Seattle still searching for running game solution
Football Betting Lines
08/31/2010 -
RENTON, Wash. (AP) - One week left in the preseason and Pete Carroll still doesn't have an answer for Seattle's stumbling run game.
Carroll doesn't need one back to emerge from his group of three competing for playing time. He just wants to see something more than a couple of yards at a time.
``I don't think we've had enough success running the football to allow the guys to distinguish themselves,'' Carroll said on Monday. ``They've all run hard and I've looked at all of their runs in groups to make sure I can see them and styles of runs to see if there's anything going there and right now all these guys are battling.''
The Seahawks' coach said all three of his running backs - Justin Forsett, Julius Jones and Leon Washington - will get playing time on Thursday night when Seattle closes out the preseason at Oakland.
So far, none of the three have shown enough in the preseason to claim the job outright. Carroll said the job won't revolve around just one back when the season starts, but he wants to see improvement from the paltry statistics posted so far.
In three games, the Seahawks are averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Only Washington is averaging more than 3 yards, but he has just 10 carries.
Forsett, the 5-foot-8 speedster, has received the most work of all three, getting 18 carries. Carroll said the dimension Forsett brings as a pass catcher, especially in third down situations, perhaps gives him a nudge ahead of the other two.
``He's a good player for us there and maybe he has a little bit more to offer there at this point from what we've seen. He has an edge on that aspect,'' Carroll said. ``But that doesn't mean he's the third down back and the other two guys are the first and second down guys. I don't see it that way.''
Last season, Forsett was Seattle's second-leading rusher with 545 yards. While the total wasn't very significant, it was his 5.2 yards per carry that grabbed attention.
Washington showed his speed in Seattle's second preseason game, bursting through the line for an 11-yard touchdown run that for the moment ended questions that lingered following his gruesome broken leg last year with the New York Jets.
Julius Jones, the Seahawks' leading rusher the past two seasons, might be the odd man out, based on opportunity so far. Jones has received just 12 carries this preseason and his longest run is 6 yards.
In Seattle's second preseason game against Green Bay, Jones didn't play until the second half. Against Minnesota on Saturday, Jones carried just twice, while Forsett and Washington both got a half-dozen attempts.
Even running back-fullback Quinton Ganther has gotten more carries than Jones.
``We're going to go with the guys who are giving us the most juice and making it happen and doing well,'' Carroll said. ``It gets frustrating sometimes for those guys, I've been through that before, but I don't really worry about that. I want them hungry to get out there and fighting for their snaps.''
Carroll said he's still hopeful injured left tackle Russell Okung will be back to help the run game for the season opener. Okung, the No. 6 pick in April's draft and the heir to Walter Jones at left tackle for the Seahawks, suffered a high right ankle sprain on the first play of Seattle's second preseason game.
Okung watched practice on Monday, but Carroll said it would be a ``pretty special recovery'' if he's ready to go against San Francisco on Sept. 12.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Halftime - Group C: Russia 34, Ivory Coast 30 (Ankara)
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Gro
FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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