Seahawks Carson and Fluker inactive versus Rams really, really hurts
The Seahawks just announced that Chris Carson and D.J. Fluker would not be available against the Rams today. That is not the news 12 needed to hear.
It was something we were all definitely worried about. It being the possibility that running back Chris Carson and guard D. J. Fluker could miss today’s game versus the Rams. And our worst fears just came true. Well, our worst fears are that the world’s beer supply will disappear, but this is a close second.
Carson is the Seahawks leading running back, of course. He’s been Seattle’s most productive back in both total yards and yards per carry. Happily the team doesn’t seem to take too much of a drop when Mike Davis comes in. Davis has a 100 yard game to his credit in his only previous start. Last week against the Chargers, he ran for 62 yards and added 45 more on seven catches. Davis isn’t quite the runner that Carson is, but he is better coming out of the backfield.
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If Rashaad Penny is going to step up and play like a first round pick, today would be a really good day to do so. To say he’s been erratic so far would be an understatement. He played well in road games against the Cardinals and Raiders with 119 yards from scrimmage on 18 carries and two receptions.
On the flip side, Penny also has two games with zero touches. In his other four games he’s accounted for just 54 yards on the ground on 24 attempts. A 2.25 yard average isn’t going to get it done.
One slightly positive note here, C.J. Prosise is active today. You remember him, right? Back in the day, he had a great game against the Evil Empire (NFL edition, the New England Patriots). Considering he had exactly one other good game in his entire NFL career, I’m not holding out a lot of hope for a miracle repeat.
I’d really love to be wrong, but I’m not. Prosise has 195 yards rushing and 317 yards receiving in three years. 33 percent of his career rushing yards and 27 percent of his receiving yards came in that single game. It’s time to let go, 12s. I think the fairy tale is over.
Just to throw another ray of sunshine out there, don’t forget D.J. Fluker will miss the game too. He’s been a beast in Seattle’s run game, and now he doesn’t even get his showdown with the Rams defensive line. Some were speculating Joey Hunt might step in for Fluker today, but he’s inactive as well. Hello Ethan Pocic. [Editorial note: I stand corrected. Apparently Jordan Simmons will get the nod. At 6’4″ and 339 pounds, he certainly fits the Fluker mold.]
At least there was some good news. Both Bradley McDougald and K.J. Wright are ready to go. Both will be instrumental in slowing down Todd Gurley. Wright missed the first game versus Los Angeles, so it’ll be extremely interesting to see what he has for the Rams terrific running back. Hopefully, a very large can of you-know-what.
Related Story. Predicting a tough game for the Seahawks. light
Without Fluker and Carson, two things absolutely must happen for the Seahawks to pull this off. Mike Davis (or who knows, maybe even newly re-signed Troymaine Pope) need to come up big. And Russell Wilson needs to play lights out. Three touchdowns through the air, another on the ground, and some patented crazy escapes should just about do it. Time to put on the Mr. Unlimited cape, sir.