Pete Carroll, Richard Sherman, Kevin Smith Wednesday presser notes

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, cornerback Richard Sherman, and receiver Kevin Smith spoke to reporters on Wednesday. Here are some notes about what they said (with links to video).

Coach Carroll:

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• "We got in our own way so much last week. They all realize that."

• Ahtyba Rubin was double teamed 20+ times in this game. He had to hold up against it. He was at the point of attack the whole game. Same with Brandon Mebane. They played great football. They kept answering the call.

• Kevin Smith can play all three receiver positions and special teams, they want to give him a chance. We like what we can do with him on special teams. He's tough, got a great catching range, is really competitive and can do things on special teams.

• Always been important to reward the practice squad guys. If competition is the central theme then you have to do what you say. Want to give guys opportunities to show what they can do, sense when their hunger is right to take advance and excel. If you say that you have to act on it, that is exactly what is going on right now.

• Carroll said Paul Richardson will run tomorrow to see where he's at. Resting again today. Said Richardson feels pretty good. Carroll said MRI shows hamstring injury, but he doesn't feel it.

• Irvin has a sore knee and will miss this week unless something miraculous happens. Hope to contain it to a two week thing.

• Mike Morgan and Kevin Pierre-Louis will be involved in the rotation as well (filling in for Irvin).

• Kevin Smith is a different body type and does different things on special teams.

• Could move K.J. Wright but will go with Morgan, want to keep K.J. at his best spot.

• Marshawn Lynch gets his break today, we will find out where he is tomorrow.

• We are making progress on O-line. We have talked about it a ton, we have made improvement in the run game and pass pro that has helped us at the mid point. Last week was really hard to evaluate with all the penalties. Frustrated we didn't even get to execute the game plan. Would have liked everything to have happened sooner.

• Think Jimmy Graham is a fantastic player and had a change to have a big role last week. He had his best game blocking last week. Fantastic addition to our team. Doesn't always work out numbers wise but he has had some terrific games for us. We are still going to get it going. You saw we went to him in the red zone and we will continue to.

• Patrick Lewis will keep starting center job.

• The difference with Blaine Gabbart was there weren't any designed runs that Kap would do.

• Tyler Lockett is okay, looked good in walk-throughs and said he is fine. Got his ankle rolled up during the game Sunday.

• Doug Baldwin has a sore toe, so he will be rested a couple of days but he will be fine to make it.

• Really like Frank Clark, he will be an explosive player. He will get more snaps in the nickel rush (along with Cassius Marsh) with Irvin out. Clark can do a lot of cool stuff that he can do.

• A.J. Francis another real big body inside "happy to get him," he will play 3Tech to start.

• Pete Carroll said he'd really like to see Jeremy Lane play this week. Will be limited to start in practice.

• Carroll says 24 of the 30 some-odd sacks killed drives. Hope it will slow down and we will turn a corner. Want to see that fade away and not be a part of our game anymore.

• Pete did think the improvement of the offensive line would be quicker (at end of camp).

• "Not at this point" -- Carroll on whether or not they will change their philosophy on building on O-line.

• Russell and Jimmy's connection is being worked at. We've got some really cool things that we are doing. Thinks we are making good progress, we have a lot of design going where we want it to go. Frustrated as anyone is, we want those balls to get caught and thrown. They spend a lot of time talking to each other about what they want to get done.

• Can't say whether Lane would play nickel or outside CB.

Richard Sherman:

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• Still got the same guys in the room, that is why you still feel the same way you have felt before.

• Sometimes the ball bounces your way, not from a lack of effort. Sometimes you get the calls, sometimes you get the balls bounce, sometimes they give you the fumble. That changes the outcomes of games. Makes a difference.

• Human body is the human body in regards to defending 80 plays. Gotta make it happen no matter how long you have been out there.

• We all went to the Super Bowl and we got paid that year. "Critics are people with no talent dealing with people who have talent."

• There is always time to turn it around, especially with our team.

• Always feel like you have to win every game, last year it was up to the last games to win the NFC-W and NFC.

• Think as a defense we are playing as well as we can, thinks our defensive stats and rankings are where they are usually at in previous seasons.

• Kevin Smith and Kasen Williams have a tremendous work ethic. They give an amazing look in scout teams. He runs great routes, he comes in and out of his breaks, he has deceptive speed, he has great hands, he is crafty in his routes.

• Chris Matthews is a great teammate, we wish him well, but you are always happy for the next guy to get called up and make an impact.

• Think we got to 3rd down a bunch of time the last two long scoring drives, but we got penalties that gave them 1st downs.

• We haven't changed much in a long time in the secondary. We aren't going to change, they can call it like that every week we won't change.

Kevin Smith:

• Kevin Smith said he personally called scouts and reps from 6-7 other teams trying to get looks at times last season.

• He said he was working at FedEx in Los Angeles from November until he got called by Seattle in late March.

Relevant Tweets:

• @Curtis_Crabtree Douglas McNeil, back on team's practice squad, is back as a receiver. Spent time in camp as a cornerback.

• @Curtis_Crabtree Chris Matthews cleared waivers. He's a free agent.

• @Softykjr Earl Thomas: Guys gotta forgive each other fully. Talking about players and coaches. Until we do that we'll never reach our full potential. You see guys in situations where they normally dominate, and its just not happening. Earl on 4th quarter issues: "Sometimes mental breakdowns, sometimes we let the refs get into the game by not being as clean as we need to be". Earl on T.O.P. being out of whack: "We can't be on the field that long. They gotta convert, we gotta convert...it's on both of us." Asked Earl if team was as together as they need 2 be: "If not, these tough losses and everybody against us will makes us tighter and closer" One nugget from Baldwin, & I'll play it all at 6pm- Says criticism of Bevell unfair. Says plays are there to be made all over the field.

• @Curtis_Crabtree Cable said line basically had no sacks again. Wilson ran into Okung and ran OB for no-yard sack on a naked bootleg.

• Darrell Bevell on Chris Matthews: "We just didn't feel like we got what we were looking for. You have to be able to fit in and make plays when opportunities come. You have to understand the offense and do the right thing."

• Bevell on throwing fades to Jimmy Graham: "I think you have to make sure you give him a chance. We're working it every day in practice."

• Bevell on first 2-pt conversion attempt: "We really had the look we wanted. ... (Wilson) just has to make a better throw on it. He had an opportunity to give Doug a chance and really didn't give him a chance."

• @scohenPI #Seahawks' offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said team calls WR Kevin Smith "One-a-day," due to spectacular plays in practice.

• @gbellseattle OL coach Tom Cable nails it when I asked how long can #Seahawks afford to wait for blockers to jell: "What choice do we have?"