The Seattle Seahawks will look to start 2-0 for the first time since 2013 when they square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PT.
Seattle squeaked by Cincinnati in Week 1, 21-20, and will look to move the ball more effectively in Week 2.
Pittsburgh got worked by New England, 33-3, and will no doubt be out for blood in their home opener.
The Seahawks are expected to debut first round pick L.J. Collier on Sunday, and how much he plays will be one of multiple stories for fans to pay attention to in what should be an entertaining game of football in the Steel City.
Here are some thoughts on Collier, as well as a few other storylines to watch for in this one.
How does L.J. Collier fit in on the defensive line?
Seahawks rookie L.J. Collier missed the entire preseason with a rare ankle injury, but coach Pete Carroll made it clear he is healthy and ready to play on Sunday.
However, Carroll wouldn’t commit to playing him, saying “if we want to put him up, he can go.”
The team is likely waiting to determine if veteran Ezekiel Ansah, who is questionable this week after missing the season opener, is going to play on Sunday.
If he does, the team will have Ansah, Jadeveon Clowney, Quinton Jefferson, Rasheem Green and Branden Jackson all available to play defensive end – which creates a logjam of talent at the position.
Of course, with Poona Ford likely out on Sunday (he’s listed as doubtful) the Seahawks could use Collier – or Jefferson, Green and Jackson – on the interior, especially on passing downs.
This makes is hard to get a read on how much Collier will play in his debut, and even where they will use him.
Without having any experience from the preseason, Collier probably cannot be counted on for bigtime snaps in his debut.
Still, the Seahawks would love to see him out there at least a little, and his snaps will be an interesting thing to watch during the game.
How does Russell Wilson divide up targets?
In Week 1, the Seahawks threw the ball more to running back Chris Carson than any of the receivers on the team. Carroll admitted after the game that was not exactly the plan, but more how the flow of the game went.
Regardless, it’s worth paying attention to the target share going forward. Tyler Lockett did not receive his first target until early in the fourth quarter, and only Lockett and rookie DK Metcalf were targeted out of Seattle’s four active receivers.
Will Carson once again lead the team in targets? Will the other running backs, Rashaad Penny and C.J. Prosise, get involved in the air? Will Metcalf open up his lead as Seattle’s top targeted receiver? Will Jaron Brown or any other receiver get a target? How about Will Dissly or Nick Vannett? Hell, will the team throw to George Fant?
Lots of intrigue with this position group for Week 2.
Do the Seahawks play more nickel with Jamar Taylor back?
The Seahawks adopted a “rope-a-dope” defensive strategy against Andy Dalton and the Bengals in Week 1, allowing them to gain a lot of yards in short passing situations, but trying to eliminate the big play and force them into kicking situations in the red zone.
The plan worked in the sense that Seattle won the game, but a handful of big plays made it much closer than many felt it should have been.
Part of his defensive strategy involved Seattle staying firmly in the 4-3 base defense, allowing linebackers K.J. Wright, Mychal Kendricks and Bobby Wagner to all play together at the same time.
Of course, part of that was likely due to uncertainty about their nickelback position, an area that improved this week with the return of veteran Jamar Taylor.
So, it seems likely that Seattle will try to run their nickel package quite a bit more often in this one, as big Ben Roethlisberger seems likely to take advantage of a defense that allows him to gain yards too easily.
The festivities will begin at 10:00 a.m. PT.
