The Seattle Seahawks (6-2) will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5) on Sunday to kick off the second half of the 2019 season.
Seattle fans won’t get to see Josh Gordon in action quite yet, as the newly acquired receiver will be inactive for this game while the team gauges his health and allows him to get used to the offense.
The team will probably also be without their second newest acquisition, defensive back Quandre Diggs, who is listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury that coach Pete Carroll admitted was worse than the team expected when he was first acquired.
However, despite no new faces, Seattle and Tampa Bay still has plenty of intrigue attached to it – including a rematch with old nemesis Bruce Arians, a battle between new center Joey Hunt and Tampa’s strong defensive front, and the potential for Seattle’s rookie class to see even more action.
Can Seattle outsmart nemesis Bruce Arians?
No coach has been more successful at beating Pete Carroll and the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field than Bruce Arians.
Arians was the coach of the Arizona Cardinals from 2013-2017, and he managed to defeat Seattle on their home turf four out of five times – one of few coaches to win even twice in Seattle over that timeframe.
Arians is now the coach of the struggling Buccaneers, but his coaching acumen and familiarity with the 12’s and coach Carroll’s strategy could make this a much closer affair than the records indicate.
Can Joey Hunt and the O-Line handle Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea?
Joey Hunt will start for the Seahawks at center against Tampa Bay, filling in for Justin Britt for the rest of the season after he succumbed to a torn ACL that will require season-ending surgery.
Hunt has been Seattle’s backup for years now, and he feels more than ready to take over as the starter for the rest of the campaign.
However, his first task is not an easy one. Hunt will likely have to handle some combination of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh up front from the Buccaneers – two elite defensive tackles.
“They’re as big as you can get,” Carroll said on Wednesday. “Vita is a monster of a guy in there and we know that [Ndamukong] Suh has always been a terror. It’s a challenge for all of our guys. They start from inside out in the running game defense and it’s a very, very strong part of their football team.”
Hunt will have his hands full on Sunday, not only having to lead the offense by calling out blocking schemes, but also having to deal with Tampa’s strongest defensive players.
The battle in the trenches will have a huge impact on this game’s final outcome.
Will we see more of the rookie class in non-special teams roles?
Coach Pete Carroll made it clear he wants to see more of his young players, particularly his rookie class, in bigger roles as the season goes on.
“You can feel the guys that are more comfortable now,” Carroll commented on Monday. “As we head into the second half, it’s when we want to get this win and let’s get going. You kick into the mode of utilizing those guys more. They make it deeper. Like you saw yesterday, you saw us playing some younger guys some. That gives other guys a break and can keep the whole team fresher because you don’t have to burden guys as much. You can get them in rotations and all that.”
Linebacker Cody Barton relieved K.J. Wright for a series last week, a trend that could continue on Sunday. Additionally, players like Ben Burr-Kirven, Ugo Amadi and Travis Homer could jump into roles on defense and offense instead of just contributing on the special teams.
Marquise Blair has already stepped into a prominent starting role, joining DK Metcalf and L.J. Collier as rookies with roles beyond the special teams.
Expect that number to go up as the season goes on, and that could start Sunday against Tampa Bay.
