Seattle Seahawks Using Bye Week For A 'New Perspective' On Season Ahead
The Seattle Seahawks put together maybe the most complete effort by the team this season during Monday's 24-3 drubbing of the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
That performance was a far cry from the egg that the team laid in the second half of the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, and coach Pete Carroll is excited about the direction of his team.
"With a lot of hope and looking toward the future, and developing the young guys, seeing them able to play a role for us just gives us the confidence that we're going to keep getting better," Carroll said. "So, we're not a finished product, we're just getting rolling. It's really exciting to be able to tell you that because what I'm probably all together most proud of is how we played the second half of the last three weeks.
"We played great football and got it going and cleaned up some of the stuff that happened in the first halves of those games, and we're able to put games away. That finishing mentality is really, really valuable to us, and we're going to keep building on it."
Seahawks TE Noah Fant catches a pass against the Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 4.
© Brad Penner, USA TODAY
Quarterback Geno Smith was a big part of that win on Monday over the Giants and knows that Seattle is trending in the right direction and can do even more.
"I think we're still getting better as a team," Smith said. "I think overall, we've got a lot of room for improvement. I think a lot of guys battled; a lot of guys stepped up. We were putting offensive linemen in left and right, and guys were stepping up, making plays.
"The defense played a tremendous game. Probably one of the best games I've seen them play. Guys stepped up all around, and Witherspoon had a tremendous day. The defensive line, linebackers, secondary, everybody played a great game, and I think it was a great win for this team."
Everyone is contributing right now, especially rookies Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba - both first-round picks - and will benefit from this week's bye and the rest it provides.
"This is a really good time for us," Carroll said. "It's a good time for us to come back with new perspective for the young guys where we can kind of go back to talking about what they've accomplished and how far they've come along. Really, to me, there's so much focus on those guys and their ability to contribute as we move forward.
"I think this is a really good stopping point for us in that regard. We'll certainly zero in to try to help them continue to develop. It's so important for us to get those guys where they're part of it, and it'll be such a factor to us once we get to the midpoint of the season hitting the second half."
Carroll's optimism is warranted, considering the performance the defense is coming off of. Seattle registered three takeaways and tied a franchise-record 11 sacks while holding the Giants' offense to just three points. As young players slowly get more involved in both offense and defense, things could continue to improve on both sides of the ball.
