Cowboys can put Carroll in 0-3 hole
SEATTLE — Whether it was his first two stops in the NFL, his time in college at Southern California or his first eight seasons in charge in Seattle, Pete Carroll has never started a season with three consecutive losses.
That’s 12 seasons in the pros and nine in college during which Carroll has been able to avoid a disastrous start to a new campaign. And it’s what the Seahawks will try to avoid today when they host the Dallas Cowboys.
“There’s only a couple of undefeated teams in the NFC right now and let’s hang with that. Let’s hang with them,” Carroll said. “I don’t want to get behind that number right now, so we’ve got to get a win.”
What’s been called a roster reset multiple times by Carroll and other Seahawks has struggled to get started. Seattle’s offense has looked inept at times, its quarterback confused and its defense vulnerable. The Seahawks understand the rarity of dropping to 0-3 and still being able to turn around the trajectory of the season.
“I’m not going to give you a cliche. You don’t want to be 0-3,” Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
Dallas is still trying to solve all of its issues, but at least it has a victory after knocking off the New York Giants at home last week. The Cowboys’ defense was exceptional against the Giants, holding rookie Saquon Barkley and New York’s run game to 35 yards on the ground, and sacked quarterback Eli Manning six times. The Cowboys are second in the NFL with 9 sacks through two weeks, and now face the offense that’s surrendered a league-high 12 sacks so far, 6 in each game.
“We’ve continued to try to build the talent level on our front seven and try to create competitive situations where guys are fighting for roster spots and fighting for playing time and hopefully when they get out there that competition brings out the best in them,” Dallas Coach Jason Garrett said. “Obviously, those can be very impactful plays.”
The Cowboys are 5-2 in September road games since 2014, one of those losses coming in the opener against Carolina. Seattle hasn’t lost a home game in September under Carroll, going 13-0 since 2010.
For two weeks, the Seahawks have failed to follow through on one of their major offseason priorities of returning to being a run-first offense. The Seahawks had just 16 carries for 64 yards in the opener.
After committing to running more in Week 2, they ended up managing 74 yards on 22 carries against the Bears. There was also Carroll’s confusion about the conditioning of starter Chris Carson, who didn’t have a carry in the second half against the Bears.
New Dallas secondary coach and passing game coordinator Kris Richard turned down interview requests before his reunion with the Seahawks. Richard spent the first eight years of his pro coaching career in Seattle, the past two as defensive coordinator. He was fired in a retooling of Carroll’s defensive staff.
The Cowboys have blitzed more the first two weeks than in the past under defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. From the start, Richard has said the Cowboys embraced the idea of him bringing new concepts.
“I do think the DNA of both guys in terms of what they believe in coaching is real similar,” Garrett said. “I think that reflects on how they teach technique and the schemes that we use.”