Tag: Malik Turner

Seahawks feel set at wide receiver even after loss of Josh Gordon

The Seattle Seahawks are comfortable with the six receivers they have, even after losing Josh Gordon to another suspension for drug abuse.

The Seattle Seahawks receiving corps took a big hit earlier this week when it was announced that Josh Gordon would be suspended, yet again, for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

However, despite losing their No. 3 receiver, who had a spectacular 59-yard catch against the Panthers in his final game, coach Pete Carroll isn’t too worried about the depth at that position going forward – although he stuck with his mantra about the team always looking for ways to get better.

“We’re always looking, but I like our guys,” Carroll said on Wednesday. “We had seven guys active last week, so we’re still in good shape at this point. We’re always looking.”

The loss of Gordon will shift David Moore back into the No. 3 receiver role, and increases the role of both Jaron Brown and Malik Turner.

Rookie John Ursua was active last week as well, and could continue to be a part of the 46-man active roster this season.

Considering the team’s confidence in Moore and Turner, it does seem unlikely they will pursue any additions to their receiving group – although intriguing names like Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown will certainly at least merit a phone call.

For now, the Seahawks will go into Week 16 against the Cardinals with the six receivers they have, looking to pad their lead in the crowded NFC playoff picture.

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3 Duds and only 1 Stud as Seahawks fall to Rams Sunday night

Who stood out in Seattle’s disastrous Sunday night performance? Here are the duds and studs from the Seahawks’ loss to the Rams.

Ouch. The Seattle Seahawks suffered a brutal 28-12 loss in front of a national audience on Sunday night at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. It was about as complete a team loss the Seahawks have been dealt in the Pete Carroll era. Seattle looked entirely out of sync in nearly every aspect of the game.

On a night where the Seahawks had a prime opportunity to move into first place in the conference thanks to the 49ers beating the Saints, Seattle has fallen back to a wild card as San Francisco reclaimed first place.

The loss proved costly, but if there is a silver lining, the Seahawks still control their destiny for a division title and first-round bye. The bad news is all margin for error is now eliminated and Seattle must win all remaining games.

Here is who stood out in the ugly loss.

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Instant analysis of Seattle’s 17-9 victory over Philadelphia

In one of the uglier games of the season – even by Seattle’s standards – the Seahawks’ defense stifled the Philadelphia Eagles and helped lead them to a 17-9 victory.

In one of the uglier games of the season – even by Seattle’s standards – the Seahawks’ defense stifled the Philadelphia Eagles and helped lead them to a 17-9 victory.

Seattle is now 9-2 on the year.

A 58-yard touchdown run from Rashaad Penny early in the fourth quarter gave Seattle a two-touchdown lead, and an interception by Tre Flowers late in the fourth was the final nail in the coffin of an Eagles team that struggled all game against Seattle’s defense.

Penalties were a huge part of the game story, with Seattle getting penalized a whopping 12 times. They were penalized 10 times before Philadelphia received their first penalty late in the third quarter. They finished with two penalties for 15 yards, nothing compared to Seattle – who struggled with discipline upfront on the line of scrimmage all day long.

The wind had a huge impact on this game as well, with both quarterbacks struggling to generate yards through the air. Both Carson Wentz and Russell Wilson missed wide-open receivers throwing against the wind, and punts and kicks were considerably less effective all day long.

Seattle scrapped their way to a 10-3 lead at halftime, although they should have been up by multiple scores. A rare miss from Wilson to tight end Jacob Hollister in the end zone cost them four points (they converted a field goal instead) and a dropped catch by DK Metcalf, also in the end zone, cost them seven.

After the Eagles struck first on a short field goal midway through the first quarter, Seattle responded quickly on a flea-flicker from Chris Carson to Russell Wilson that worked perfectly, as Wilson hit Malik Turner in the end zone on a dime for a touchdown.

It was Seattle’s first flea-flicker of the season and gave them an early lead.

Later in the half, Ziggy Ansah forced a fumble that was negated by a Shaquill Griffin holding penalty, but Seattle forced a turnover a few plays later on an interception from Bradley McDougald.

The interception was part of a disastrous game from Wentz, who lost two fumbles and threw another interception – this one by Flowers – which sealed the game late in the fourth.

Wentz finished 33-45 with 256 yards, one garbage-time touchdown, two interceptions, and two lost fumbles.

Shaquem Griffin was the catalyst behind one of Wentz’s fumbles on his first big play of the season as a member of the defense, drilling Wentz and forcing a fumble that was recovered by Branden Jackson.

Griffin had a really solid game, flashing excellent disruption as a pass rusher and finishing with four tackles and one pass defended.

The Seahawks moved to 6-0 on the road this season, and will now root for Green Bay on Sunday night against San Francisco, Seattle’s NFC West rival.

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WATCH: Russell Wilson throws ridiculous flea-flicker touchdown pass

Russell Wilson couldn’t wait to remind everyone that he’s the NFL’s best deep passer — and should still be in the lead for the MVP vote.

It seems that with the Seahawks’ Week 11 bye, the NFL MVP conversation shifted from Russell Wilson to Lamar Jackson in a big hurry. And while Jackson deserves every bit of the praise coming his way, we may be experiencing some recency bias. Early on in Seattle’s Week 12 game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, Wilson seemed determined to remind everyone just who’s in charge here.

