Tag Archives: Pete Carroll

Williams can thank Allen for Super Bowl

January 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kevin Williams said he’s not gloating to former Minnesota teammate Jared Allen.

But, if not for Allen forsaking a shot at a Super Bowl with the Seahawks for a few dollars more in Chicago, Williams likely would not have gotten the chance.

The Seahawks pursued Allen last March, but they were not willing to pay him more than they were paying Michael Bennett ($7 million a year), and Allen got another $1 million a year from the Bears.

In June, the Hawks instead signed Allen’s former Vikings teammate, giving the 34-year-old Williams a one-year deal worth $2.1 million.

“I actually thought he was going to come up here (to Seattle),” Williams said. “I thought it was pretty much in the bag.”

But Allen didn’t, and now Williams is in the Super Bowl while Allen, who lives in Phoenix, will be cheering his former teammate on against the Patriots on Sunday.

Continue reading Williams can thank Allen for Super Bowl →

Super Bowl XLIX

This Super Bowl is for independent thinkers & ‘Karate Kid’ fans

January 27, 2015 cc Leave a comment

If you are an independent thinker — not subject to the whims of societal group think, peer pressure, corporate “yes manning” and pack journalism — you have to love this Super Bowl matchup.

If you’re not afraid to go against the grain, you have to love the way Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll sand the floor, creating smooth bases for their football teams. You have to love how they wax on about their brand of football, which no other coaches can hold a candle to. And you have to love how they paint the D-fence with exacting brush strokes.

Yeah, Mr. Belichick and Mr. Carroll do it the Mr. Miyagi way: They’re confident, creative, flexible, fundamental, defensive, quietly defiant — and perfectly unapologetic about the way they run their teams.

These two senseis have dominated football for 15 years, and how appropriate that they finally get to match up in the biggest game of the year.

Continue reading This Super Bowl is for independent thinkers & ‘Karate Kid’ fans →

Playoffs: Green Bay, X's & O's

Did the Hawks really need that onside kick?

January 22, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Now that we all know the Seahawks’ onside kick was legal — like there should have been any question — let’s answer this question: Should the Seahawks have done it?

Seattle came up with several long-odds plays to beat the Packers in the NFC title game, but did the Seahawks actually make it too hard on themselves at the end?

Did they really need an onside kick, two-point conversion and overtime? Wouldn’t they have had at least the same chance of winning if they had kicked the ball deep after Russell Wilson’s touchdown run?

Continue reading Did the Hawks really need that onside kick? →

Coaches, Super Bowl XLIX

Dan Quinn’s swan song — and then what?

January 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seattle defense apparently will have some added incentive to put forth a stellar Super Bowl performance on Feb. 1: Sending coordinator Dan Quinn to Atlanta with a win.

The Falcons interviewed Quinn for a second time Monday in what reportedly was more of a formality as they already have decided to hire him. They reportedly had hoped to bring him out to Atlanta this week to announce the hiring, but his Seattle defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers for most of the game Sunday, giving Russell Wilson and Jermaine Kearse a chance to redeem themselves and send the Hawks back to the Super Bowl.

The Falcons reportedly already are securing Quinn’s staff — starting with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — and likely will name him their coach the day after the Super Bowl.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows all of this, of course, and is not concerned a bit about losing Quinn or about it being a distraction leading up to the Super Bowl.

Continue reading Dan Quinn’s swan song — and then what? →

Contracts, Playoffs: Green Bay

He’s quiet, but Lynch sure generates a lot of noise

January 19, 2015 cc Leave a comment

For a guy as quiet as he is, Marshawn Lynch sure does make a lot of noise.

And he made a lot of it over the weekend.

It all started with a report Friday that he was going to wear $1,100 gold-plated cleats against the Packers, followed by a report Sunday morning that the NFL would not let him play if he did so.

As it turned out, he played in shoes that had blue and green tops and gold soles. And he made a lot of noise with them, running for a team playoff-record 157 yards and a touchdown in the 28-22 comeback win that vaulted Seattle into the Super Bowl for the second straight year.

It remains to be seen whether the No Fun League fines Lynch for the gold shoe bottoms — or for another crotch grab while scoring. Not sure why he insists on doing that — it’s such a teenage maneuver. But, hey, if Lynch wants to be a dick, that’s his choice.

