Some might suggest that Sunday’s 45-17 squish of Jacksonville, perhaps the NFL’s worst team, was not much of a metric for an elite team. But Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was not among the hair-splitters: 3-0 is 3-0, and only five other NFL teams can claim it (six, if Denver beats Oakland Monday night).
“Any way you can get to 3-0 is darn good,” he said in his weekly debriefing Monday. “We have a lot of room to improve.”
Given that NFC West rivals San Francisco, St. Louis and Arizona all lost Sunday and are all 1-2, it’s about as comfortable a position as Seattle could request as the Seahawks hit the quarter pole Sunday in Houston against the Texans seeking to be the first team in club history to start 4-0.
On various topics:
DE Chris Clemons: Played 13 snaps and “got enough done” in his first game back from knee surgery to merit more time in Houston: “He’ll be close to normal.”
On QB Russell Wilson’s reluctance to come out despite the big lead: “He didn’t want to come out at all. I don’t think he took his helmet off until he got to the locker room. He kept hoping he was going to get a chance to go back.”
Newcomer DL Michael Bennett: “He lined up at about every position you could put a D-lineman. He’s more than what we thought he was.”
LT Paul McQuistan, replacing injured Russell Okung: “He did better. He had no breakdowns to speak of.”
Rookie OTs Alvin Bailey and Michael Bowie: “Both guys came off the ball really well. They did fine in pass protection, a little raggedy at times in their sets. But they showed they had the ability to play.”
Golden Tate as a punt returner: “He’s a tremendous catcher. I really trust him. I think every one of us thought that any one of those (returns) could have popped. I think we started two drives after punt returns inside the 50. That’s huge.”
On the passing game that featured tight ends catching nine passes — rookie Luke Willson (5), veterans Zach Miller (2, both for TDs) and Kellen Davis (2): “I think we took advantage of everybody. The whole group contributed. We’re really pleased with what’s going on.”
On the defense’s disappointment in giving up 17 points: “That does show you were their heads are at. But it’s not really as important as how we’re playing.”
Backup QB Tarvaris Jackson, who had a perfect QB rating (158.3) as he did in a preseason game: “That was as high as you can get. That’s a great acknowledgement for us and for him.”
Health: DE Red Bryant left the game early with back spasms, but was forecasted to be ready Sunday. WR Jermaine Kearse, who sprained his left ankle, was out of a protective boot at practice Monday. RT Breno Giacomini has a sore knee, and came out early Sunday. LB Malcolm Smith (hamstring) should return.
Roster: The Seahawks signed OT Caylin Hauptmann from the Cleveland Browns practice squad to fill a roster spot when Okung was placed on the injured reserve/designated to return list with a torn ligament in his right big toe. He’ll be out a minimum of eight weeks. Hauptmann was an undrafted rookie free agent who signed with the Browns April 27. In college, he started all 37 games played at left tackle for Florida International.
1 Comment
Pete has a lot of reasons to be happy. The Hawks have more wins right now than all of last years NFC playoff teams combined!