With the Seahawks having started the second half with a pair of victories, over the Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams (just the second two-game winning streak of the Pete Carroll era), they have a reasonable shot at extending their streak to five by the time they play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field Dec. 18.
The Seahawks host the 3-7 Washington Redskins Sunday at CenturyLink Field, play the 4-6 Philadelphia Eagles at the Clink on Thursday, Dec. 1 and have a (lightly anticipated) rematch with the 2-8 Rams at home Dec. 12.
Three victories would get the Seahawks to 7-6 — not enough to catch 9-1 San Francisco in the NFC West, and not enough to make a second consecutive playoff appearance (the NFC West won’t factor into the wild card this year), unless the 49ers collapse.
“To get back-to-back wins for us at this time is important,” said Carroll. “We talked about starting the second half and you win one game — OK, thats an easy start to it. But you make some headway when you come back and you get another game. Now were going into the third week of it, and were going to see if we can keep this thing going. Were encouraged.”
The Seahawks have not had a three-game winning streak since 2007, nor a five-game winning streak since the middle part of that year, when they finished 10-6 and defeated the Redskins in an NFC wild card game.
The most pronounced difference in the second-half Seahawks and the team that went 2-6 in its first eight games: an ability to run the ball and control the clock. Seattle has produced three consecutive 100-yard (team) rushing games, 162 at Dallas, 119 vs. Baltimore, and 126 at St. Louis, after rushing for 100 yards just twice in the first seven games.
This is the first time since the final three games of the 2009 season that Seattle (as a team) had managed 100 or more rushing yards in three consecutive contests. Since Week 9, the Seahawks have improved from the 29th rushing offense in the league to 27th at 95.1 yards per game (the Redskins are 30th in rushing at 84.0).
“Its just taken us a long time to start to see it come together,” said Carroll. “Its cool to be able to be successful against Baltimore and go on the road (St. Louis) and get another win. It hasnt been like we want it to yet, but its getting closer. Were a long ways from being home here, but it feels better.
“I think were coming around,” Carroll added. “Weve got to do something with this week. Two weeks doesnt mean much to me, but it’s two weeks better than we were.”
Looking ahead to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, this is how they compare with the Seahawks:
| Regular Season | Seahawks/Rank | Redskins/Rank | Seahawks Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 4-6 | 3-7 | Last 3-game win streak: ’07 |
| Total Offense | 298.5 (28) | 312.7 (24) | 424 yards vs. NYG on Oct. 9 |
| Rushing Offense | 95.1 (27) | 84.0 (30) | 162 vs. Dallas on Nov. 6 |
| Passing Offense | 203.4 (24) | 228.7 (16) | 350 vs. Cincy on Oct. 30 |
| Points Per Game | 16.8 (26) | 16.0 (27) | 36 vs. NYG on Oct. 9 |
| Total Defense | 333 (11) | 338.7 (14) | Held Rams to 185 yards |
| Rushing Defense | 100 (8) | 117.3 (18) | Held Rams to just 42 yards |
| Pass Defense | 233 (15) | 221.4 (10) | Season-low 124 vs. 49ers |
| Points Allowed | 20.9 (14) | 20.5 (11) | Gave up 34 to Cincy Oct. 30 |
“Its great to know that were going to be home for three weeks,” said Carroll. “It has not felt like weve had that sense of playing at home with any kind of consistency. So this is a big deal. Two great games coming up after this game, in terms of highlighted games (national cable TV) with the Thursday and Monday.
“Its a very good feeling for everybody. Were going to get a little break here, so were going to try to take full advantage of every one of these opportunities.
14 Comments
Would disagree with you, nearly 100%. Experience wise, yes, we lost a lot. But if you look at individuals and compare, I think what we gained outweighs what we lost. For example, who would you take: Venoy or Wroten? Sorry, but Wroten is NBA talent and we all know where Venoy is. Wroten will clearly bring more offense vs. Venoy and I don’t think we lost much in his senior year in terms of D. If you take Holiday, feel pretty good that a combination of Simmons/Breunig/Kemp/Jarreau brings more points, equal athleticism and the depth needed. Reports also say that Simmons will bring more boards. Feel good there. Feel equally good that Ross (projected top 15 draft in 2012) can draw as much defense as IT did last year and collect more boards. That will free up others to collect points as well. I do respect what IT brought to the table but feel collectively among these guys, we should be solid. Also, it was clear that the Dawgs, despite their great inner circle and friendships, were distracted by something in the locker room. How else do you explain the mid season crash despite all these seniors? Well, that distraction appears long gone now. The competition in practice will be fierce. Personally feel much more optimistic, but will be cautious, than you.
