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Comin' at ya?

| August 17, 2010 9:00 PM

RENTON, Wash. (AP) - The lack of a consistent pass rush haunted the Seattle Seahawks throughout the 2010 season.

Patrick Kerney broke down and wasn't the same pass rushing threat that produced 14.5 sacks in 2007. Darryl Tapp and Lawrence Jackson weren't able to pick up the slack and struggled to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks.

As a result, the Seahawks secondary was left with little help as the defense was gashed through the air, ranking 30th in the league against the pass last season.

Chris Clemons was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia in March to help bolster the pass rush. The Seahawks sent Tapp and a fourth-round draft pick to the Eagles for Clemons.

Clemons is being counted on to be the primary pass rush threat in the Seahawks' new hybrid 4-3 defensive scheme. He has been the starter at the "LEO" defensive end position, the team's term for their weakside rush end that sometimes plays with his hand off the ground.

"He's the best guy getting off the ball and has been all through camp and the OTAs and all that and showed up in the game," Carroll said of Clemons.

In his first game action with his new team, Clemons wreaked havoc on the Titans signal-callers.

Clemons flushed Vince Young out of the pocket and chased the QB from behind. Young rolled to his left, throwing under pressure and was intercepted by Josh Wilson on a pass intended for Justin Gage along the sideline.

In the second quarter, Clemons managed to fool Pro Bowl left tackle Michael Roos with an inside move and sacked Titans backup quarterback Chris Simms for a 13-yard loss on third down to force the Titans to punt.

"(Carroll) told me, 'I want pressure on the quarterback.' That's what he brought me here to do and that's what I plan to give him," Clemons said after Saturday's win over the Titans.

"We got a big front to stop the run and, of course, if you're going to stop the run you got to be ready to play against the pass and that's why he wants certain guys at that position."

Part of the "big front" the Seahawks now use includes 6-foot-4, 323-pound converted defensive tackle Red Bryant at the strongside defensive end position.

Bryant helped disrupt the Titans running game and helped free up the rest of the Seahawks line to pressure the Titan quarterbacks.

"Red did the stuff he'd been doing for us, so I think our evaluation out here against our own guys is pretty accurate and we're going to continue to count on him to be a factor for us," Carroll said.

Carroll's staff decided to move Bryant to the end position after the NFL Draft in April to help the team be stronger against the run. While his new role is primarily as a big body to take up space against the run, Bryant did get into the backfield a handful of times against the Titans and nearly picked up a sack of Simms.

"Still trying to get used to it, but for being my first game, it was OK," Bryant said.

"I think it works to a lot of my strengths. I'm looking forward to having a big year this year."

But the ever unsatisfied Carroll isn't resting on the potential shown in one preseason game to call his defensive line a success just yet. On Monday the Seahawks sent an undisclosed 2011 draft choice to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer.

Balmer left the 49ers last Monday for what coach Mike Singletary called personal reasons. Balmer, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008 out of North Carolina, missed his fifth straight practice Friday before the team traveled to Indianapolis for its exhibition opener against the Colts. Balmer's absences had been unexcused since Wednesday. Balmer met Wednesday night with Singletary, but still was a no-show at training camp.

Former 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan, who abruptly departed the club in March, was hired by the Seahawks as a senior personnel executive in June. He is the right-hand man to general manager John Schneider.

"We did a lot of homework on him to understand about his background and in college and had good information," Carroll said. "What's happened is in the past as far as we're concerned and we feel real good about him getting in here and helping us right away."

Carroll said that Balmer is expected to arrive in Seattle on Monday night and be available to practice on Tuesday afternoon. A roster move has yet to be made to open a spot for Balmer.

He is expected to slide into the strongside defensive end position behind Bryant and be used inside at defensive tackle.