Carroll, Sherman work out differences
Seahawks cornerback showed anger over offensive strategy both during and after game
SEATTLE— It was Richard Sherman’s reaction during a private meeting Friday morning with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll that ultimately mattered more to Carroll than how Sherman reacted during and after the team’s 24-3 win over the Rams Thursday night.
Sherman went into a yelling and finger-pointing outburst during the third quarter, upset about a call to pass from the one-yard line rather than run. He then didn’t back down from that sentiment after the game, confirming to reporters he was upset with the offensive play-calling in that situation — a pass to Jimmy Graham that was almost intercepted by the Rams initially set Sherman ablaze.
“We already know how that goes,” Sherman said of passing from the 1-yard-line, a reference to the interception that cost Seattle Super Bowl XLIX.
Sherman then said defensive players had the right to question offensive play calls.
“One hundred per cent,” he said. “One hundred per cent. We go out there, we sacrifice, we battle. We don’t give away our battle. You honour our sacrifice.”
Carroll called Sherman in for a meeting Friday and hinted that had Sherman not responded the way he hoped that his approach to the incident and to Sherman moving forward would have been different.
Instead, Carroll said he felt he and Sherman worked out the situation and implied that he is willing to put it in the past.
“I think if we weren’t able to come back from that, I think so,” Carroll said when asked if he could have considered Sherman’s actions as insubordination. “I think it would depend on how the meeting went. The meeting went very well and it was very clear and I know the guy I’m talking to. I know him as well as you can know a guy. And I know how he feels about it and I’m fine about what happened. That doesn’t mean that it was OK, that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t something that needed to be addressed —he was the only guy that was in my office this morning. So we went right after it and I was going to make my decision on how to move forward based on what happened and how we communicated and I feel very good about it.”
Carroll called it “a terrific meeting” with Sherman and attributed his outburst to having been “really emotional” during the game. He said Sherman expressed remorse for detracting from a night in which the Seahawks clinched the NFC West, saying “he didn’t want to affect his team the way he did. He didn’t want to do that.”
Carroll implied that Sherman will make a statement about the situation at some point, saying “I want to let Richard really speak for himself when he has a chance.” Sherman is scheduled to hold his weekly meeting with the media on Tuesday.
Earlier this season, Sherman was surprisingly angry after a 37-18 win over the 49ers, saying later he was upset at how the Seahawks had let San Francisco score two late touchdowns. “Well, that’s the way they called it,” Sherman said a few days later.
He then blew up at defensive coordinator Kris Richard in a win over Atlanta following a play when miscommunication led to a Falcons’ touchdown.
Carroll didn’t specifically address his thoughts on Sherman criticizing the offence versus the defence, while saying “they are two totally different instances. This guy cares as much as you can care. That doesn’t mean he does everything right all the time. It doesn’t mean he’s bad because he does make mistakes.”
Carroll, though, said he was not concerned about a rift between the offence and defence, saying when asked about that simply “I’m not worried about it.”