By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Every word from Pete Carroll’s Midweek Press Conference

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll held his weekly midweek press conference with the Seattle Media. After an emotional season-starting win over the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks have lost their last two games. Stopping the run and converting red opportunities are the issues facing the Seahawks as they travel to Michigan to face the Detroit Lions

Opening Statement:

“Okay it’s on the road to Detroit. This is a really emerging team. Coach (Dan) Campbell has done a great job of taking over this place and putting his stamp on it because you can see how they play in all phases. They really get after it, and they are really aggressive. I’m sure he’s pleased with the progress they are making because it’s a good-looking football team. They’ve scored a lot of points, the most in the NFL, and that’s a real obvious contention for us. We have to get after it, and we are going to need to slow down the running game that’s one of the best in the NFL and we haven’t done great there. So, we have to really pick up our action on that end of it. We know a lot about the QB. We’ve played him a lot and we have a lot of respect for Jared (Goff) and what he does, where he comes from. That’s an inside deal to Jared only. They have a really aggressive defense as well and they’re going to try and cover us up and lock us down and we respect that challenge. And special teams are really solid and like you would think, they play really hard and give you great effort just like coach wants. So, we respect for what we are up against here. This is an obvious team that is on the move, and we are going to have to play some great football to get a win there.” 

(On the challenge of defending their running game)

“Well, they do a lot of stuff, a lot of different types of runs and D’Andre (Swift) has just been on fire. He’s got a huge average amount, who averages over eight yards a carry? You would think you give it to him every play, right? But that’s been a big part of the offense. Jamaal (Williams) is a really good runner too, downhill, hard-nosed guy that gives them great attitude and all. And they’re committed, they’re really committed to it. They’re putting up a lot of offense. They’re still throwing the ball well too and Jared (Goff) is doing that. But what it is it’s a very diversified run game that we are going to have to be really sharp at and really good at the line of scrimmage to give us a chance.” 

(On if it requires better technique or fundamentals to defend Detroit’s run game compared to the previous weeks)

“All three of these teams (so far) are unique in the way they run it, but they all have similar effect and commitment to it. But this is a little bit different style. They do more stuff, but the difference is, we don’t have the running quarterback we had in the first two weeks. And so hopefully that will help us in some degree. But you know, we’ll see.” 

(On the progress of getting used to the 10 a.m. games over the years)

“Well, we have a way of doing it. We have a whole format of getting everybody waked up in the morning. That’s the difference because you are playing at 10 o’clock. It’s a real committed process and everyone is tuned in, and we have to do our part as coaches to make sure we carry out the plan and we just minimized that factor over the years. So, hopefully we can do it again.” 

(On if his teams left two days early when he was coaching at the college level)

“Yes. Yes, we did.” 

(On considering staying out in the road with back-to-back road games)

“Yeah. We haven’t had to do that. We’ve always considered it, and we know it’s a possibility. But the way we do it and the way we travel has worked out for us pretty well. So, we don’t have to go through that.” 

(On Michael Dickson having a great start to the season)

“Mike (Dickson) is doing his part. He’s got to knock the ball down there, but we have a really good punt team, and the gunners are really effective, and our coverage has been excellent which is how you get the net (yardage). But Mike is ready to put together a great season. He had an offseason that obviously got him prepared and he’s off to a good start. He’s moved the ball around. He’s done a variety of kicks. The low kick he kicked, that wasn’t a mistake. That was what he was trying to get done last week. So, he’s on it right now. So, hopefully we can keep covering like we have been covering and his numbers will stay up.”  

(On if it was against Detroit where Michael Dickson ran the ball)

“I can’t remember.” 

(On what initially stood out to him about Quandre Diggs as a player)

“He had played a lot of nickel. He played a lot of coverage stuff as well as always being a big hitter. It was really his aggressiveness that singled him out. He’s always been such a tremendous accelerator to the contact. It just jumps off the film at you. We had heard also about his character and his role on their team, and we thought it was a pretty exciting opportunity in that regard too. And we find out that it was maybe understated. He is a fantastic leader and a force with our guys. Don’t forget Nick Bellore too now. Nick played a little bit there too.” 

(On if he was surprised that Detroit would give up Quandre Diggs)

“Well, we were really excited about getting the trade. I mean if that’s what you were talking about yeah. It’s hard to get a guy that has that kind of stature in the locker room from another team. We didn’t know all of it at the time like you said. Now that we see it, yeah, I’m surprised that you ever want him to go.”  

(On if he has seen anything different in his leadership role as a captain)

“In some regards that he has more opportunity, but he’s been exactly the same guy. And he had leadership effect since he’s been here. And guys have looked up to him and some guys just have a way about him. He’s got it and it just infectious and it’s obvious. But he has had a little more opportunity to just take over the direction of stuff.” 

(On Quandre Diggs trying to be everywhere on defense)

“He’s just trying to play off what’s in front of him. He’s an alley player. He’s inside out to the football basically coming out of the middle and out of the deep stuff and he’s great at it. And there is work and coordination that at times hasn’t been as sharp as we needed it to be when the ball does break. The ball that broke last week that came back around, we let it get outside of us and he was coming down for a knock out shot and the ball got bounced. We have to do a better job of second containing in those situations. That happened to Wool (Woolen) out there, and he needed to turn that ball back in. So, he loses his opportunity in that sense. He’s counting on those guys to do it right.”  

