What Carroll must do to fi x Seattle
The Seahawks’ many problems can be fi xed. This is when the head coach will earn his salary
If the Seahawks were a bunch of front- runners unaccustomed to struggle, they might be in trouble now. But chances are their two early- season losses represent just a rough patch, full of mistakes that they’ll correct rather quickly.
It may take a couple of weeks to solve all their problems. And depending on the availability of several injured starters, they may have to cover up deficiencies for even longer. You will see a better product soon, however.
Why? Because Pete Carroll will fix it.
This is where he thrives as a coach. For all the attention given to his positive attitude and fun- loving nature, Carroll is also a grinder who loves to take apart the engine, find the weak spots and make improvements. The Seahawks problems aren’t fatal. On offence, they need to return to their smashmouth ways and stop trying to be too cute. On defence, they need to tighten up on third down.
After a 30- 23 loss to Dallas on Sunday, Carroll faced reality.
“It was across the board,” the Seahawks coach said. “This is not pointing the finger at any one spot. This is a lot of stuff that just didn’t play well, and I didn’t do a good enough job of getting us ready to do this, against a really good team.”
Carroll has a lot to manage. He must work with offensive co- ordinator Darrell Bevell to rein in the offence without making it too vanilla. The Seahawks have now had two games — both losses — in which they couldn’t get Marshawn Lynch enough touches. That has to change — immediately. Lynch touched the ball just 11 times against Dallas. He had 10 carries for 61 yards and had one reception for 1 yard. He carried the ball only twice in the first half.
On defence, the Seahawks allowed 162 rushing yards to Dallas, 100 more than what they gave up in the first four games. But that was more the function of an intricate Dallas run game that worked brilliantly and a few big plays that the Seahawks can correct. The run defence had a bad day. There are bigger problems. For instance, the Seahawks are allowing opponents to convert 47 per cent of their third downs, which makes them the sixthworst third- down defence in the league right now.
The Cowboys converted 10 of 17 third downs.
And in the secondary, where the Legion of Boom has been diminished because of injuries, the Seahawks aren’t as potent. Byron Maxwell suffered what appears to be a significant calf injury against Dallas. Kam Chancellor is battling a hip issue, to go with the bone spurs in his ankle. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas are healthy and playing fine, but it’s easier for offences to avoid them and exploit other areas.
And then there’s the pass rush. The Seahawks have just seven sacks, which is tied for 25th of 32 NFL teams. Even without factoring in sacks, the pressure on the quarterback isn’t good enough. The Seahawks don’t have any consistent pass rushers outside of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril.
That’s a long list of problems for Carroll. But during his five seasons in Seattle, the coach has been great at guiding his team through difficult stretches of the season. In general, the Seahawks have always improved and played their best football as the season has progressed.
So, are they in crisis now? No. But they need to pick up their play as soon as possible.
“We make no excuses,” Carroll said.
As the Seahawks ask themselves some tough questions this week, expect some good answers soon.
This is when Carroll must earn his paycheque, and this team is too talented for the coach not to figure it out.