Pete Carroll has never been much of a disciplinarian. He’s a free spirit who encourages the same in his players.
It’s partly why his team is always at the top of the league in penalties. It’s also why his players feel free to express themselves — even if they make Carroll look like a fool.
They certainly did Thursday night in a division-clinching 24-3 win over the Rams.
The Hawks committed 13 penalties — 10 of them mental errors that reflected that well-documented lack of discipline. And Richard Sherman went off on his coaches again.
If the Seahawks had been playing almost anyone other than the Rams and rookie QB Jared Goff, Seattle might have lost that game.


Apparently Pete Carroll was right: That dud in Tampa in Week 12 was an exception to the Seahawks’ new rule.
The futures of three Seahawks came into question again Wednesday amid a flurry of reports, making us wonder what the team is going to do with Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett and Garry Gilliam after this season.
The Seahawks have weathered a few injuries to key players — Russell Wilson, Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett, especially — this season, but they have yet to endure the kind of bloodbath they took in their 26-15 win over Philly on Sunday.
Michael Bennett has made a bunch of money the past couple of weeks — without playing a down.