While the big news of the day was the Seahawks' reunion with tight end Luke Willson, head coach Pete Carroll covered a number of other topics during Wednesday's press conference. Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's presser:
1. Carroll hasn't lost faith in running back Chris Carson.
It's been a tough start to the season for running back Chris Carson, who has lost a fumble in all three games, including one that was returned for a touchdown in last week's loss to New Orleans. But while ball security is of the utmost importance to Carroll, he still believes in Carson and what he can do for the offense.
"Here's all I'm going to say about that, you're going to see absolute support for our guy," Carroll said. "He's a great football player. We love him. You're going to see what that looks like. There's been a lot of players over the years, through the ages that have had issues at times. They put it to rest and it's behind them and all that. That's what's going to happen here. You will not see me waver in my support for Chris and belief in the guy as a football player. That's been the conversation. That's the only message he needs to hear from me. He's heard it from his teammates as well. We expect him to tear it up."
2. The competition is on at safety.
After missing the past two games with a hamstring injury, safety Tedric Thompson practiced fully on Wednesday, an indicator that he has a good chance to be ready for Seattle's Week 4 game against Arizona. Thompson started the opener at free safety, but he'll have to earn his starting job back based on what the Seahawks saw from Lano Hill, who started the past two games at strong safety (Bradley McDougald moves from strong safety to free safety with Hill in for Thompson).
"The comp is on, for sure," Carroll said. "He has played well enough to start for us. We're lucky in that regard. We've got two guys that can start at that spot and feel comfortable about it."
3. Special teams coverage has been good minus one obvious exception.
While a punt return for a touchdown was a big factor in last week's loss, the Seahawks have overall gotten good play from their kick and punt coverage units through three games, and the hope is that the Saints' big return was a one-time issue.
"I love what we've been doing," he said. "Other than the one play, we've been really good. Working together with the kicks and the placement of it and all that and the punts. (Jason) Myers has done a great job kicking off and we've had nothing there. It was just a terrific returner. Hit it just right, caught us off guard just a hair and just split us on the one play. I'm hoping that that's just a one-time deal because our coverage has been spectacular for the most part."
4. The Seahawks are counting on another good showing from their fans in Arizona.
In addition to enjoying success in Phoenix—Seattle hasn't lost a road game to the Cardinals since 2012—the Seahawks have also enjoyed playing in front of a strong contingent of Seahawks fans when they play at State Farm Stadium.
"It does feel like we have a really good following there," Carroll said. "We always have had that. It's always been welcomed, of course. Twelves, they've always turned out great there. It's been really consistent."
5. The Steelers were interested in Nick Vannett for a while.
The Seahawks were able to pull the trigger on Wednesday's trade that sent Nick Vannett to Pittsburgh in part because of Luke Willson's availability, but the move was not a case of the Seahawks looking to move on from Vannett. Instead, Carroll said, the move happened because of Pittsburgh's continued pursuit of the fourth-year tight end.
"They were after it for some time and they just stayed with it," Carroll said. "John (Schneider) finally made it happen… The ability to come right back with Luke was part of the thinking. Knowing that we could stay abreast of the tempo of what we are doing and the style of stuff that we're doing. Picked up a chance for a pick for the future."
