DANNY ONEIL

What We’re Still Trying to Figure Out: Richard Sherman’s health and Eddie Lacy’s future with Seahawks

Sep 19, 2017, 8:11 AM | Updated: 9:50 am

Richard Sherman can play through injury, but his effectiveness is worth watching. (AP)...

Richard Sherman can play through injury, but his effectiveness is worth watching. (AP)

(AP)

The Seahawks have scored the same number of touchdowns through two games as they had a year ago.

Of course, Russell Wilson is healthy this time, and it’s not like last year is something the Seahawks are trying to emulate in terms of success.

What We Learned: O’Neil on Seahawks’ 12-9 win over 49ers

But while the difficulties of the offense are a big-picture concern, there are some more specific questions that have us scratching our head.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. How much of a concern is Richard Sherman’s hamstring?

This isn’t a question about Sherman’s availability. He hasn’t missed a game in an NFL career that’s now in its seventh season, and his string of 92 consecutive regular-season starts is the longest active streak for any player on Seattle’s roster. His toughness and desire to play through an injury are unquestioned. But after missing two practices last week because of a hamstring injury, Sherman wasn’t able to explode back toward the ball like he normally does when defending comeback routes. Now, he didn’t get beat deep so it’s not like he was a liability, but with another three games before Seattle’s bye, Sherman’s top-end speed is something that’s worth monitoring. More specifically, is Sherman’s hamstring going to heal while he continues to play on it?

2. What’s next for Eddie Lacy?

He was not active in his second game with the Seahawks, an ominous sign for the highest-paid running back on the team. The size of his one-year, $4.25 million contract doesn’t weigh into playing-time considerations, though, especially when you consider that Lacy doesn’t have a special-teams role. Lacy isn’t necessarily in danger of being released especially when you consider the injury history of C.J. Prosise and Thomas Rawls, but for now, he is on the outside looking in at a position where rookie Chris Carson has been the most effective and Rawls is just now ready for a full diet of carries. It might take an injury – or the ineffectiveness of one of the other three backs – to get Lacy back in uniform.

3. Should we be worried about the place kicker?

Give Blair Walsh credit: His point-after try wasn’t lacking for power. The goalposts in the south end zone were still wobbling a full 60 seconds after his kick hit squarely off an upright and ricocheted backward. Walsh was 9 of 11 on field-goal attempts in the preseason though a third miss was wiped out by a defensive penalty. Extra-point attempts were a problem for Walsh last year, too. Of the eight kicks he missed before the Vikings let him go, four were point-after tries. Walsh has converted all five field-goal attempts of the regular season. In fact, all five have been fairly dead center, but the missed extra point against San Francisco gave the 49ers a much easier out in the final half of the fourth quarter. San Francisco needed only a field goal to tie rather than having to reach the end zone. It didn’t turn out to matter, but still, it was worrisome and something to keep an eye on.

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What We’re Still Trying to Figure Out: Richard Sherman’s health and Eddie Lacy’s future with Seahawks