Seahawks key to better defense: Better offense with Chris Carson
The Seahawks defense controlled the Titans for three quarters, only to give up the game in OT. That’s on the lack of a consistent offense. The Hawks need to, and will, improve this against the Vikings.
Seattle looked like they were operating on cruise control in Sunday’s home opener. At least they were up until 13:16 of the fourth quarter when Russell Wilson hit Freddie Swain with that 68-yard bomb. Oddly enough, that bomb was part of the problem. A big part of the problem, actually.
I know, 12s. Being able to make the big play is critical to almost any offense. It’s certainly defined Wilson over the past several years. But the Seahawks need more consistency to succeed. Yes, DangeRuss passed for 343 yards.
Chris Carson needs to be key to Seahawks offense in week 3
But 146 of those yards came on just three plays – 27 of them on a meaningless pass to Tyler Lockett at the end of regulation. That’s 42 percent of Seattle’s passing yards on just three of 31 attempts.
The Seahawks need to get better production than that to win. One key to that would be using a certain beast in the backfield, Chris Carson. Care to guess how many times Carson had his number called in the fourth quarter? Okay, I know all the good little 12s already know, but in case you missed it, it’s ugly. Number 32 got the ball just twice after 6:32 of the third quarter.
Including overtime, the Seahawks had four offensive series after that run by Carson, yet used him just twice. As Lee Vowell wrote, the Hawks have to use their running backs more. Yeah, I know the Titans kept Carson bottled up – but let’s not forget that the Hawks basically kept Derrick Henry under wraps until the fourth quarter. He got 135 of his 237 total yards in the last stanza, plus overtime. How many times did Tennessee call Henry’s number in crunch time? 17 times, 12s.
When the Titans needed to move the ball, they used their star back 17 times. When the Seahawks had to move the ball, they called on their back just twice. The Hawks didn’t even need to score on those first two drives, just eat some clock and yardage.
Next. Three takeaways from the Hawks loss. dark
The result? The Seahawks defense was on the field for 88 plays and 42:33. Any defense, including the Legion of Boom, is going to be hard-pressed to win when the offense can’t stay on the field. I expect the Viking will see a much more substantial dose of Mr. Carson this Sunday. Get the running game on track, and the defense will play much better.