(On if he agrees that the 3-4 defense isn’t conditioned to stop the run)

“No, I don’t agree with that.” 

(On how Boye Mafe and Darryl Johnson have stepped up)

“They’re doing better with their opportunities and they’re going to continue to be a part of that. They’re going to continue to be a part of playing more. They need to be in the rotations. Both of them play really physical on the edge and with Mafe, we are learning as we go. We don’t have enough reps with him where he has been challenged. But what we have seen, he’s done well, and he has not had negative, bad type of plays in those situations either. So, we are just learning and there’s so many different things that happened there in the different types of plays and fits and all that. We are trying to bring him along so a few weeks from now, he’s really got it nailed and he can utilize the physical stuff that he’s got. Bam (Johnson) is a real natural football player. He has good instincts, and he has good sense and feel for stuff, big dude at 6’6”. He’s made a good impression. He’s been in the backfield some, he’s been able to slice through and all that. He just needs more turns. We need to get him in there.” 

(On if the improvement of the defense during the second half of the season will be different this season with a different coaching staff)

“I think it’s going to be exactly the same in that regard because we are going to get better. You can just see it coming. So, we are on it and we need to stay with it and keep them in the habits of the good things that we are doing and build on it. Just like in your golf game, when you get better, you don’t really hit better shots, you just hit less bad shots. That’s the same idea. We have to get rid of the plays that are getting in the way for us right now.” 

(On the special teams challenges with the loss of Travis Homer)

“Yeah, he’s been a great player for us in every way, physical, speed, scheme, mentality, and leadership. He’s been a great player. We are going to miss him. We made a couple moves here. We can talk about it later. But we made a couple moves to try and reinforce that. It might take two guys to take up his spot. He’s done a great job on third downs for us too. He’s been an excellent pass protector. DeeJay (Dallas) is going to have to take over much of that, but you’ll see as we go through this week. It’s not done yet. So, we have a plan. We have to see if it can come together.” 

(On if Travis Homer will return after four weeks)

“I don’t know. It’s a really uncomfortable injury. He’ll get better fast in a couple of weeks from now and we’ll just see if he can stand it. He’s as tough as you can get. If anybody can do it, he’ll do it.” 

(On if Alton Robinson will return next week when he is eligible)

“We’d like to see that. He’s got to come back and show it. He’s been working to stay in shape and all of that. It may take a couple weeks to get him back in there.” 

(On if Shelby Harris will be back this week)

“He’s back. Because of the way things fell, he won’t go today. But we’re testing him out with the trainers today. I talked to him a little while ago, he’s anxious to play this week. He thinks he can do it, but he’s got to show.” 

(On traveling more miles than any other team in the NFL and the toll it takes)

“When you’re coming this way it’s always easy, isn’t it? It is a factor, but we work really hard to neutralize the factor of the travel. I always had good leadership way back when and how to do these kinds of trips all the way back to the Niners days, that’s where that came from, that format. We’ve minimized to a certain extent, that was last year and the year before, we have to do it again. But I plan it’s going to work out. As far as the teams coming the other way, I don’t know. Doesn’t everyone want to come to the west coast?” 

(On what is holding the defense back when opposing teams get inside the 20-yard line)

“We’re executing really well down there. It’s not that we are just simple and kicking butt in one deal, we are pretty diversified in the things that we are doing. It just seemed to really connect and we’re really executing well. It’s making the plays in the crucial downs when they are throwing the football, but it’s also standing up to the running game. All in all, it’s just worked out quite well for us. We have a couple really cool unique ideas and things that we do, and they’ve been effective so far.” 

(On the offense scoring 25% of the time when inside the 20-yard line)

“On the other side of the ball, we just have to come through. We missed our third downs down there in some situations we just got to finish the drive, we’re there. Usually, the baseline of that is running the football down there so you can continue to pound away and make your yards but then, you have to make your big plays. That’s got to come through for us. We have the stuff that we need. We got the guys to catch the football and Geno (Smith) can throw. We’ve just got to do it and be down there and win.” 

(On Kenneth Walker III making rookie mistakes)

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s simple as that. He’ll settle down and he’ll be more precise about his hits. He hasn’t played very much so we’ve just got to keep getting him in there. This is a classic example of why you don’t play a guy a lot until you can get him some confidence and gets going a little bit. He just hasn’t had enough repetitions. He has plenty of confidence, but he has to give us confidence that he knows where he’s going and all that. We’re really excited about what he’s doing and we’re going to continue to give him the ball more.” 

(On if there is room for Phil Haynes to get back in the starting lineup)

“We’re letting him be in that mix and ready to go anytime because we feel like we have three starters. We really feel good about Phil’s (Haynes) play. So, he’s next guy up and he’s pushing those guys and they’ve got to play well. We wouldn’t hesitate to switch it because we know he can play well.”  

(On if Damien Lewis has had issues adjusting to a different side of the line)

“No, he spent a really good offseason of making sure that there was no issues and I think he’s very comfortable now. That’s a thing in the past.”  

(On Tre Brown)

“Yeah, I talked to Tre (Brown) today about it. He’s still a few weeks away, but they’re now putting dates on it. They think he has a chance to get back. I told him, ‘Okay, they give you those dates, beat it and compete to come back sooner than that.’ So, it’s a couple weeks from now.” 

(On if Tre Brown is running)

“He did. He did run full speed and he clicked off a great time too. That’s a great indicator.”  

Leave a Reply