The Seattle Seahawks retooled their roster in a number of ways this season, from promoting veteran backup Geno Smith into the starting quarterback position to throwing a number of rookies directly into the fire on gamedays.
Coach Pete Carroll was asked specifically about the learning curve of the first-year players during his Monday press conference.
“These guys are going to gain the comfort of being in these moments in these games and these settings,” Carroll explained. “And it’s going to help them as they make their decisions and the choices they make under pressure and under the speed of the game and all that. They’re just going to continue to get better.
“As we press them into play, the sooner they will be acclimated.”
A rarity, Seattle started two rookies at both tackle spots this year – Charles Cross on the left side and Abe Lucas on the right. Both have gotten a heavy workload so far.
“We’re all but overdoing it with the tackles,” Carroll said. “They’re out there and living with it. They’re learning at the fire line so it’s going to really help us. But there’s some growing pains in there. I never go that route. I’m not going to spend any time on that. That’s part of the process, but it’s going to be worth it.”
The Seahawks rookie and veterans return to practice on Wednesday to prepare to face the Falcons at home this Sunday.