The Seahawks went three-and-out with a Wilson sack on their first drive, but perhaps they were just warming up. On Seattle’s second drive, Wilson hit tight end Jacob Hollister for 21 yards, zinged one to DK Metcalf for 17 more yards, and then, there was this.

With right tackle/Godzilla tight end George Fant in motion from left to right, Wilson handed the ball to halfback Chris Carson out of heavy personnel, and the Eagles certainly assumed a running play here. Not so fast, Sherlock, as Carson dumped the ball back to Wilson, who dutifully waited for receiver Malik Turner to get open downfield.

Turner actually wasn’t all that open downfield, with safety Rodney McLeod (No. 23) and cornerback Jalen Mills (No. 31) converging. But Wilson put the biscuit in the basket, and made an absolutely phenomenal throw to Turner for the 33-yard touchdown.

Making this throw more impressive? Check out the conditions at the Linc today:

Coming into this game, Wilson led all quarterbacks with a 135.4 passer rating on passes of 20 or more air yards, and this will just up that particular statistic. Counting that touchdown, Wilson has now completed 27 of 53 deep balls for 360 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions.

It’s just one part of Wilson’s MVP portfolio, but his status as the league’s most efficient deep passer is a crucial tool for a run-balanced offense that gets its shot plays off play action, and relies on a ruthlessly accurate deep thrower to keep things going.

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WATCH: Russell Wilson throws ridiculous flea-flicker touchdown pass

Russell Wilson couldn’t wait to remind everyone that he’s the NFL’s best deep passer — and should still be in the lead for the MVP vote.

It seems that with the Seahawks’ Week 11 bye, the NFL MVP conversation shifted from Russell Wilson to Lamar Jackson in a big hurry. And while Jackson deserves every bit of the praise coming his way, we may be experiencing some recency bias. Early on in Seattle’s Week 12 game against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, Wilson seemed determined to remind everyone just who’s in charge here.

The Seahawks went three-and-out with a Wilson sack on their first drive, but perhaps they were just warming up. On Seattle’s second drive, Wilson hit tight end Jacob Hollister for 21 yards, zinged one to DK Metcalf for 17 more yards, and then, there was this.

With right tackle/Godzilla tight end George Fant in motion from left to right, Wilson handed the ball to halfback Chris Carson out of heavy personnel, and the Eagles certainly assumed a running play here. Not so fast, Sherlock, as Carson dumped the ball back to Wilson, who dutifully waited for receiver Malik Turner to get open downfield.

Turner actually wasn’t all that open downfield, with safety Rodney McLeod (No. 23) and cornerback Jalen Mills (No. 31) converging. But Wilson put the biscuit in the basket, and made an absolutely phenomenal throw to Turner for the 33-yard touchdown.

Making this throw more impressive? Check out the conditions at the Linc today:

Coming into this game, Wilson led all quarterbacks with a 135.4 passer rating on passes of 20 or more air yards, and this will just up that particular statistic. Counting that touchdown, Wilson has now completed 27 of 53 deep balls for 360 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions.

It’s just one part of Wilson’s MVP portfolio, but his status as the league’s most efficient deep passer is a crucial tool for a run-balanced offense that gets its shot plays off play action, and relies on a ruthlessly accurate deep thrower to keep things going.

Malik Turner’s energy and intensity make him extremely valuable

The Seattle Seahawks love the versatility and energy that WR Malik Turner brings to the offense, making him a valuable piece to this team.

The Seattle Seahawks replaced Doug Baldwin with a trio of unproven rookies last offseason, leading many to believe that the team’s receiving corps would take a hit in 2019.

However, the continued emergence of Tyler Lockett, the star power flashed by rookie DK Metcalf and the midseason addition of Josh Gordon have made the Seahawks a formidable passing team, lead of course by MVP candidate Russell Wilson.

One name that gets lost in the shuffle of Seattle’s rebuilt and reloaded receiving group is Malik Turner, an undrafted free agent who is now in his second year with the Seahawks.

Turner is having a quietly excellent season however, hauling in nine receptions (on 11 targets) for 153 yards and six first downs.

While his number has not been called often, Turner has proven to be a reliable pass catcher out of a variety of roles, and made a crucial play in Seattle’s most recent game against San Francisco.

“We have really learned to appreciate Malik in that he’s such a good worker,” coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday. “He’s such an intense guy. Everything he does, he does full speed whether you’re talking to the teams guys, or on offense where they’re blocking and running routes. He’s a terrific route runner. He’s got a great energy about him. It’s not often you can talk about a guy having a motor as a receiver, but he’s got a really good motor and it shows up.”

Turner spent most of the 2018 season on the practice squad, although he did appear in six games and hauled in two receptions. He was considered a longshot to make the roster out of camp this season, but impressed Carroll with his motor and his ability to learn every different position among the receivers, allowing his versatility to make him a weapon off the bench.

“He’s doing really well,” Carroll continued. “He knows everybody’s position, so he’s very versatile. Very valuable guy on our team.”

Don’t expect Turner to lead the team in receptions or yards any game soon, but his role has been an important one this season, and that will continue when the team heads to Philadelphia to face the Eagles on Sunday morning.

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