Tag: Michael Dickson

Seahawks release P Ty Zentner from practice squad

Seahawks release P Ty Zentner from practice squad

Ty Zentner, we hardly knew you. The Seattle Seahawks signed Zentner to the practice squad late last week in case veteran punter Michael Dickson wasn’t medically cleared to play against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14. The replacement option has already been released from the practice squad.

Dickson was questionable heading into the weekend. He suffered a back injury in the fourth quarter of Seattle’s Week 13 victory over the New York Jets. Spasms prevented Dickson from punting in the dying moments of that contest.

Dickson was active and available versus the Cardinals. He punted on five occasions for 265 yards, averaging an outstanding 53 yards per punt. Dickson’s longest punt went for a booming 61 yards and he placed four of them inside the opponent’s 20-yard line with one touchback. He showed no ill effects of the injury suffered against the Jets.

Zentner is a second-year punter that’s endured stints with various franchises in one-and-a-half seasons. The former Kansas State standout punter spent time with Seattle’s NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams earlier this year. Zentner punted seven times for the Rams, totaling 281 yards (40.1 yards per punt). He previously appeared in nine career games with the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans.

Zentner will continue being a popular league-wide target for teams with punter injuries. Thankfully, Dickson is healthy and available for Seattle heading into a showdown with the Green Bay Packers in Week 15.

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Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III downgraded to OUT for Week 14

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III downgraded to OUT for Week 14

In a rather unfortunate bit of news, the Seattle Seahawks have officially downgraded running back Kenneth Walker III to OUT for Sunday. The Seahawks will have to go into their crucial Week 14 rematch with the Arizona Cardinals without their best ballcarrier.

Walker was listed as QUESTIONABLE on Friday going into the weekend with a calf injury. Sadly, the standout back could not overcome this setback, and will not be present. As a result, Seattle elevated rookie running back George Holani off the practice squad. Holani was undrafted out of Boise State this year, and made quite the impact in the preseason. The former Bronco had 17 rushes for 66 yards and two touchdowns this past August.

Additionally, the Seahawks elevated punter Ty Zentner from the practice squad. Zentner was added to the practice squad earlier this week as insurance for punter Michael Dickson, who is also QUESTIONABLE and dealing with back spasms.

The other addition to the injury report is cornerback Tre Brown, who has been downgraded to DOUBTFUL.

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Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III listed as QUESTIONABLE for Week 14

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III listed as QUESTIONABLE for Week 14

The Seattle Seahawks have listed their game time designations for their Week 14 rematch with the Arizona Cardinals. Fortunately for Seattle, they are looking relatively healthy. However, they do have two players listed as QUESTIONABLE for the upcoming road trip:

  • Running back Kenneth Walker III
  • Punter Michael Dickson

Walker was limited at practice on Wednesday, and a non-participant on Thursday. This will be something to monitor moving forward. Should Walker not be able to play, Seattle’s inconsistent offense will once again become a lot more one dimensional.

As for punter Michael Dickson, part of the reason why the Seahawks kept going for it on 4th down during their eventual game-winning drive was the fact Dickson was dealing with back spasms. He could not punt! He did power through the pain to hold the football for a crucial Jason Myers field goal attempt, but was not seen later. Seattle did sign punter Ty Zentner to the practice squad as insurance.

The only player who has been ruled OUT is tackle Stone Forsythe.

Additionally, Uchenna Nwosu does not carry an injury designation. He appears ready to make his return since Week 5.

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Seahawks P Michael Dickson should be available for Week 14

Seahawks P Michael Dickson should be available for Week 14

Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson suffered a back injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Week 13 victory over the New York Jets. Spasms prevented Dickson from punting in the dying moments of a tight-knit contest. He had punted on three occasions for 141 yards (47 yards per punt) leading up, but his eventual unavailability ironically helped lead Seattle to a win.

The Seahawks were forced to keep their offense on the field for a fourth-down attempt inside their own 40-yard line with under 10 minutes remaining. Seattle converted and later scored a go-ahead touchdown on that drive. They certainly would have punted had Dickson been available.

