Spambereich » then during the game they cheered for the Sens as

RENTON, Wash. -- Back from their bye week, with the best record in the NFL and heading into a Monday night showdown with the Saints, Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks spent Tuesday dealing with the kinds of distractions they believed were over. Instead, the Seahawks are adding to the list of player suspensions theyve faced since Carroll took over in 2010. "Were still trying to work through it. Ill say it again, Ive always found myself looking for guys that maybe other people dont see something special in and we take a chance on a guy here or there that needs some extra consideration and care," Carroll said. "And sometimes guys they have issues and things pop up but Ive always been kind of hopeful and make guys find the best in them and bring it out. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesnt. Well certainly hang with our guys and take care of them." Starting cornerback Walter Thurmond was officially suspended Tuesday by the NFL for the teams next four games for violating the leagues substance abuse policy, leaving the Seahawks short-handed going into Mondays matchup against New Orleans. Thurmond will be eligible to return to the active roster on Monday, Dec. 23, before the final game of the regular season, but his absence leaves a hole in a secondary that was previously missing starting cornerback Brandon Browner because of a groin injury. Thurmonds suspension was first reported by NFL.com over the weekend. Thurmond took to Twitter and apologized on Sunday, writing, "Yes I made a mistake and I have to live with the consequences. Im disappointed in myself for letting my teammates and family down." Thurmonds is the sixth Seattle player officially suspended for substance-abuse or performance-enhancing drugs violations by the league since 2011. That doesnt include Richard Sherman, whose suspension was overturned on appeal late last season. "I dont know that we can expect to be perfect. We would like to be, but that isnt the case," Carroll said. "Its a big challenge for these guys to do right and we want them to do it and carry through and be there when we need them and count on them. It doesnt always work that way. It presents opportunities for other guys. Weve always championed that and our guys have always come through and theyll do that again in this instance." Thurmond has started three games this season for Seattle, including the teams last game against Minnesota when he had his first interception of the season and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Even when he wasnt starting, Thurmond was a critical member of one of the NFLs best secondary units as the fifth defensive back in passing situations. Thurmond beat out veteran Antoine Winfield, whom Seattle signed in the off-season, for the nickel cornerback spot during training camp. He had struggled with injuries throughout his career but was finally healthy and playing well ahead of an off-season where he will be a free agent. Seattle moved quickly to fill Thurmonds roster spot, signing veteran Perrish Cox, who worked out for the team recently after being released by San Francisco on Nov. 12. Cox played in 25 games over two seasons with the 49ers in a reserve role after starting nine games for Denver in 2010. Seattle had also worked out former cornerback Marcus Trufant, who has not played this season, before deciding on signing Cox. The Seahawks are likely to lean on young backups Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane. Maxwell had been seeing more playing time, especially on passing downs when Thurmond would move inside to cover slot receivers. Lane started three games late last season when Browner was serving a four-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs and Thurmond was injured. Carroll also indicated that DeShawn Shead will be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster, but that move was not made official on Tuesday. Presumably, Sheads promotion will coincide with a roster move involving Browner, who is also reportedly facing a suspension for a substance-abuse violation. Shead can play both cornerback and safety. Its his second season with the Seahawks, most of that spent on the practice squad. He was added to the 53-man roster late last season but was inactive for each game. Hes been getting paid this season at the same rate as a second-year player on the 53-man roster according to the NFLPA database. Carroll said despite the continued problems he doesnt believe his message or approach needs to change. "Well always look to do it better. Were on it. I think this team is very strong about where were going and what were doing. Because somebody slips, that doesnt mean were not on track," Carroll said. "I believe were on a tremendous track right now. The focus around here, the dedication to what were doing, the standard that we hold them to in all areas. Look at where we are; were exemplary in many, many areas and were really proud of it. But that doesnt mean somebody is not going to slip and make a mistake now and then." NOTES: Seattle WR Percy Harvin was held out of practice on Tuesday. Carroll reiterated that Harvin is day to day. ... WR Jermaine Kearse did practice after suffering a concussion in Seattles Week 11 win over Minnesota. Matt Strahm Padres Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. Johnny Manziel Jersey . 