to the L.A. Chargers shorthanded Shaquill Griffin Jersey , as star running back Chris Carson was seen on the sideline with his groin/hip wrapped. Carson was doubtful to return, and did not end up re-entering the game. Carson missed time during the week with a hip injury that Pete Carroll wrongly called a groin injury, and in his post-game press conference, Carroll confirmed it was the same issue that forced him out of Sunday’s loss. Carroll explained it had tightened up on Carson during half-time and he couldn’t come back, going on to say the Seahawks “certainly missed him.” Bradley McDougald, who also missed time in the week leading up to Sunday, left the game with a knee injury—the same issue that caused him to sit out practice. Carroll explained that McDougald’s knee had been “sore all week,” and it tightened up on him. McDougald did enter for a single play, following Tedric Thompson’s brief exit. Carroll said Thompson just got the wind knocked out of him. Finally, D.J. Fluker, who left the game in the 4th quarter and did not return, felt his calf tighten up. Slightly worryingly, Carroll said he “doesn’t know what that means right now.” Of course, this came soon after the conclusion of the game, so they really don’t know yet. But it sounded as though there is at least a chance it’ll force Fluker to miss time. Though Seattle doesn’t have to release an injury report for Week 10 until Wednesday, we should get more information regarding Fluker, McDougald and Carson in the next couple of days. Allow me to be the first to cut-off J.K. Simmons before he asks and say that the Seahawks are definitely going to be rushing a lot on Sunday against the Lions, even if they’re dragging. As far as intro sentences go this isn’t gonna make my top-10, but let’s keep this train moving forward anyway.I’d say that running the football has been the topic de jour of 2018 — more so in Seattle than the league as a whole maybe, but still a huge topic in football regardless — even to the detriment of readers here at Field Gulls that wish I would just, “STOP!” However, I think it would be irresponsible to just stop talking about the importance and presence of the running game given that the running game has been the number one point of emphasis by Pete Carroll in 2018.Fire Darrell Bevell after two seasons of below average-to-bad rushing offenses (22nd in 2016 Authentic Ethan Pocic Jersey , 23rd in 2017 by DVOA)Fire Tom Cable as offensive line coachPart ways with left guard Luke Joeckel, right guard Oday Aboushi, and tight end Jimmy GrahamHire Brian Schottenheimer as the new offensive coordinator, who if nothing else, got much more out of the New York Jets’ rushing offense in 2009 and 2010 than anyone expectedHire Mike Solari as the offensive line coach and his “power zone blocking” schemeSign D.J. Fluker to play right guardSign Ed Dickson to start at tight endDraft Rashaad Penny in the first roundDraft Will Dissly, considered the top blocking tight end in the draftSign J.R. Sweezy for additional depth at guardSign Brandon Marshall, who at this point in his career is likely way more adept as a blocker than he is as a receiverOh, and also just straight-up say you’re committed to the run:That intention did not produce the desired results in Weeks 1 and 2 as the Seahawks fell to 0-2 following losses vs the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. Carroll said recently that he’s the only one to blame for the lack of emphasis on running in those games:Carroll and Schottenheimer found the run game in Week 3, even if they had to (and seemed to) force it. They’ve ran the ball 142 times in the last four games, which is the 6th-highest total since Week 3 despite Seattle even having a bye week in that time. The LA Rams have the most carries since Week 3 — they’ve run the ball 31.8 times per game in that time — but the Seahawks are running the ball 35.5(!) time per game over their last four.If a team did that for an entire season, they’d have 568 rush attempts. The team with the most rush attempts in 2017 was the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they only had 527 carries.This is not a question of whether or not Seattle should run it that much. This is not a debate about whether or not the rush attempts are a product of winning or if the winning is a result of running it. I don’t care about any of that right now, that’s not what I’m writing about. What I am writing about:Regardless of the reason for it, the Seahawks are going to run the football a lot, if they have the opportunity to. And their opponent this week seems destined to give them reason to over and over and over again.The Detroit Lions have had the fewest pass attempts against them in the NFL this season. The Seattle Seahawks have the fewest pass attempts in the NFL this season. If Russell Wilson ends up throwing the ball 40 times, something went horribly off-plan for Seattle. The intention will likely be to limit Wilson’s attempts to only his highest-percentage shots, while giving the ball to Chris Carson, Mike Davis, and Penny as much as possible. So far this year, the Lions defense has given teams little reason to not run on them; Detroit is 32nd in yards per carry allowed and 30th against the run by DVOA.Opponents have run the ball 157 times against the Lions, gaining 836 yards on 5.3 yards per carry; no single running back in the league is even close to producing at those kinds of numbers. When Ezekiel Elliott faced Detroit, he had 152 yards on 25 carries; Matt Breida gained 138 yards on 11 carries; Isaiah Crowell had 102 yards on 10 carries.The Lions lost all three of those games. And it’s hardly like you have to say Youth Rashaad Penny Jersey , “Well, those teams started racking up rushing yards after they had a lead” because Breida and Crowell barely had a half’s worth of attempts. That’s just crappy defense. It’s an exciting opportunity for Carson, who has benefited the most from Carroll’s plan that started back in January to re-invest around the running back position: he has 277 yards in the last three games and is one of only a handful of backs to be on pace for over 1,000 yards even though he’s already missed one game.Mike Davis could also get in on the action, as he has 190 yards in his last three games. Penny had a rough start to the year, but Carroll noted early on that he’s also a rookie who missed three of four preseason games, plus a lot of training camp; though he failed to get a single snap two games ago, Penny’s also gained 5.11 yards per carry in his last two games of action, while also returning kicks.The Seahawks have a difficult task in Week 8, going on the road for a 10 AM PST kickoff against a team that doesn’t suck. The Lions are 3-3, just like Seattle, including wins over the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and a 32-21 road win in Miami this past Sunday. The Seahawks likely plan to run a lot this weekend, but plans only go so far. If they can’t stop Matthew Stafford, if they end up turning the ball over, things change in a hurry.Then they could definitely end up dragging.Edit: After this article was written, the Lions traded a fifth-round pick for run-stopping defensive tackle Damon Harrison from the New York Giants. He should presumably be able to help by Week 7, though some level of new-team adjustment is usually expected.