Head coach Mike Macdonald spoke with the media on Wednesday. Dickson missed practice with those back spasm issues. Macdonald remains optimistic Dickson will be available to punt against the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s upcoming Week 14 showdown, though his status remains day-to-day.

Dickson currently ranks 12th in the league in gross average punt yards (48.7). The Seahawks do not currently have a punter on the practice squad. That means general manager John Schneider would be forced to sign one to punt against the Cardinals if Dickson fails to clear the injury report. His status will be worth monitoring at Thursday’s and Friday’s practice sessions.

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Seahawks punter Michael Dickson’s pivotal play vs. Lions

Michael Dickson was excellent, averaging 50.2 yards per punt.

Despite Seahawks kicker Jason Myers missing two of three field goals, special teams played a pivotal role in helping Seattle outlast Detroit in Week 2.

Particularly, punter Michael Dickson was excellent, averaging 50.2 yards per attempt, continuously flipping field position in a game that became another offensive shootout. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Leading 31-28 with just under two minutes to go to regulation, quarterback Geno Smith was sacked for a 17-yard loss deep in Seahawks territory. With three timeouts, the Lions were anticipating a subsequent fourth-down from Dickson and an opportunity to take the lead. Fortunately, Dickson’s 64-yard punt pushed the Lions back forcing them to start at the 50-yard line.

Having allowed scores on 5/11 drives for the Lions, the Seahawks defense was able to hold them out of the end zone on what would be Detroit’s final offensive possession of the game. This forced Detroit into attempting to tie with a field goal instead of securing a touchdown that would have given them the lead.

Dickson is averaging 59.0 yards per punt so far this season. At this rate, he may be in for another Pro Bowl appearance.

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Seahawks: 7 takeaways from Munich matchup with Buccaneers

Here are seven takeaways from today’s loss in Germany.

The Seahawks got pummeled the first three quarters by the Buccaneers today in Munich. They rallied in the fourth quarter and made it an interesting game, but came up just short, losing 21-16.

Here are seven takeaways from today’s loss in Germany.

 

Chargers’ reasons for optimism vs. Seahawks in Week 7

Highlighting four reasons why the Los Angeles Chargers should beat the Seattle Seahawks.

The Chargers moved to 4-2 on Monday night with a 19-16 overtime win against the Broncos.

While it may have been ugly, a win is a win, and Los Angeles now has positive momentum, especially in the division, where their victory brought them into a tie for first place with the Chiefs.

On Sunday, that momentum will be tested when the Seahawks come to SoFi Stadium.

Here are four reasons to be optimistic that L.A. hits the bye as a 5-2 football team.

Porous pass defense

Seattle is giving up 245 passing yards per game, 22nd in the league. That number is also helped tremendously by last week’s performance against what looks to be a fundamentally broken Cardinals offense, who the Seahawks held to 171 yards through the air. Rookies Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant are the starters at cornerback for Seattle, who are running a variant of the Vic Fangio defense. That scheme requires a lot of DB talent and a lot of knowledge. Woolen and Bryant have played well this season in stretches, but an elite quarterback like Justin Herbert should be able to exploit their stumbles. If Seattle employs more nickel and dime packages on Sunday, as they did against Arizona, Herbert will be fast enough through his progressions to find an open man against Seattle’s third or fourth corner.

Third down woes

Seattle is also starting two rookies at offensive tackle: top-ten pick Charles Cross and third-rounder Abraham Lucas. Like their teammates at corner, Cross and Lucas have shown flashes, helping Seattle’s offensive line to a sack rate of just 2.2% on 1st down and 1.4% on second down. Both marks are well below the league averages of 5.0% and 5.1%, respectively. However, on third downs, the Seahawks have collapsed. Their sack rate allowed skyrockets to 20.7%, more than twice the league average of 9.8%. Whether that’s because it’s a line full of rookies learning to communicate about blitzes or not is unclear, but we do know Brandon Staley is no stranger to dialing up exotic pressures on third down. Given how well it worked on Monday, I’d expect more of the same from Drue Tranquill and Derwin James on Sunday, with likely the same results.

