Pete Carroll Preview: The unique challenge of Seahawks facing Bucs in Germany

It’s quite the different game for the Seahawks this weekend.

Seattle is used to traveling more than any team in the NFL given the Hawks’ location in the Pacific Northwest, but Week 10 presents a much different challenge as the team is in Germany facing Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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There’s a 9-hour time difference between Seattle and Munich, so how’s everyone’s “body clocks” as of Friday?

“We’re in the process of that,” Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told Steve Raible during The Pete Carroll Preview for KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. “Guys are in different stages, guys slept differently last night. Not everybody slept the same. In the next couple of days, we’ll catch up.”

The Seahawks flew out on Wednesday while the Bucs flew to Germany on Thursday.

“I’m really glad that we are here as long as we’ve been here, and we’ll have all of these days, because it takes that time to transition,” Carroll said.

Carroll is excited for the challenge of playing in Europe in a different time zone as well as facing the Bucs.

“Enduring the kind of the rigors of the challenge makes us better, it makes us stronger. Also we’re here together, we’re traveling as one, we’re sharing the same experience together. It brings us together,” Carroll said.

He also said that it’s clear that the situation is different, and he doesn’t want to ignore that.

“So let’s live with it and kind of flow with it. And I just think it makes us more open, more flexible, more adept at being able to handle stuff,” Carroll said. “There’s gonna be games like that, too. There’s games when things don’t go like they’re supposed to, and you’ve got to be able to be flexible and to be open to it. And so I think it all fits together in some small way, maybe, and I think it makes us better.”

What about the game itself and facing Brady?

“Well, first off,  he’s the first note. He is that guy, and he’s the greatest player ever, and we’re going against him,” Carroll said. “But we’ve seen him before and we’ve played against him before. We understand how to deal with that, I think.”

Carroll pointed to Tampa’s defense, which is fifth in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed this season.

“They have a tremendous defense, and they have a defense that’s been together for a long time, that has a great pride about them and a great toughness about them. It’s really going to challenge us,” he said. ” … They’ve played great defense and they’re keeping the scores down and they’re in every game because of them. That’s going to be a big challenge, too.”

Despite Brady being the face of the franchise, Carroll stressed it’s not “a one-man show.”

“This is a good team and they’re in first place and they’re probably gonna win their division before it’s all said and done,” he said. “So this is another championship (opportunity) for us. We need these hard games (facing) tough teams, teams that really tax you to find your best. This is a great matchup for us and hopefully we can come out on top.”

Listen to The Pete Carroll Preview at this link or in the player below.

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