Seahawks back from bye refreshed

Oct 17, 2017 - 2:11 AM RENTON, Wash. -- The Seattle Seahawks were back on the practice field on Monday for a brief walkthrough after returning from their bye-week break.

Seattle is sitting about where one would have expected them to be at this point in the season. They've held serve at home with wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts, and lost two of their three road games at Green Bay and at Tennessee.

However, a win in Los Angeles over a Rams team that has given Seattle all kinds of trouble in recent years was a strong way to enter the bye week. Now the Seahawks will need to get their own house in order before moving into the next stage of the season.

Offensive inconsistency, a relatively non-existent rushing attack and a propensity to give up a few too many big plays on defense have been the hallmarks of Seattle's first five games. Losing Chris Carson for most, if not all, of the season dealt a blow to a rushing attack that continues to flounder too regularly. While the offensive line has been more solid in pass protection than a season ago, they still get over-matched too often and have trouble creating running lanes for the backs to navigate.

Meanwhile, Seattle's defense has allowed six runs of at least 25 yards this year after allowed just four in total in all of 2016.

"We gave up some big ones in the running game. Very uncharacteristic of us," linebacker K.J. Wright said. "We watched it today and watched the explosive plays that we've given up to see how teams are going to attack us. We got to be more accountable, gap sound, to eliminate those big plays because when you allow that to happen it's a sign of a bad defense and if you've got a bad defense you're usually losing football games, so we're going to fix it.

"The beauty of it all is it's all on us. It's nothing that they did. We can all fix it. It's nothing that they did it's what we didn't do."

None of Seattle's remaining five road games come against a team currently holding a winning record. Arizona and Jacksonville are both 3-3, Dallas is 2-3, the New York Giants 1-5 and the 49ers are 0-6.

While the home slate is more daunting, Seattle always plays well at home under head coach Pete Carroll. They have posted at least a 7-1 mark at home in four of the last five seasons. The Seahawks are also a team that has historically improved as the season progresses.

A trip to face a struggling and banged up Giants team provides a somewhat soft opening to the rest of Seattle's schedule.

--Kicker Blair Walsh has made a positive impression on head coach Pete Carroll through his first five games with the Seahawks.

Walsh is 9 of 10 on both field-goal attempts and extra-point attempts this season for Seattle. He missed a 37-yard field goal wide right against the Indianapolis Colts and had an extra point clang off the right upright against the San Francisco 49ers.

"I think he's doing really well," Carroll said. "He came through again, it was a big game on the road, the whole thing, and I'm thrilled with the way he's getting the ball out. The ball is up and we're not having any issues at all about the ball getting knocked down on the kicks, which is great."

Stephen Hauschka struggled with that problem all of last season. He missed 10 total kicks on the year with six of them being blocked. Some of his made field goals had to thread the needle of outstretched arms at the line of scrimmage as well as getting enough elevation on his kicks was an ongoing issue.

Seattle elected to move on from Hauschka this offseason and turned to Walsh instead. Outside of briefly carrying a second kicker this offseason, Walsh has been Seattle's chosen replacement ever since.

"We just take them one at a time, and he keeps banging them, and he's working really hard, and he's a good guy to compete with. I think we're lucky to have him," Carroll said.

NOTES: WR Tyler Lockett said he's no longer worried about his leg with five weeks of games now behind him. Lockett missed all of preseason while recovering from a broken leg sustained last December. "If you're thinking about it too much then you're going to play a little timid," Lockett said.



REPORT CARD AFTER 5 GAMES

--PASSING OFFENSE: B - Russell Wilson had been protected better through five games than he was in 2016 and his renewed mobility has helped as well. TE Jimmy Graham had a slow start to the year before becoming more involved in recent weeks. Receivers dropped a pair of touchdowns against the 49ers.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus - With the loss of RB Chris Carson to injury, the Seahawks' running game appears to be treading water. Only nine of Seattle's 137 carries on the year have been "explosive" runs of at least 12 yards. Carson had four of those carries and is gone for the year. Finding more consistent success with Thomas Rawls, Eddie Lacy, C.J. Prosise and J.D. McKissic will be of paramount importance for Seattle.

--PASS DEFENSE: A-minus - While rarely playing with a comfortable lead that could allow their pass rush to take over, the Seahawks' pass defense continues to perform. Opposing quarterbacks have been held to just a 70.8 passer rating and the group is coming off a game where they held the top-ranked Rams offense to 10 points.

--RUSH DEFENSE: B - The Seahawks have given up big plays in the running game too often through the first five games of the year. While the unit has mostly held opposing rushing attacks in check, they've given up massive plays when they have been beat. They've allowed six runs of at least 25 yards this year after allowing just four in total in all of 2016.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: B - Blair Walsh has missed just one field-goal attempt this season. P Jon Ryan has been his typical steady self. Coverage units have performed well outside of one touchdown return in Tennessee that was negated by a penalty. Snaps from Tyler Ott have not been an issue this year like they were with Nolan Frese in 2016. Walsh also has not had a kick blocked, which had plagued Stephen Hauschka a year ago.

--COACHING: B-minus - The Seahawks have been slow to find their footing offensively this season. They haven't scored a touchdown on their opening possession in over a year with the last coming against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 25, 2016.