Seahawks practice “much cleaner” on Friday

By Liz Mathews

Head coach Pete Carroll spoke to the media after practice on Friday and broke down the first week of training camp, providing roster and injury updates.

“To get the cloud cover for these guys, it was a great day for the players,” said Carroll. “They really responded. We came back and had a very good second day with the whole club. They’re out there making some progress.”

Carroll explained that the team was “much cleaner” on Friday after a rough start on Thursday, the first practice with the entire roster on the field.

“It’s exciting for all of us to kind of see our guys emerge — players that we have expectations for are showing up and doing things,” Carroll continued, pointing specifically to wide receiver Sidney Rice, quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and running backs Leon Washington and Marshawn Lynch as offensive players who stood out at practice.

Regarding the defense, Carroll said that the squad had a hard day on Thursday and may need a few days to iron out the wrinkles. “We wore them out pretty good and didn’t get to see as much as we would like to have from the fellas,” Carroll explained. “So give us a couple days to kind of sort it out. We’ll have a better picture of it tomorrow.”

Carroll said that the coaching staff is still trying to determine exactly where everyone fits, but feels that with defensive end Raheem Brock re-signing to a one-year deal, the team now has a “pretty complete group.”

“We’ve got to fit it together and figure out the roles these guys will play — the pass rushers and stuff like that,” said Carroll. “But it’s good to see Brandon (Mebane) playing on the nose (tackle position). He really looks like a factor there — I wish we would have done more of it last year because I have more information now, but he looks good.”

Carroll also said that he hoped to have DE Red Bryant back on the field within a matter of days, but that his weight was up and he hasn’t been able to work out as much as the team would like. DE Dexter Davis is also expected to return to practice as soon as Saturday morning.

As for defensive tackle Colin Cole, “He’s still quite a ways away,” said Carroll. “Weeks before he’ll get back.”

It has yet to be determined whether Cole will be added to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list in the near future.

In other injury news, cornerback Walter Thurmond suffered a first-degree ankle sprain, but should return to practice in a couple of days. CB Roy Lewis, on the other hand, may be out yet for a number of weeks.

Wide receiver Ben Obomanu was excused from practice on both Thursday and Friday due to a death in the family.

“We’re running right now,” said Carroll of the overall feel of training camp. “We can’t see the finish line for next Thursday yet – I don’t know who’s going to be out there finishing for us.” Carroll said that he needs to make some assessments regarding who is ready and able to play and that he plans to take his time in doing so – he won’t rush into any major decisions.

“This is an unusual time frame where we have to see what it all means. I know what’s going to happen — these guys are going to be clamoring to play. They want to play football. So we’ve got to make some good decisions here by the end of the week and go up until about Wednesday, and we’ll see where it all fits.”

The Seahawks have their first preseason game next Thursday Aug. 11 against San Diego.