5 questions with the opponent beat author

Recording with Gregg Bell, who covers the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News-Tribune (and author of the Raiders beat for the 2002-2005 Sacramento Bee):

1) The Seahawks had 32 runs for 190 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. Have they finally figured out how to handle the ball with some consistency in the absence of Marshawn Lynch and is it the secret to making the most of quarterback Russell Wilson?

Bell: Yes. It was too late, but twice before, Pete Carroll and the new offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, did what they had promised since Carroll had sacked the appellant Darrell Bevell and coach Tom Cable line in January. . They run constantly. The Seattle offense averaged 19 yards with 69 yards per game in the first two games in Denver and Chicago. The return of Chris Carson was fundamentally ignored in games one and two; he never had the ball after the 11:51 mark of the second quarter on September 16 against the Bears. It was that night that Seattle did not attempt a descent between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth.

Russell Wilson was sacked 12 times at the top of the NFL in his first two games. The Seahawks lost both. Wilson started reporting hamstring injuries, but he did not miss a workout.

Against Dallas, Arizona and the Los Angeles Ram, the Seahawks averaged 36 rushes per game, almost double their win in the first two games. Their ground production has more than doubled in the last three games, reaching 158 yards per week.

There you go! The first two wins of the season, and a 33-31 loss to the undefeated Rams that the Seahawks felt that they should have won.

This is the first time since 2012 that the Seahawks have registered 100-yard defensemen in three consecutive games. Lynch totaled 100 yards in four consecutive games shortly after arriving in Seattle in a Buffalo exchange during this season. He rushed for 100 games in five consecutive games later this '12 season, through the Seahawks' first playoff game this season.

So expect Carson and Mike Davis to run more than Wilson throws in London. That is, if this trip is going according to Seahawks plans.

2) In dismissing the last possession, the Rams had four touchdowns and two shots in nine possessions against Seattle. To what extent does this testify to the quality of the Rams and the Seahawks' poverty in terms of defense?

Bell: The Rams are the best team and will attack the Seahawks – and almost all teams – will face this season. But the Seahawks' defense is barely recognizable. He went from "Are you crazy, brother?" To "Who are you still, my brother?" waaaaaay quieter without Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, it's Seattle's least experienced and most talented defense since Carroll's line-up on players' arrival when he arrived in 2010 and 2011. It's Bobby Wagner and 10 guys outside the Pacific Northwest have barely heard of the Seahawks' defense. Linebacker K.J. Wright has yet to play this season after arthroscopic knee surgery in late August. The Seahawks started remarkable first-hand rookie Shaquem Griffin in Wright's first game, but Griffin tried to play every game and lacked discipline in his catch. He has not played since. The Seahawks tried linebacker Austin Calitro as Wright's second replacement, Calitro having never played in linebacker before last month. They even tried Mychal Kendricks for a few games, knowing that the NFL was about to suspend him to trade insiders (the league did it last week). If Wright does not play again against the Raiders, expect Seattle to do what he did against the Rams last weekend: playing nickel almost all the time to eliminate the need for a third runner-up. .

Count Thomas's broken leg means that Tedric Thompson is the target of any offense safely. He made his career debut against the Rams, and L.A. took it well. Shaquill Griffin was tough as a left-back halfback (replacing Sherman). He went from where he started last season as a rookie. Rookie right cornerback Tre Flowers was a college security that the Seahawks converted this summer. Derek Carr will also target the Flowers. Everybody has.

The biggest problem of defense: do not rush. Negotiating Bennett and Cliff Avril means that Frank Clark (22 sacks of the last three seasons) is the only proven pass. The Seahawks then inexplicably drew a half-half in the first round, which is currently the third channel and has nothing to break the weekend against the Rams (Rashaad Penny) instead of a top defender. range this spring. So it's Dion Jordan, Jefferson Quinton, Jarran Reed – that's what Seattle has for hickory. Block Clark, and the Raiders will have time to throw. But Clark was great. He is in a contract year. Very motivated.

3) Lynch, Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman and now Earl Thomas were huge personalities who played a key role in a series of successes. They are all gone. A transition was inevitable, both in terms of talent and leadership. How would you rate this process?

Bell: The Seahawks are essentially taking up defense, centered on Wagner. Wagner and Wright are the leaders. The other advocates are so new to the franchise that they hardly know what Wagner and Wright have accomplished in Seattle. Losing Thomas is not a big loss in terms of leadership; he was not a rah-rah guy and was largely kept for himself, an individual in many ways. Unlike Sherman, Bennett, Chancellor and Lynch, this team has many new players for whom Carroll's "all-in-one" mantras are still in the news. As shown by all the points and margins allocated to the Broncos, Bear and Rams (OK, not so shameful), it is a work in progress that will take years to regularize, as it did it from 2010-12 with the Legion. of Boom and the foundation for the Super Bowl teams.

4) This concerns the previous question. Wilson does great things every week in the Seattle area community, but how do you think he's seen in the locker room and is he now "his" team?