RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that Thomas Rawls will be the starter in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Asked why the team made that decision, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell offered a reminder about what the coaches like about the second-year running back.

"He's always been our starter, and he was our starter last year," Bevell said. "C-Mike's [Christine Michael] done a great job for us. I don't think in any way do we need to minimize what he's done because he's done a phenomenal job. He'll still get opportunities to carry the ball, but Thomas has been our guy, and you could see it in the game.

"It was good to have him back. He's a physical runner. He's got the style that we look for, the tenacity that we look for, and he embodies who we want to be. And he looked healthy. As long as he's healthy, he's that guy."

Rawls is coming off of offseason ankle surgery. He played 27 percent of the team's snaps in Week 1 and carried 12 times for 32 yards.

"What I'm going to work on this week as far as in practice [is] just hitting the line of scrimmage a little bit faster and reading a little bit more, being more patient and more calm," Rawls said. "I was so excited being out there and playing a lot of plays and getting a lot of carries."

Of course, the challenge Sunday will be the offensive line opening up holes for Rawls and Michael.

Assistant head coach/offensive line Tom Cable made it clear that his group has plenty of room for improvement. Cable said center Justin Britt and and left guard Mark Glowinski were "outstanding" but everyone was else was just OK.

Germain Ifedi is expected to miss Sunday's game, meaning another start at right guard for J'Marcus Webb.