Getty Seahawks WR DK Metcalf was not happy with the offense.
DK Metcalf is saying what many Seattle Seahawks fans observed after the team’s early exit from the playoffs. During an interview on the I AM ATHLETE podcast with Brandon Marshall and Chad Johnson, Metcalf admitted the Seahawks offense became predictable with both deep passes and running plays which led to the unit stalling to close out the season. Here was Metcalf’s response to Marshall’s question about what happened to the Seahawks offense down the stretch.
“Teams just started to figure us out,” Metcalf noted, via Pro Football Talk. “We’ve been running deep pass, ever since Pete [Carroll] got there. Play-action. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, go deep. Teams just said, ‘We’re just not gonna let you all go deep.’”
That is a blunt assessment of why the Seahawks are looking for a new offensive coordinator. Pete Carroll emphasized his desire for the Seahawks to lean more on their running game just a day before Brian Schottenheimer was fired. Here is a clip of Metcalf’s comments about the Seahawks’ offensive struggles.
What happened to Seahawks offense, explained (quickly) by DK Metcalf
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Wilson Wants to See the Seahawks Use More Tempo
Russell Wilson made a similar statement to Metcalf after the Seahawks fired Schottenheimer. During his end-of-the-year press conference, Wilson noted on several occasions that he wants the Seahawks to utilize more tempo.
“I think that, yeah, I think that teams know that we throw it down the field well and stuff like that,” Wilson explained, per Seahawks.com. “Also too what they fear is our pace, the tempo, and all that. I think that I feel when the game is on the line, two minutes in the game or whatever, teams obviously fear that because of the feeling of me going and all that stuff. I think that is something I think along the way that kind of lose track of a little bit. I think we kind of lost track of that maybe along the way. I think that could have helped.”
The Seahawks Are Hiring Rams Coach Shane Waldron to be Their Offensive Coordinator
Metcalf was visibly frustrated on the sideline in the Seahawks’ loss to the Rams in the Wild Card round. New Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron inherits these frustrations from Metcalf, Wilson and likely others as the 2020 season came to a screeching halt with the team struggling to score.
Metcalf’s comments came before the Seahawks hired Waldron, and it will be worth watching how the former Rams coach utilizes his new star receiver. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Wilson was involved in the hiring process as the quarterback publicly campaigned to be earlier this offseason.
“Seahawks coach Pete Carroll cast a wide net and took his time in his search to replace Brian Schottenheimer, while listening to input from quarterback Russell Wilson along the way,” Henderson detailed. “Wilson made it clear to the team and to reporters that he wanted his voice heard in the search — and it was. Wilson’s personal quarterback coach, Jake Heaps, tweeted his excitement over Schefter’s report that Waldron was the pick.”
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