Speaking of choices, another report Sunday indicated that the Hawks now are leaning toward keeping Lynch.

Continue reading He’s quiet, but Lynch sure generates a lot of noise →

Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX: The proving ground

January 19, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Super Bowl XLIX — with the matchup many of us projected before the season started — will be a proving ground in so many ways for both the Seahawks and the Patriots.

Going against the man who succeeded him in New England, Pete Carroll will have a chance to prove he is every bit the coaching genius that Bill Belichick — long the NFL’s best coach — is. What better way to do it than head to head?

Continue reading Super Bowl XLIX: The proving ground →

Playoffs: Green Bay

The hallmarks of that win: Redemption, trust and resilience

January 19, 2015 cc 1 Comment

Redemption, resilience, trust, teamwork.

Other than a trip to the Super Bowl, those were the themes of the Seahawks’ historic comeback win over the Green Bay Packers, 28-22 in overtime, on Sunday.

For much of the game, Russell Wilson, Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin were the Three Stooges — taking turns poking each other in the eyes, hitting each other in the head and tripping over each other.

Wilson threw four interceptions — all on passes intended for Kearse, who had two go off his hands — and Baldwin fumbled on a kick return and dropped two passes himself.

But all three redeemed themselves on the winning drive in overtime — Wilson hitting Baldwin twice for 45 yards and then finding Kearse for the winning 35-yard touchdown.

After the game, Wilson and Kearse were overcome with emotion after their rollercoaster day.

Continue reading The hallmarks of that win: Redemption, trust and resilience →

CHAWK LINES, Playoffs: Green Bay

January 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kam Chancellor is the man of the hour and the talk of the town and the NFL as the Seahawks get ready to beat the Packers to head back to the Super Bowl. So let’s start with a bunch of stuff on him:

Pete Carroll talked about Lawyer Milloy’s influence on Chancellor in 2010.

Milloy then talked about Chancellor (and more) on 1090 The Fan.

Bobby Wagner told Chancellor “a pick-six would be great” just before the safety did it, per this NFL.com video feature.

And, for good measure, Gregg Bell wrote a nice comprehensive piece about just how important Chancellor is to the Seahawks.

Continue reading →

Playoffs: Green Bay

Packers-Seahawks got interesting 15 years ago

January 14, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Newer Seahawks fans — and there are plenty of them — might think the Packers-Seahawks series consists of two games: the Hawks’ infamous Fail Mary victory on a Monday night in 2012 and Seattle’s 20-point win in the opening game of this NFL season.

But this series was full of great matchups back when Mike Holmgren and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck were leading the Hawks against their old team — led by Brett Favre — and this will be the 11th meeting, the third in the playoffs, since 1999.

Continue reading Packers-Seahawks got interesting 15 years ago →

Playoffs: Carolina, State of the team

Max protection: Unger makes a difference

January 12, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Max Unger sets up in pass protection vs. Carolina as Russell Wilson receives the center's snap (Seahawks.com) — Max Unger sets up in pass protection vs. Carolina as Russell Wilson receives the center’s snap (Seahawks.com)

Max matters.

Just ask Russell
Wilson and Pete
Carroll. Oh, and the stats.

In Seattle’s 31-17 playoff win over Carolina, center Max Unger returned from a six-game absence and helped the Seahawks’ offense surpass 30 points for just the fifth time this season while leading a line that protected Wilson as well as it had since the first month of the season.

And Unger survived a scare when he got his just-healed ankle rolled up on late in the game.

“I’m excited to have Max Unger back in there,” Wilson said after the game. “… Max Unger played a phenomenal game tonight. ”

Carroll wasn’t quite as effusive, but he was pleased to have the former All-Pro center back and knows he will only get better.

“He was real solid — pass protection was really good,” Carroll said, referencing the fact that Wilson was hit just twice — one of the cleanest games the Hawks have had up front all season.

“Our consistency, just like we had hoped, was there, along with the communication,” the coach said. “So it was a good start back for him. He hadn’t played in a long time, so you have to kick the rust off a little bit.”

Continue reading Max protection: Unger makes a difference →