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RENTON, Wash. -- Just as the Seattle Seahawks are evolving offensively and appearing to find success, they have another problem emerging.In the last few weeks, Seattle cant get off the field on defense. And its not the best time to be struggling on that side of the ball about to go on the road, on a short week and face Tom Brady and New England on Sunday night.In the past two weeks, Seattle has started to display signs that maybe the wear of its overtime tie with Arizona on Oct. 23 is starting to impact its defense. Combined with an offense that seems to be abandoning their attempt at running the ball and controlling time of possession, the Seahawks defense has been asked to be on the field for an inordinate amount of time lately.Were playing a little bit more ball but at the same time I think were doing some good things, Seattle defensive end Cliff Avril said.While the players say this is not an issue and Seattle coach Pete Carroll is almost defiant that the amount of time the defense has spent on the field is a benefit, the statistics are telling a different story.And the biggest indicator is on third downs.Weve had 13 third-and-2 or less in the last two weeks. Thats really hard to win like you would like to on third down, Carroll said. We have to play better ball on earlier downs and then we have to get off when we have our chances. But it has been kind of a theme here allowing these third-and-shorts and not getting out of those. Thats really the focus.Over the past three weeks -- games against Arizona, New Orleans and Buffalo -- the Seahawks have allowed 31 of 53 third downs to be converted, a conversion rate of 58.4 percent. Buffalo was 12 of 17 against Seattle on Monday night and had 30 first downs, tied for the seventh-most ever against the Seahawks in the regular season. The inability to get off the field on third down, combined with the Seahawks own struggling to run the ball and sustain drives has led to three straight teams with 36 or more minutes of possession against the Seahawks.Arizona got it started when it dominated possession in the 6-6 overtime tie. The Cardinals held the ball for 46:21 and ran 90 offensive plays. New Orleans followed up a week later with 72 plays and 36 minutes of possession and on Monday night, Buffalo ran 82 offensive plays and held the ball for 40 minutes.Its a recipe for exhaustion, even if Carroll doesnt view it that way.I think were getting stronger, he said. If weve endured it, I think were in pretty good shape. If we can get a game of 60 or 70 plays, its going to seem like a lark. Well see if we can change it a little bit.The timing of the struggles on defense is troubling because the Seahawks appear to be morphing offensively and potentially exposing their defenders to even more time on the field. Seattle enters this week 30th in the NFL averaging just 75.4 yards per game rushing and in Mondays win had 26 passes and just 12 runs. No matter who is in the backfield, Seattle has been unable to establish the run and keep drives moving on the ground. Seattle has one offensive drive of longer than 6 minutes in the past five games and rank 25th in the league in time of possession.We have a lot of improvement to make and were just going to keep banging away at it, Carroll said. We know where were going, were just not quite getting on that track yet.Game notes SS Kam Chancellor (groin) was a full participant in practice and is expected to play Sunday as long as he doesnt have any setbacks. Chancellor has missed the past four games. ... RB Thomas Rawls (leg) was a limited participant in practice Wednesday but wont play this week. Rawls, who has been out since Week 2, is targeting next weeks game against Philadelphia for his return.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Andy Pettitte Jersey .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey Large . 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Rogelio Armenteros Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.PHILADELPHIA -- Michael Vick or Nick Foles? Might as well flip a coin. Vick will start for the Philadelphia Eagles in their preseason opener against New England on Friday night only because its his turn to go first in the quarterback rotation. Foles also will take snaps with the starters, and the second-year pro will start the second preseason game. "It was Mikes day in the rotation, that was the easiest way for us to do it and then well make sure the rotation works out that Nick will get the start next week," coach Chip Kelly said Thursday. "The two of those guys, we feel like weve got it balanced out. We met with those guys this morning. They were great with it, so thats kind of our plan going in." Both Vick and Foles are expected to get between 12 and 20 snaps vs. the Patriots. The two QBs have been competing for the No. 1 job since Kellys arrival in Philadelphia. "It doesnt mean anything," Vick said about the start. "The only thing I want to do is go out there and have fun, play the game, play with a purpose, enjoy every snap, try to make the most out of it as long as Im out there and just try to be consistent like I have throughout camp and have fun playing the game." Rookie Matt Barkley will come in after Vick and Foles in the second quarter and play through the third. Dennis Dixon and G.J. Kinne will play the fourth. The Eagles and Patriots concluded three days of join practices before facing each other on the field at Lincoln Financial Field. "Ive said it all along, its very difficult to evaluate somebody in just helmets and shorts," Kelly said. "Thats not how the game is played, so obviously I think our practices from an intensity level, were ramping up a little here just because the Patriots are here. "On both sides I thought it was great work for us. For guys that are competing right now, the preseason has to be the same way. If thats not your approach as a player, youre going to get passed on by." While Kelly uses the preseason games to evaluate who will be his starting quarterback, the Patriots are in an enviable position. They have two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. Third-yeaar pro Ryan Mallet is the backup followed by Tim Tebow.dddddddddddd Patriots coach Bill Belichick hasnt told Tebow if hell play against the Eagles, though its likely he will take some snaps. "Im getting better every single day, more comfortable with the offence and better timing with everybody around me, better understanding of what the coaches want me to do," Tebow said. Mallet certainly will see plenty of action. "I cant wait," Mallett said. "I feel like Ive improved a lot overall. I feel confident and ready to go." Itll be the first chance for rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson to catch passes from Brady. The Patriots have a new group for Brady after their top five receiving leaders from last season are no longer with the team or injured. "Definitely jitters a little bit, just because its something new," Dobson said. "Im ready for it. Im excited to play." Running back LeGarrette Blount also will make his Patriots debut. Blount, who ran for 1,007 yards as a rookie for Tampa Bay in 2010, is coming off a disappointing season and was traded to New England for a seventh-round draft pick. Hell be playing against his former coach at Oregon in Kelly. "Hes a real good coach and a real good guy," Blount said. "I loved his offence at Oregon and if its going to be anything like that, theyll be pretty productive." All eyes will be on Kellys offence to see how up-tempo style translates in the NFL. Kelly had tremendous success at Oregon, and everyone has been wondering since he replaced Andy Reid how hell do in the NFL. Though Kelly wont show too much in the preseason, itll be a small sampling at least. "Its going to be a lot of fun," Kelly said. "I think the way our camp worked out for itself, our players came in with great attitudes and that part was exciting. Then you get an opportunity to now bring a new team in. I think that kind of changed how we were doing things. Now were getting into the preseason portion of it. We dont talk about its just the preseason. Its on the line every time you go on the field. "So were all excited about our opportunity to play tomorrow night." ' ' '