Getty Pete Carroll, Seahawks coach
Pete Carroll was not happy. And the Seahawks coach, still feisty at 72, is letting the league know about.
What is bothering Carroll, even nine days after the original incident, is the play on which quarterback Geno Smith was injured in the Seahawks’ Monday Night Football drubbing of the Giants.
We’ve seen it plenty of times since, but on the play, Smith gathered back a deflected pass and began to run with the ball, eventually heading to the sideline to simply get out of bounds. Isaiah Simmons of the Giants grabbed Smith and dragged him down from behind, using his legs to swing in behind Smith. Simmons landed on the back of Smith’s legs, and injured him.
Smith was angry, and charged the Giants defensive huddle. He missed two series and later called it a “dirty hit.” He was fined by the NFL for his post-play actions but, oddly enough, Simmons was not fined—because he really did not break any rule, though there has been discussion of that kind of play in the past.
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And that’s where Carroll is concerned. He heard from the league, he said.
“Yeah, I did,” Carroll said, via the News Tribune. “It’s a tackling situation that was scrutinized heavily last year. Then, we heard a lot of opposition from the players side of it and all about that tackle that occurred, and we did not act on it as a league.”
Pete Carroll Contacted the NFL
That’s where Carroll is disappointed and wants to see the NFL take more action. The league had considered the issue before but let it lie. Carroll brought it up repeatedly, he said, over the Seahawks’ bye week
“I’ve already been in contact and talking about it, trying to get some feel on where everybody is on it,” Carroll said, per the News Tribune. “But the league had decided last year to not act on changing that (kind of play to a penalty). It’s kind of the horse-collar tackle that in the pocket is different, and so I’m not going to sit and entertain (that) malicious (was) done or not going to say any of that.
“I just think we need to talk about that again and it’s a topic that I hope we’ll bring up when the season is over.”
But while the play remains on the minds of the Seahawks, Carroll is also moving on now that Week 6 is here.
“There’s nothing we can do about it right now,” he said.
Geno Smith ‘Fine’ After Hit
As for Smith, Carroll said, there are no lingering effects from the play. “He’s fine,” Carroll said on Monday, via Seahawks.com.
There is hope, too, that one of Smith’s primary protectors, left tackle Charles Cross, will be back on the field against Cincinnati this week. Cross suffered a toe injury in the season opener and has not played since.
“He was on the practice field today, he worked today,” Carroll said. “He looked quick and nifty and all that kind of stuff. We’ll see how he does when we come back as we get through the week, see if he can maintain the practice level that will allow him a chance to play.”