Carroll says 'I need to be a little less impatient' with running game

RENTON, Wash. – Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bears left Seattle Seahawks fans with a litany of questions.

Near the top of the list for many: Why did Chris Carson not get back on the field after a solid start to the game? And why did the Seahawks give up on the run for most of the second and third quarters, especially after spending yet another week talking about establishing the rushing game.

Coach Pete Carroll faced the media after practice at the VMAC on Wednesday, and he pointed the finger at himself.

“Impatience,” Carroll said. “Figuring that we should be on the board more than we had, and guys throw the ball a little bit more than I want to. I’m over that.”

Carson had six carries for 24 yards, all told. When the Hawks returned to the run game in the second half, however, rookie Rashaad Penny was the man with the ball. Penny, the Seahawks’ first-round draft pick this year, wound up with 10 carries for 30 yards.

Seattle ended up getting its running backs a total of 19 carries on Monday, vs. 36 pass attempts from Russell Wilson. That wasn’t too far off Week 1’s 27-24 defeat to the Denver Broncos, when running backs carried 14 times and Wilson had 33 pass attempts.

“Both games were so close throughout,” Carroll  said. “We were close enough we could’ve done whatever we wanted to all the way down to the end of it. We just got a little bit impatient and threw the ball a little bit more than we needed to and so you look back. And that’s with limited opportunities because we weren’t converting.”

And yes, those third-down conversions are a problem. The Seahawks converted 5-of-13 opportunities against the Bears, which was actually a marked improvement after converting 2-of-12 against Denver.

“We need to be more efficient,” Carroll said. “We were better this week than we were last week. We just need more runs. More first downs and more runs.”

Carroll said it all added up to a departure from the gameplan.

“It just works together and I’m just owning up … that’s what I would say is the issue with that,” he said. “I need to be a little less impatient.”

The Seahawks got some good news on Wednesday, as All-Pro linebacker returned to practice after missing Monday’s game with a groin injury. Fellow linebacker K.J. Wright, however, did not.

Carroll also said wide receiver Doug Baldwin “had a good weekend,” but said “there’s nothing to say at this point” about when he might return.