Pete Carroll explains why the Seahawks benched Riq Woolen

Carroll says Woolen couldn’t hold up tackling because of the shoulder.

You might have noticed something odd in the middle of the 49ers’ dominant win over the Seahawks last night. On the right side of the field, Mike Jackson could be seen playing the boundary where normally Riq Woolen is lined up. Woolen was pulled out of the game in the first half after whiffing on a few tackles as well as a friendly-fire incident near the sideline.

After the game was over, head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that Woolen’s shoulder was the reason why he put Jackson in. Carroll says he couldn’t hold up tackling because of the shoulder.

Woolen did not show up on the team’s injury report in the days leading up to last night’s game, so whatever it is it’s a new issue.

Aside from a shoulder stinger for Jason Peters, there have been no reports of any other injuries for the Seahawks coming out of the game.

More Seahawks Wire stories

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Studs and duds for Seattle from Thanksiving loss

An FTW discussion about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift evolved into a heated Michael Jordan debate

Sometimes the FTW team needs to decompress, and by that we mean fiercely argue with each other about things that don’t matter.

As everyone knows, For The Win is a Famously Serious Sports Blog with a sterling reputation for hard-hitting reporting and innovative storytelling.

This proved true once again Thursday during an informal staff discussion that was supposed to be about Travis Kelce’s mortifying lack of rizz, but quickly turned into a passionate debate (read: fight) about fame, global relevance and whether Michael Jordan would be mobbed in Portugal.

Editor’s note: The following has been lightly edited for clarity but NOT grammar. Though we’re all technically “professional writers,” we use Slack to communicate as a team and are not beholden to the world’s arbitrary rules about “spelling” and “putting apostrophes where they belong.”

Grow up.

Studs and duds from Seahawks 19-15 Preseason Week 3 loss

It was a mostly uneventful game, at least compared to their last two surprisingly thrilling wins, but Seattle did make it interesting late. 

The Seattle Seahawks closed out the 2023 preseason with a 19-15 loss to the Green Bay Packers on the road. Seattle improved from their abysmal 0-3 record last year by going 2-1 in their exhibition games.

It was a mostly uneventful game, at least compared to their last two surprisingly thrilling wins, but Seattle did make it interesting late.

While ultimately the third and final preseason game is rather pointless, there still were those who stood out – both positively and negatively – as players try to make the final cut. With that being said, here are three studs and one dud.

Seahawks have 4 of the top 20 fastest ball carrier plays this season

Seattle has some of the fastest skill players in the league and that’s reflected on this list from Next Gen Stats.

Speed is the name of the game for the 2022 Seattle Seahawks. Coach Pete Carroll called this the fastest team he’s ever had heading into the season and it turns out that wasn’t hyperbole. Seattle has some of the fastest skill players in the league and that’s reflected on this list from Next Gen Stats.

Of the top 20 fastest ball carrier plays so far this season (four weeks), the Seahawks have accounted for four of them – with rookie cornerback Tariq Woolen taking up two spots. Here is the complete list.

Seahawks Mike Jackson returns blocked field goal 85 yards for TD

Special teams came up big for the Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks must be having a letdown against San Francisco on Sunday.

Fresh from an emotional win over Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos on MNF, Seattle’s offense has been flat against the 49ers.

Pete Carroll needed a big play and his special teams came up with one while trailing 20-0 in the third quarter.

Tariq Woolen broke through and blocked the Robbie Gould field-goal attempt.

Mike Jackson picked it up and ran 85 yards to get Seattle on the scoreboard.

CB Michael Jackson earned a spot on Seahawks roster by being himself

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Michael Jackson discusses his NFL journey to making the team’s 53-man roster through hard work and mental reps.

Cornerback Michael Jackson was one of the lucky players on Tuesday to remain with the team after the Seattle Seahawks trimmed their roster to the mandated 53-man limit.

Jackson was originally selected by the Cowboys in the 2019 NFL draft but signed with the Lions later that year. Ahead of the 2020 season, he was traded to the Patriots and spent most of the year on the practice squad. He was signed by Seattle last September as a practice-squad member and earned himself a future contract this January.

“It’s a journey,” Jackson told reporters during his press conference on Wednesday. “It is one of those things where I always believed there was light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just the beginning, I can’t stop now.”

Jackson has impressed throughout camp and was asked what the key has been to his success.

“I was just being me, I didn’t try to be anyone else,” Jackson said. “I worked hard and prepared my body and mind. All of those mental reps that I got last year for the whole season, all of that went into play.”

Jackson’s next big chance to prove himself will come Monday, Sept. 12 when the Seahawks host the Broncos to open their season.

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Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL preseason: The defense

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar lets you in on the most prominent under-the-radar defensive performances in the final week of the 2022 NFL preseason.

With final cuts just around the corner (all teams must reduce their rosters to 53 by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. EST), and the 2022 regular season starting Thursday, September 8, anybody who doesn’t have a lock on a starting job tends to see the final week of the preseason as a sort of Hunger Games. At this point, you’re not just trying to impress your coaches and your teammates — you’re just trying to hang onto the roster spot you have, or give enough of an effort to make other teams aware. Perhaps one of those teams will pick you up if you do get cut.

