Seahawks head back to drawing board with offensive line
RENTON, Wash. – Garry Gilliam was standing on the Seahawks’ sideline with his helmet off. His hands were clasped behind his back, so that helmet he was holding was tapping off the back of his legs.
The starting right tackle for all 11 games this season ambled casually up to line coach Tom Cable during a defensive series in the first half of the Seahawks’ loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday. Gilliam had exited Cable’s lineup after just three plays. He leaned in over Cable’s left shoulder and apparently said something to his position coach, who was standing on the edge of the field watching the defense play.
The no-nonsense Cable barely turned his head. Yet his response was effective enough that Gilliam walked away. He remained on that sideline for the final 60 plays as Bradley Sowell played right tackle instead of him.
Will Gilliam stay on the bench Sunday when Seattle (7-3-1) returns home to face Carolina (4-7)? Did Sowell play better in those 60 plays of the 14-5 loss to the Buccaneers than Gilliam had in the previous 10 games plus first three plays Sunday?
“Well, he played a lot of the game, so we got a good evaluation of him. He did OK,” the coach said of Sowell, not exactly gushing. “He held up pretty well at the right side.”
Sowell indicated following the game in which Seattle allowed Russell Wilson to get sacked six times the plan had been to alternate him and Gilliam almost by series. Carroll said Monday Gilliam exiting for good after just one series and three plays “kind of just happened that way.”
While Gilliam was idling on the sidelines in Tampa, the undrafted rookie college basketball player had big problems with Buccaneers edge rushers at the opposite tackle, specifically Noah Spence (1 1/2 sacks). Rookie right guard Germain Ifedi was beaten multiple times by Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who also had 1 1/2 sacks and spent most of Sunday slicing through Seattle’s line.
And the Seahawks’ momentum from a three-game winning streak got sacked, too.
“We couldn’t get out of our own way,” Ifedi said in the visitors’ locker room at Raymond James Stadium Sunday. “Oh, man, can’t have six sacks. Honestly, that’s the bottom line.
“It starts with us up front. … Once they punched us in the mouth we didn’t have a big punch back.”
Asked Monday how Ifedi played against the Bucs, Carroll said: “Nobody played very well. We had problems.”
After a couple more questions about the offensive line Carroll ended the issue with: “Let’s go to the next question. Offensive line, we’re done.”
When a coach cuts off an issue, that means it is THE issue affecting his team.
Seattle committed three turnovers and was 1 for 11 on third downs in Tampa. The one conversion was late in the fourth quarter in Wilson’s frantic, ultimately failed attempt to rally.
It was the third game this season the offense failed to score a touchdown. The other two times, in September’s loss at Los Angeles and October’s overtime tie at Arizona, Wilson was limited by a sprained ankle and sprained knee, respectively.
He’s no longer limited by those injuries. Just by his offensive line.
“Really disappointed with our performance (Sunday), from the top on down,” Carroll said, repeating a message he said in Florida immediately following Sunday’s game.
“A bad outing. But we’re going to get right this week.”
The coach said the loss is “a very good opportunity for us to respect what’s going on,” and a reminder to the players of the level of performance they need to sustain to keep winning.
In other words, the Seahawks are indeed humbled.
But they are healing.
The Seahawks are expecting to get at least three starters back from injuries for Sunday night’s game against the Panthers: Michael Bennett, Justin Britt and perhaps DeShawn Shead.
Carroll also said three-time All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas “ran hard” on Monday testing his strained hamstring.
Thomas didn’t even make the trip to Tampa and missed his first game Sunday after 118 consecutive starts to begin his career. That is a team record for a defensive player.
“DeShawn, I think, is a little ahead. We need to see,” Carroll said of Shead’s and Thomas’ hamstring strains. “Earl ran really hard (Monday) and had a good workout. We’ll have to see as we get through the week. Shead was about that level last week.
“DeShawn looks like he’s ahead.”
Carroll said the Seahawks are “counting on” Bennett to play this weekend. The Pro Bowl defensive end has missed the last five games following arthroscopic knee surgery last month.
“He thinks he’s on,” Carroll said. “We have to get all the clearance from the doctors. Trainers think he’s in great shape and ready to go, so we’re counting on him playing. He’s very positive about it, really looking forward to getting back.”
His return would be timely. When he’s been in there for all four of the Panthers-Seahawks games since 2013 Seattle has succeeded in limiting Carolina quarterback Cam Newton from getting outside and extending plays with his legs, the situations in which the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player is most dangerous.
Britt’s sprained ankle that sidelined him for the loss to the Bucs should be healed for him to start at center for the 11th time in 12 games this weekend.
“Yeah, he should be back,” Carroll said.
Rookie center Joey Hunt made his first career start against Tampa Bay and played OK, in the eyes of coaches.
“I thought Joey did a nice job,” Carroll said. “He handled the fronts, handled the calls, run blocked effectively, helped in pass protection. He was not at issue there. He held up his end of it.”
Britt’s return will only help. He’s emerged as the most consistent blocker this season – and a pleasant development. Seattle moved him to center this offseason. It’s his third position in three NFL seasons with the Seahawks, after he was the starting right tackle as a rookie in 2014 and left guard last season.
This season coaches have credited him for anchoring what until Sunday in Tampa was an improving line, and for being on point in his pre-snap reads and communicating calls to fellow linemen.