SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

What should Pete Carroll’s role be in playcalling?

Sep 20, 2018, 12:30 PM | Updated: 1:07 pm

Seattle Seahawks, Seahawks, Pete Carroll...

Pete Carroll's Seahawks finished 10-6 and returned to the playoffs this season. (AP)

(AP)

Among the biggest critiques of the Seahawks’ offense following consecutive losses to the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos is that their playcalling has drifted away from the run.

Clayton: Numbers working against Seahawks already with 0-2 start

Some of the blame certainly falls on new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. But head coach Pete Carroll also owned up to the mistake during his Wednesday press conference, blaming his own impatience.

“I’ll just take it,” Carroll said. “My impatience a little bit, you know, figuring that we should be on the board more than we had and just got to throw the ball up more than I want to. I’m over that.

“Both games were so close throughout,” Carroll continued. “We were close enough that we could have done whatever we wanted to all the way down to the end of it. I just got a little bit impatient (and) threw the ball a bit more than we needed to. So you look back, and that’s with limited opportunities because we weren’t converting. It just kind of works together. I’m just owning up, but that’s what I would say is the issue with that. I need to be a little less impatient. I’m a little bit, tend to be that way, you know?”

The Seahawks finished with just seven carries apiece for lead back Chris Carson and first-round pick Rashaad Penny against Denver. They opened their first drive in Chicago with three consecutive runs by Carson; however, the team didn’t run at all in the third quarter and Carson didn’t touch the ball in the second half.

During the Blue 42 segment of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock and Salk, host Brock Huard said Carroll needs to limit his role in play calling and empower his new offensive coordinator.

“Get out of the headsets,” Huard said. “You want to talk and get into your coordinator’s ear about game management, fine. You want to always be thinking a series ahead. Like, ‘Hey, this is four down territory,’ ‘hey, let’s really try to control the clock here,’ ‘hey, here’s what I’m thinking.’

“But you can’t get in there and start making the call or dictate the personnel to get the ball. And Coach Carroll alluded to that in some ways Wednesday and certainly took ownership of some of the missteps on Monday night.

“I’ll say this about Pete: this has nothing to do with his football acumen, which is phenomenal. I actually tie this back, a little bit, to Russell Wilson and his receivers. You’ve got to show and express to (your offensive coordinator) the trust and confidence you have in him. This year Coach Carroll doesn’t have someone like Darrell Bevell, who he knows well and who worked with him for seven plus years. (Brian Schottenheimer) is a guy who was brought in earlier this year after Bevell was fired.

“Say what you want about Darrell Bevell, but his offense has owned every record in this record book and they won a title and had a great relationship and rapport with Russell. But you’ve got Schottenheimer here now, (and) he needs to be empowered. Carroll doesn’t need to come in and intrude; just empower him. Give him the reigns and just remind him, ‘We are a run first team, you will never get demoted and never questioned for running the football in this place — that’s who and what we want to be.’”

Salk: Seahawks have work to do to clean up messy season

Brock and Salk podcast

Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks Jaxon Smith-Njigba...

Brandon Gustafson

Bump: Seahawks should take page from Dolphins to get JSN going

For the Seattle Seahawks to get more out of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Michael Bumpus says they should look at the NFL's top offense in Miami.

4 hours ago

Seattle Seahawks Devon Witherspoon...

Brandon Gustafson

Huard: How Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon has already stood out

After a big Week 3 performance against Carolina, Brock Huard shares what he's seeing out of Seattle Seahawks rookie CB Devon Witherspoon.

8 hours ago

Seattle Seahawks Kenneth Walker III...

Brent Stecker

An easy tweak to Seahawks’ offense that Bumpus wants to see

Michael Bumpus likes what he saw out of the Seattle Seahawks' run game on Sunday, and thinks there's a way to get more out of it.

1 day ago

Seattle Seahawks Zach Charbonnet...

The Associated Press

Seahawks are rolling with familiar 1-2 RB punch for Carroll

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has always loved the idea of having two running backs with separate styles to feature in his offense.

1 day ago

Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll Jarran Reed...

Mike Lefko

Lefko: The unexpected boost to Seahawks’ path to NFC contender

The Seattle Seahawks look like a real contender thanks to noticeable improvements in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

1 day ago

Seattle Seahawks Jamal Adams...

Brent Stecker

Seahawks Injury Updates: ‘Jamal is back,’ says Carroll

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll expects Jamal Adams to play in Week 4 next Monday. Full details on that and more Hawks injuries.

2 days ago

What should Pete Carroll’s role be in playcalling?