Our Secret Superstars list for that final week of the preseason has a lot of guys who may have either evaded the Turk (the guy who comes to your room, knocks on your door, and quietly asks you to bring your playbook to the head coach’s office to let you know you’re off the team), or have done enough to eliminate any doubt as to their veracity as starters in the league.

The clock is ticking, oxygen is getting thin, and it’s all about to be for real. Here are the under-the-radar players who did the most to advance their cases for themselves in Week 3 of the 2022 preseason. Since there were so many of them this week, we’re splitting the list into two parts. The Secret Superstars All-Offense team is right here.

Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL preseason: The offense

Sonic’s creator confirms Michael Jackson rumor

Sonic’s creator Yuji Naka has confirmed in tweets that Michael Jackson wrote some of the music for Sonic 3.

Sonic’s creator Yuji Naka has confirmed in tweets that Michael Jackson wrote some of the music for Sonic 3.

It has been an open secret in the industry that Michael Jackson wrote some of the best songs from the Sonic 3 soundtrack. Iconic tracks such as Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap Zone, and the Ending Credits theme have long been attributed to the late artist, though publisher Sega has never officially confirmed it.

While Sega has created many collections of its classic Genesis games over the years, the third game in the Sonic franchise has often been absent due to the song’s licensing issues. Following Jackson’s death in 2009 the rights to his music now belonged to his estate. This has led many to speculate that the long-running rumors are indeed fact.

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Sonic Origins, a collection of the four most popular Sonic games developed for the Genesis and its counterpart the Sega CD, contains the much anticipated Sonic 3 & Knuckles re-release, with certain songs replaced allegedly to address the legal issues. While this change didn’t openly confirm that the Thriller singer was involved with the game’s music, a tweet from the former head of Sonic team certainly did.

Upon playing Sonic Origins and discovering that the songs had been replaced, Naka tweeted to explain his disappointment in the decision. In a succinct tweet the creator said:

“Oh my god, the music for Sonic 3 has changed, even though SEGA Official uses Michael Jackson’s music.”

Sega has often denied Jackson’s involvement in the soundtrack, reportedly due to the allegations of abuse that came out against the singer. Jackson was a long-time Sonic fan, who had worked with Sega previously to develop the Moonwalker games for the Master System, Genesis, and arcade systems. While each version is different, they all feature Jackson, his music, and his iconic dance routines.

However, this isn’t the only reason rumored for Sega’s refusal to credit the artist. Some say that Jackson himself didn’t wish to be credited as he was disappointed with the quality of the audio when played through the console. 

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.

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Even Alabama Football HC Nick Saban has people he admires. Here are a few

Nick Saban admires a lot of people that all have something in common.

Nick Saban is one of, if not, the most well-known and idolized people in the football world, and for good reason. Saban has won seven national titles, 10 SEC titles, countless coach of the year awards, a record number of first round draft picks, and the accolades go on and on.

So, who does the man at the top of the mountain idolize? It isn’t so much a person, as it is a life-style and commitment to excellence.

Saban said at the Nick Saban Legacy Award ceremony, “Well, look. Anybody in any profession who has had a tremendous amount of success, I have an admiration for that because I know how difficult it is. I don’t care if it’s in the music industry and you’re the Eagles or Michael Jackson or the Rolling Stones. Those people have been successful for a long, long time. Elton John. So I admire that.”

Two other people that really stood out to Saban were former guest speakers at Alabama in pre-season camps, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

“I admire Kobe Bryant. I admire Michael Jordan. Guys who were dominant for a long, long time and they did it on a very consistent basis because some people can be dominant for a little while, but it takes a special someone because it’s not really human nature to try to be the best you can be. It’s human nature to survive.”

Coach Saban knows that coming by success is no easy feat, but what is even more difficult is sustaining that success. As someone who has been at the top of his game for over a decade now, he has seen many people come and go while he’s stayed consistent. And he knows that difference between those that sustain success and don’t is a world of difference.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Jonathan Allen: ‘I realize it was dumb’

Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen raised eyebrows with a tweet Wednesday. He quickly apologized.

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Wednesday, Commanders’ defensive tackle Jonathan Allen tweeted he would choose to have dinner with Adolf Hitler, referring to him as “a military genius.”

Allen was responding to a question on Twitter, “You can have dinner with three people, dead or alive. Who are you inviting?”

Allen responded, “My grandad, Hitler and Michael Jackson.”

Allen was then asked if he would explain why he chose Hitler.

“He’s a military genius and I love military tactics, but honestly, I would want to pick his brain as to why he did what he did. I’m also assuming that the people I’ve chosen have to answer all my questions honestly.”

Later, Allen came to his senses:

At least Allen did not lie, claiming someone else hacked his computer. No, Allen took full responsibility for his tweet.

This is what we have come to appreciate about Allen. When he errs, as he did punching teammate Daron Payne on the sidelines during a game at Dallas this season, he stepped up following the game and took full responsibility for his actions.

Today, confessing “it was dumb,” What questions might Allen now ask of Hitler?

“Why did you put forth such effort as having German schools teach protection of animals, while yourself having your armed soldiers hunt down, imprison, and torture other human beings of Jewish origin?”

“Why did you have Jews imprisoned, starved, their hair often shaved, force women to sing while their families were tortured or killed, and why did you have Jewish babies thrown into ovens?”

We’ll have more on Allen’s Twitter AMA with fans.