Three questions to ponder as the Seahawks play their third preseason game Friday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Three questions as the Seahawks prepare for their third preseason game Friday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Q: Is the team worried at all about the absences of running backs Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise?
A: Certainly, as offensive line coach Tom Cable said this week, the team always wants to have all of its players available at all times — that hardly even needs to be said.
But when asked this week if he was concerned specifically that Prosise was sidelined again this week — he has since has been ruled out for a second straight game tonight with a groin issue — Cable said: “I think we all are. We want to get everybody as healthy as we can as soon as we can so that they can be playing together. I think as you know, that’s the key to good offensive football. We know we have a good offense, and for us to go from good to great and excellent to elite, then we need all of the pieces out there, so we’re working on that.”
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Rawls is also set to miss the game for a second straight week with an ankle injury – like Prosise, he played sparingly the first week against the Chargers.
Of the two, though, it is Prosise’s absences that may be more disconcerting because the team has seen Rawls play most of a season in 2015 and fight through injuries to return strong in 2016 while they continue to simply see a lot of less Prosise the they would like.
Prosise played just six games last year due to what were three different injuries and also barely practiced due during the offseason program. After a promising start this year — he took part fully in the offseason program and then through the first three weeks of the preseason — he has missed two games with groin tightness that crept up during the pregame warmup before the game against the Vikings last Friday.
Former Seahawk QB Brock Huard, now on 710 ESPN Seattle as well as a color analyst for the team’s preseason TV broadcasts, said during the Brock and Salk Show Thursday that the team is growing weary of Prosise’s injuries.
As recapped by Seahawksdraftblog.com Huard said: “Here’s what I know — and they won’t say it publicly — but C.J. Prosise, this organization is getting frustrated with him. You’re just a tease right now. And that’s not the position you want to be in. … there comes a point, when you’re drafted in the third round, when these organizations say you’re just not durable man and you’re just not reliable and we cannot trust you. And for that matter, you’re fired. And I don’t know if that’s going to be in ten days. I don’t know if there’s going to be a real need and somebody else says I’ll take on some of that risk and I’ll trade, give you something in the fifth or whatever, but man. There comes a point of frustration where there’s a tipping point. It’s one thing when it’s a blunt trauma and you fracture your scapula, it’s another when it’s hamstring and it’s groin and you’ve got to be right. I played with guys like this. Dave Wyman played with guys like this. ‘Everything’s got to be right’. You’ve got to feel good like a track superstar that can fine tune every hamstring, tendon and every muscle in their body they just feel it. And he’s getting kind of close here to pushing that real line.”
As a third-round pick in 2016 who turned in a few of the team’s most electric moments as a rookie, averaging 5.7 yards per carry on 30 attempts and 12.2 yards per reception on 17 catches, Prosise is in no danger of being released this season.
But his dependability this year could go a long way toward dictating what decisions the Seahawks make at tailback in the offseason. And more immediately any worries about Prosise might also only strengthen the odds of J.D. McKissic — who can play both receiver and running back and would seem best suited of all of the other tailbacks to served as a third-down back if Prosise is out – to make the 53-man roster.
Q: Have the Seahawks been happy so far with Eddie Lacy?
A: With Rawls out tonight, Lacy figures to again get the start and a chance to get his most extended playing time during the preseason. Lacy has 10 carries in the first two games for 30 yards, a 3.0 average that is the lowest of any running back other than Rawls, who has just two carries for five yards.
Some have even wondered if the emergence of Chris Carson might in any way make Lacy in danger of being released – though it’s worth noting the team wouldn’t save much since Lacy has a dead salary cap number of $2.865 million with his release netting the team only $677,500.
And any worry over the durability of Rawls and Prosise would also seem to make Lacy that much more valuable — before suffering a broken ankle last season he had missed just two games in his first three years due to injury.
Coach Pete Carroll on Thursday also said the team has been more than pleased with Lacy.
“Yeah, we have seen the glimpses of it and we know,’’ Carroll said. “He has shown it in the games and during practice. And we have seen him up close and personal. He is a big load. He is in good shape. He is consistently practicing and working really hard every day. I see no reason to—you’ll see him. You will see him. Just look at his first run from scrimmage in the game last week. That was a real indicator. He gets a play that is about a 4-yard that winds up being a 9-yard gain just because he was knocking people over and finished the run. So we are excited about him.”
Q: What will the Seahawks do during the anthem this week?
A: Regardless of one’s views on players sitting or kneeling for the anthem, it figures to be a newsworthy topic each week — and possibly increasingly so if more players take part, as happened this week when 12 members of the Cleveland Browns kneeled during the anthem.
Michael Bennett has said he plans to sit during the anthem all season to protest social injustice. Last week he was joined by teammate Justin Britt, who stood with a hand on Bennett’s shoulder, and cornerback Jeremy Lane, stood in front of Bennett with his back to the rest of the team (locked in arms along the sideline) and the field. Teammates Frank Clark and Cliff Avril also walked over and sat by Bennett as the anthem ended.