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Leading up to team’s the clash with the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll attempted to maintain that it was a “championship” opportunity just like any other game. Carroll’s remarks less than 24 hours after the Seahawks’ upset victory over the Broncos tell a different story as the longtime Seattle coach was candid about how much the win meant to the coaching staff as well as past players. Carroll was also blunt about what the Seahawks viewed as Russell Wilson’s deficiencies, including making the star quarterback move to his left.
“We really were focused in on Russ’ play with our pass rush,” the coach remarked during the September 13 edition of the “Pete Carroll Show.” “That’s really the way to play him. You can move him and you can make him go. I think he moved 10 times and he completed two passes on the times we moved him out of the pocket and moved him around like we were trying to. It’s a hard dynamic to have. There’s so many factors in there, but we’re trying to push him in directions.
“…When he moves to his left, it’s hard for him numbers-wise and all that, so we just we were able to do some stuff. It wasn’t perfect at all, but it was effective and we felt like we were controlling it. It wasn’t always just getting clean to get the sack, it was to try and make him go where we wanted him to go, and guys did a good job.”
Carroll: ‘The Game Isn’t About an Individual Player…It’s About Team’
Throughout the season opener, the Seahawks celebrated some of the team’s past stars including Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, K.J. Wright and Doug Baldwin. Carroll emphasized that the current Seahawks wanted to win for the past players. Without mentioning Wilson by name, Carroll appeared to reference his former quarterback noting, “The game isn’t about an individual player…it’s about team.”
“And on this night they realized there was a big opportunity and a big statement to be made,” Carroll explained. “The game isn’t about an individual player here or there, it’s about team. This is the ultimate team sport, and it’s been stated so many times before. It takes everybody.
“And sometimes when so much focus goes (on one person), it just rubbed guys wrong I guess or whatever. I’m thrilled that we won that game. Yeah, it was significant for a lot of reasons beyond just it’s the first game of the year and all that. But the fact that it was Monday night, it couldn’t be better. So, just really rewarding and on we go.”
Carroll on Past Seahawks Stars: ‘It Was Obvious How Much They Wanted to Win the Game’
The Seahawks were motivated by more than just feeling disrespected as the underdogs. Carroll revealed that Seattle wanted to win for some of the team’s past players admitting, “we were playing for them.”
When pressed by ESPN 710 Seattle’s Mike Salk, Carroll declined to specify why the game had significance to past players noting it was up to the media to “figure it out.” Carroll was clearly referencing the tension Wilson had with some of his past teammates during his 10 seasons in Seattle. The Seahawks coach admitted that, “so much focus goes (on one person), it just rubbed guys wrong.”
“Seeing those guys [past players], it was obvious how much they wanted to win the game,” Carroll stated. “We were representing them with everything we were doing and we were playing for them.
“… I felt Doug and Sherm and Marshawn and Sidney Rice and (Walter) Thurmond, there were so many guys all over the place. Everybody was all over the place. And K.J. pulling the flag, he was pulling the flag for everybody.”
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