Pete Carroll: It’s the People, Not the Program That Keeps Seattle Seahawks Thriving

Even in the wake of injuries to Richard Sherman and other stalwarts, Seattle keeps on humming. Here’s a look at how the team has been able to remain successful

I tried. I figured this was a good chance for Pete Carroll to explain the sturdiness of the program he’s built, just three days after his injury-ravaged Seahawks took the Sunday Night Football stage and beat the red-hot Eagles.

We were talking about the injured guys—Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril—and how they stayed invested after they went down. But just as quick as the display-of-program-strength narrative popped in my head, Carroll shot it down.

“I think it’s a great statement about who these guys are, their commitment, and their love for this team and the guys they’ve worked with, and their competitiveness,” Carroll said. “They want us to win, so they’re doing what they can to compete to win. That’s what it really is. I don’t think it’s the program. It’s these guys, and the wonderful individuals they’ve become.”

Those two Super Bowls may feel like yesterday, but plenty has changed since. Fifteen of Seattle’s 22 starters last Sunday night were not members of the Super Bowl 48 champions, and a 16th (Byron Maxwell) left in 2015 and came back. Thirteen of those 22 weren’t on the next year’s Super Bowl runner-up. And that kind of transition and attrition has necessarily challenged the foundation of what Carroll and GM John Schneider built in the Pacific Northwest.

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What’s kept it from shaking? One part is MVP candidate Russell Wilson. Another is the standard set by guys prideful enough to stick around and make sure its upheld in their on-field absence.

“It’s like big brother showing you how to do it,” Carroll said. “We’re trying to make sure and help them be aware of how good these guys have been, so that they can learn, too, because it’s gonna be their turn at some point. It’s what’s expected. I don’t think they think it’s extraordinary, they don’t know any different. But I’m hoping that they will assume the same sense of responsibility and sense of connection and love of the brotherhood so they keep it rolling when it’s their turn.”

With the Seahawks now 8-4, those guys are making 2017 their turn.

In this week’s Game Plan, we’ll take a look at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s new contract; check on the Rams amid the devastation in their corner of Southern California; take a look at two New York teams headed in completely different directions; and examine the draft decisions made by Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey a year later. 

But we’re starting with the Seahawks, and Carroll, and how an aging core is working to keep the franchise’s championship window cracked.

The next time they play football, Avril will be 32, and Sherman and Chancellor will be 30. Earl Thomas, Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright, Doug Baldwin and Michael Bennett—also integral parts of the title runs—are nearing that age bracket, too. That’s why when Sherman and Chancellor went down a week before Thanksgiving, you could almost feel the mortality of this era enter the Seahawks facility.

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Only, those guys weren’t just going to let it happen. For the team’s star corner and tank of a strong safety that meant following the lead of Avril, who was lost for the season in October and decided to stick around for just about everything—practices, meetings, meals. Sherman’s torn Achilles has him on a scooter, so he can’t travel, but all three guys have otherwise gone from being relentless on the field to round-the-clock resources off it.

“We really care about this team,” Sherman texted Wednesday afternoon. “And we want to see everyone do well. We want to help in any way we can. Just because we’re hurt doesn’t mean we can’t help.”

Avril added, via text, “Important to be around to help the younger players and give them another point of view from a player. I’ve seen everything they’re going to see so I can help them see it quicker! Also, it’s been our team for so long, how could we not want to see the team do well?”

So Sherman’s now a sounding board for rookie corner Shaquill Griffin, Avril counsels third-year pass-rusher Frank Clark, and Chancellor’s worked with first-year Seahawk Bradley McDougald. And after some bumps in the first game after the Sherman and Chancellor injuries, against Atlanta, Seattle’s defense has tightened, allowing just 23 points in the past two weeks.

Now, clearly, the standard set was high. Carroll says, “They haven’t been asked to be the other guys." To be sure, coaches have made adjustments to compensate for the change in talent. But the collective standard hasn’t changed. And the younger guys haven’t just accepted that. They’ve embraced it.

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“I’m gonna say it this way: It’s like they feel fortunate to have the opportunity to represent for those guys. That’s what it feels like because they’ve done it very seriously, and with great intent. And the results have been clear. They’ve been able to hold up their end.”

In turn, Carroll says, the sidelined players “take great pride in the fact that those guys have battled to hold up their end of it.” On Sunday night, they most certainly did. The Eagles hadn’t lost in two months, and averaged 37 points over their previous five games, behind Carson Wentz. Philly left Seattle with a lot of yardage, and just 10 points.

Wilson played great, too, and that was a big part of it. But all the replacement Seahawks on defense, at least for a week, put to rest the idea that Wilson would have to carry the team in the wake of all the injuries.

“We played our most complete game,” Carroll said. “We’ve been searching for that, and we’d been feeding off one another somewhat, offense and defense and special teams. And that was our most complete game to date. We’re making a big move in terms of cleaning up our game on the penalties that we’ve had. And this is the time to set the finish in motion.

“This is when it happens. We’ve been a really good December team for years, and this is that time, and I’m hoping we’re taking that step.”

Carroll wants to credit the people, and not the program, for giving this particular group the shot to take that step, and get to the playoffs for a sixth straight season. But given how interwoven old vets like Sherman and Avril and Chancellor have remained, it’s hard to separate one from the other.