Welcome to Part II of this week's Seahawks Twitter Q&A. Since it's the bye week and you guys asked lots of good questions, we decided to spread answers out over two days this week. If you missed Part I yesterday, you can read it here. As always, thanks to everyone who submitted a question this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to your question this time around.
@ChrisGzz27 asks, "Who from the current roster will be in the Seahawks Ring of Honor and/or Hall of Fame or have their number retired?"
A:Given that this has been the most successful era of sustained winning in Seahawks history, it's safe to assume there will be plenty of players remembered for their contributions to the team and to the game.
We'll start with Hall of Fame and number retirement since those two pretty much go hand in hand—all of the Seahawks with retired numbers, Steve Largent, Cortez Kennedy, Walter Jones and Kenny Easley are also in the Hall of Fame.
Right now I'd say Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman all have very good shots if they continue on their current trajectories. All three are considered among the best at their positions, and as is the case for anyone on this team, they have been on a lot of winning teams. Thomas and Sherman have the advantage of being key players on a historically great defense, while Wilson has the advantage of playing a position that is among the best represented in the Hall of Fame. He also has some very impressive numbers for a quarterback just hitting his prime, and given the position he plays, he can add to those numbers for a long, long time if he so chooses. All three have already earned numerous Pro-Bowl nods, and in the case of Thomas and Sherman, All-Pro honors, which are important criteria to Hall of Fame voters.
Two others who could be deserving when all is said and done are Bobby Wagner and Kam Chancellor, but depending on when all those players retire, it could be tough for everyone to get the recognition they deserve. For example, safety has historically been an underrepresented position in the Hall of Fame, so are voters going to buck that trend by not only putting in two safeties from the same era, but from the same team? It's not impossible, but that could hurt Chancellor's or Thomas' chances. I'd also mention that Michael Bennett is absolutely considered by his peers to be one of the very best in the game at what he does, but unfortunately others caught on a little late, so the fact that he has only been to the Pro Bowl twice at this point in his career probably hurts his chances. Ring of Honor, however, is a realistic possibility for everyone listed above, as well as the likes of Doug Baldwin and K.J. Wright.
A good case could also be made for Pete Carroll assuming he coaches a few more years and adds more winning seasons and playoff berths to his résumé, and especially if he can win another Super Bowl title or two.
@_mac1990 asks, "Who will be the starting running back against the Giants?"
A:Eddie Lacy started last week, and had one more carry than Thomas Rawls (nine to eight), but Rawls actually played 13 more snaps. So there was no clear-cut No. 1 back last week, and based off what Carroll has said, the Seahawks aren't in any hurry to establish a pecking order.
"We are just going to keep working our guys and keep rolling with really worthy guys," Carroll said. "We will just pound away and see what happens as the games go and everybody is ready to go. C.J. (Prosise) will be back the next time around and we will add him in too. We will see how it goes… There is no reason to have any criteria right now because we like our guys and really equal status now is good for us. We will see how they do."
@grant_baldwin27 asks, "Who will start in place of Luke Joeckel against the Giants?"
A:Carroll confirmed that left guard Luke Joeckel will have arthroscopic surgery on his knee this week, and while the bye will help limit the time he misses, it is unlikely that Joeckel will play in Seattle's Week 7 game at New York against the Giants.
While Carroll didn't say Monday who will start in Joeckel's place—and there's a decent chance he won't say next week either—the likely candidates would be Mark Glowinski, Ethan Pocic or Jordan Roos. Glowinski started at left guard last year before moving to the right side this season. He opened the season as the starter at right guard, but Oday Aboushi has started there the past three weeks. Pocic, a second-round pick, has worked at guard, tackle and center, and coaches like what they've seen out of the rookie, so he's a candidate to fill in just about anywhere a need should arise. Roos, meanwhile, is an undrafted rookie, but he has impressed coaches, and he spent a lot of time in camp and the preseason at left guard, so he could be in the mix as well.
@ejmalanoski asks, "Can players go on vacation or do whatever they want this week, or does the coaching staff go over bye week guidelines?"
A:The answer is kind of yes to both. Players have the freedom to travel, go on vacation, visit family, etc. But it's also safe to assume Carroll and/or position coaches reminded players to take care of themselves during the time off.
@FreeMarketsFan notes that rookie Shaquill Griffin has looked awesome and asks if DeShawn Shead will get his job back when he's healthy?
A:Griffin, a third-round pick who has seen considerable playing time as a rookie, has indeed played very well and impressed his coaches and teammates alike. While Jeremy Lane has been the starter when healthy, Griffin has taken over that role the past two weeks and played well in Lane's absence, while Justin Coleman has also played well as the nickel corner.
As Carroll noted Monday, DeShawn Shead is getting close to coming back from the physically unable to perform list, and when he does, the Seahawks will be really deep at a position that was something of a question mark heading into the year. Coming back from a serious knee injury and missing nearly half a season would seemingly make it tough for Shead to win back his starting job, especially because Griffin and Lane are playing so well. But on the other hand, I wouldn't put much past Shead seeing what he has done so far in his career. Shead played at Portland State, an FCS school, because it was one of his only options; he went to Seattle as a free agent because nobody drafted him; then he spent nearly two full seasons on the practice squad before making it onto the 53-man roster. Then, after another season-plus of special teams duty, Shead saw significant playing time on defense in 2015, then became a fulltime starter last year, only to sustain a serious injury in the last game of the year.
So no, jumping back into the lineup won't be easy for Shead, but it'd also be foolish to bet against him considering what he's accomplished to this point.
Team photographer Rod Mar shares exclusive behind-the-scenes images from the Seahawks' 16-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams during Week 5 at L.A. Coliseum.