Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
For the Pro Football Writers of America
TEMPE, Ariz.—With no helmets, no pads, no music and little fanfare, the Seattle Seahawks completed their Super Bowl XLIX preparations on Saturday afternoon with a light walk-through inside the Arizona State Sun Devils football practice bubble.
“Everything is done,’’ said coach Pete Carroll. “The hay isn’t in the barn ever around here, but everything is done.”
Confined indoors for the third-straight day because of uncharacteristic rain in the Phoenix area, the 47-minute session consisted of the Seahawks walking through various plays, none at game speed. Most players wore sweats, with some sporting baseball hats and a few, including running back Marshawn Lynch, in slippers.
All 63 active Seahawks—53 on the active roster, plus 10 practice squad players— participated. That includes strong safety Kam Chancellor, who fell on the second-to-last play of Friday’s session and exited practice with his left knee wrapped. Chancellor was listed as probable on the team’s injury report for Sunday’s game, although Carroll appeared optimistic the Pro Bowler would be good to go for kickoff. “He looked pretty good today,” Carroll said. “We will make sure we test him in pregame, but he remarkably looked great today, and so that’s all we have to go on.”
Chancellor wore long navy pants and a gray crewneck sweatshirt and did not appear to be favoring either leg. When he walked into the bubble on Saturday, he looked comfortable – tossing footballs with wide receiver Doug Baldwin then cornerback Richard Sherman on the sideline. At one point, Chancellor squatted down, as if he were a center, and hiked balls to Sherman.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
While Seattle piped in noise and blasted music during most practices this week, Saturday was silent. The players, however, were loose on the sideline, chatting and joking when other position groups were on the field.
Special guests included owner Paul Allen, former Seahawks great Shaun Alexander and Jake Olson, a California high schooler who lost his sight to cancer and has maintained a close relationship to Carroll since the coach’s time at USC.
The team exited the facility shortly before noon, and planned to bus to University of Phoenix Stadium later in the afternoon for a Super Bowl team photo. Carroll said nothing special was planned for Saturday night. When asked if there would be a curfew, he laughed. “Oh yeah,” he said. “Yeah there is. This is a normal procedure for us.”
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