SANTA
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Calif. (AP) ¡ª When Richard Sherman downplayed Seattle¡¯s success by describing
the Seahawks as a ¡°middle of the road¡± team a few weeks ago, his former
teammates took offense.Heading into the rematch this week between Sherman¡¯s new
team, the San Francisco 49ers, and his old one, former teammate Frank Clark had
a stern message for the player who helped lead Seattle¡¯s defense to a Super Bowl
title five years ago.¡°He¡¯s not in this locker room anymore, so his opinion
really doesn¡¯t matter,¡± defensive lineman Frank Clark said.Article continues
below ...¡°You know what I mean? They¡¯ve got problems over there in San Fran that
he needs to be worried about. At the end of the day, this is my team now. This
is my defense. Richard Sherman and his era is over here.¡°If he¡¯s got anything to
say about our defense, he can say it on the field. We¡¯re 1-0 against Richard
Sherman right now, and we¡¯re 1-0 against the San Francisco 49ers this year.¡°Our
plan is to be 2-0. So we¡¯re going into their stadium next week with pure
aggression. We¡¯re going to stop that run and we¡¯re going to have fun on third
downs.¡±The Seahawks (8-5) dominated the first meeting in a 43-16 win at home two
weeks ago, winning their 10th straight game over the 49ers (3-10) in a rivalry
that used to be one of the league¡¯s fiercest.Now in a season that started with
talk of the 49ers emerging as an NFC West contender behind quarterback Jimmy
Garoppolo and the Seahawks falling following the breakup of the ¡°Legion of Boom¡±
defense is heading to the finish with Seattle still holding the upper hand.The
Seahawks can clinch a playoff berth with a win Sunday, while the 49ers are tied
for the worst record in the league and only playing for draft position and next
season.¡°At the end of the day in this league if you don¡¯t end up with the trophy
then how great was your season anyway?¡± Sherman asked.¡°We¡¯re
fighting
Daniel
Jones Jersey , we¡¯re struggling, dealing with injuries. But at the end of
the day there¡¯s only one team that ends up with the trophy. Unfortunately it
won¡¯t be us this year and we¡¯ll see if it¡¯s them.¡±Here are some other things to
watch:KITTLE¡¯S CATCHESTight end George Kittle has been the major bright spot in
a down season for the 49ers. After catching seven passes for 210 yards ¡ª all in
the first half ¡ª last week, Kittle holds the single-season record for yards
receiving for a San Francisco tight end with 1,103. Kittle fell 5 yards short of
breaking Shannon Sharpe¡¯s single-game record for a tight end and coach Kyle
Shanahan apologized for not getting him the record.¡°Every play mattered there at
the end so you¡¯re just trying to call plays to try to win the game, not to break
a record,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s what you feel bad about. I wish he could have broken
the record. He deserved to.¡±STABLE LINESeattle is likely to be without starting
guard D.J. Fluker for the second straight game because of a hamstring injury,
but his replacement has proven to be more than adequate.Perhaps it¡¯s just
coincidence but Seattle¡¯s two best running games this season have come with
Jordan Simmons in the lineup.Simmons started for Fluker in Week 10 against the
Los Angeles Rams when the Seahawks rushed for 273 yards. And he was in the
lineup again last week against Minnesota when Seattle ran for 214 yards.Fluker
has been a key component of Seattle¡¯s success this season, so it¡¯s mostly
coincidence about when its two best running games have happened. But the run
game has been a critical part of Seattle¡¯s success this season and the Seahawks
rushed for 168 yards in the first meeting against San Francisco.SHOEGATEThe
Niners are still a bit steamed about a play in the game two weeks ago in
Seattle. Linebacker Fred Warner lost his shoe and Seahawks quarterback Russell
Wilson tossed it out of his way. While Warner went behind the line to try to get
his shoe, the Seahawks went into hurry-up mode and drew an offside penalty when
Elijah Lee couldn¡¯t get on the field in time as Warner rushed off. Shanahan got
a personal foul for arguing the call and then was fined $25,000 on top of it for
the outburst.¡°They told us there was nothing the player could do,¡± Shanahan
said. ¡°So, that¡¯s what I told Fred. Next
time
Ed
Oliver Jersey , just make it more obvious. We¡¯re going to get the penalty
anyway, so hopefully, sit down and make it as obvious as you can. Hopefully then
common sense will prevail.¡±LINEBACKER CHANGEThe Seahawks were hoping to get
Mychal Kendricks back from suspension to hold down the weakside linebacker
position until K.J. Wright was fully healthy. That plan lasted one game as
Kendricks was injured against Minnesota and is out for the season after being
placed on injured reserve.Wright is not expected to return to the lineup for
another couple of weeks, meaning second-year linebacker Austin Calitro will
rejoin the starting lineup. Calitro has started three games at weakside
linebacker and one at middle linebacker this season, and played well alongside
Bobby Wagner. SEATTLE (AP) ¡ª John Schneider and Pete Carroll continue to refer
to the makeover of the Seattle Seahawks as a reset, even if it¡¯s looked more
like rebuild.The roster that brought Seattle its first Super Bowl title was
deconstructed this offseason in the most massive overhaul of the franchise since
the infancy of the Schneider-Carroll partnership when they arrived in 2010. Left
in the wake are some stars from that title team ¡ª Russell Wilson, Doug Baldwin,
Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright ¡ª and an abundance of new faces trying to prove the
Seahawks aren¡¯t taking a major step backward after missing the playoffs in 2017
for the first time in five seasons.¡°I feel like there is a different energy, a
different vibe,¡± Wagner said. ¡°I feel like everybody is hungry, everybody has
something to
prove
http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-cody-ford-jers ey ,
and that brings an excitement.¡±Seattle believes there won¡¯t be a backward slide
because the principles of how it wants to play have only been reinforced by the
offseason moves. The Seahawks want to run the ball to control possession with
running backs Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, and some tweaks to the offensive
line. They want less pressure on Wilson in the pass game and hope receiver
Brandon Marshall still has something left. They want to stop the run thanks to a
defense that¡¯ll be focused even more on linebackers Wright and Wagner.Those are
principles Carroll created when he arrived and Seattle slowly shifted away from
them in some aspects. The run game fell apart after Marshawn Lynch departed.
