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The Pete Carroll Seahawks sat down most of their starters in two preseason losses. (Getty)
Pete Carroll didn’t face 27 of his players on Saturday against the Denver Broncos, one less than in Game 1 of the preseason, and the Seahawks paid the price.
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They have lost to the Broncos 30-3 and have been outscored 50-10 so far this preseason. Carroll has said he will face starters this Saturday in the preseason final against the Los Angeles Chargers, and that will be welcome.
Not playing starters has been the theme of this league-wide preseason. Last week, 522 players were absent. Believe it or not, the numbers have increased this week. Excluding Monday night’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars, 547 players were left out. Part of the increase this week was due to 16 teams having had joint training sessions and the coaches decided they were seeing enough to seat their starters.
As for the Seahawks’ performance on Saturday, they ran the ball more in the first half than in the first game. Alex Collins still looks like the head to be the backup running back. He runs well. Rashaad Penny had just eight yards on five carries on his preseason debut, while Josh Johnson showed some promise.
Even though he didn’t have a porterage, DeeJay Dallas was a star. His kickoff returns are quick and exciting. He did well on special teams and even blocked a punt. And you know how well he catches football, which was also factored in as he made three receptions for 27 yards.
The bad news for the Seahawks in the game was injuries. Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven and wide receiver John Ursua both lost their ACLs and are lost for the season.
Nick Bellore did a good job as a middle linebacker, but you have to wonder if the Seahawks could add another linebacker. Could they go for KJ Wright? Although he is an outside linebacker, he replaced the middle linebacker a bit over the course of his career. Could the Seahawks consider signing Wright and maybe letting Cody Barton learn middle linebacker games?
On Monday, the Seahawks worked on former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins. His training was considered good and he could perhaps join former Bengals teammate Carlos Dunlap on the Seattle defensive line.
The Seahawks reduced their roster to 80 on Monday by placing Ursua and Burr-Kirvan on the injured list and releasing three players. Quarterback Alex McGough, who struggled with fumbles and interceptions, was cut. Sean Mannion looked so much better replacing McGough on Saturday. Tight end Dominik Wood-Anderson committed four penalties and was released. They also took Cedrick Lattimore out to go down to 80.
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