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OTTAWA -- On the day Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa, the Senators got yet another reminder that things arent the same this season without him. Despite an empty-net goal and an assist, Alfredsson wasnt primarily responsible for the Senators second straight loss and fourth straight at home. But in helping the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-2 victory Sunday night at Canadian Tire Centre, the long-time captain contributed to the continuation of his former teams woes. "The result makes it a lot sweeter," said Alfredsson, who was named the third star in his return. "You could tell our team was motivated today and played hard and I thought we got better as the game went on. But if we would have lost, for me personally I think it would still have been a night Ill always remember." Like so many times in their previous 27 games in the post-Alfredsson era, something was just missing for the Senators (10-13-4). Botched line changes hurt badly. "They catch us on three line changes and they get the odd-man rush and they dont miss," Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. "Theyre a team that if you give them those opportunities, theyre going to take advantage of them. They took what we gave them and they made it the difference in the game." The other difference was Ottawas power-less power play, which went 0-for-4 and put up just four shots. "We couldnt really establish anything off the entries, and thats why we couldnt really get set up," defenceman Erik Karlsson said. "We just had to chase the puck the whole time." And when the Red Wings had the puck at even strength, they got the job done. Alfredsson assisted on Johan Franzens opening goal for Detroit (14-7-7), and Drew Miller scored twice. Clarke MacArthur scored his eighth goal of the season for the Senators, and Mika Zibanejad made things interesting late, but it wasnt enough to make them a perfect 3-0 against the Red Wings this season. Ottawa won the first two meetings, both coming at Joe Louis Arena. "It was important for our team. We had dropped the ball, the first time we played against them we played poorly," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "It was important to respond here today, for Alfie and for the guys. The guys care about him, they wanted him to have a big night here." Alfredsson had himself a night with his 590th and 591st points in his 596th game in Ottawa. The empty-net goal brought boos from the crowd of 20,011, but it generated plenty of relief for the Red Wings. "It was nice kind of to seal the game there," Alfredsson said. "They were pushing, and I was thinking, Here comes the Pesky Sens again. But we were lucky to get a good bounce there." The Senators were the "Pesky Sens" last year when they managed to find ways to win despite injuries to Karlsson, centre Jason Spezza, goaltender Craig Anderson and others. This season, theyve struggled mightily. Sunday was another painful example of those problems. "At the end of the day we didnt do enough to win," MacLean said. "Is that playing harder? Is that work ethic? Is that being smarter? Its all of the above, I would say. But we can just categorize it I guess under onne term is that we need to play harder.dddddddddddd" And, ideally, better at home. Their last win at Canadian Tire Centre was Nov. 15. "It seems like we got a little block at home," MacArthur said. "I think one thing goes wrong and then another thing goes wrong, and then we start to tighten up. I dont know if its shutting our brains off for periods during the game, but we made a couple mental errors and its one of those nights where its a good team and they capitalize." With all the Senators flaws, MacLean refused to pin any blame on goaltender Robin Lehner, who made 19 saves on 22 shots. "We have no issue with Robins game. None," MacLean said. "I dont have any issue with that. The line changes, the opportunities they got, oh yeah wed like one more save and one more play, but to be honest with you they were pretty good opportunities for them." Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who like Alfredsson is a native of Gothenburg, Sweden, made 29 saves for the victory. The pre-game fanfare was all about Alfredsson, who spent 17 seasons with the Senators, including the final 14 as their captain. The game only got underway after a 67-second video tribute to Alfredsson that was accompanied by "Alfie" chants and a standing ovation. "It was fun to see the ovation he got," said Karlsson, who drove to the rink with Alfredsson. "Its probably nice to get it over with as well for him. I think the fans handled it really well and gave him the applause he deserved and then during the game they cheered for the Sens as normally." There wasnt much to cheer for. After a lacklustre first period, Alfredsson was involved in the scoring when it began in the second. Alfredsson gave the puck to defenceman Jakub Kindl as the Red Wings caught the Senators on an odd-man rush. With only defenceman Erik Karlsson back, Franzen had Henrik Zetterberg with him and Alfredsson trailing but decided to shoot and beat Lehner at the 8:22 mark of the second. It was Franzens seventh goal of the season and Alfredssons 14th assist. Miller made it 2-0 Red Wings at the 11:13 mark, taking a pass from Tomas Tatar and firing a one-timer past a sliding Lehner. The Senators answered just over three minutes later on a flurry around Gustavsson. Milan Michalek followed his shot to the net and knocked the puck loose and right to MacArthur, who broke up the shutout at 14:14. Miller was the beneficiary of some messy play by the Senators on his second goal of the game. Detroit defenceman Brendan Smith managed to stick-handle and pull everyone to him, leaving Miller wide open to put the puck into an empty net. "Those are the easy ones," Miller said. "Those are the ones youd like to get more often than not." It was the Red Wings fourth straight victory. They havent lost since the Senators beat them in Detroit on Nov. 23. NOTES -- Defenceman Marc Methot was a late scratch for the Senators with the flu, the team announced. Coach Paul MacLean indicated before the game that Jared Cowen would be a healthy scratch for a second straight game. Instead Cowen replaced Methot in the lineup. ... Alfredsson finished with 16:33 of ice time. ' ' '