That doesn't mean there's no pressure on starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, and the day after Seattle was shut out for the first time in four years, coach Pete Carroll was asked -- repeatedly -- about what he's seeing from his quarterback's performance.

"He was 8-for-10 in the first half," Carroll said of Jackson. "They didn't get to him -- we had accomplished that -- but we didn't make any plays of any explosion. We wanted to not get pounded by their rush and their pressure, which we avoided, but we just didn't get enough out of it."

The question why Seattle didn't get enough out of it gets to the heart of the discussion of Jackson. Why isn't he making plays down the field? Is it because he's not seeing open receivers? Is it because he's shrinking away from opportunities to throw the ball downfield?

"He hasn't had that many opportunities where we said, 'He should have done this, he should have done that,' " Carroll said. "He has pretty much taken what's there. There hasn't been a lot of situations where he's turned down a big throw."

Seattle didn't complete a pass longer than 17 yards in Sunday's game at Seattle. Is he simply not seeing open options downfield?

"No," Carroll said. "That's not happening."

Seattle's coach went on to say that 17-yard completion, which went to fullback Eddie Williams, was the one instance in which Jackson overlooked an open target.

"He could have maybe thrown to the tight end," Carroll said. "But he (Williams) was so open he made 20 yards on the yard play, and he (Jackson) took the easiest completion to get the ball moving. It was a big play.

"But that's like the one play that he passed up a guy he could have gone to, you know. And he made a big play out of it anyway."