Take a look at what the Seahawks (4-2-1) are saying about the Bills (4-4) before the two teams meet on Monday Night Football in Week 9 at Seattle's CenturyLink Field.
Head Coach Pete Carroll
(On the Bills' running game...)"They're really good and the big factor is [quarterback Tyrod] Taylor. Tyrod is a big factor, he's averaging six and a half yards a carry, he's run the ball almost 50 times already, and he's really a great addition to what they're doing. There's nobody more difficult to tackle in an open field than Shady [Bills running back LeSean McCoy]. He's just as tough as you can get. He's averaging 5.3 or something, [Mike] Gillislee leads the average in 6.5, so everybody who's touching the ball is averaging halfway to a first down. This is a really difficult offense and a really committed wide open running game. A lot of stuff that they do, it's a good challenge for our guys and it's the kind of challenge that our guys love. They're fired up about figuring it out and kind of unraveling the mystery of it, figuring out where the ball is going, and hopefully we do a nice job there."
(On the challenges of a team that blitzes like Buffalo does...) "They are leading the league in sacks, so that's the challenge, that they can get to the quarterback. [Bills linebacker Lorenzo] Alexander has nine [sacks], they got some guys that are bringing heat. The challenge is you're trying to avoid the negative plays and keep on track without that factoring in. Steady pressure usually effects the QB and how he sees things and his timing and all that. That's why we try to rush the guys that are good. That's one of the best ways to offset their efficiency and all. If you affect the pressure, it can be a problem. We have to handle it really well. We have to hopefully make them pay when they pressure because we see it, we pick it up and we get guys open, we take advantage of the one-on-one. That's kind of how it works."
(On potentially facing Percy Harvin on Monday...)"I think it would be great. Coming off the couch, I don't know how much he's been working, but Percy is a great athlete and a great football player. If anybody can come out and do something special, he's capable of coming right from not playing to playing. He's extraordinarily fast, he's very tough and he's a great competitor. We always saw that in him. If anybody can come out of nowhere and make some plays, he can do it."
Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell
(On what stands out to him about the Bills defense...) "The myriad of looks, [Bills head coach] Rex [Ryan] and [Bills assistant head coach] Rob [Ryan], they're known for all the different looks that they can give you with different personnel groups. They don't just stay in one or two fronts, you're going to see a number of fronts, a number of different coverages. The one thing we go to is what do we do well? We're going to do the things that we do well is what we'll end up running and we'll have to block whatever the look is, because we've seen enough looks of different things, with the things that we know really well."
CB Richard Sherman
(On what stands out to him on the Bills offense…)"They have a lot of explosive plays. [Bills quarterback] Tyrod [Taylor] does a great job getting around in the pocket. They have some speedsters on the outside. Shady [Bills running back LeSean McCoy] has done a great job making big plays, but their backup running back [Mike Gillislee] has also done a great job getting big yardage. You've got to respect the things that they do."
(On if he expects to see former Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin play for the Bills…)"I'm sure we'll see him a little bit. I'm not sure how much they can bring him in right away, but who knows."
DE Cliff Avril
(On the Bills offense...) "[Bills running back LeSean] McCoy is a beast. McCoy and the quarterback [Tyrod Taylor], they just do some great things. He's very elusive, he can make you miss in the open field. He's fast, he's quick, he's what makes that offense run. If we can slow him down and stop him, we have a better chance of winning the game."
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach Tom Cable
(On the Bills leading the league with 26 sacks...) "They have really good players and of course anytime you play the Ryan's [Rex and Rob], it's going to be a bit of a mess, it can be dirty. What you expect, in terms of pressures and where they come from and all that, there's always an element of surprise with them."
QB Russell Wilson
(On facing the Bills pass rush on Monday...)"[Center] Justin [Britt] and I have been meeting a bunch this week. He's done a great job all season. We've done a great job of communicating and being on the same page. He's done a really good job of pass protection and getting us enough time to make some throws and make some plays. We want to continue that and we are going against a very tough Buffalo Bills defense. They do a lot of different things and we're looking forward to that. There's nothing better than a challenge and we're looking forward to trying to slow down that challenge."
WR Jermaine Kearse
(On what he's seen from the Bills defense...) "They're just real scrappy, they swarm to the ball. We just have to execute and focus on what we can control. I think ultimately it all comes down to us and how we execute our game plan and how we go out there and perform."
Defensive Coordinator Kris Richard
(On whether the front four on the Seahawks defense have to play differently going against a quarterback like Tyrod Taylor...)"We don't have to change the way we have to rush, we have to make sure once we get our one-on-ones, we have to get him on the ground. For a guy whose smaller stature, once you consider the average quarterback size in the NFL, he's a guy who can certainly break tackles. Just because you break through and maybe you have him or think you have him wrapped up, we have to make sure we finish the job."
(On what makes the Bills rushing attack so good...)"They have a wide variety of things that they do. We have to make sure we're on our ps and qs and prepare for a lot of stuff, whether it's their wildcat when they just have the running back back there, they have their zone read series where the quarterback can keep it, he can hand it off and on top of that, they have a really good running back in LeSean McCoy. Typically in this league, the running game is defined by the running back. They're averaging all those yards behind McCoy and [Mike] Gillislee, and they have a nice offensive line that likes to open up holes."
(On what makes LeSean McCoy so tough...) "His elusiveness. Again, he's a guy that's in and out of his breaks, he's got really good balance, awesome vision and he's got good speed. If you take all that, that's a formula that speaks to success. Got to make sure you track this guy down. When you're coming after him, if you're not up to task, he'll cut back on you, he'll use his speed to get away from you and he can break tackles if you think you have him wrapped up."
