Behind-the-scenes way Seahawks will defend Russell Wilson: Using Richard Sherman’s advice

Coy as usual, Pete Carroll is just about daring Seahawks fans to boo Russell Wilson.

Think he’s about to disclose how to defend the quarterback he knows better than any other coach on the planet?

“Really, you don’t think I want to tell you, do you? I’m not,” Carroll said this week leading into Wilson’s Broncos playing Wilson’s former Seahawks at Lumen Field in the season opener Monday night.

“We have a lot of things that we are going to do. We have a TON of information. We have as much information as we’ve ever had going into a game. And hopefully that information and the process of getting to here, we can capitalize on it.

“That’s all that I can really tell you about the game plan.”

Well, there’s actually more to it than that.

There’s a particular, famous agent of information Carroll and the Seahawks have for this massive opener.

Richard Sherman. Again.

Seattle’s former All-Pro, Super Bowl-champion cornerback defended Wilson every day in practice for six years. Those were six of the best years in franchise history, from 2012 through Sherman’s Achilles injury in the ‘17 season.

Sherman often yelled at and baited Wilson from across the line of scrimmage. That added more competition to the ultra-competitive practices Carroll demands.

The Seahawks waived Sherman to save money after his injury, in the spring of 2018. He signed with San Francisco, played in another Super Bowl with the 49ers, then spent last season playing five games for Tampa Bay. He’s signed to provide analysis on Amazon’s new broadcasts of Thursday night NFL games. Those begin next week.

This week, Sherman has been at Seahawks practices coaching rookie Tariq Woolen, who’s been starting at right cornerback the last three weeks. Sherman, 34, has been tutoring fellow rookie cornerback Coby Bryant. He’s been talking with veteran safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams.

Sherman has been sharing all he knows, all he did to become a superstar in Carroll’s Seahawks defense.

And he has been sharing how he successfully defended Wilson all those years.

“For me, it’s cool, because I’ve been knowing Sherm since I was 16. It’s always cool having him around,” Diggs said.

“It’s been super dope having him around here.”

Sherman is not officially a Seahawks coach. Carroll has been talking to him this summer about Seattle’s defensive backs, and has called Sherman a “consultant.” He was on the field for the team’s mock-game scrimmage last month at Lumen Field.

Former Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril comes around practices. Retired wide receiver Doug Baldwin was at training camp last month. Linebacker K.J. Wright remains around the facility after retiring with the team in July. Ex-defensive end Michael Bennett commentated on the team’s broadcasts of preseason games. Retired safety Kam Chancellor has remained tight with Carroll and the team.

Saturday, retired running back Marshawn Lynch, the soul of Seattle’s Super Bowl teams of 2013 and ‘14 still immensely popular in the facility, was at the team’s headquarters for practice.

“All our former players are consultants,” Carroll said.

“Sherm is just a connection to a lot of guys,” the coach said this week. “K.J’s been around and our guys follow Doug and (ex-wide receiver Jermaine) Kearse were out here. They’ve been close to us and they’ve felt good about coming back.

“That’s what I’ve always hoped what would happen going through the years with our guys together, that they would feel comfortable, that they would feel connected and they would be welcomed. So I think Sherm is fired up about watching our guys. You know he’s really fired up about the DB’s and all that. So he’s been around and he’s been a fun part. The guys really do look up to him, they know he’s a great player and a great performer and he’s a big character and all of that.

“The stuff we do here, the relationships that we build here, and the care that we share in this process is way beyond your years playing, and I think it’s in an indication. I know there is a lot of our guys that played with us that are fired up about this game, too, and they want to see this game go our way and they’re jacked about it.”

Coordinator Clint Hurtt said he’s “really happy” Sherman is around his defense.

“Sherm has a ton of wisdom,” Hurtt said.

“It’s great to see him — and all of our former players, whether it’s Sherm or K.J., Kam. Those guys are legends here. And they are legendary people besides players, so I love having them around. ...

“Any bit of information that he has on his experience playing the game is obviously welcomed.”

Who’s playing cornerback?

Sherman coaching is just one of the wild cards with the Seahawks changing secondary for this game.

