RENTON -- The Seahawks barely get the chance to enjoy their Sunday victory over the Arizona Cardinals before needing to turn their attention to the defending NFC Champion Los Angeles Rams.
In fact, the team was already back in the building Monday afternoon to begin their work for Thursday night's games against the Rams, who are coming off a dismal 55-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. A Thursday night game creates its own set of unique challenges and a pivotal meeting with a divisional rival makes the outcome of the game a potentially critical one. The team will barely being able to practice with the short turnaround and has to do its best to recover from Sunday's win over Arizona while preparing as much as possible for the Rams in just four days.
"We definitely have a routine and a real clear process to go through to help the players be ready and to recover from the Sunday game to get ready to play football," head coach Pete Carroll said on Monday. "I don’t know how other teams do it but I know the way we’ve developed it and we feel real confident and we’ve have success so I think there’s real specific stuff that you got to do to get it done.
"On this day we’re still in recovery-mode, you know. You have to try to maximize recovery and get your guys ready to go. We do look after them and you can’t practice much. You can’t practice in the same fashion that you normally do because it’s the day before the game before you know it, you know. But it’s really important to look after the recovery aspect of this so that they can be at the best so that they can play and get ready and they have to still learn, they have to still practice, you got to still go through reps and all of that kind of stuff but you’ve got to find your way to do that."
The Seahawks have been extremely successful in Thursday night games under Carroll. They are 8-1 overall in such games since Carroll took control of the franchise in 2010. The only loss over that span was a 13-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, which was Russell Wilson's rookie season with the team.
A big benefit for the Seahawks in that they appeared to come out of Sunday's 27-10 win over the Cardinals without any new injuries. The team will not practice on Monday and is holding only a walkthrough session instead. However, there were no new additions to the injury report from last week and no players projected to be unable to practice. Running back Rashaad Penny and cornerback Neiko Thorpe are also both projected to return to the lineup on Thursday after missing games with hamstring strains.
The Rams injury report is rather brief as well with only safety Taylor Rapp (ankle) and linebacker Bryce Hager (shoulder) being listed on the initial report. Cornerback Marcus Peters passed concussion protocol, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com, and was added to the report with a facial injury due to a laceration sustained in a huge hit from a Buccaneers offensive lineman at the end of his interception return for a touchdown on Sunday.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said Rapp and Hager will likely be game-time decisions.
Seahawks to induct Paul Allen into Ring of Honor:
The Seahawks announced Monday that they will induct former team chairman and owner Paul G. Allen into the team's Ring of Honor prior to Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Allen will become the 12th member of the team's Ring of Honor, which seems fitting for the person most responsible for keeping the franchise in Seattle by purchasing the team in the 1990's. The collection 11-man group consists of Steve Largent, Jim Zorn, Dave Brown, Pete Gross, Curt Warner, Jacob Green, Kenny Easley, Dave Krieg, Chuck Knox, Cortez Kennedy and Walter Jones.
"The Seahawks and the 12s are part of what makes Seattle such an exciting city and fantastic community, and the community and the fans were at the forefront of Paul's mind when he purchased the Seahawks," said Seahawks Chair and Paul's sister Jody Allen. "This Ring of Honor induction celebrates Paul's legacy and the impact he made on not only the Seahawks organization, but the entire Pacific Northwest. It is fitting that he is the 12th member of the Ring of Honor. He was the proudest 12 of all."
Allen purchased the franchise on June 30, 1997 from previous owner Ken Behring after a public-private partnership was crafted and approved by Washington state voters to build a new stadium. Behring had attempted to move the franchise to Los Angeles following the Raiders and Rams departure from the market to Oakland and St. Louis.
"This is a special occasion celebrating Paul and all that he stood for for the Seahawks and the northwest and all of that," Carroll said. "There’s going to be a program for him before the game starts so we encourage the 12s to get there early and enjoy it and have some fun. I hear Jody is raising the [12] flag, which is great. I can’t wait to see that. Should be a big event, a big night. Should be a lot of fun for everybody."
Allen's presence and vision for the Seahawks were a big reason Carroll left USC to take over the head coaching job in 2010. Carroll has since delivered six playoff appearances in nine years with two trips to the Super Bowl and a championship to show for his efforts.
"I was easily convinced that he meant what he was saying," Carroll said on Monday. "I had not been easily convinced of that in that same discussion with other clubs over the years. Everything he said came true. Everything he stood for was real and Tod had assured me that it would be and all that but then just after talking to Paul I had no doubt and it was a very difficult decision to leave where I was coming from but I was really excited about the chance because of the challenge of it all. Basically because of his support, I came here because of him. I came here because he was the one that said it will be like this, you can have this opportunity, you’ll be in charge and on and on. I was convinced.
Injury Report:
Photo Credit: GLENDALE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 29: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks looks to make a pass in front of defensive tackle Rodney Gunter #95 of the Arizona Cardinals in the first half of the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)