Seahawks notebook: No. 1 offense stalls in mock game
Aug 2, 2013, 6:20 PM | Updated: Aug 7, 2013, 12:17 pm
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By Danny O’Neil
RENTON – The day started rough for Seattle’s first-unit offense, which produced three punts and a fumble on its first four possessions of Friday’s simulated game.
It didn’t end all that much better as its final two possessions didn’t cross midfield, its last play from scrimmage whistled dead as cornerback Walter Thurmond came unblocked on a blitz to touch quarterback Russell Wilson down.
That opened the door for Brady Quinn to guide a game-winning drive in the final minute, throwing a pair of completions to Phil Bates to set up a 45-yard field goal on the final play as Seattle’s second-unit offense outscored the starters 13-10 in the two quarters worth of play.
Not that coach Pete Carroll was counting or anything.
“The whole idea today was just to put them in situations and kind of test them,” Carroll said. “I was really disappointed. We were real sloppy at the line of scrimmage today.”
The rain had something to do with that and center Max Unger and Wilson botched a couple of exchanges.
Camp Carroll: Day 9 (Simulated Game 1)
| Gear: | Helmets, full pads |
| Duration: | 1 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. |
| DNP: | LB Bobby Wagner (shoulder), DE Cliff Avril (hamstring), CB Jeremy Lane (foot), CB Ron Parker (hamstring), TE Michael Palmer (groin), TE Darren Fells (hamstring), DT Michael Brooks (undisclosed), LB Kyle Knox (undisclosed), K Carson Wiggs, WR Doug Baldwin, S Kam Chancellor. | PUP: | WR Percy Harvin, TE Zach Miller, DE Chris Clemons, DL Greg Scruggs, CB Tharold Simon, RB Robert Turbin. | Non-football Injury list: | LB Korey Toomer. | Quoteworthy: | “It was a solid practice,” QB Russell Wilson said. “It wasn’t our best one, but it was a good one. There’s some things in there we always have to improve on and that’s the great part about practice. You get to improve on it.” | Interviews: | Chancellor and Carpenter |
The highlight came at the end of the period when Wilson kicked the 2-minute offense into gear with a long pass to receiver Bryan Walters and culminated that with a pass to a sliding Luke Willson for a touchdown.
“Luke Willson is doing a great job of understanding where he needs to be at the right time,” Wilson said of the rookie tight end. “He has a great sense of looking for the ball. He has unbelievable hands and a lot of speed.”
He’s also relatively healthy, which stands in stark contrast to many of Seattle’s other eligible receivers. The Seahawks had as many tight ends watching practice as participating this week, and there are plenty of receivers sidelined, too. Percy Harvin is out after undergoing hip surgery this week while Sidney Rice and Doug Baldwin each sat out Friday’s simulated game.
The shortage prompted Seattle to add a receiver Friday, agreeing to terms with Early Doucet, who has played the last five seasons in Arizona. The team waived defensive end Kenneth Boatright to make room, designating him as injured in the transaction. He has been out with an arm in a sling.
Doucet appeared to take a step forward in 2011 when he caught 54 passes, including five for touchdowns. He didn’t score last season, and was released by Arizona in March as the Cardinals opted against paying his $1.95 million salary given an extensive history of injuries.
Is Carroll worried about running out of healthy pass catchers?
“It kind of looks like it,” he said, “but they’re all on the way back so we’re not real worried about it.”
Rice returns
Seattle’s receiver traveled more than 10,000 miles and spent two nights in Switzerland for what turned out to be a 20-minute procedure as he received a platelet-rich plasma injection to help treat the patella tendinitis that has bothered him.
“I’ve been having a sore knee for quite a while now,” Rice said.
The results aren’t immediate, but Rice is hoping for some help staying on the field after he played a full 16-game schedule in 2012 for the second time in his NFL career.
“It will take a couple of weeks to really start noticing a significant change,” Rice said. “I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing with the trainers.”
Notes
• Seattle didn’t have much room in the running game Friday, the line of scrimmage bottled up pretty well.
• Paul McQuistan and J.R. Sweezy were the starting guards in the first-unit offense.
• Rookie DT Jesse Williams was back after missing three of the previous five practices with a sore knee.
• WR Doug Baldwin was sore and sat out Friday’s simulated game, but Carroll said the team had been planning to give him time off next week and just moved it up a few days to provide him with a break.
• S Winston Guy didn’t earn any friends when he undercut 6-foot-5 WR Stephen Williams during one practice sequence before the simulated game. Williams was flipped ankles over his head, and he had to be tended to by trainers. He was able to participate in the simulated game, but Carroll was not pleased with Guy’s hit during the drill, saying it shouldn’t have happened.
