What the Seattle Seahawks were trying to do on offense wasn’t working.“He and I sat down and kind of had a little heart-to-heart http://www.lionscheapstore.com/jahlani-tavai-jersey-cheap ,” said Schottenheimer, Seattle’s first-year offensive coordinator.“There were things that he and I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page about. It wasn’t just the running game, it was he and I continuing to build our relationship and it was an awesome meeting. It probably lasted about an hour and we talked about a ton of different stuff. I know I came out of that meeting feeling really good just about the direction where we wanted to go.”The direction has been clear for more than three months as the Seahawks went from a team searching for answers to a team back in the postseason after a one-year absence from the playoffs.And it was the decisions made before playing Dallas in Week 3 where the switch was made and Seattle started on its path that has the Seahawks headed to face the Cowboys on Saturday night in an NFC wild-card game.The conversation between Carroll and Schottenheimer made clear Seattle was going back to the fundamentals of how it wanted to be offensively. They were going to make running the ball the priority and let Russell Wilson be a playmaker around the running success.The result: Seattle ended the season as the best run team in the NFL, and with Wilson having one of the best seasons of his career making big plays in the passing game.“I don’t think you’d always sit there and say we’re going to make this philosophy and go do this, and then you think you’re going to be the best in the league at it,” Schottenheimer said.Throughout last offseason, Seattle preached it was returning to the basic offensive fundamentals that led them to consecutive NFC titles. They were going to be bullies running the football behind the trio of Chris Carson, Mike Davis and Rashaad Penny.But for the first two weeks of the season, Schottenheimer and Carroll got too far ahead of themselves. They tried to see how much the Seahawks could rely on Wilson, rather than relying on the run game. The result was a pair of ugly losses to Denver and Chicago, and Wilson running for his life getting sacked 12 times in those first two games.When Dallas arrived in Week 3, so did Seattle’s change in approach. That was the week Carson became the workhorse in the run game. It was the week that the additions of D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy at the guard positions started to become noticeable Will Harris Jersey , and Seattle’s running success meant Wilson was no longer under siege by the opposing pass rush.Seattle rushed for only 113 yards that day in the 24-13 win �? 102 by Carson �? but it laid the foundation for what the Seahawks became.“They were talking about it the whole time of running the ball more and being a run team,” Carson said. “They finally started getting it going against the Cowboys and it’s taken off ever since.”Starting with Week 3, Seattle has rushed for 2,422 yards, the fourth-most by any team since 2010 during that 14-game span. The 2014 Seahawks had 2,447 yards during the same stretch of games, one spot ahead of this year’s team.While it was the Cowboys when Seattle committed to its offensive identity, when it fully took hold depends on whom you ask. For Schottenheimer it wasn’t until Week 12 at Carolina when he became convinced Seattle had the ability to win in multiple ways. The victory over the Panthers came on a day Seattle ran for only 75 yards, but Wilson threw for 339. It’s the only time in the final 14 games Seattle was held under 100 yards rushing as a team.For offensive tackle Duane Brown, it was Seattle’s first game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. Seattle lost 33-31, but ran for 190 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.“It just became our norm and we had some pretty good fronts that we went against,” Brown said.Carroll agreed with his left tackle that it was a few games after facing the Cowboys before the commitment to Seattle’s offensive style became the norm.“It was a step in right direction and the commitment came through but we were just getting started http://www.lionscheapstore.com/austin-bryant-jersey-cheap ,” Carroll said. “I don’t think that was the pivotal week, it took us two or three weeks after that before we started to find the stride that we wanted and started to build on that.” LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Coach Matt Nagy is saving the big celebrations for later.He opted instead to spend “quality time” at home with his four sons, ate sushi, consumed “one beverage” and kept his eyes on the prizes still out there after the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North.One he would love, though it probably won’t come gift-wrapped: A first-round bye.“You wanna ask me if I want the first-round bye, or the No. 1 seed? Absolutely, give it to me right now,” he said.The Bears completed their worst-to-first turnaround by securing their first division title and playoff appearance in eight years.Even better, they did it by beating Aaron Rodgers and the rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday. But if they’re going to land a top-two seed and first-round bye, they still have some climbing to do.The Bears are third in the NFC behind the South champion New Orleans Saints and West champion Los Angeles Rams with two games to play. They visit San Francisco this week before closing the regular season at Minnesota.“It’s OK to celebrate and enjoy last night and yesterday,” Nagy said on Monday. “But we have bigger things that we’re trying to achieve. And I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge for us where we’re at is understanding http://www.packerscheapstore.com/rashan-gary-jersey-cheap , OK, we accomplished a good goal but that’s not enough.”The Bears (10-4) simply need a strong finish and some help.They trail New Orleans (12-2) by two games after the Saints beat Carolina 12-9 on Monday night and are one back of the Rams (11-3), though Chicago defeated Los Angeles on Dec. 9. The Bears are also two games up on NFC East leader Dallas.“There’s the ability for us to be, basically, four different seeds,” Nagy said. “Some are slimmer than others. But take that into account, it makes it easy. You go play, and you play to win and nothing changes. You literally control what you can control.”The way things play out this week could determine whether Nagy keeps his foot on the gas or rests players — particularly those who are banged up — when the Bears visit Minnesota. But if seeds are at stake heading into the regular-season finale, he likely will go full speed.“Unless you’re locked in and you can’t move, then you have to decide,” Nagy said. “To me that’s when you have to decide what you want to do. But right now, we have to win.”Simply being in this position is a welcomed change for Chicago.The drought between playoff appearances claimed three coaches and led to shrinking crowds at Soldier Field.“This was for the fans Darnell Savage Jr. Jersey , this was for the organization and we are glad that we were able to do it,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said.With the Bears winning the North, at least one NFL team in 15 of the past 16 seasons has finished in first place in its division the season after finishing last or tied for last place.Nagy is Chicago’s first rookie coach with 10 wins since George Halas in 1920, when the franchise was in its inaugural season. With a 7-1 record at Soldier Field, Chicago matched its home win total over three seasons under former coach John Fox.But as good as that all sounds, the Bears want more.“It hasn’t happened yet,” star pass rusher Khalil Mack said. “We just got the NFC North. We got that title so far. We want to get this push. We can’t really get caught up in all of that. We have two more games we have to win.”NOTES: Though both players were still being evaluated, Nagy said he doesn’t think the injuries to S Eddie Jackson (sprained right ankle) and LB Aaron Lynch (elbow) are season-ending. Jackson picked off a tipped pass intended for Jimmy Graham at the goal line late in Sunday’s game, then had to be helped off the field when his leg bent awkwardly as he tried to slide on the return. That play also ended Aaron Rodgers’ NFL-record streak of 402 attempts without an interception. Lynch walked off the field clutching his right arm after he was hurt fighting a block on a run by Jamaal Williams in the third quarter.