Seahawks vs. Raiders preview: Last chance for players to make roster

By Clare Farnsworth

Seahawks.com

RENTON -- Regardless of who plays – and how much – in Thursday night’s preseason finale, they need to play smart.

That was the word from coach Pete Carroll on Wednesday, after the Seahawks held a walkthrough that was the final on-field step of their preparation for the final preseason game against the Oakland Raiders at CenturyLink Field.

“I want to see us play with really good intensity again,” Carroll said. “I want to see us play really hard. And with that, we need to make the step in the direction of playing smart. Making good decisions at the end of plays, so that we don’t get penalized and put back.”

Point of emphasis? No, it’s more like a mountain range of jagged peaks after the Seahawks were penalized 14 times for 182 wrong-way yards in last week’s 17-10 victory over the Packers in Green Bay. That flag-filled performance ran the Seahawks’ preseason totals to league-highs of 34 penalties for 354 yards.

“It’s the stuff on the offensive side of the ball, the line of scrimmage stuff, and the late calls – finishing a block, knocking a pile, those types of things – that we’re trying to really elevate our awareness on so we don’t get those things called,” he said.

“So that’s what I’d like to see tomorrow night – just play smart.”

Just who we see on the field for the Seahawks, and for how long, remains to be seen. This is the preseason game where the starters traditionally see little or no action, and the focus is fully on those players battling to fill roles and/or earn spots on the 53-man roster.

The Seahawks must make 22 roster moves by Saturday to reach that league-mandated limit, and Carroll can feel for those who won’t be around when the team begins preparing next week for the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Panthers in Carolina. He went to camp with the Honolulu Hawaiians of the World Football League in 1974, but did not make the team.

“Heck yeah. I totally do,” Carroll said when asked if he could feel for the players that will be released. “I can remember every play that happened leading up to when I got cut in the old World League. And also the exchange that happens when you transition out, too. It’s a critical time for us when we’re growing up. So we respect it very highly.”