Midseason Seahawks stock watch: Wilson up, Michael down
Nov 9, 2016, 6:00 AM | Updated: 8:41 am
Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes to Jimmy Graham Monday night and ran for another score. (AP)
(AP)
Although the Seahawks’ Monday night win over Buffalo was unusual, it put them in a great place at the halfway mark of the season.
At 5-2-1, the Seahawks are in position to win the NFC West and possibly get a No. 1 or No. 2 to seed in the playoffs. Their lead over Arizona is now two games as the Cardinals head into the toughest part of their schedule.
Let’s look at the stock of a few Seahawks at the midseason mark.
Stock up
QB Russell Wilson. When Wilson ran his 3-yard touchdown to answer the Bills’ touchdown on the first possession Monday night, it showed he’s getting better coming off his MCL and high-ankle sprains. The first thing for him to do was run straight ahead. Making cuts on a sprained MCL isn’t easy, but running straight ahead is the first step in recovery. Wilson had an 8-yard run Monday night, and that’s better than what he was able to do for about six games.
WR Tyler Lockett. He has regained his speed after recovering from his early-season PCL injury. He had a 13-yard run and a 43-yard kickoff return Monday night Like Wilson, Lockett hasn’t been able to make explosive plays in the first half of the season, but now he’s ready to bust out.
TE Jimmy Graham. Wow. What a performance Monday night. He jumped over a defender and made two one-handed catches four touchdowns. For the season, he has 38 catches for 545 yards. He’s on pace for a possible 1,000-yard season, which is incredible considering he’s coming off a torn patellar tendon.
LB Bobby Wagner. With the move to allow Wagner to blitz more frequently, he’s becoming one of the best linebackers in the game. On Monday night, he had 16 tackles, a half sack and three hits on quarterbacks. He’s having an All-Pro season.
DE Damontre Moore. Moore had 37 snaps against the Bills Monday night after being signed off the street to fill some of the void created by Michael Bennett’s knee injury. He had two tackles for losses and earned the respect of his new teammates
Stock down
RB Christine Michael. He deserves plenty of credit for getting the Seahawks’ running game though the first seven games. He had 446 yards on 107 carries this season, but his numbers have been slipping of late to a point he had only 1 yard on five carries Monday night. This comes at a time in which the Seahawks are trying to expand the role of rookie C.J. Prosise and are a week or two away from getting Thomas Rawls back on the field.
LB Kevin Pierre-Louis. Michael Morgan’s injury opened up the strong-side linebacker job. Pierre-Louis had a chance to claim it, but he sprained his ankle while making his first start. Brock Coyle now holds the job on run-stopping downs. Pierre-Louis only played special teams Monday night and didn’t have any defensive snaps.
RB Alex Collins. Time at running back is there to be claimed. With Rawls injured, Collins had been running with the second team behind Michael and Prosise. He’s had two games with only one carry. On Monday night, he had only one play and no carries. When Rawls returns, Collins will have three backs ahead of him.
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