The Pete Carroll Show: Seahawks played complete game vs. 49ers

For all that has been made about the Seahawks’ inability to finish games this season, they hadn’t started them all that well at times, either.

The Seahawks did both on Sunday, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions and another in the fourth quarter before slamming the door on San Francisco. In between, they went 2 for 3 in the red zone and 8 for 14 on third down (including one kneel-down), showing significant improvement in two areas in which their offense has struggled.

It all added up to a 29-13 win that coach Pete Carroll agreed was Seattle’s most complete game of the season.

“We were on it from start to finish,” he said. “Really liked the play up front on both sides of the ball. Just the whole day was great.”

Below are some more notes from “The Pete Carroll Show” on 710 ESPN Seattle, which you can listen to here:

Praise for the O-line. Carroll gave Seattle’s offensive line its due for what might have been the team’s best offensive performance of the season. He said the fact that Thomas Rawls averaged 4 yards before contact en route to 209 on the ground was indicative of good run-blocking and also noted that the Seahawks allowed only two sacks on Sunday, bringing their total over the last three games to four. Carroll: “It was a really good day by the guys up front … We really came off the ball really well and protected well and did the kind of job we’ve been counting on. It’s been coming. So this is a really good step. You look at the sack numbers in the last three or four games, we’re going in the right direction now and we have a chance to really make some noise here and we want to go for it and see if we can keep it going.”

Clock mis-management. Carroll said Seattle’s defense played “really good” despite some miscues. He noted that the Seahawks dropped two interceptions and also had a chance to recover a fumble. Seattle’s season-long struggles against tight ends continued, particularly on the drive late in the second quarter that resulted in San Francisco’s only touchdown. But Carroll took some of the responsibility for that score, saying he erred in calling a timeout with the 49ers facing third-and-7 from their own 30-yard line with just over a minute left. San Francisco scored six plays later. Carroll: “They were going to sit on it and I took a timeout to get the ball back and kinda tried a little too hard. I think that took a little but of wind out of our sails and gave them a little bit of confidence, too. We really had them where they were fighting in pretty hard.”

Benching Williams. Carroll again characterized the decision to bench Cary Williams as an opportunity to see how DeShawn Shead would fare at cornerback. “OK” was the word he used to describe how Shead played after replacing Williams late in the third quarter. Carroll’s comments indicated that the move wasn’t necessarily permanent, saying: “We’re going to go right back to competing this week and see how it turns out.” He also indicated that Jeremy Lane could factor into the mix at cornerback, even though he has primarily played in the slot. Carroll said Lane has a “really, really good chance” to make his 2015 debut on Sunday.

More injury updates. Carroll said guards J.R. Sweezy and Justin Britt appear to be fine after sustaining stingers that briefly knocked them out of Sunday’s game. He said the early indications are positive with wide receiver Doug Baldwin and center Patrick Lewis, who both injured their ankles (Baldwin said after the game that he expects to be fine). Carroll wasn’t as optimistic about wide receiver Paul Richardson, who didn’t play because of a hamstring injury. From the sounds of it, Richardson likely won’t be available this week. Carroll: “That’s probably going to be really challenging. We’ve got to see. He did not run full speed last week at all; he just jogged. So we’ll see what happens. He’s going to have to make progress. This is almost always a two-week deal with (hamstrings) at best, so we’ve got to see what happens.”

Related

Manchester United nearing deal to hire USMNT coach Mauricio PochettinoFinnish native Aho scores twice as Hurricanes top Kraken 4-1 in HelsinkiSalk: Some players linked to Mariners are exciting, others aren’tUSWNT, Seattle Reign legend Megan Rapinoe elected to National Soccer Hall of FameSeahawks sign former Bengals guard to practice squadMorosi: What Mariners are looking to add to bullpen