Getty Russell Wilson wants the Seahawks to use more tempo in 2021.
The Seattle Seahawks had two failed fourth-down conversions in the team’s loss to the New York Giants. During his postgame press conference, Russell Wilson admitted the team should have run the ball instead of trying to pass on fourth-and-one.
Wilson noted the Seahawks “should probably go downhill” giving the ball to Chris Carson in these short-yardage situations. The Seahawks quarterback was asked if he gave any thought to changing the play call at the line of scrimmage.
“I think there’s always that opportunity [to change the play call],” Wilson noted. “I think the formation, without getting too much into the weeds and details of it all, the formation that we had we didn’t have necessarily the call that we were looking for. We had a pass call on. So, I think that going back at it, I think that we should probably go downhill and let Chris try to run over somebody like he always does, it seems like. He’s such a special player in that way. And so, they covered it really well, like I said, it’s almost like they knew it was coming. They did a good job of covering it.”
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Carroll on 4th Down Play Call: Wilson Had ‘3 Big Options There’
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained that the team liked the play call as it allowed Wilson to have “three big options there.” Wilson rolled out on the play but was unable to convert prompting a turnover on downs.
“They did a nice job of stopping the fourth down call,” Carroll said, per Seahawks.com. “We put Russ out on the edge. He had three big options there, as well as run, and they did a nice job of defending it.”
Carroll defended the team’s decision not to give the ball to Carson. The Seahawks coach added that “we want the ball in Russ’ hands” to give him multiple options in those situations.
“That’s easy to say now,” Carroll added. “Stuff works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn’t. This is what you get to say when you don’t make it on Fourth Down, and you get to ask the questions. I wish we would have made it, too. There are different ways to do it, and we want the ball in Russ’s hands to give him a chance, there. He had all kinds of options, and that didn’t work on one.”
Carroll Admitted Carson Is Not 100 Percent Healthy
Few coaches love running the ball like Carroll who enjoys building the offense around a physical rushing style. The play call put into question just how healthy Carson is after returning from a foot injury. Carson only had 13 carries against the Giants, and Carroll admitted the running back is not quite 100 percent healthy.
“He’s making it,” Carroll said, via Seahawks.com. “He’s making it to the game, is what he’s doing right now. His foot is still sore, but he can play. So, you can see. He looked good. But, it’s just not 100 percent, and so we’re trying to not overload him. We have a lot of games left, and we’re just trying to make sure that he can play and contribute, which is what he’s doing, and I thought they handled that pretty well. But, he’s not to the point where we can just let him stay out there and keep on going and let’s run him 25 or 30 times and see what happens. We’re still trying to bring him along.”
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