Wilson was the entirety of Seattle¡¯s offense a year ago. And a defense that was
among the best just a few years ago was exposed last season as injuries
decimated the once-dominant unit.That¡¯s partly why the likes of Richard Sherman,
Michael Bennett, Jimmy Graham, coordinators Darrell Bevell and Kris Richard and
offensive line coach Tom Cable all were sent away in the offseason.Seattle
needed to get younger and fresher in the hopes this reset isn¡¯t just a bridge to
2019, but with the chance of being good now.Here¡¯s what else to know about the
2018 Seahawks:RETURN OF THE RUN: The addition of new offensive coordinator Brian
Schottenheimer only reinforced Carroll¡¯s determination that Seattle had gone
away too much from its offensive principles. He built the Seahawks into a
powerhouse by running the ball.So the Seahawks are going to run and they¡¯re not
being secretive about it. Even though Carson flashed early last season before
suffering a season-ending injury, Seattle still spent a first-round pick on
Penny as a complement. A year ago, Seattle had one rushing touchdown from
someone other than Wilson. No running back rushed for more than 240 yards for
the season. If that happens again, the Seahawks¡¯ offense will be in trouble.¡°We
want to run the football. That¡¯s been crucial for our success,¡± Carroll said.
¡°It¡¯s part of the whole system and how it works. It¡¯s probably the part of our
team that I¡¯m most looking forward to.¡±SAFETY PLAN: Safety Earl Thomas¡¯ holdout
cast a shadow of questions over Seattle¡¯s training camp as to whether
second-year safeties Tedric Thompson or Delano Hill are ready to be starters.
Thompson is the most likely to step in immediately in Thomas¡¯ place as a free
safety, while Hill is more apt to play strong safety, meaning Bradley McDougald
would move to free safety.Whatever the mix ends up
being
Devin
Singletary Jersey , this is not what Seattle expected or wanted, and could
make the secondary a weakness after years of being one of Seattle¡¯s great
strengths.FIND THE RUSH: The trade of Bennett and the loss of Avril to a neck
injury left Seattle with major questions on the defensive line, such as: Who can
rush the passer? Frank Clark will be the primary focus after getting 22 sacks in
46 games in his first three seasons. But Seattle must find a complement to
Clark. Whether it¡¯s Barkevious Mingo, Rasheem Green, Jacob Martin or someone
from the interior of the line, Seattle needs to get pressure on opposing
quarterbacks to keep its revamped secondary from being exposed.Dion Jordan was
supposed to be that other pass rusher but another leg injury has sidelined the
former top five pick for the entire training camp.SHAQUEM¡¯S DREAM: Seattle
drafted linebacker Shaquem Griffin because it believed his athleticism would be
beneficial on special teams and potentially as a pass rusher. He may get a
bigger role right from the start.Griffin could end up being Seattle¡¯s starting
weakside linebacker in Week 1 after Wright underwent knee surgery. It¡¯s unclear
if Wright will be healthy in time for the opener and Griffin ¡ªwho had his left
hand amputated as a child¡ª has been Wright¡¯s backup throughout the offseason and
training camp.If Griffin starts the opener it would only add to what¡¯s been one
of the most uplifting stories of the offseason after Seattle drafted him in the
fifth round and reunited Shaquem with his twin brother Shaquill.NO FAVORS: If
Seattle can survive a front-loaded schedule, it could be in position for a
playoff run late in the season. The Seahawks play four of their final five and
five of the final seven games at home. Their only road game in the month of
December is to San Francisco.But getting to December will be a challenge. The
Seahawks open with four of six on the road, including a trip across the Atlantic
Ocean to face the Raiders in London. Survive that rough start, and there may be
a chance for a late surge into contention.