Painful proposition

Published on November 24, 2010 by Tacoma News Tribune (Feed)     

The Seahawks’ stretch run is beginning with a limp.

As the team prepares to for its final six regular-season games, beginning with Sunday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs at Qwest Field, leading receiver Mike Williams and left guard Chester Pitts are dealing with foot and ankle injuries.

Williams got what coach Pete Carroll called an injury “they’ve never seen before” on the bottom of his foot. He was injured during Sunday’s loss to the Saints in New Orleans, when he caught six passes for 109 yards – including a 68-yarder from Matt Hasselbeck that is the team’s longest offensive play this season.

“Mike is going to be a day-to-day thing,” Carroll said Monday during his day-after Q&A session. “He did something very unusual to his foot that might not be as serious as we originally thought. So we’re going to have to wait and see how he responds.”

Williams definitely has responded in a positive way since being signed in April. He moved into the starting split end spot and has caught 52 passes for 654 yards – including a trio of 100-yard receiving efforts and also three games with 10-plus receptions.

Williams left the game early, just after his long run to grab Hasselbeck’s long pass. But Carroll said that was due to cramps in his hamstring.

As for the foot, Carroll said, “He was running down the field and felt something pop. It’s very unusual. They know exactly what it is … and they’ve never seen it before.”

Pitts, meanwhile, has a sprained ankle. He has started the past three games after an arduous return from having microfracture surgery on his right knee last September while playing for the Houston Texans.

“He’ll have to see how Chester comes back,” Carroll said.

There is a chance that Mike Gibson will return after missing the past two games with a sprained ankle. He has started two games this season at left guard.

“Mike is saying that he can (come back this week),” Carroll said. “He ran today and ran alright. We’re going to have to wait and see. That’s a big boost for us if Mike can get back. He has a great attitude about it. He’s dealt with ankle sprains before and he thinks he’s got it.

“But we’re still going to have to go day-to-day with him and see how that works out.”

Just in case, Carroll said Tyler Polumbus also will get some work this week at guard. He has started five games at left tackle and another at right tackle.

“We’ll get resource here to do a couple of things to get things straightened out,” Carroll said.

Cornerback Marcus Trufant also is in that day-to-day category after getting a concussion when he took a knee to the helmet while tackling Saints running back Chris Ivory after a 5-yard gain midway through the first quarter.

“So we’ve got some stuff we’re going to have to deal with here,” Carroll said. “We’ll figure it out as we go through the next couple of days.”

Tags: Amp, Ankle Injuries, Chester Pitts, coach pete carroll, Cramps, Foot And Ankle, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Last September, Matchup Against, Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Gibson, new orleans, Qwest, Receptions, Regular Season Games, saints, Split End, Three Games, Two Games