Watch at the Seahawks' home game against the Dallas Cowboys

QB Russell Wilson.

Do not think of this one. Wilson left for an early season in which a new offensive coordinator was put to use to soften his game and in which the changes around him mean that he counts more than ever on a constant force. But Wilson has had unusual moments so far – hitting two expensive sacks in Denver, the six pick that turned the match last Monday in Chicago – and still have to really look like his former identity for more than a few flashes here and there . Granted, he does not seem to get a lot of help – the opponents seem to keep the receivers in check without having to worry about Doug Baldwin and the game, as you may have heard, has not started yet. Although there is a lot of rebuke to do, Seattle can not win steadily without Wilson playing better than him. Earl Thomas, who mysteriously missed the practice session on Friday amid rumors that he was "protecting himself" and let the team know that disrespect was not forgotten. But if Thomas is unhappy behind the scenes, he has not shown it in game, and the big stage of a match against his favorite team that grows up can still bring out the best of him.

COACHING DECISION TO WATCH

Are they going to run the damn ball?

After a dead season spent talking about resuming the hasty attack – and coaching changes in that goal – Seattle ranks 29^e in both attempts (38) and yards on the floor (138) after two games. That Seattle is also 27^e in yards per carry (3.6) may explain in part why Seattle was not able to stick as much as it wished. But the Seahawks have also made some curious decisions about using Chris Carson (13 runs for 75 yards) and at one point they will just have to pass the ball to Carson and see what happens. Maybe it finally happens Sunday.

THE X FACTOR

Kris Richard's knowledge of the Seahawks.

Richard was Seattle's defensive coordinator for the past three seasons and a high school coach five years ago, before being fired last January as part of the Seahawks coaching purge. Now he is in Dallas, officially the defensive coach and the defensive games coordinator, but last week he was increasingly responsible for calling most of the defense in a 20-13 win against Giants. Richard obviously knows all there is to know about the Seahawks, whose offensive coordinator Scott Linehan – a graduate of Sunnyside and also a former assistant assistant and offensive coordinator – took advantage of this week. "He understands perfectly what they do in defense, their staff and their way of seeing things," Linehan told Dallas media about Richard. Richard was not made available to the media this week, apparently hoping any statement he would have to make about his sacking by the Seahawks would come Sunday.

WILD CARD PLAYER THAT COULD SURPRISE

Free security Tedric Thompson.

The Seahawks used a three-point defense defense for 12 weeks last week against the Bears. They partially mitigated the learning curve of linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who had arrived four days earlier. Kendricks left the pack in these sets, Bradley McDougald usually playing a linebacker position and Thomas generally evolving to play a solid safety with Thompson deep. While Kendricks now has another week in the system – even though he is deemed dubious by an ankle injury and could be replaced by Austin Calitro – Carroll said he liked the three-point look and hopes to see more . The Bears did not really manage to test Thompson. But it will be interesting to see if opponents – who now have a film like this – could try to target Thompson when they see the Seahawks go to that lineup. Thompson has played 23 times in two games this season and only 31 as an NFL player.

KEY STAT

9 and 12

That's the number of bags that the Cowboys have in two games – tied for second place in the NFL – and the number allowed by the Seahawks, the highest in the NFL. The Cowboys call their defensive front the Hot Boyz and he does not need to say the challenge they are going to pose for the Seahawks, especially for Demarcus Lawrence, who leads Dallas with two sacks. The Seahawks will also have a different pre-match with Joey Hunt expected to start in the middle for Justin Britt and J. R. Sweezy in the left guard for Ethan Pocic.

THE LAST WORD