Tom Cable: Seahawks’ linemen ‘a little rusty’ in returns
Nov 19, 2013, 10:41 AM | Updated: 11:10 am
By Brent Stecker
Wide receiver Percy Harvin’s first action in a Seahawks uniform stole a lot of the attention from Sunday’s 41-20 win over Minnesota, but there were other big returns that impacted Seattle’s play as it improved to 10-1.
 Sunday’s game against Minnesota was the first time since Week 2 that Seattle had its entire offensive line healthy. (AP) |
For the first time since Week 2, the Seahawks played with left tackle Russell Okung, right tackle Breno Giacomini and center Max Unger all healthy, and as a result quarterback Russell Wilson was only sacked once.
Offensive-line coach Tom Cable joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Wyman, Mike and Moore” on Monday, and said he was clearly happy to have all his pieces healthy on the line.
“It was a big relief. It was a lot of excitement to get those guys back,” Cable said. “(They were) a little rusty in some regards yesterday, but in other areas you could tell they were back, so it was cool.”
Unger has missed significantly less time than Okung and Giacomini this season, so the Seahawks were especially glad to see their starting tackles back. But even though Okung is a former Pro Bowler, Cable thought Giacomini was more impressive in his return.
More coverage of Seattle’s Week-11 victory over the Vikings at CenturyLink Field.
| • Recap | Stats | Photos | Postgame interviews | • O’Neil: What We Learned | • O’Neil: Less is more for Wilson, Seahawks | • Henderson: Harvin shines in Seahawks debut | • Wyman: The Percy Harvin Effect | • Pete Carroll: 10-1 Seahawks only getting better |
“He surprised me. Out of the two of them, he was the cleanest,” Cable said. “He was probably the most physical in regards to finishing and the cut blocks and all that. (He) did a really nice job in a lot of areas. (He) still had some things you could tell he’d been away for a while, but for the first time back in seven weeks, he was pretty good.”
But even back at full strength and in a dominant win, the Seahawks rushed for just 93 yards against the Vikings, a number Cable would like to see them improve upon.
“Our belief is it’s not a pretty run game, it’s a physical run game, and so yesterday we really kind of missed on my expectations,” he said. “It was kind of an ugly 93 yards, and when you look at the tape today you say, ‘Man, did we leave 100 yards out there or what?’ just from not being very clean, and I think a lot of that has to do with putting new guys back in and that issue of being in-sync. But protection-wise, much better. It looked like what you wanted.”