This week Seattle put out an unofficial depth chart, prepared not by coaches but the team’s media-relations department. It has Woolen the starting left cornerback and Michael Jackson the starter on the right.

That may be gamesmanship. It will be a surprise if those are the two cornerbacks that start against Wilson Monday night.

Veteran Sidney Jones is back from a concussion he got in early August taking on a block early in training camp. The former University of Washington standout and Seahawks starter in 2021 has been practicing this week as the left cornerback wearing foam protective padding over his helmet. Carroll said Jones is “ready to go” play the Broncos.

“He’s full go,” Carroll said.

Artie Burns was a starting cornerback for much of training camp. But he remains sidelined by a groin injury he got weeks ago. He’s doubtful to play Monday night.

As for right cornerback...

Woolen was the surprise of training camp. Thought to be raw with unique physical skills at 6 feet 4 with 4.26-second speed in the 40-yard dash, the long former college wide receiver — like Sherman — proved NFL-ready. He’s consistently made plays on the ball in the air. He stayed with fastest receivers DK Metcalf and Marquise Goodwin all over training camp.

Seahawks coaches and players are calling Woolen “Avatar.”

“I think it’s good for all of us,” Diggs, the Pro Bowl safety, said of Sherman coaching the Seahawks DBs, “but especially good for (Woolen).

“Somebody as smart as Sherm, as disciplined as Sherm playing the game just to lock in on a rookie and let him know, ‘Whatever questions you have, I’m here.’ ... You get to see a legend every day.

“I mean, I was just telling ‘Riq the other day, I’m like, ‘Bro, how cool is this that? I mean, you get to come out to practice and Richard Sherman is helping coach you. You know what I mean? So, take advantage of that because you don’t have it everywhere. And the former players don’t just live in the cities that they played in all the time so enjoy it.’”

But starting Woolen against Denver will be siren call for Wilson and new Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett (Aaron Rodgers’ offensive coordinator in Green Bay the previous three seasons) to attack the rookie with route combinations and throws he hasn’t seen. There is some risk of damaging the rookie’s psyche for the rest of this season, in his first NFL game.

Carroll, a former college defensive back and defensive backs coach, spent almost a half hour following a practice that week working footwork techniques with Woolen, Jones — and newly signed cornerback Isaiah Dunn.

Isaiah Dunn familiar with Carroll’s system

Dunn signed off waivers last week. He played in 12 games with one start as a rookie last season with the New York Jets.

He said this week he played at both left and right cornerback with the Jets and at Oregon State.

Hurtt says Dunn’s proving to be “a quick study.” Carroll, a Bay Area native, raves about Dunn’s speed — and that Dunn is also from the Bay Area, Oakland.

Dunn ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds at the NFL scouting combine in 2021.

“He’s really fast. He’s a Northern Californian guy,” Carroll said with a grin. “He’s a really good football player and he looked tough and physical and consistent and aggressive. I thought we were fortunate to get that done.

“It’s going to take a couple more weeks, but he’ll be a factor and he’ll be in the running. He’s that good. ...

“And he’s really fast. You know, kind of fun.”

Dunn said he’s “been picking up the playbook pretty cool. I mean, it’s not too complex for me.”

He said he’s been working extra before and after practices to get spun up on Seattle’s defense under secondary Karl Scott, top defensive assistant coach Sean Desai.

“I mean, I just meet extra with the coaches in the mornings. Day off I come in and I meet extra with the special-teams coach and the position coaches.

“Yeah, it’s been a pretty smooth transition.”

He said he’s familiar with Seattle’s system of disguising man-to-man and zone coverages, and with Carroll’s unique step-kick technique for cornerbacks press wide receivers at the line of scrimmage at the snap. Dunn said he did some step-kick at Oregon State.

If the Seahawks want to go slower with Woolen early, Dunn may be an option to play at right cornerback.

Tre Brown is not. Brown, who started at cornerback last season until knee surgery ended his rookie year in November, is out four games on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

“It may feel like musical chairs,” Hurtt said, “but we feel really good about the depth of where those guys have come.”