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Seahawks LT Charles Cross Feels ‘Very Confident in Our Run Game’

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Seahawks LT Charles Cross Feels ‘Very Confident in Our Run Game’


The offensive line may be the Seattle Seahawks’ worst-performing position group so far in 2024. Seldom, if at all, has the unit looked confident playing with one another or played a complete game.

Seattle has relied on the passing game to make up for an inconsistent rushing attack and lack of dedication to establishing it by offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. That’s only put more pressure on the offensive line as they are constantly dropping into protection instead of playing in road-grader mode.

Stone Forsythe, Seattle’s third-string right tackle, has allowed 35 pressures — 16 more than any other offensive tackle in the NFL. Former first-round left tackle Charles Cross is tied for the second-most pressures allowed by a tackle with 19.

The Seahawks’ guards, Anthony Bradford and Laken Tomlinson, are both bottom-10 in their position group in pressures allowed. The lack of a run game is becoming a critical weakness.

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Two weeks ago, versus the New York Giants, the Seahawks had just seven carries by running backs. Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet picked up 4.29 yards per carry. In Week 6 versus the San Francisco 49ers, the duo averaged 2.74 yards per carry on 19 carries. That falls on the offensive line not opening up lanes for Seattle’s backs.

“I still feel very confident in our run game,” Cross told reporters on Thursday. “You know, just cleaning up the details, just being focused, and everyone just being together.”

When asked whether those three aspects were all it would take to shore up Seattle’s run blocking, Cross said “Every defense is different,” and the offensive line needs to be “on the same page.”

It’s understandable the offensive line hasn’t fully gelled to this point in the season. The coaching staff hasn’t settled on a long-term right guard, as rookie third-round pick sometimes rotating in for Bradford. Veteran center Connor Williams is dealing with inconsistency around him via the poor guard play. Forsythe is the team’s third-string right tackle.

Cross said offensive line coach Scott Huff has been coaching them on “clean communication” to help make sure all five players are on the same page.

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“I feel like we stay together,” Cross said. “We do our best to control what we control. Just trying our best to keep the offense going.”

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said on Friday they have to develop a more consistent run game to help the offensive line. The offense has been too predictable through six games, and that’s only hindering an already battered front line.

Geno Smith has 27 more pass attempts than any other quarterback in the NFL this season. Walker has missed two games, but he’s also 34th in rushing attempts (51) among running backs while Charbonnet (49) is 39th.

“I think they’re playing really hard. That’s stuff to build off of,” Macdonald said. “I think as a team, we’re putting them in too many situations where just like we want to be on defense. We want to be in situations where we can pin our ears back and rush, rush, rush. But right now, we’re in too many situations as an offense where we’re in obvious pass situations. As a team, we can help our offensive line out.”

Cross’ confidence in the run game is encouraging, but mid-season is approaching quickly. If the Seahawks are going to sort out that area of their offense, it’ll need to happen soon.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Kraken beat San Jose Sharks 4-2 to snap 4-game skid

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Seattle Kraken beat San Jose Sharks 4-2 to snap 4-game skid


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Lindgren had the tiebreaking goal early in the third period for his first score with the Seattle Kraken, and they went on to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Seattle Kraken 4, San Jose Sharks 2: Box score

Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist, and Eeli Tolvanen and Ryker Evans also scored for the Kraken, who won for just the second time in 12 games (2-9-1). Joey Daccord finished with 34 saves.

Adam Gaudette and Colin Graf scored for the Sharks, and Yaroslav Askarov had 28 saves.

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Graf gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead 36 seconds into the third period with some help from the Kraken.

Seattle’s Adam Dunn lofted a clearing attempt from behind the net that Igor Chernyshov intercepted in the left circle and sent a pass in front to Graf. Graf tried to lift it over Daccord down on the ice, but the puck deflected off the left post and in front as the goalie, on his back, tried to pull it in. However, Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson skated into the goalie and knocked the puck in.

Evans tied it again at 1:55 with a long shot from the left point through traffic.

Lindgren put the Kraken ahead 3-2 at 4:27, beating Askarov from the left point for the defenseman’s first goal in 33 games since signing with with Seattle in the offseason. Stephenson had an assist on the play to extend his point streak to eight games.

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Stephenson then scored with 1:24 remaining to push Seattle’s lead to two goals and extend his goal-scoring streak to four games.

Tolvanen gave the Kraken a 1-0 lead at 6:52 of the second period, picking up a loose puck, skating into the right circle and firing a shot past Askarov.

Gaudette tied it with a power-play goal with 8:38 left in the middle period. Celebrini fired a shot at the net from the left point that deflected off teammate Igor Chernyshov in front of Daccord and off Gaudette down onto the ice for an easy backhand poke from the right doorstep.

Celebrini extended his point streak to five games on the play with eight assists and 11 points in the stretch.

Up next

Seattle Kraken: At Anaheim on Monday night.

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San Jose Sharks: At Vegas on Tuesday night.

Seattle Kraken trade away their big offseason acquisition



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Three West Seattle schools’ teams advance in FIRST Lego League competition

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Three West Seattle schools’ teams advance in FIRST Lego League competition


(Photos courtesy Brenda Hatley)

By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Dozens of youth robotics teams from elementary and middle schools across the district gathered on December 6 at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School for this year’s FIRST Lego League qualifier. By the end of the day, three teams from West Seattle – Madison Middle School, Lafayette Elementary School, and Alki Elementary School – emerged triumphant, with their sights set on the next round of the tournament.

Of the schools who competed that day, nine were from West Seattle, including Genesee Hill Elementary, Fairmount Park Elementary, Gatewood Elementary, Arbor Heights Elementary, West Seattle Elementary, and the aforementioned teams that are moving up to the next round.

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A local parent tipped us about the students’ achievement, so we set out to get details. We spoke with Brenda Hatley, a coach for Madison Middle School, the only West Seattle middle-school team to advance to the next round, and she says the turnout at the qualifiers was impressive. Hatley first became a coach for her son’s 4th-grade team and was one of the founding parents for Lafayette Elementary’s Lego Robotics team.

She says the program, which pairs engineering with LEGO, coding, and real-world projects, is a fantastic program for students who are less interested in athletics but still want to capture the excitement of a pep rally.

“It’s not a sports team, but they’re still getting so hyped up. The kids were cheering for each other, and the pressure was there; coaching through that was an incredible experience,” Hatley said.

Madison’s team, the Madbots, will play their next match on December 26th, at a to-be-determined location. The teams that do well this month will move on to the city-wide competition in Downtown Seattle, before moving to the regionals at Washington State University, and beyond to the international finals. Regardless of how they perform, Hatley says she and the other parents are planning to travel with their team to the city-wide and regional competitions.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Hatley said. “Last year, the fifth graders didn’t move on, and we had lower expectations; we just went in to learn more and get better. This year, we get to move on and see what the next level looks like.”

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Redhawks Upset Huskies 70-66, Win Second Straight ‘Battle for Seattle’ — Emerald City Spectrum

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Redhawks Upset Huskies 70-66, Win Second Straight ‘Battle for Seattle’ — Emerald City Spectrum


With neither team shooting well from the outside at Climate Pledge Arena, the Redhawks outperformed the favored Huskies driving the ball to the paint in the second half, making more plays down the stretch to beat their city rivals for a second straight year.



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