| Advertisement |
RENTON, Wash. -- Finding offensive consistency has been a mostly unattainable endeavor for the Seattle Seahawks through the first three games of the season. While they scored 21 second-half points against the Tennessee Titans and Russell Wilson finished the game with a career-high 373 passing yards last week, it was paired with five three-and-outs and no points on any of their first six possessions.
Advertisement
"I think the thing is just cleaning up our ball," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "We had a lot of things that were happening early in the game, whether it was the snap situations, we had a few snaps, we had some high throws, we had some communication (errors). All those things, if they're taking place one after another, we need to clean that up."
Seattle finally got its offense clicking on the final drive of the first half. Wilson hit two deep passes to Doug Baldwin and C.J. Prosise to move into Tennessee territory.
A 4-yard touchdown pass to Baldwin gave Seattle a brief lead before a Titans field goal gave Tennessee the advantage at halftime.
They followed it up with a nine-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Carson. The drive was mixed with 21 yards rushing and 54 yards passing as Seattle executed its most efficient scoring drive of the season.
"That's the best drive this year," Bevell said. "That was Seahawk ball. That's what we would like it to look like. That's how we want to play ball, there was nice run/pass mix. Obviously, we were able to get in the end zone. That's what we feel like our offense should look like."
Wilson completed 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. He had misfired on a few throws in the first half and missed throws that were available as well.
"He locked in like we have seen him do so many times before," head coach Pete Carroll said. "And early on, it just wasn't happening. He wasn't as sharp as we hoped, as he had hoped also. But once he got going, he was just focused so well and was communicating the best and communicating non-verbally with the routes and the throws he was making."
The Seahawks are hopeful that they can capture the success of the second half more regularly moving forward.
"We got a lot of encouragement from it because of how successful we were," wide receiver Paul Richardson said. "We've just got to get the ball rolling sooner, if anything. We're just proving what we already know, that we're capable of doing it. We've just got to turn on that switch sooner, start putting points up sooner because it will make everyone's jobs easier."
Richardson believes that success is easily within reach.
"Very close," he said. "Watch the second half. You don't even got to know football to see that. We're close. We're there, but we got to get tired of being close and we got to start making it happen. And it's on us, it's in our control and we can do that."
SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular-season meeting. Colts lead series, 7-4. Colts have not played in Seattle since 2005, a 28-13 Seahawks victory. Colts have won three of the last four meetings.
--
The Seahawks are steadfast in their belief they can fix the issues they've experienced the last two weeks in stopping opposing rushing attacks.
Seattle ranks 30th in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season in rushing yards allowed with an average of 146 yards per game. Only the Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants have yielded more yards on the ground through the opening three weeks of the year. The Seahawks have allowed over 100 yards rushing per game on the ground since the 2013 season.
"It's very uncharacteristic of us," defensive end Cliff Avril said. "The biggest thing out of all of it is it's us, not them. It's things that can be corrected."
The Titans gashed Seattle for 195 rushing yards Sunday in Nashville. DeMarco Murray broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run and Derrick Henry added a 25-yard run as well. Seattle had held the Titans to just 30 yards on 17 carries in the first half, but after the break Tennessee managed to create some space.
"Part of being disciplined is being able to do it all game long and not just three quarters or whatever the case may be. I think it's just discipline," Avril said.
Carlos Hyde had a 61-yard run and a 27-yard run against the Seahawks in Week 2. The common thread for Seattle is that they aren't being gashed consistently, but when they are getting beat it's for big, explosive plays.
"It's stuff we can fix," safety Kam Chancellor said. "It's self-inflicted problems. We can definitely fix it."
While giving up big plays certainly isn't a positive, it's a better indication than if the team was hemorrhaging yards snap after snap.
"I think all of it is terrible but, yeah, I agree," Avril said. "It just shows you how disciplined you have to be in this game."
--
In an all but too familiar an occurrence, the Seahawks could be without running back C.J. Prosise against the Colts on Sunday.
Prosise injured his right ankle late in the third quarter of last week's game against the Tennessee Titans. He did not practice on Wednesday and his status for the week remains uncertain.
As a rookie last season, Prosise appeared in just six games due to multiple injuries. He had a hip flexor issue in OTAs, a hamstring strain in the preseason, a broken wrist bone in Week 1 and fractured his scapula in Week 11, ending his season.
Prosise also missed time this preseason before returning in time for the start of the regular season.
"Well I was excited that he made it three (weeks)," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "That was probably the most that we've had him.
"He's such a special talent and he does a lot of great things for us so it's definitely a blow to you when you lose a guy like that but obviously somebody that maybe you can't count on all the time and we haven't been able to have that."
If Prosise can't play Sunday, J.D. McKissic will likely take his role in the game. McKissic played running back and wide receiver in the preseason for Seattle and gives the team an option in the same mold to turn to.
"He has a real wide breadth of ability and he has looked really good when we have used him, so if C.J. isn't able to go, we will see more of him," head coach Pete Carroll said.
NOTES: TE Jimmy Graham did not practice for a second straight day. Graham sustained an ankle injury in Sunday's game against the 49ers. Head coach Pete Carroll said Graham believes he has a chance to play, but his status won't be known until late in the week. ... CB Neiko Thorpe did not practice on Wednesday due to an ankle injury that forced him to miss last week's game against the Titans. ... LG Luke Joeckel did not practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. He missed last week's Wednesday practice with the same issue before playing the entire game against the Titans. It could become a weekly ritual as Joeckel returns from an ACL tear suffered last season. ... WR Doug Baldwin did not practice on Wednesday and his status is uncertain for Sunday's game against the Colts due to a groin injury. Baldwin said he should be on the field and is planning on playing. ... LB D.J. Alexander did not practice on Wednesday. Alexander missed last week's game against the Titans due to a hamstring injury. ... FS Earl Thomas did not practice on Wednesday due to a knee injury. He was not mentioned during head coach Pete Carroll's press conference and it could easily be a de facto maintenance day for the veteran safety. ... CB Richard Sherman did not practice on Wednesday due to an Achilles injury. He played the entire game against Tennessee and it appears to be a routine weekly day off. ... DE Frank Clark was limited in practice on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury. Clark cramped up in his hamstring chasing Rishard Matthews' 55-yard touchdown last week in Tennessee. He was limited the remainder of the game.
