Eric Williams, Ryan Divish and Rob Rang all picking the Seahawks to win this week at St. Louis? Will Seattle improve on its anemic rushing attack in the next six weeks? And everyone knows Rams running back Steven Jackson will get the ball on Sunday, but can the Seahawks stop him?
As always, we answer those questions and preview the matchup against St. Louis in this week’s Seahawks Insider podcast, which you can listen to here.
Seahawks running back Julius Jones practiced for the first time in almost two weeks, after suffering a bruised lung in the first half of the Arizona game two weeks ago.
Jones was a limited participant in practice, doing some individual and team drill work as the Seahawks practiced inside on Thursday.
Jones said it was good to get back on the field, but doesn’t know if he’ll be ready to go on Sunday at St. Louis.
“I’m taking it day by day,” he said. “Obviously it felt good to get back out there. I hate watching. I hate being on the side watching. And if I can play, I’ll play, you know what I’m sayin’? It’s just a matter of taking it day by day.”
TNT columnist Dave Boling talked with Seahawks rookie linebacker Aaron Curry about his recent struggles on the field.
Curry told Boling that at times he’s been overanalyzing his play on the field.
Curry’s blend of speed, athleticism and instincts flashed at times this season, and big plays were the result. And often, he’d erupt in arm waving and crowd inciting afterward.
The excitement made it hard to focus on mere gap control or back-side pursuit angles on the next play.
“I got to the point where I was chasing down big plays and doing too much over-analyzing,” he said. “I was doing too much (beyond) my responsibilities. It’s been a mental thing as far as me being eager to make big plays and forgetting about exactly what my responsibility is.”
At times, you’ll see him race to make the big play only to lose the proper inside-out positioning, and have to watch the ballcarrier or receiver cut back inside him.
Linebacker Leroy Hill said it’s a common mistake by the young and hyper-enthused. “You want to make the play so bad and have fans start screaming your name that you get out of position,” Hill said. “With all that excitement and adrenaline, there’s some things that can go wrong pretty quickly.”
Mike 0486 1 and Versace finished with 14 correct last week. With 13 correct, Silverton Barnes jumped back to the top spot, and is tied granfromage 1, who both have 114 overall correct.
I finished with a respectable 10 correct last week, bringing my overall total to 103.
If you haven’t made your picks already, before you dive into the turkey do that here.
Safety Deon Grant continues to show that he’s a tough guy, and plans on making it on the field on Sunday.
Grant has a 138 consecutive games started streak going, dating back to his second year in the league at Carolina in 2001, starting every game since then. And Grant doesn’t plan on it stopping on Sunday against St. Louis.
After seeing a hand specialist on Tuesday, Grant said he suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist and a chipped bone in his hand. He plans on wearing a club cast on his left hand for games that will not allow his fingers to be free.
Grant said it shouldn’t be a problem for him to play that way, and that he’s played with that type of cast before. However, some people close to Grant advised him that he should season-ending surgery to fix the issue, but Grant said in his mind he always feels that he should play, and never thought about not getting on the field.
Another Wednesday, another Jim Mora press conference. I will say this: if this season has driven him to the point of anger, frustration or even cynicism, he hasn’t shown it.
He did admit that he can’t help but take the problems of this team home with him. No matter how hard he tries to leave some of the issues at the office, he admittedly can’t. And his wife and four kids are understanding of that mindset.
“I like to think I have some perspective in life,” he said. “I do the best I can when I go home to be a good husband and good father, but it’s always in the back of my mind, always.
“We take great pride in what we do and we work extremely hard at it, so you want to be good at it,” he said. “But it goes a little deeper for me because this is my city, my people. It’s always there. You can’t turn it off completely.”
Yet, he still remains unfailingly optimistic and upbeat. Tony Robbins has nothing on him. I don’t think it’s fake like the frighteningly white veneers in Mr. Robbins smile. I really think Mora’s genuinely carries a positive attitude. Maybe not after seeing his field goal kicker miss a couple kicks, but for the most part. He really does believe in that idea. Of course, the positive mental outlook and the upbeat and inspirational coach-speak has seemed to be a bit much at times, to the point where some readers on here feel its pretty hollow.
You wonder if the players every get tired of hearing it, or if they are just tuning it out.
Here’s the best quote typifying that attitude.
“You just gotta forge on,” he said. “You just gotta to forge on. You have no options. You need to embrace it a little bit. And realize that at the end of the day when you get through it you are going to be a better person, a better man, a better team for having gone through it.”
Well then.
“I know that stuff sometimes sounds really corny,” Mora said. “I realize that.”
Well, I wasn’t going to say it, but I know a few readers that might.
“But you know what? It’s true. All of us had to overcome things in our life, some more than others, and when you do and persevere and push through it, you know come out on the other side and if you do it the right way, you’re better for it. You’re more learned. You’ve got experiences to draw upon. WhenI look back on my career, some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned have been learned in the toughest of times and they’ve shaped my personality and who I am. That’s how I like to live. That’s how I like to think. That’s my mindset.”
Perhaps, it’s time to change subjects.
Seahawks head coach Jim Mora just finished his weekly press conference this morning, and we’ll have some notes posted in a few minutes.
Seattle-area reporters talked with St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo this morning. He talked about dealing with the struggles of his run defense as a defensive head coach, the impressive season running back Steven Jackson is having, and keeping his 1-9 team motivated.
On the injury front, quarterback Marc Bulger is out three-to-six weeks with a fractured left knee, which means Kyle Boller will get his third start of the season. Spagnuolo said the offense will not change with Boller in charge.
Rookie right tackle missed most of the fourth quarter on Sunday with a mild concussion, and is being evaluated this week.
The Seahawks favorite Ram, right guard Richie Incognitio, could be back this week after missing three games with a foot injury.
| 2009 Stats | Seahawks | Rams |
| Record | 3-7 | 1-9 |
| Total Yards Gained | 3,250 | 3,049 |
| Total Offense (NFLRank) | 325.0 (21) | 304.9 (26) |
| Rush Offense | 84.4 (32) | 119.3 (13) |
| Pass Offense | 240.6 (13) | 185.6 (22) |
| Points Per Game | 19.6 (22) | 11.3 (31) |
| Total Yards Allowed | 3,473 | 3,851 |
| Total Defense |