Special teams trajectories

Pete Carroll said on Monday that Seattle’s special teams are “bugging the heck out of all of us” after another week of miscues against Arizona. Perhaps the most costly was punter Michael Dickson losing control of the ball in the end zone, leading to a fumble recovered for a touchdown by the Cardinals. Seattle has had one mistake of this nature seemingly every game, a contributing factor in their special teams being ranked 23rd by DVOA. Compare that to the Chargers, whose special teams are the number one reason they won the game on Monday. When’s the last time fans of this team could say that? The Chargers are 15th in special teams DVOA, buoyed by the steady presence of Dustin Hopkins (when he’s played) and rookie gunners Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard, who combined to finish the muffed punt play that put LA in field goal range in overtime against Denver. Hopkins will miss this week, but backup kicker Taylor Bertolet was perfect on six kicks in Week 5 when he filled in for the veteran. All this to say: Los Angeles is getting their special teams unit in sync, while Seattle is still searching for answers.

Failure to capitalize

Seattle has forced ten turnovers in their six games and turned their opponent over on downs four times. That’s a pretty good clip! The Seahawks are tied for 5th in takeaways per game. But when the defense gives their offense the ball back, Seattle has struggled to turn it into points. Of those fourteen occurrences, Seattle has scored on the following drive just three times, four if you count Tariq Woolen’s pick 6. After receiving the ball due to a big play by their defense, Seattle has turned it right back over four times, punted five times, and gone to halftime once if they’re unable to score. LA only turns the ball over 0.8 times per game, the second-best mark in the league. If Seattle can’t capitalize on their likely only shot at a turnover on Sunday, there’s reason to believe the Chargers will be able to right the ship.

Special teams miscues ‘bugging the heck’ out of Pete Carroll, Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been struggling on special teams as of late and are working to tighten up the unit and rectify the miscues.

The Seattle Seahawks have had relatively consistent special teams play over the years, but things have looked a bit different in the last couple of games.

“Golly, it’s just bugging the heck out of all of us because we are really good on teams on 98% of it, but then we have a play that wrecks the game for you in a sense,” coach Pete Carroll said during his Monday press conference. “We really have had those almost disastrous plays that just don’t fit us at all.”

From muffed punts to botched returns and fumbles and Michael Dickson’s snafu in the end zone on Sunday, the struggles have been real.

“We are working hard, we made a big plea to the guys that we have to clean up every snap, not just some here or some there,” Carroll continued. “We’ve been really consistent with our coverage and the kickers are doing well, so it’s unfortunate. Mike’s decision last week and then this one, we just made a real error on the one that happened this week. Man, those are big plays.

“We are going to do everything in our power to fix it.”

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Watch: Seahawks P Michael Dickson forgets how to football

In any case, it’s another really bad special teams gaffe by a team that seems to be making one every week.

This is either the second-dumbest trick play the Seahawks have called this season or an inexplicable brainfart by punter Michael Dickson.

Watch Dickson roll out to punt then spontaneously decide to test the New Orleans’ fourth down defense by running.

Based on what the other 10 guys were doing, it’s probably safe to assume that wasn’t what was called. In any case, it’s another really bad special teams gaffe by a team that seems to be making one every week.

The Saints took over at the 13-yard line and scored, taking a 17-10 lead.

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WATCH: Bears rookie Velus Jones Jr. has electric punt return

WATCH: Bears rookie Velus Jones Jr. shows off speed with electric punt return

Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. had a rough start in his preseason debut against the Seattle Seahawks, but made up for it in a big way.

Jones fumbled on the opening kickoff of the game, though it was recovered by the Bears. He didn’t let that get him down, however, responding with an impressive punt return near the end of the first quarter. Jones tracked a punt from Michael Dickson and dashed upfield for 48 yards, putting the Bears near the Seahawks 30-yard line.

Jones, selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Tennessee, boasted plenty of speed on offense and special teams while he was in college. It was a significant selling point and made him a desirable weapon for the Bears. It’s already paying off in the punt return game.

The return set up a touchdown from backup quarterback Trevor Siemian to fullback Jake Tonges. The Bears lead the Seahawks 10-0 in the second quarter.