SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Seahawks takeaways: Pete Carroll on Week 1 prep, Quinton Dunbar update

Sep 9, 2020, 4:13 PM

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll...

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll spoke about preparing for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. (Getty)

(Getty)

The Seahawks have just a few practices left before they travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in their opener for what is shaping up to be a very different season due to COVID-19-related restrictions.

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Head coach Pete Carroll, who is entering his 10th year with the Seahawks, spoke with reporters Wednesday about his team leading up to Week 1, including how much the buildup to the first game of the year is different than in previous years.

Here’s what stood out from Carroll’s media availability.

Getting ready for Week 1 with restrictions in place

If things had been normal this year, the Seahawks would have had four preseason games under their belts ahead of the upcoming matchup in Atlanta. Instead, there have been no preseason contests and the amount of practices were reduced, as well as the amount of practices with tackling.

Carroll said it’s always always a concern heading into Week 1, but this year it’s trickier without a preseason.

“You see some stuff in preseason and you kind of don’t trust it … this is just amplifying that and we’ve got to just wait and see,” he said.

What helps the Seahawks, especially on defense, is the level of familiarity with the Falcons’ key offensive players.

“We’ve got all of (last year’s film) and we’ve seen (quarterback) Matt Ryan for a long time, we know (running back) Todd Gurley, we know about (wide receiver) Julio (Jones),” Carroll said. “We know their guys, so it’s wait and see. And they’ve got to wait and see on us, too. We have to be ready to adapt and have to have really good communication to get that done and hopefully we’ll be able to stay ahead of it.”

Carroll has preached the idea of treating every game like a championship game since he arrived in Seattle in 2010, something that dates back to his days as head coach in college at USC where every game mattered due to potential rankings and seeding as it pertained to bowl games. That is on full display especially this year.

“Every game for us is a championship game here and we look at it the same way,” he said. “I’m glad to have that experience (at USC).”

As noted, the amount of live tackling has been reduced and limited this offseason, and Carroll said that was an issue he and the team did what they could to address.

“It’s a concern and that’s why we played in (CenturyLink Field) in the second mock game that we had just to make sure our guys had a chance to go full speed with tackling and all that,” he said. “It worked out fine, this is what we’ve done in the past and just watching out guys – and as a matter of fact, I went back and watched it last night. I just wanted to see the tempo again and see if it matched up to what was going to be necessary and I felt fine about it.”

CB Quinton Dunbar’s status

The Seahawks acquired cornerback Quinton Dunbar earlier this offseason with the hope that he would beat out Tre Flowers and become a starter opposite Pro Bowler Shaquill Griffin. After dealing with an armed robbery accusation that he ultimately wasn’t charged with, Dunbar arrived to camp and began practicing once he was removed from the NFL’s Commissioner’s Exempt List, which caused him to miss some practices.

Recently, Dunbar was away from the team for a funeral and had to undertake COVID-19 testing to get back to work. Carroll said Dunbar is “here and he’s ready to go full speed.”

When asked about Dunbar learning how the Seahawks operate defensively, Carroll said Dunbar is doing a good job despite the missed time.

“He’s a really bright kid and picking up the system has been nothing for him, it’s been really easy,” Carroll said. “He’s had good, competitive work but not as much as some other guys … He’s missed enough days that he hasn’t got them all and you can tell a little bit.”

Carroll hasn’t announced whether Flowers or Dunbar will start in Atlanta but made a comment that may pave the way for Dunbar getting on the field.

“Because of the savvy player that he is, the experience that he has, we would be comfortable if he was on the field playing for us.”

Familiar faces in a new place

The duo of Ryan and Jones has been making life hard for opposing defenses, including the Seahawks’ defense, since the two became teammates in 2011. The Falcons added two notable players to their offense this offseason, however, in Gurley, a former All-Pro, and tight end Hayden Hurst, a former first-round pick.

Carroll said Atlanta’s offense is tough to plan against.

“When you add Todd Gurley to your team, that can really affect the complexion and style of your play. He’s been a dominant player,” Carroll said. “Hayden Hurst is a really good player, too. They had a good tight end last year in (Austin) Hooper, but Hayden looks every bit the same and they add a really good element when you might have thought they lost something. And we’re seeing Matt Ryan.

“This is a really skilled, quality offensive football team to deal with and I know they’ll be fired up on defense, too. (Head coach Dan Quinn) will have them all jacked up, so it’s going to be a really tough matchup.”

You can watch Carroll’s full press conference at this link.

Follow 710Sports.com’s Brandon Gustafson on Twitter.

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