5 Takeaways From Pete Carroll's Week 18 Monday Press Conference
In an understandably far more upbeat mood after the Seahawks took care of business with a commanding 51-29 blowout victory over the Lions in their home finale, coach Pete Carroll touched on several topics during his weekly Monday press conference with local media.
Here's a look at several notable takeaways from the VMAC as Seattle gears up for its final game of the 2021 season in Arizona:
1. "Behind the scenes" conversations with Russell Wilson make it easy to dismiss outside trade rumors.
With the Seahawks out of playoff contention, after airing his frustrations last spring about everything from poor pass protection to not having enough involvement in personnel decisions, Wilson's future has been a hot topic for several weeks. His comments last Thursday about hoping Sunday wouldn't be his last home game at Lumen Field didn't do anything to curb trade speculation.
But after watching Wilson throw four touchdowns in Sunday's win over the Lions, Carroll told ESPN 710's Mike Salk on Monday morning that he didn't let such rumors get to his desk. When asked how he could dismiss such incessant rumors, he indicated his discussions with the quarterback give him no reason to be concerned about such chatter.
"The kind of conversations we have behind the scenes are not in line with the rumors. Not at all," Carroll said. "We've been talking, we've been together and connected throughout this whole season. That's why it's easy to dismiss those [reports] at this time."
Of course, once the season ends next weekend, the Seahawks may very well explore the possibility of moving Wilson. But based on what Carroll said on Monday in regard to his previous conversations with the star quarterback, he's not buying the idea the player wants out of town as media-driven rumors suggest.
2. At the center of Seattle's improving offensive line, Ethan Pocic is playing the "best ball" of his career.
After re-signing with the Seahawks on a one-year deal in March, injuries in training camp kept Pocic from retaining his starting job over Kyle Fuller and the competition Carroll hoped to see between them never materialized. Then, a knee injury suffered in the season opener led to an injured reserve stint.
But once Pocic returned healthy a few weeks later, he eventually returned to the lineup in place of a struggling Fuller. While he hasn't been elite by any means, the fifth-year lineman out of LSU has been an integral part in Seattle's success running the football as of late, helping Rashaad Penny break loose for over 130 rushing yards in three of the past four games. He also drew praise for his communication after Sunday's win and hasn't given up a quarterback pressure in three weeks.
"He is the best he's been," Carroll assessed. "He noticeably was really in command, really sharp yesterday and we were able to get an edge because of that. There's no doubt he continues to get better, continues to improve and just becomes more at home and more in command. He did a nice job."
While praising the line in general, Carroll also applauded the play of Phil Haynes, who made his first career NFL start at left guard in place of Damien Lewis, as well as undrafted rookie right tackle Jake Curhan. Both players could potentially start again in the season finale in Arizona.
3. Thrust into action, Michael Jackson thrills in his Seahawks debut.
All season long, Seattle has been forced to play musical chairs at cornerback, starting six different combinations on the outside in 16 games. A recent string of positive COVID tests left the team without Sidney Jones and Bless Austin on Sunday, and when fill-in starter John Reid suffered a concussion in the third quarter, they had to turn to practice squad cornerback Michael Jackson.
Jackson, a former fifth-round pick for the Patriots out of Miami, hadn't played in a regular season NFL game this season and had one career game under his belt. But the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defender didn't let the big stage get to him, as he broke up both passes targeted at him by backup quarterback Tim Boyle, including denying a potential touchdown to KhaDarel Hodge in the end zone.
"He did fine. Did a couple things on special teams, had a couple chances to make plays and get involved at the point of the ball coming in," Carroll said of Jackson's play. "He looked very comfortable playing and he's had a lot of practice time with us, so he has been drilled and prepared and all that. He just hadn't been on the playing field. It was a good showing for his first time out."
Depending on whether or not Jones and/or Austin can return before Sunday from the COVID list, Jackson could be in line to dress once again in the season finale against the Cardinals, providing another opportunity to impress and position himself for a future/reserve contract.
4. Injuries have finally caught up with the Seahawks on special teams.
For most of the past two years, Seattle has boasted one of the best special teams units in the entire NFL. In particular, led by Pro Bowler Nick Bellore and linebacker Cody Barton, the team has been excellent covering kicks and punts.
However, over the past few weeks, the Seahawks have seen a slippage in performance covering punts and kicks. In a loss to the Bears two weeks ago, Daz Newsome broke loose on a 28-yard punt return to set his team up with outstanding field position at Seattle's 15-yard line and moments later, running back David Montgomery was in the end zone for six points. Then on Sunday, Lions running back Godwin Igwbuike nearly went the distance on a kick return, going 47 yards before getting tackled by kicker Jason Myers.
While Carroll won't use injuries as an excuse for the big returns, he admitted losing players like linebacker Jon Rhattigan and most recently running back DeeJay Dallas on Sunday has hurt the Seahawks in the third phase of the game, especially without players like linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven who were lost before the season even began. The attrition has undoubtedly had a negative impact.
"It did happen in this game. We got down to guys who hadn't had a lot of reps and all that with the substitutions we had to throw in there," Carroll said. "But we would look at it from a coach's perspective that as that happened, we needed to simplify it and make it easier for the guys... We stayed with the game plan and we made a couple mistakes."
5. Bobby Wagner and Carlos Dunlap's status for Sunday's finale remain unclear.
If there was a downside to Seattle's sixth victory of the season, the team suffered some substantial injuries on defense, losing Wagner to a knee sprain in the first quarter and Dunlap in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Neither player returned to action for the rest of the afternoon.
But as Carroll indicated on Monday, the Seahawks received positive injury news on both players and neither have been ruled out against the Cardinals on Sunday. Wagner won't need surgery on his knee and avoided significant damage, while Dunlap's twisted ankle wasn't "terrible" on Monday, keeping the door open for both players to be potentially available.
In other injury news, tight end Will Dissly has a sore heal that Carroll called an "unusual" injury that the team will need to manage through the week and see how he progresses. Running back DeeJay Dallas exited with a thigh bruise suffered on a kick return, but barring setbacks, Carroll sounded optimistic he would be able to make it back for Sunday's finale.
