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Injury Updates on Earl Thomas, DeShawn Shead And Four More Things We Learned From Pete Carroll on 710 ESPN Seattle

Key takeaways from Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll's radio segment on 710 ESPN Seattle the Monday after Seattle's 26-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Seahawks' 26-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field saw several players on both sides of the ball leave with injuries, many of which Pete Carroll addressed during his postgame press conference. During his Monday morning radio segment on 710 ESPN Seattle, the head coach provided a bit more information on some of those setbacks. 

Starting with the Seahawks' injury situation, here's a look at five things we learned from Carroll's time on the airwaves:

1. Earl Thomas & DeShawn Shead Could Miss 10-14 Days

Free safety Earl Thomas and cornerback DeShawn Shead each have first-degree hamstring strains, which "are usually 10-14 days," Carroll said. Thomas pulled up on a play that saw cornerback Richard Sherman intercept a deep ball from Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, while Shead felt his hamstring flare up to close out the practice week and couldn't get going on gameday. 

"They both have slightly strained hammys and it just depends," Carroll said. "They're in different spots for each guy and it depends how they react to it and all that. But generally, once you do something to your hamstring and you're a sprinter — other positions can kind of get by — when you're a sprinter like these guys are, you've got to be right."

Filling in for the injured starters was nickel cornerback Jeremy Lane, who took Shead's every-down cornerback spot, while Neiko Thorpe filled in as the team's third cornerback. DeAndre Elliott also saw playing time at cornerback late in the game with Thorpe suffering from cramps, while Steven Terrell filled Thomas' role at free safety. 

"I was really fired up about Neiko playing," Carroll said. "He came in a did a good job. Steven Terrell did a really nice job battling on the deep end. I watched them really intently to see how they were doing because both of them will be called on to play if we need them. I thought they did a good job."

As Thorpe, Elliott, and Terrell filled in, Carroll said he left the group with a message on the sideline. 

"As a matter of fact I did," Carroll said. "I was talking to them just that it's just football. That it's the same game they've always played. It's not any different. Don't make it into something it isn't. Simply just remember it's just football and settle them down and make sure they're at least somewhat calm. Guys did fine."

"It's a big deal for these guys, particularly the first time you jump in," he added. "Elliott goes in there and they're back down by the goal line and it's tough. He came along and had a couple good plays in there."

2. C.J. Prosise is "Hurt For Some Time"

Rookie running back C.J. Prosise started Sunday's game strong, sprinting 72 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to start the scoring for Seattle. He finished with four carries for 76 yards, exiting early because of a shoulder injury that Carroll said the Seahawks "don't know the extent or how long it's going to be, but he's hurt for some time and we'll have to figure that out."

Prosise's setback called on second-year running back Thomas Rawls to play more snaps than intended in his first game back since suffering a fibula injury in Week 2. Rawls finished with 14 carries for 57 yards and added three catches for 31 yards while his "physical mentality" was felt by the Seahawks' offensive and defensive players alike

"I was just thrilled to watch him play, man," Carroll said of Rawls. "So much fun and everybody else could see it. You could sense it right from the beginning and he's probably pretty banged up today. It's going to take him a while to get him back through the week, but that's really fun to have him back in action."

Carroll said the intention was to have recently promoted practice squad running back Troymaine Pope finish out the fourth quarter, but Pope left injured with an ankle sprain. With Alex Collins a healthy scratch against the Eagles, that led to backup quarterback Trevone Boykin getting one carry -- for minus five yards -- at running back, a job Carroll said several players were lobbying for on the Seattle sideline. 

"It was like a T.V. show on the sidelines of guys trying to campaign to get the running back spot," Carroll said. "Led by Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin, 'We'll just trade off, we'll get it done!' You don't want to put those guys back there for exactly what happened to Boykin. They didn't need to see that."

3. Russell Wilson Looked His "Best Yet"

Statistically speaking, Sunday's game wasn't Russell Wilson's best this season, as he finished the afternoon 18-of-31 for 272 yards and one touchdown passing. But from a movement standpoint Carroll said it was the "best yet" for the Seahawks' dual threat quarterback who has battled ankle, knee, and pectoral injuries this season. Wilson ran a season-high eight times for 19 yards, became the first Seahawks quarterback to record a receiving touchdown on a Baldwin-thrown ball, and consistently made throws while scrambling outside of the pocket, including an impressive across-the-body throw to Jimmy Graham that the tight end took into the end zone.

"He was all over the place yesterday," Carroll said. "He was running around and flying around and making great decisions. Fantastic decision on Jimmy's play. But he just keeps doing it. He's as close now as he's been and I think he looked himself the best yet. So we're on our way. It's fantastic to see that back in the offense."

"Every time he moves I feel like something good can happen, because it does so often," Carroll later added. "He had another great play when he stepped up and hit Doug coming across. That's a fantastic play just in a flash of an instant to come out of the mess and flick that ball and we hit 25 yards or something on the play. Just amazing plays."

4. The Offensive Line is "Getting Better And We're Going To Keep Getting Better"

Against an Eagles defense that featured one of the NFL's more productive defensive fronts, a unit that also came into the week allowing the sixth-fewest yards per game (323.0), the Seahawks' offensive line kept Wilson clean for most of the day, with Wilson's one sack coming on a scramble play for zero yards. The line also helped Seattle rush for a season-high 152 yards and a 2016-best 5.1 yards per carry. 

"I was really excited about the way they played yesterday, and against a good group, too, that's why you can weigh it accordingly," Carroll said of the Seahawks' offensive line. "They're [the Eagles defensive line is] physical, they're tough, they're all that and our guys we're coming off the rock. We're getting better and we're going to keep getting better. We've just got to keep it going. One step at a time."

Carroll likened the offensive line's play to a baseball player upping his batting average.

"It's just in the accuracy of the identification of what's going on," Carroll said of where he's seen growth in Seattle's offensive line. "The communication so we hit things together more a higher percentage of the time. It's like your batting average is going up, so we're right more and right more often. The more they get like that the more physical they get because they're sure of themselves."

Rookie left tackle George Fant, who played basketball in college, left Sunday's game with a shoulder injury. He was able to return to the game, but in his absence fellow rookie Rees Odhiambo received valuable snaps at the spot. 

"He came back in the game and played tough in the second half of the game. He's just a really good player," Carroll said of Fant before transitioning to Odhiambo. "The bright side yesterday was Rees. Rees really did a good job. Rees specialized at left tackle. He's been a left tackle in his career in college, we've been playing him at guard and tackle. When you just stick him back there right at home he looked very comfortable and did a nice job, which just adds to the competition of it, which makes us better."

5. The Apple Cup Will "Be One Of The Great Rivalry Matchups Around The Country"

Washington and Washington State meet in the Apple Cup this Friday, November 25, a game that will determine the winner of the Pac-12 North division. Kickoff between the No. 6-ranked Huskies and No. 23-ranked Cougars is set for 12:30 p.m. PT at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and Carroll said he "can't wait to see" what happens.

"I think it's a fantastic matchup," he said. "We've been watching Washington State all year. I love the quarterback and the play and all that — some of the fourth downs, I don't know — but they just have a really good team and they play hard and tough, they're playing good defense. And Washington has played great all year. They have a fantastic team.

"This could be one of the great matchups. It'll be one of the great rivalry matchups around the country I think."

Extra Points

  • Carroll said defensive end Michael Bennett (knee), who's missed the team's past four games, is "trying" to play this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "He's going for it for this week and we'll see what happens."

Here are some 12s enjoying Week 11 vs the Eagles at CenturyLink Field.

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