Pete Carroll on Marshawn Lynch: ‘He just didn’t feel like he had it’
Jan 10, 2016, 5:36 PM | Updated: 6:45 pm
Pete Carroll on Marshawn Lynch: "There wasn't enough time to build the confidence that he needed to." (AP)
(AP)
BY
Former Seattle Sports Lead Editor
MINNEAPOLIS – Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he doesn’t know what’s next for Marshawn Lynch after the running back missed Sunday’s playoff game.
“Just wait and see and take it one day at a time,” he said.
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While Lynch’s status for the remainder of the postseason is uncertain, what’s clear is that he didn’t play Sunday by his own choosing. That was apparent from the brief statement the team released after ruling out Lynch Friday night, and it was made even more clear by Carroll following the Seahawks’ 10-9 wild-card victory over Minnesota.
Lynch appeared all week to be on track to play for the first time since Nov. 15, which was 10 days before he underwent surgery to repair an abdominal injury. Carroll even said explicitly on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM that would he play before changing course following Friday’s practice – in which Lynch was a full participant for the third straight day – and characterizing his status as uncertain. The team announced later in the evening that he wasn’t even making the trip to Minneapolis.
Carroll explained that strange series of events on Sunday.
“We finished practice and I went right to you guys to talk to the media, just going on what I had seen,” he said. “But when he went back to his locker and sat down, he just didn’t feel it. He didn’t feel like he could go. And that’s it. He just didn’t feel like he had it. There wasn’t enough time to build the confidence that he needed to come in and do something.”
Christine Michael started in Lynch’s absence and took all but one of the carries among Seattle’s running backs, gaining 70 yards on 21 attempts. He also picked up 14 yards on a third-and-2 catch in the fourth quarter, keeping alive a drive that would end in the Seahawks’ first and only touchdown of the game.
“I thought he did really well. I thought he ran hard all night long,” Carroll said. “I’ll be anxious to see the film and all, but he ran tough and looked like a pro. Looked like a real pro playing football. Happy to see him play the whole game solid and do that, carry it out for us.”
