Pete Carroll Says Teams Focus is Now On Starters and Regulars

With  just over  two weeks before the Seahawk’s home opener against  the Denver  Broncos on September 12th  the Seahawk’s practice focus has shifted to having intentionality and purpose from the rookies to the projected starters

“The focus really shifts to the starters and the guys that we are counting on and are doing a lot of playing. We’ve been developing guys throughout and working with them in making sure that we know who we have and making it competitive and all that. And the starters have been getting reps, but the focus goes directly to the guys who are going to do all the playing. So, the scripts and the preparation of the practice and design is to make sure they are ready to go now. So, that’s the clear shift for us.”

TAKING TIME TO EVALUATE THE QB POSITION

With that shift to the starters not understanding the playbook but also becoming familiar with each other’s tendencies to get things right. One position battle Carroll said he will not rush his at the quarterback position. The team’s preseason plans to have a full-on battle between Geno Smith and Drew Lock were going according to plan until Lock contracted COVID-19 before last week’s preseason game against the Bears.

Lock was scheduled to be the starter for the game.  Smith played the first half and Eason played the third and fourth quarter.

Eason’s first day at practice was Sunday and Carroll gave a wait-and-see answer when asked about how and when he intends to name a starter.

“I don’t think there’s any ‘date’ pressure on me at all in that regard. I think you’re right on that. I’m going to take the time it takes to figure out and make sure we have all the information that we need. I can’t wait to see what happens in this game. Geno’s done a good job and Geno needs a little more help from some guys, they got to be able to catch the football a little better but he’s handled it well. You’ve got to go back like three days he had three drives with two touchdown drives. He’s put some stuff on the resume out there and so we’ll see what happens this week. And we do have really good weeks of practice coming up. This week is a great one, next week is a great one and the one after is a great one so we’ll use all of that if we need it.”

“The plan has been adjusted. I’ll talk to you more about it later in the week or I won’t. I’m not sure.”

The Seahawk’s last preseason game will be this Friday at  Dallas. After that game, the team will have two weeks before the Monday night opener against the Russell Wilson-led Broncos on September 12^th.

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OTHER QUOTES FROM CARROLLS’S SUNDAY PRESS CONFERENCE

(On what he saw from Abraham Lucas on film from the Bears game)

“Abe (Lucas) did a really good job, he played really good football. Let me go back for a second, one of the things that I wanted to note, I don’t know if you guys realized it, but early in that game, Charles (Cross) ended up going against Robert Quinn, he didn’t even know who he was. I asked him after the game and he said, ‘I found out after the game, I didn’t know who he was.’ I didn’t make sense of it or whatever. He really did well against a great player and Quinn was going after it too. It might not be his all-time effort, but he was trying to get to the quarterback. I was really happy to see that accomplishment, even though I don’t really think Charles cashed in on it. Back to Abe, I thought that Abe played a really good ball game.

 Abe has shown in the running game, one of the big questions coming off of the team that he came from and the philosophy that he came from, he’s getting off of the ball and playing the running game well. He has been particularly effective on the backside and he has some really stellar blocks. He is not having any trouble making this transition. He’s deep into the competition of it, so I’m really fired up about that.”

(On the status of Damien Lewis)

“Only that it is kind of a basketball ankle sprain, so that is a really positive thing. It’s the swelling that he has to deal with. There are no torn ligaments or any of that stuff, so it doesn’t mean that he is immediately popping back, but it’s not going to be a long time. It’s like not a high ankle sprain that linger forever.”

(On Phil Haynes)

“Phil (Haynes) has felt like a starter, and he looks like it. His ability to bounce around and play on both sides is really helpful to us. He’s a stud of a kid, he’s strong, he’s smart, loves to play, practices great, and does everything that you want. This is a good chance for Phil, this is a really good chance for him.”

(On Bo Melton)

“He’s really explosive. He has played with really good speed, you could see it and feel it. The play that he had, it must have been the Pittsburgh game where he caught the ball in the flat and turned up and made 30 or 40 or whatever it was. That showed elusiveness, speed, burst, and confidence as well. He needs to settle in. He’s doing a lot of things, he’s played a lot of football already, and like I said, in a lot of situations. He’s doing well and just like we have been saying about this draft class, we are really pleased with this whole group.”

(On the last day of having fans at training camp)

 “It’s great just to have the connection with them. They did great at the stadium the other night. I wish we could have played better for them, but we will and this game coming up and the opener are going to be enormous, and we are going to really need them. It should be a great celebration for all of us.”

(On how Ken Walker III is doing following procedure)

 “He’s still pretty tender. I was with him today and he’s got some things to heal. So, it’s just a matter of time, but we don’t have a designated sequence yet. We’ll have to see how he responds.”