Seahawks 'Don't Care’ About NFL Week 18 Scheduling - Coach Pete Carroll
RENTON, Wash. - When the NFL announced the final schedule for Week 18 on Monday afternoon, coach Pete Carroll and his Seahawks would have been justified to bemoan the decision to flex the Packers home game against the Lions into the prime time slot.
With Green Bay and Detroit also in contention for the NFC's final wild card spot, Seattle finds itself at a disadvantage playing in the earlier afternoon slot. If Carroll's team defeats the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field to improve to 9-8 on the season, the Lions will officially be eliminated from contention before they play a snap at Lambeau Field, which would make it easy for them to fold with nothing left to play for in the finale.
But as fans decry the NFL's decision on social media, the chronically optimistic Carroll isn't deterred by a situation that is out of his control. And, if any coach will have his team fired up and ready to roll even after learning they have been eliminated, he has the utmost faith in Lions coach Dan Campbell providing the proper fuel for the fire.
"I know that there have been maybe some questions about the order of the games being played on Sunday or whatever, but that doesn’t mean anything to me," Carroll told reporters on Monday hours after the schedule came out. "We don’t care about that one bit. It won’t change anything that we are doing, we are going for it. Maybe there will be a pretty good party afterwards to watch the next game, but the last thing that I would ever worry about is coach Campbell’s team not getting ready to play regardless of what’s at stake or what is going on. He’s going to get them fired up and jacked, that’s all that he’s ever done. That will be a great match too."
While Carroll should be applauded for his usual go-getter mentality in difficult circumstances, there's no question Seattle has been dealt a bad hand to work with entering the final weekend. Not playing both games at the same time as the NFL has typically done in the past in similar scenarios at the expense of pursuing higher ratings and profits in prime time creates legitimate competitive balance concerns.
But at the same time, the Seahawks can only blame themselves for not being in a position where they control their own destiny. Failing to win a single game against the dreadful NFC South, which the 8-8 Buccaneers locked up last week, and losing three straight games at Lumen Field in November and December allowed teams such as the Packers and Lions to fight their way back into contention when they had prime opportunities to clinch a playoff spot and knock them out weeks ago.
Keeping that in mind, echoing Carroll's remarks to open his press conference on Monday before fielding any questions, Seattle must do what it failed to do for the past couple of months and focus solely on getting the job done on the field first. If the team can't defeat Baker Mayfield and an 11-loss Rams squad on Sunday afternoon, they have no business participating in the wild card round anyway.
Assuming the Seahawks hold serve as 6.5 point favorites at home to secure a winning season with a 9-8 record, they could then shift their attention towards the night cap. From there, all hopes would rest on the Lions treating the season finale as their Super Bowl with a chance to knock a despised division rival out of the playoffs and finish with a winning record for the first time since 2017.
There would still be plenty at stake for a franchise that has been a perennial cellar dweller for the better part of the past four decades and a winning season would work wonders heading towards 2023. For that reason alone, Carroll doesn't foresee Detroit packing things in if Seattle wins and ensures a sixth straight season without a postseason berth.
"There is so much conversation about that and it’s kind of like the syndrome like, ‘Oh, if you don’t have something to play for, you are not going to play hard.’ Who do you think these guys are?" Carroll remarked. "These guys are warriors, they are going to battle, they don’t care. Maybe there are some guys that don’t, but I don’t understand that thinking. You would say a cuss word and away you would go. You are off and playing and that’s it.”
With the charismatic, passionate Campbell at the wheel, Carroll has no doubts the Lions would rise to the challenge and put up a fight against the Packers even if the playoffs no longer were a possibility. After already beating them at home earlier this year, finishing the year with a win in Titletown and a season sweep would be a sweet consolation prize for a sleeping giant in the NFC North.
Of course, that will all become a moot point if the Seahawks can't hold up their end of the bargain before kickoff at Lambeau and the game would suddenly mean a hell of a lot more to Campbell and company with their own chance to sneak into the playoffs.
"We have to take care of business, take care of our stuff, and have a great week. Hopefully, we will get a couple of guys healthy again and go put a finishing touch on this regular season with some excitement to come.”
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