Seahawks’ Pete Carroll Puts the Rest of the NFL on Notice

Getty Russell Wilson was not in favor of the Seahawks firing Brian Schottenheimer.

The Seattle Seahawks may have gotten their swagger back which has been missing in recent years. More specifically, the defense is moving towards being a unit that is once again feared, which was a staple of Pete Carroll’s team when the Seahawks went on their 2014 Super Bowl run. During his weekly press conference, Carroll admitted the Seahawks want their opponents to know “we’re coming out to knock the hell out of you when you play us.”

“The nature of these guys, they’re going for it,” Carroll explained, per Seahawks.com. “I love it. I love the way we were able to show first time out how we like to play the game. There’s a lot of improvement to be had, but I’m glad that the message was clear, that we’re coming out to knock the hell out of you when you play us. That was fun.”

The Seahawks will face a different test in Week 2 as they go from one of the best passing offenses to the threat of Cam Newton’s rushing ability. New England had nearly an even split between Newton’s passes and runs in Week 2. It will be worth watching to see what their plan is against the Seahawks.

Carroll Calls the Seahawks’ Physicality ‘Really Noticeable’

Reflecting on Week 1, Carroll noted that the Seahawks’ hard-hitting tackles were “really noticeable” against the Falcons. The Seahawks traded for Jamal Adams hoping that his presence could be the extra piece the unit needed for all the other players to reach their potential.

“I thought it was really noticeable,” Carroll noted. “I thought Bobby played his best game pass-defense wise than he’s played. He was the most active and most obviously on point with the breaks he was making. He impacted our play quite a bit. You couldn’t miss the play by Jamal running and hitting. I thought (Quandre) Diggs had some good top-offs and some nice plays, too, as well as the rest of the guys—Marquise for sure, and Lano Hill, all those guys made some hits. Having all the speed on the field, we’re faster than we’ve been, and I think it shows up in our pursuit.”

Contrary to the offseason narrative, the Seahawks utilized Adams all over the field, including on blitzes to get to the quarterback. We can expect to see even more wrinkles as the season progresses.

Carroll on Patriots: ‘They Can Do Anything in the Second Game’

While the Seahawks have studied the Patriots’ Week 1 tape, Carroll admitted they are expecting different looks from the Patriots in Week 2. Carroll added that the Seahawks are prepared to “adapt at game time” based on how the Patriots play given Bill Belichick’s history of variance from week to week.

“They’ve shifted their focus on how they ran their offense in the first game,” Carroll said, per Seahawks.com. “They can do anything in the second game. I leave it wide open to Coach Belichick… We’ve got to see what they do this time around. There’s not enough games for us in their new thinking to know what to expect here. We’ll have to adapt at game time.”

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