Seahawks notebook: Who would be next up with Carson and McDougald nursing injuries
Nov 7, 2018, 2:34 PM | Updated: 2:51 pm
Seahawks RB Chris Carson sat out Week 10 with a hip injury. (AP)
(AP)
In his Wednesday press conference, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll offered a few injury updates and previewed Seattle’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Rams.
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Here are a few quick notes:
Rest days for McDougald, Carson and Fluker
Three Seahawks starters came out of Sunday’s loss to the Chargers with injuries: safety Bradley McDougald (knee), running back Chris Carson (hip), and right guard D.J. Fluker (calf).
All three players were held out of practice Wednesday. It’s still too early for the team to declare either player out – Carroll will have a final press conference Friday and the team could make a decision as late as Sunday – but there are other players the team can turn to if Carson, Fluker and McDougald are unable to play.
Second-year safety Delano Hill is the top candidate to start in McDougald’s place should the veteran be unable to play. He filled in for McDougald during the second half of Sunday’s game.
“He’s a really talented athlete,” Carroll said of Hill. “He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s a cover guy, he’s a good hitter. All of that. That hasn’t showed up as much as it did so obviously last week to us in the plays that he had. So with the opportunity again starting out the week (with the starters), it gives him another turnaround to come back and build on that. We’re confident he can do a nice job for us. He’s certainly physical and ready to make the plays that we’re calling on.”
Mike Davis would be the presumed starter if Carson is unable to play against the Rams. Davis took over the starting role when Carson was inactive in a Week 4 game against the Cardinals and finished the night with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. First-round rookie running back Rashaad Penny is another candidate, but there’s another veteran whom Carroll says could see time: C.J. Prosise.
“Yes, C.J. is ready to go,” Carroll said. “He’s dying to play, he’s frustrated by not being able to play. He’s healthy and he’s talented. It’s just a matter of getting the slots right so that we can get him on the field on game day. But really, I love what C.J. can do. We feel like we have a lot of depth and we’re not dependent on just one guy playing. We love the way Chris has played but we’ve got other guys that can go, too.”
Looking ahead toward the Rams
“You can’t give these guys anything,” Carroll said of the Seahawks’ upcoming opponent, the 8-1 Los Angeles Rams. “You have to take everything, and everything’s important. Every aspect of it… there’s no room for error.”
The Rams (8-1) were dealt their first loss of the season last Sunday, falling 45-35 to the New Orleans Saints (7-1). The loss pushed the NFC South-leading Saints ahead of the Rams in ESPN’s NFL power rankings and dropped Los Angeles to No. 3.
Still, just about everything else about this team is trending upward.
Los Angeles has a four-game lead for first place in the NFC West and are a virtual lock to make the playoffs. With 2,816 yards through nine weeks, Rams quarterback Jared Goff ranks only behind the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (2,901) in passing yard leaders. He also ranks in the top five in touchdowns (20), quarterback rating (112.9) and yards per game (313).
Despite that, Goff isn’t even the team’s most productive player in 2018. On the offensive side of the ball, that would be running back Todd Gurley, who leads the league with 868 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
If there is a weakness for this team, it’s on defense – even then, they’re still pretty good.
ESPN Rams reporter Lindsey Thiry wrote about the Rams defense coming off its worst performance of the season, a game that saw them give up 45 points and 487 yards of offense to the Saints. Thiry notes a few key stats here, including that the Rams are allowing the 14th-most passing yards per game and 13th-most rushing yards per game.
When the Seahawks faced the Rams at home earlier this season, Seattle finished with 373 net yards, including 190 rushing yards – their most rushing yards of the season, and their second-highest net yardage.
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