DE L.J. Collier, LB Shaquem Griffin Must Help Seahawks Revive Pass Rush

Injuries derailed Seattle's pass rush in Sunday's loss in Los Angeles, putting the onus on a pair of young players to make a serious impact moving forward.

Prior to this past Sunday, the Seahawks had been applying consistent pressure against opposing quarterbacks over the previous three games. However, their pass rushing success disappeared against the Rams.

During the Seahawks 28-12 defeat against the Rams, Seattle generated just four hits on quarterback Jared Goff, allowing him to throw for 184 yards in the first half. In the previous three games, they had created 8.0 sacks, four interceptions and seven forced fumbles.

Looking closer, injuries to defensive end Ziggy Ansah and linebacker Mychal Kendricks definitely played a major role in Seattle’s ineffectiveness rushing Goff. As coach Pete Carroll explained prior to Wednesday’s practice session, those two were sorely missed against the Rams, especially Kendricks.

"Our linebackers can cause some problems, too. Mychal Kendricks has been a good blitzer for us. We miss him not being a big factor," Carroll discussed. "Everybody has to contribute to help us get better.”

Carroll further detailed that Ansah and Kendricks could be sidelined once again this Sunday in Carolina. The Seahawks coach also called out rookie L.J. Collier and second-year pro Shaquem Griffin as players who will need to step up in their absence.

“We just have got to keep working. We have to keep working our combinations of guys and try to take advantage of the option when the guys are healthy and they’re doing right. Keep mixing," Carroll said. "We’ll need more of Griff. Griff can help us some. L.J. [Collier], he can help us some, too, when other guys aren’t available."

Until recently, Griffin hadn't even recorded a single defensive snap all season. Through the Seahawks first 10 games of the season, the former UCF star had only been featured on their special teams units. During their four games since, Griffin has played a combined 57 snaps on defense, recording a tackle along with a trio of quarterback hits.

Griffin also created pressure off a stunt against Goff this past Sunday, which led to the first of safety Quandre Diggs’ two interceptions of the game. Based on these encouraging results, Griffin is starting to prove worthy of a larger role for Seattle defensively.

As for Collier, the rookie defensive end has struggled to find consistent playing time so far this season. The TCU product has been stuck behind Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and a host of other veterans, which has prevented him from making a significant impact and led to several healthy scratches.

Collier has dressed in just eight of Seattle’s 13 games this season and been credited with only a pair of tackles. Even with Ansah out against Los Angeles, Collier received just nine snaps on defense and remained a non-factor.

If both Ansah and Kendricks are inactive on Sunday, Griffin and Collier need to pitch in to help Seattle's pass rush get back on track against the Panthers. With just three games remaining, this game against an underwhelming opponent could provide an excellent opportunity for both players to get much-needed extensive reps.