Stop us if you’ve heard this message before, head coach Pete Carroll wants the Seattle Seahawks to run the football more. After the Seahawks were shutout against the Packers, Carroll made his feelings known during several media appearances that the team needs to increase their rushing attempts.
It is a not-so-subtle message to first-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron heading into the team’s Week 11 NFC West showdown against the Cardinals. During his weekly press conference, Carroll discussed the team’s overall running game philosophy.
“There’s not a number [of rushing attempts], it just depends on the game and how it goes,” Carroll explained during his November 17 press conference. “There’s not specific number, but when you’re running the ball really well, you’re running it in the high 20s and around 30 and then when you really go for it, you do like the Niners. They ran 42 times.
“That’s off the charts to the positive, but yeah, we just need to run it, just to mix our game and bounce it out more so. In a game that’s as tight as that, we didn’t need to do anything, but just keep controlling the football. And I wish we could’ve done that better in that game [vs. Packers].”
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Carroll on Collins: ‘We Need to Get Him More [Carries]’
The challenge is Carroll is emphasizing this message at a time when the Seahawks just found out the team will be without their RB1 Chris Carson for the remainder of the season as he undergoes neck surgery. Carroll continues to praise Alex Collins, but the team’s rushing attack has been significantly less potent without Carson. Collins is averaging 4.1 yards per carry this season compared to Carson’s 4.8 yards per rush in 2020.
Heading into Week 11, Seattle ranks near the bottom in the league both in total rushing attempts at No. 26 with 212 carries and No. 23 with 898 rushing yards. Carroll is campaigning for more carries for Collins and also hinted that Rashaad Penny could see an increased role.
“Well, I like our group,” Carroll noted. “It’s a been a really competitive group and all that. And unfortunately, Alex [Collins] has been hampered a little bit by a groin thing for the last few week so he hasn’t been 100%, but he’s still playing and getting through there. He’s done a nice job. He’s averaging nice [yards] per carries and he’s doing good with the work we’re getting, and we need to get him more but I’m anxious to see us mix the guys a little bit more and more runs will allow us to do that.
“I think Alex had 10 carries in the game, and so everything was really cut back. So that’s not enough to really get our guys working, but [Travis] Homer’s got some style to him. DeeJay [Dallas] does a nice job, a nice job in a number of areas, and we need Rashaad [Penny] to come to life. And so this is, it’s an important time for Rashaad to help us.”
Carroll to Waldron vs. Packers: ‘We’re in a Defensive Ball Game’
Carroll also made an interesting comment during his weekly coach’s show on ESPN 710 Seattle revealing a conversation he had with Waldron. During the Seahawks-Packers game, Carroll made it a point to let Waldron know, “we’re in a defensive ball game.” The obvious implication is that Carroll wanted to lean on the running game against Green Bay.
“But you could tell, I said to Shane [Waldron] pretty early on, I said, ‘We’re in a defensive ball game,'” Carroll said. “Just to let him know what was the climate of the game, kind of.”
Carroll on Waldron’s Play Calling: ‘I Think We Need to Settle Everything Down’
It has been the same story from Carroll no matter who has been the Seahawks offensive coordinator. Waldron is just the latest coordinator that has received the “run more” message from Carroll.
Even if Carroll’s offensive philosophy is prudent, which can be debated, without Carson the Seahawks do not appear to have the necessary running backs to successfully implement this game plan. During his Week 11 press conference, Carroll was asked to give his overall assessment of Waldron’s play calling this season.
“Let’s just look what’s happened, we had, Russ was playing and then he left in the Rams game,” Carroll told reporters. “And then we had to bounce back with, with G [Geno Smith], and which he did a nice job. We altered what we’re doing just to make sure that we gave ourselves a chance to win. And then we come back at the Packers and Russ’s first game back.
“I think we need to settle everything down and get back to the ball that we liked earlier in the year. And when we thought we started to get things rolling. But it’s been tumultuous in that regard, you know? And so, I think that also not having Chris [Carson] where we were really leaning on Chris, made a difference to us too.
“And so, those are just the situations he’s had to deal with. It ain’t been easy, you know? And so, I’m looking forward, we’ve got eight weeks to do something here and see where we wind up after that. And you know, we need to make progress.”
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Pete Carroll Sends Strong Message to Seahawks Offensive Coordinator