Slow starts concern Carroll

RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks are one-quarter of the way through the season, but it’s the first half that has coach Pete Carroll’s full attention.

Specifically, the first two quarters of games.

“We have not been able to get started quickly,” Carroll said.

The Seahawks haven’t been great at stopping opponents in the first half, either. At least they weren’t Sunday against Atlanta when the difference in their performance from the first half to the second was so dramatic it was impossible to miss.

“It’s surprising that the game could be so different,” Carroll said.

But not entirely shocking. Seattle has played better in the second half on both sides of the ball, a dichotomy that is strikingly illustrated by the statistics.

The Seahawks’ offense has scored seven touchdowns this season, only one in the first half. The defense, meanwhile, has allowed only one touchdown in the second half. That shows a staying power that is surprising given Seattle’s utter inability to sustain an offense in the first half, which has left the defense on the field for too long. Against Atlanta on Sunday, the Falcons held the ball twice as long as the Seahawks in the first half.

Yet Seattle’s defense has been stronger as the game progresses, a fact strikingly illustrated by the fact that opponents average 4 yards per rush against Seattle in the first half, and 2.3 yards per carry in the second.

Turning around a 1-3 record is going to require that Seattle starts playing a complete game. Seattle has held one first-half lead all season. It was three points against Arizona, and it lasted for all of five minutes.

“I’m never one that relies on fast starts, that you have to have those,” Carroll said. “But at this time, we need to do better than we’re doing.”

How can Seattle do that?

Well, the Seahawks might have provided the answer to that question Sunday. They shifted into a hurry-up offense in the second half against Atlanta, huddling every five plays or so and pushing the tempo.

Turns out stepping on the accelerator did more than increase the tempo. It produced results. Seattle scored three touchdowns in the span of a quarter and a half against the Falcons, matching the Seahawks’ total touchdowns from the first three games combined.

Seahawks to sign Vobora

The Seahawks are expected to sign David Vobora, providing a versatile backup linebacker and special-teams mainstay with linebacker Matt McCoy out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Vobora, a former University of Idaho standout, was with the team in training camp, and was on the roster after the initial cut to 53 players. Seattle released him after claiming four players off waivers.

Notes

There was no update on the status of receiver Mike Williams (head), DL Anthony Hargrove (hamstring) and LB Malcolm Smith (hamstring). G Robert Gallery is expected to begin practicing after the bye week, returning from groin surgery.