By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love , DeMarcus Lawrence and Josh Jones will miss Buccaneers game

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wasted no time and went straight to his team’s injury report for the Sunday game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Spoon’s (Devon Witherspoon) out, Julian’s (Love) out. D-Law’s (DeMarcus Lawerence) out. Josh Jones is out. Those are the guys that are out, everybody else is either some form of not out at this point, “said Macdonald. Of all the head coach tasks, relaying the injury report to  the media is loathsome for the second-year head coach.  Macdonald’s consternation is not with the media , it’s having to interpret medical jargon. “They just tell me what it is. I’m not in there examining them. I’m literally just a news reporter when it comes to injuries.”

SPIRITED COMPETITION

What Macdonald does know is how to breed healthy, spirited competition within his players. Sunday’s game will not be the first time the Seahawks will be without Love, and Witherspoon. Ty Okada started for Love in the  Saints game due to a hamstring injury. Okada played every snap in the Seahawks’ 44-13 win. Witherspoon missed the Steelers and Saints games and returned for the Arizona game, playing all 67 defensive snaps. Love also played every defensive snap in the Arizona game.  The Seahawks were given a double dose of bad news when the two players reinjured themselves.

DEFENSIVE LINE DEPTH AND ROTATION

Sunday will be the first game Lawrence has missed this season.   Lawrence’s absence will create some playing time for Mike Morris and Jared Ivey. Two players from Macdonald’s are to contribute on Sunday.

“Mike (Morris) does a great job for us on special teams right now. Jared (Ivey) is competing for more of a role in special teams. Both guys have a similar build, so how we deploy them would be similar. Both can play on the edge, both can play on the interior and some of the things that we’re doing in rush inside. We expect physical C-gap dominance in the run game and then competing for snaps on pass downs. Both are doing a really good job, and got great competition, said Macdonald.


The play of  Leonard Williams,  Jarran Reed and Byron Murphy II has been exceptional in both the run and pass and will complement whoever fills in for Lawrence

OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW VALUE

Sunday will mark an excellent opportunity for cornerback Riq Woolen.  The loss of Witherspoon will see Woolen start at the one corner back position with  Josh  Jobe.  Woolen has been under fire for incurring a team-high six penalties in the team’s first four games.  The poor play by Woolen led to some speculation that he might be traded.  With Witherspoon out, Woolen has been given a new lease on life for the time being.

“It’s all about the process with Riq,” Macdonald said. “So, just been the same really with all of our guys. But that’s what we’re shooting for. He’s doing that right now. He’s doing it through the week, said Macdonald.

With  the spotlight shining brightly on him and trader rumours swirling Woolen has taken a pragmatic approach.

“Honestly, as long as I’m able to play, that’s all I’m looking forward to,” he said. “The coaches trust in me to do what I’m supposed to do, so I’ve just got to go out there and do the best with my opportunity and trust the process”

Another play who will be given an opportunity to shine on Sunday is rookie Nick Emmanwori. Sunday will be his first game after suffering an ankle injury in the season opener against the 49ers.

“Nick’s going to play in the game,” Macdonald said. “How he plays, how much, all that, we’ll see how the game goes. We had a big plan for him the first week, sometimes you’ve got to make adjustments as it goes. But we’ve got an initial plan.”

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