Addressing The Offense, Sleep Deprivation And More In This Week's Twitter Q&A

After a brief we-had-a-new-baby-related hiatus, I’m back to work, which means it’s past time to dive into the mailbag and field questions on the Seahawks’ 1-1 start and whatever other topics you guys throw my direction. As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I couldn’t get to yours this time around. Also, I haven’t been sleeping a lot, so please forgive any nonsensical answers. @windfeldt40_kw asks, “What is the plan to fix the offense?” @CyndeB78 and @KBottom2 also ask about potential changes on offense. A: The Seahawks have struggled on offense through two games, scoring just one touchdown, so understandably there were plenty of questions about the offense as a whole, as well as on the offensive line. Starting with the line, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday that they saw improvement from Week 1 to Week 2, though he also noted that the competition is still on at some spots, mentioning Oday Aboushi, Ethan Pocic and Matt Tobin as players who are fighting for playing time. As for the offense as a whole, Carroll and company obviously want to see more production, but it’s also worth remembering that the conversation might have been a lot different had a couple of dropped passes instead been early touchdowns in last week’s win over the 49ers. But beyond those drops, Carroll still wants to see more from his offense, which is why he said there could be some changes this week. Carroll didn’t specify what might change, but in the past the Seahawks have been a team that adjusts well to any early-season issues and gets stronger as the year goes on. And yes, if the offense continues to put up numbers all season like it has through two games, that would probably be problematic, but let’s remember that the Seahawks have done a lot of very good things on offense in recent years with the same coaching staff and a lot of the same players, so perhaps two games is not a big enough sample size to push the panic button just yet. Injuries to Russell Wilson and pretty much every running back on the roster hurt the offense last year, but prior to that, the Seahawks had one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL for four straight seasons. According to Football Outsiders’ signature stat, DVOA, the Seahawks ranked first in offensive efficiency in 2015, and fifth, seventh and fourth in the three years before that. That dropped to 16th last year, but again, injuries played a huge role in that dip in production. And even with those injuries, the Seahawks remained explosive, finishing seventh in the league with 90 explosive passes (16 or more yards) last season, and having ranked in the top six in passing yards per attempt for five straight seasons. Or if you prefer more traditional measures, the Seahawks had a top-10 scoring offense every year from 2012 to 2015, including No. 4 in 2015 when they gained the most yards and scored the second most points in franchise history, and had a quarterback who led the NFL in passer rating. @kevinmc10 asks, “How many hours of sleep?” A: Let’s just call it variable and leave it at that. But on the plus side, most of my clothes have a nice spit-up mark on the left shoulder, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice. Still, as most any parent would tell you, definitely worth it.@Seatownshowdown asks, “How well do wide receivers usually hold up after puncturing their finger bone through their finger? A: Obviously this is a reference to Paul Richardson, who not only returned to the game after having a dislocated finger sewn up in the locker room, but also made the game-winning touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Thankfully there isn’t a lot of data to go off of on this topic, at least not that I know of, because, well, gross. But it is worth pointing out again how impressive that was that Richardson didn’t just return to the game following that gruesome injury, but managed to be a part of the biggest play of the game. And this probably doesn’t need to be pointed out, but I’ll reiterate it just in case—fingers are rather important for an athlete whose primary job is to catch a football. @Dingis asks, “What’s your favorite crock pot recipe?” A: Good question with the change in weather this week. My wife and I use our crock pot fairly often, though we’re not always that creative with it. We—OK, she—did put together a really tasty chicken, white bean and butternut squash chili last winter, though I don’t have the recipe for you. Our easy, not-so-creative go-to is to just throw a whole chicken in there with a jar of curry sauce or some other simmer sauce. I’m open to suggestions if anyone wants to offer them up. @brentmcole recommends this French onion soup recipe.@wenfot asks, “Will Pete Carroll write another book?” A: Carroll is pretty busy these days coaching the Seahawks, but he did write “Win Forever” just before becoming the head coach of the Seahawks. While his coaching philosophy hasn’t changed since that book was written, Carroll has added a new and very successful chapter to his coaching career during his time in Seattle, so while I don’t know of any plans in the works, it wouldn’t shock me to see Carroll dive back into book writing at some point. And as diverse as Carroll’s interests are beyond football, perhaps someday he’d want to write on a non-football topic. After all, Carroll did recently help launch the Performance Science Institute at USC, so maybe he’ll take on some more academic topics if another book is in his future. @TMoneymakeer asks, “What is Jon Ryan’s favorite cereal?” A: Um, Kix? I mean, that’s the easy answer for a player whose job is to kick the ball, right?

Addressing The Offense, Sleep Deprivation And More In This Week's Twitter Q&A

You had Seahawks questions; we have answers.