Seahawks' Pete Carroll Ready for Final Push After Bye: 'We're in Control of Everything'
Few thought the Seattle Seahawks could get to six wins this season, let alone six wins by their Week 11 bye.
All expectations seem to have been shattered by a team that leads the NFC West with a 6-4 record, a division seen as one of the league's best entering the year.
But Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made it clear that his team isn't close to being finished after an unlikely start and that they have everything they need to come out of the bye week with momentum. Even after a 21-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Munich on Sunday, Seattle still controls its own destiny toward the postseason.
"Everything's ahead of us and we're in control of everything," he said. "That's all we could ever ask for."
Seattle's three division opponents -- who all made the playoffs last season -- are looking up the standings hoping that a few more things go wrong for the Seahawks. The Los Angeles Rams (3-6) and Arizona Cardinals (4-6) are likely praying for chips to fall their way while the San Francisco 49ers (5-4) remain right on Seattle's tail.
But Carroll isn't ready to be satisfied with first place midway through the season. "Recommitting" seems to be a theme for the team out of the bye week, and, despite the loss to the Bucs, he feels his group has everything they need in order to gain distance from the rest of the division -- and they're only getting better.
"We all know that we're here, but we're not nearly as good as we can be," Carroll said. "Let's recommit as we come back to really go for it. We have enough fire power, we have enough health."
The Seahawks are being led by a talented melting pot of seasoned vets and blossoming rookies. Once overlooked, both sides of the ball have seen vast improvements as the season has gone on, leading Seattle to have a legitimate candidate for MVP, Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year.
This could all add up to a Coach of the Year award for Carroll as well, though he's not focused on that the moment. Staying true to that post-bye commitment seems to be the only thing on his mind as the Seahawks get set to host the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) at Lumen Field on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 1:05 p.m. PT.
"We'll go about that by coming back with a really firm commitment," he said. "... This is a good mentality we have right now even though we had to give up a game right there. We come out of it okay."
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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