Monday in Hawkville

Published on December 6, 2010 by     

A recap of the day’s activities:

FOCUS ON

The 49ers. The good feelings generated by Sunday’s storm-from-behind victory over the Carolina Panthers still were reverberating through Virginia Mason Athletic Center today. But coach Pete Carroll and staff already were directing their attention to the fourth quarter of the season.

For the Seahawks, that starts with his week’s game against their division rivals in San Francisco. The Seahawks beat the 49ers at Qwest in their season opener, 31-6. But that seems even longer ago than three months.

If the Seahawks are to achieve their season-long goal – which is winning the NFC West – a sweep of the 49ers would be a giant step in the right direction.

“This is exactly the finish – this is fourth-quarter time coming in the season,” Carroll said during his weekly day-after Q&A session with the reporters. “We kick it off with a great matchup and all.  But it’s time for us to really show the consistency that makes us worthy of having a good football season.

“That’s there for us now, and it’s exciting to be in the position. Coaches, players and everybody has got to come and meet the challenge and get it done. So it’s really a fun time for us.”

The 31-14 win over the Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak and evened the Seahawks’ record at 6-6 – good enough for a share of the division lead with the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers, meanwhile, had won three of their previous four games before losing the Packers 34-16 in Green Bay on Sunday.

INJURY REPORT

The list is long, and includes five starters and special teams captain Roy Lewis. Here’s what Carroll had to say about each player:

Mike Williams – The team’s leading receiver went out Sunday after spraining his left ankle on the Seahawks’ third play of the game. It’s a mild – or first-degree – sprain. But it’s also on the same leg where Williams had a strained foot that forced him to sit out the Week 12 game against the Chiefs.

“We think that he’s got a chance (to play),” Carroll said. “The doctors think by Thursday or Friday we’ll know a lot more and have a chance to see whether he can go. He’s really frustrated right now. He thought he’d made it back, and then this happened early. So he’ll battle through it and all that, but we won’t know for a couple of days.”

Ben Obomanu – The team’s starting flanker got what Carroll called a “serious laceration” between two of the fingers on his right hand while being hit by Panthers strong safety Charles Godfrey after catching a pass late in the second quarter. Like Williams, Obomanu was unable to return.

“We’ll have to wait and see how that works out for us here later in the week,” Carroll said. “It’s going to come down to how they can protect him, so that he feels OK, and then can he function with the protection he’s got to wear.”

John Carlson – The team’s starting tight end sat out the Carolina game with a hip flexor.

“I think John will make it back to practice late in the week from all reports,” Carroll said. “So it will good to get him back out there.”

Colin Cole – The team’s nose tackle has missed the past five games with a high ankle sprain, but he is scheduled to practice on Wednesday.

“He should be practicing full-go on Wednesday, that’s what the plan is right now,” Carroll said. “We’ll see how he takes to it and all that. That will be a welcome return. It’s been a long time since he’s been out, it seems, and we’ll be happy to have him back out there for sure.”

Chester Pitts – The team’s left guard has missed the past two games with a sprained right ankle. He might be able to practice by Friday.

“Chester is a little more iffy,” Carroll said. “We don’t know that he’ll be able to go. He’s better. He’s much better.”

Lewis – He injured a knee in the third quarter against the Panthers and did not return. In addition to leading the special teams, Lewis plays in the nickel and dime packages as an extra cornerback to cover the slot receivers.

“He’s doing very well today,” Carroll said. “Matter of fact, he was up hopping around. He got banged on it and he couldn’t start and stop. Once he was up and running he was OK, but he couldn’t start and stop. So they just had to keep him out.”

STAT DU JOUR

Brandon Stokley has produced first-down yardage on his past 10 receptions, and on 13 of the 15 passes he has caught in the past three games. Included in his receptions on Sunday was a 14-yarder on a third-and-13 play.

NUMBER, PLEASE

When Walter Jones had his already retired No. 71 unveiled at Qwest Field on Sunday, someone wondered aloud who else had worn that number for the Seahawks.

The most obvious was guard Bryan Millard, who was voted the Seahawks’ 35^th Anniversary team. Millard wore it from 1984-91. Before him, there was defensive tackle Steve Niehaus (1976-78), defensive end Carl Eller (1979) and tackle Jack Campbell (1982). Between Millard and Jones, there was tackle Rickie Shaw (1993) and tackle Michael Moody (1994).

UP NEXT

The players got a “Victory Monday,” and then have their regular “off” day on Tuesday. So they won’t meet to review video of the win over the Panthers until Wednesday, when they’ll also shift gears quickly to start prepare for Sunday’s game against the 49ers.

Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane will sign autographs on Tuesday for 6-7 p.m. at the Qwest Field Pro Shop.

YOU DON’T SAY

“After watching the film of the game, and getting a chance to take a good deep look at it, I really continue to just be uplifted by the way the we finished the game and the way we came out and took it in hand in the second half.” – Carroll, on the Seahawks outscoring the Panthers 28-0 in the second half on Sunday

Tags: Activities Focus, Carolina Panthers, coach pete carroll, Football Season, Four Games, Game Losing Streak, Giant Step, Good Feelings, Injury Report, Left Ankle, Nfc West, Position Coaches, Quarter Time, Roy Lewis, Seahawks, Season Opener, Sprain, St. Louis Rams, Step In The Right Direction, Virginia Mason