Seahawks’ HC Pete Carroll talks rookies, Richard Sherman, and revamped run game
May 4, 2018, 10:41 AM | Updated: 11:50 am
Seahawks HC Pete Carroll joined John Clayton for an interview at the NFL owner's meetings. (AP)
(AP)
As the Seahawks prepare to kick off rookie training camp this afternoon, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll joined Brock Huard and Mike Salk on 710 ESPN Seattle to preview this year’s rookie class.
Seahawks GM John Schneider talks draft, rookie class and Earl Thomas
Carroll also talked about his reaction to comments from ex-Seahawks Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman, when we’ll hear updates on Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril, and how Seattle has addressed their run game this offseason.
“It’s really exciting,” Carroll said of this year’s rookie camp. “We have 70 something guys in here. A number of exciting free agent guys we’ve acquired as well.”
Here are a few quick notes from Carroll’s interview (you can listen to the full interview in the clip embedded above):
On whether there will be an update soon on Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril: “It’s coming up, yeah. I think June is the month for some evaluations here. We’ll see what happens.”
Trying to improve running game is a clear priority. Parted ways with Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, acquired new RB, TEs. When you analyzed it, was that where you saw most of the problems? “We needed to shift gears a bit to match up with the guys that we have here. And I thought that was part of it. We wanted to make sure to return to the emphasis (on the run game) because we know how it fits together, we see the formula and we can obviously see when it’s not quite right and the balance isn’t there. So we had to just do what we could. Knowing that our offensive linemen were going to basically be back again and were going to be growing and be more experienced (was a plus). We’ve got Duane Brown for a whole season and an offseason and that’s a huge deal, he’s a fantastic player. (Ethan) Pocic’s getting better, (Justin) Britt’s going to just continue to improve, (Germain) Ifedi’s going to get better, and we know all the improvements are going to happen. We went out and went after D.J. Fluker to get a big monster of a guy that can play inside, we thought that would be an area (we could use to help the run game). So we really have at least touched into all of the crucial areas that can cause a bit of an adjustment. And I think we needed an infusion of new. I think we just needed to be new and fresh to go ahead and make the turn. But it isn’t philosophically changing; it’s really just changing kind of the insides of it.”
On the running back group: “We think we have a really nice formula right here. Chris Carson is a guy we have been excited about since the moment we got him and he looks incredible now in the offseason program. We’re still waiting to see if C.J. (Prosise) can stay healthy and stay out there and do his thing, because we know he’s got great dynamics to him. Mike Davis did a nice job for us last year when he was called to duty. Add Rashaad (Penny) to that and let’s see what happens. I think it’ll be a really exciting mix.”
On whether he was sad when he heard comments from Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman: “No, I’m not sad, I’m not surprised though. Because we’ve just been through so much and I know where their head is at … they’re battling, they’re out there battling for their own sake. It would be nice if they saw it differently, I see it differently than they saw it…
“I know where their heart is. I know who they are. I know how they feel, I’ve been with them too much. There’s no confusion there … I know where they’re coming from and we’ll always be connected forever because of the time we spent together. Regardless of what they say, I’m not going to be that petty about it. They’re battling in their own right now and they’re trying to figure out how to make it come together in this new setting that they’re in.”
