The Pete Carroll Show: Previewing Seahawks’ opener against St. Louis

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll joined Dori Monson on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM Friday morning to preview Seattle’s opener against St. Louis and the upcoming season. You can listen to the interview here. Below are some highlights:

‘A fantastic challenge.’ The matchup that could decide Sunday’s game is between the Rams’ front seven and an offensive line that is Seattle’s biggest question mark heading into the season. The Rams’ defensive line has five former first-round picks – Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, Chris Long and Nick Fairley – and the combination of all that talent and St. Louis’ defensive scheme has contributed to 25 sacks over the last six games against the Seahawks. “They’re really talented. They’ve had a lot of draft picks in the last few years and they’ve really cashed in on it. They’re as talented and athletic a group as we’ll play all year long. So we go right into the fire right off the bat,” Carroll said. “Our guys are really a good-looking group. They’ve got a lot of growth, they’re going to learn and get better. This is a fantastic challenge for them, and we’ll see where we are as we get going. These guys have always given us problems. It’s because they’re so good and the scheme is so challenging. We’ll see if we can keep them at bay some and run the football at them and not let them get going and tee it up for the pass rush. If we can do that, it’ll give us a chance.”

Lockett will play ‘a lot’ at WR. It’s been clear ever since the Seahawks traded up to draft Tyler Lockett in the third round that he’ll be the team’s primary kickoff and punt returner. Less clear has been how much playing time Lockett figures to see right away at wide receiver, where Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse are the two starters. Lockett will play quite a bit, according to Carroll. “He’s in the rotation so he’s playing. He’s one of the starting three receivers and so he’s in there. He’s going to play a lot,” Carroll said. “We’ll just gauge as the game goes how demanding the kicks are and what we need to do to keep him out there. We’re fine with our depth. We’ll have a lot of guys that will play at receiver every week and our rotations will run deep. But we still would like to give him a lot of chances to help us because he’s a good football player. He’s the kind of guy that doesn’t seem like anything bothers him. You don’t feel like he’s going to ever show you that he’s tired or he’s worn down or anything. He just wants to keep playing, and the more the better for him.”

No change with Chancellor. Carroll gave what have become the familiar responses when asked about strong safety Kam Chancellor, whose holdout has now extended into the first week of the season: The situation remains the same. The Seahawks are disappointed he’s still absent. They’re prepared to play without him. Carroll: “Unfortunately there’s not an update. The situation has stayed the same. There’s been a lot of work done and conversations and stuff but it just has not happened to get him here. Unfortunately it just hasn’t, for our fans and for the guys in our locker room. We all love the guy and wish he would be here but he’s got a mindset that’s keeping him out. We always want him to come back but we’re still focusing on what’s real – that’s getting our guys ready to play. Dion Bailey is going to start and we’re going to have our rotations to take care of that position. We have to keep moving, so that’s what we’re doing. Unfortunately there is no change.”