Would disagree with you, nearly 100%. Experience wise, yes, we lost a lot. But if you look at individuals and compare, I think what we gained outweighs what we lost. For example, who would you take: Venoy or Wroten? Sorry, but Wroten is NBA talent and we all know where Venoy is. Wroten will clearly bring more offense vs. Venoy and I don’t think we lost much in his senior year in terms of D. If you take Holiday, feel pretty good that a combination of Simmons/Breunig/Kemp/Jarreau brings more points, equal athleticism and the depth needed. Reports also say that Simmons will bring more boards. Feel good there. Feel equally good that Ross (projected top 15 draft in 2012) can draw as much defense as IT did last year and collect more boards. That will free up others to collect points as well. I do respect what IT brought to the table but feel collectively among these guys, we should be solid. Also, it was clear that the Dawgs, despite their great inner circle and friendships, were distracted by something in the locker room. How else do you explain the mid season crash despite all these seniors? Well, that distraction appears long gone now. The competition in practice will be fierce. Personally feel much more optimistic, but will be cautious, than you.
Ridiculously cynical article. The talent level on this team is ridiculous. There is far more reason for optimism than pessimism.
Ridiculously cynical article. The talent level on this team is ridiculous. There is far more reason for optimism than pessimism.
Ross is capable? NBA scouts disagree w/ you. Wroten is raw? His shooting, maybe – but his skill set is the perfect match for Romar’s system
They may struggle early, but this team has a lot of pieces to compete at a really high level. Terrible article…
Ross is capable? NBA scouts disagree w/ you. Wroten is raw? His shooting, maybe – but his skill set is the perfect match for Romar’s system
They may struggle early, but this team has a lot of pieces to compete at a really high level. Terrible article…
I think the article is a little cynical. Not insanely so.
I agree that the author will be very pleasantly surprised with the play of Ross this year. Look for his free throws to go way up too. He will have the ball in his hand a lot more this year.
Another thing is that i felt Holiday really faded last year. I think he put too much of his mental focus on his offense. He needed to be a defensive demon every single game and let the O come during the games. He was thinking too much about needing to score to be relevant for scouts imo. Or according to my W.A.G..
I don’t expect this team to be quite as good as last year. Having a legitimate low post presence will be missed. I do think Wroten’s ability to drive and create will make up for a lot of that, but it will be missed. And yes i know Amanning was inconsistent. But he did show up more often than not in his Senior year.
We will see lots of improvements in the young guys. And don’t forget how good Gaddy was looking before going down. This team would have gone farther imo with Gaddy getting most of the minutes Venoy got last year. He was needed vs. North Carolina.
Lots of additions. Gaddy, Wroten, Simmons. Those three guys should all be big time players for this team. Might sound like an overstatement for Simmons, but i hear good things and i love his “style”. Wilcox, Aziz, and Ross should all take big steps forward after one year of Pac play.
I think the article is a little cynical. Not insanely so.
I agree that the author will be very pleasantly surprised with the play of Ross this year. Look for his free throws to go way up too. He will have the ball in his hand a lot more this year.
Another thing is that i felt Holiday really faded last year. I think he put too much of his mental focus on his offense. He needed to be a defensive demon every single game and let the O come during the games. He was thinking too much about needing to score to be relevant for scouts imo. Or according to my W.A.G..
I don’t expect this team to be quite as good as last year. Having a legitimate low post presence will be missed. I do think Wroten’s ability to drive and create will make up for a lot of that, but it will be missed. And yes i know Amanning was inconsistent. But he did show up more often than not in his Senior year.
We will see lots of improvements in the young guys. And don’t forget how good Gaddy was looking before going down. This team would have gone farther imo with Gaddy getting most of the minutes Venoy got last year. He was needed vs. North Carolina.
Lots of additions. Gaddy, Wroten, Simmons. Those three guys should all be big time players for this team. Might sound like an overstatement for Simmons, but i hear good things and i love his “style”. Wilcox, Aziz, and Ross should all take big steps forward after one year of Pac play.
IF you can go really small, imagine the skill out there with this lineup. I know there are tons of teams you would probably never want to try this line up against(even against their second unit). But man it would be fun to see it’s ability to get up and down the court, the 3 pt shooting, and their ability to get to the cup or drive and dish.
The amount of minutes Ross can match up against another teams PF might be telling for how many minutes we can go small. A more reasonable small lineup will have someone besides Ross guarding their C. Just sometimes the other teams C really is poor on O and you can stick a little guy on him you know?
Gaddy 6’3
Wilcox 6’5
Wroten 6’5
Suggs 6’6
Ross 6’6
IF you can go really small, imagine the skill out there with this lineup. I know there are tons of teams you would probably never want to try this line up against(even against their second unit). But man it would be fun to see it’s ability to get up and down the court, the 3 pt shooting, and their ability to get to the cup or drive and dish.
The amount of minutes Ross can match up against another teams PF might be telling for how many minutes we can go small. A more reasonable small lineup will have someone besides Ross guarding their C. Just sometimes the other teams C really is poor on O and you can stick a little guy on him you know?
Gaddy 6’3
Wilcox 6’5
Wroten 6’5
Suggs 6’6
Ross 6’6
I think you should find a new profession
I think you should find a new profession
Maybe you should actually see what these guys do on the floor before you write them off as “too heavy, too light, too small, and too raw.”
Ridiculous article.
Maybe you should actually see what these guys do on the floor before you write them off as “too heavy, too light, too small, and too raw.”
Ridiculous article.