Following Third Mock Game, Seahawks Ready to Shift Into Regular Season Mode
In a final dress rehearsal before the season opener on September 13, the Seahawks conducted their third mock game on Sunday.
Practicing at the VMAC instead of CenturyLink Field this time around, there were far less bells and whistles than the first two glorified scrimmages earlier this month. But coach Pete Carroll was pleased with the work his team was able to get in heading into a critical final week of training camp.
"That was a blast," Carroll told reporters after practice. "We had great work today. Got a bunch of plays in, wanted to put our players in as many situations as we could so they have to think game-like. And it worked out."
As Carroll noted numerous times in his press conference, Seattle received valuable situational reps to learn from throughout Sunday's scrimmage. Most importantly, Russell Wilson and the offense got a chance to score in a two-minute drill scenario to close out the practice session.
"Offense has to win the game with 1:40 left and a couple timeouts and finished with four seconds on the clock," Carroll said. "It was really good for both sides of the ball."
The defense may not necessarily agree with that final statement, however, at least in regard to the controversial finish.
Facing a fourth down in the red zone, Wilson dropped back and multiple Seahawk pass rushers appeared to be in the vicinity for a sack, which would normally be blown dead in a camp practice. However, Carroll decided to let Wilson scramble away and eventually find DK Metcalf for a touchdown on a broken play. Safe to say, defensive players and coaches were not pleased and felt slighted by the ruling.
"They thought they had a sack," Carroll smiled. "And the commissioner who has to make that call went with that Russ has alluded pass rushers in critical situations and I thought he maybe ducked out of there. And so I gave him that second chance to throw the ball, so they were really mad at me."
With three mock games all wrapped up, the Seahawks will now enter a critical "mock week," according to Carroll. Only two weeks remain until the team travels to Atlanta to face the Falcons and the next several days will be used to simulate a typical week of practice leading up to a game.
As far as making the most of the next two weeks, Carroll maintained his "each week is a championship opportunity" mentality, comparing preparation for the opener to planning for the Super Bowl.
"I like where we're going. We've had really high level practices against one another and we've had a tons of situations. With the leadership that we have, the experienced leadership, it feels like we're in a good position to finish off camp and get ready for the season."
If there's one thing Carroll remains concerned about, it's player availability and health. The Seahawks have been banged up at receiver, running back and defensive end, while tackle Cedric Ogbuehi suffered a shoulder injury in the scrimmage.
Meanwhile, two of Seattle's draft picks - tight end Colby Parkinson and defensive end Darrell Taylor - have yet to start practicing coming off offseason surgeries.
The good news? The Seahawks should have at least two injured receivers back at practice on Tuesday, as Phillip Dorsett, Cody Thompson, and John Ursua narrowly missed out being available to play in the mock game. Carlos Hyde and Travis Homer should also be back after being held out of the scrimmage and it doesn't sound like Benson Mayowa's undisclosed injury is serious either.
While Taylor will likely open the year on the Non-Football Injury List, Carroll indicated there's a chance Parkinson could return to the field this week.
Assuming most of those players make it back to practice at some point this week and no other significant injuries crop up, the Seahawks should be at close to full strength when they face the Falcons in just 14 days.
