistent as I want to be. But that is something I am still working on and trying to get through.
“We still have a long season left, is the way we look at it.”
Wagner, Wright out again
Kris Richard played it off as if he was joking.
But he was painfully accurate while nailing the essence of this Seahawks season on defense.
The first question the defensive coordinator got following Thursday’s practice was about preparing for the possibility All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner and Pro Bowl outside linebacker K.J. Wright will miss the biggest regular-season game in years because of injuries.
Wagner has a strained hamstring. Wright has a concussion. Both got hurt in the third quarter of last weekend’s loss at Jacksonville. Both missed their second consecutive practice on Thursday.
“Business as usual,” Richard said. “Just another day at the office.”
The defensive coordinator laughed. But it’s not funny. It’s true.
Wagner and Wright are the fourth and fifth Pro Bowl players out or injured. Cornerback Richard Sherman, strong safety Kam Chancellor and defensive end Cliff Avril are already out for the season because of major injuries.
For now, Seattle’s ability to once again throttle dynamic running back Todd Gurley and the Rams — as they did with all those stars playing on Oct. 8 in L.A .— comes down to their fill-ins: Michael Wilhoite at middle linebacker, Terence Garvin at outside linebacker, Byron Maxwell at left cornerback, Bradley McDougald at strong safety and Frank Clark at every-down end.
That was absolutely not in Richard’s plans to begin this season.
“In all seriousness, it’s an awesome challenge,” Richard said — stretching the meaning of “awesome.”
“And again, it’s the reason why we are professionals: It’s about the next man being up, regardless of who’s up, who’s down, who’s in, or who’s out. You always have to be prepared to play because the next man is one play away.”
Wagner is in a nonstop series of treatments this week trying to get back from the hamstring issue he’s played through for the last month, and which he felt pull even more in the chilly evening air in North Florida last Sunday. Knowing Wagner, he’s going to try to play. But hamstring strains and pulls aren’t just pain-management issues; either you can run with one or you can’t.
Wright’s situation is more clear cut: He must pass through each of five stages of the NFL’s concussion protocol before doctors can clear him to play. The first three stages max out at aerobic exercise. Step four is football-specific, non-contact work. This time of the season, all Seahawks practice work is non-contact. Step five is full return to all football activities, with no limitations.
While Richard or Carroll have not specified the stage Wright’s in — the league catch-all for concussion cases are the words “he’s in the protocol” — there is no evidence he’d done any football-related work through Thursday. He seemingly has to get on the field even in a limited manner for Friday’s light practice before he’d have any chance to play against the Rams on Sunday.
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