'Hawks head into bye with problems

RENTON, Wash. - Pete Carroll's words rang true, until they didn't.

A week ago, the Seattle Seahawks coach was lamenting his own mistake in being too "bold" and calling for a risky quarterback sneak against San Diego at the end of the first half that failed and cost Seattle points. Even though the Seahawks pulled out a 27-20 win that day, Carroll had to remind himself this wasn't like being at Southern California where scoring was often easy.

"I need to do a better job and make sure that we get our points and we get our opportunities and they're not always going to come back around again like it used to seem like it happened," Carroll said on Sept. 27.

Fast-forward a week, and Carroll again spent part of Monday explaining a risky call.

This time it was a flubbed fake field goal late in the first half Sunday against St. Louis. Seattle called for holder/punter Jon Ryan to attempt a run for a first down on fourth-and-10 from the St. Louis 33 instead of settling for a 51-yard field goal attempt by Olindo Mare, who has gone more than a year since last missing a kick.

But instead of potentially closing Seattle's deficit, Ryan was stopped for a 9-yard loss and the failed fake attempt became a six-point swing for the Rams, who drove for a field goal.

Sure there are plenty of other problems for Seattle following its 20-3 loss to the Rams that leaves the Seahawks 2-2 entering their bye week, but Carroll's now 0-for-2 with his "bold" moves.

"It was a calculated move in a situation that we thought was going to be a very good situation for us and we're trying to make some things happen and that was one of them," Carroll said on Monday. "That wasn't like passing up a chip shot, that was a long field goal and (Mare) can hit that, but it was a good time to do it. But as I look back I'd rather get the points."

A week earlier against the Chargers, Seattle tried to have Matt Hasselbeck sneak on third-and-goal from the 2, out of time outs and with the clock running. Hasselbeck was stopped at the 1 and Seattle failed to get a field goal attempt off before the half ended.

The Seahawks were fortunate that day to get two kickoff return touchdowns from Leon Washington to salvage that victory. There was no such big play fortune against the Rams.

"We have a lot of stuff ahead of us here we have to clean up and get better at and it's going to take some time here to work some things out," Carroll said.

Most frustrating for the Seahawks coach is an inept run game. The Seahawks were held to 64 yards rushing - the third time in four games they've been held under 80 yards on the ground. Justin Forsett, who a year ago rushed for a career-best 130 yards against the Rams, was limited to just 65 yards on 19 carries.

The inability to run allowed the St. Louis defense to tee off on Hasselbeck, who was sacked four times and intercepted once on a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage. Hasselbeck's quarterback rating of 58.9 was the ninth time in his last 18 games his QB rating has been below 75.

"It was a hard game for him. He battled in there. There was more pressure on the quarterback in this game than we've had in other games, you know getting sacked four times," Carroll said. "It's the first time it has happened like that. He had to avoid the rush and make some throws. I thought it was a tough game, and I wish we would have done more things around him to help him and make it easier."

NOTES: Rookie LT Russell Okung was in for 26 plays before leaving Sunday's game with soreness in his injured right ankle. Okung was making his season debut after suffering a high ankle sprain during the preseason. Carroll said Okung did not re-injure the ankle and could have returned. ... OL Chester Pitts, cut last week by the Seahawks, tweeted Monday afternoon that he was headed back to Seattle. The Seahawks were expected to re-sign Pitts, having cut him last week to clear a roster spot. ... The Seahawks will practice Tuesday and Wednesday before taking the rest of the week off.