Getty Pete Carroll appears to be okay with Seahawks fans booing Russell Wilson.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll stopped just short of encouraging fans to boo Russell Wilson when the team takes on the Denver Broncos in the Monday Night Football showdown. When asked what fans should do in response to Wilson, Carroll uttered his classic line, “You’re either competing or you’re not.”
“You’re either competing or you’re not, I’m leaving it up to 12s,” Carroll explained during a September 8, 2022 press conference. “It’s game time, and we’re going for it. And so, however they take it, I’ll follow their lead on that. I’m not going to be involved with that kind of opportunity to react. So, I don’t have to make that decision. I’m gonna see what happens, but I’m leaving it up to the 12s. I think they’ll know exactly what to do.”
Carroll on Facing Wilson: ‘We Have a Ton of Information’
“We know Russ well……nobody could know him better than we do”
Pete Carroll talks about preparing for Russell Wilson and the #Broncos in Week 1
Carroll has expressed a quiet confidence in the Seahawks’ chances as the team takes on their former franchise quarterback. The Seahawks coach admitted that the team has “a ton of information” on Wilson and the defense plans to try “a lot of things” to make things challenging for the Broncos quarterback.
“We have a lot of things that we’re going to do, we have a ton of information,” Carroll noted. “We have as much information as we’ve ever had going into a game and hopefully that information and the process of getting to here we can capitalize on. So, that’s all I can really tell you about the game plan.”
‘Some Within the Seahawks Believed Wilson’s Best Days Were Behind Him,’ Says Insider
ESPN’s Brady Henderson wrote a lengthy feature about the offseason breakup between the Seahawks and Wilson, which appeared to be years in the making. Some within the Seahawks organization believed that Wilson’s play was declining, while the quarterback wanted to see a more pass-friendly offense.
“By this point, some within the Seahawks believed Wilson’s best days were behind him,” Henderson detailed on September 7. “Their concern wasn’t with the finger injury that had sidelined him for three games in 2021. Some believed Wilson’s escapability — one of the traits that made him an elite quarterback worthy of elite money — was waning.
“‘He’s not as mobile as he used to be,’ said one source in the Seahawks’ front office.”
Wilson on Seattle: ‘It Will Always Forever Be Home for Me’
A new chapter in Russell Wilson’s story starts tonight with his return to Seattle 🏈
Let’s Ride 🙌
It will be worth watching to see the 12s’ reaction to Wilson as he plays in his first NFL game not wearing a Seahawks uniform. Wilson led the Seahawks to the lone Super Bowl victory in franchise history but the very public breakup has led to frustration among some Seattle fans.
“Seattle will always mean the world to me,” Wilson told reporters on September 8. “It will always forever be home for me. It’ll always be a special place in my heart, obviously. …People are gonna love you, they’re gonna hate you sometimes, whatever it may be. But I know that for me, I’ll forever have love in my heart for Seattle.”