Pete Carroll Confident In Seattle Seahawks' Ability To Respond
The Seattle Seahawks began the season strong at 6-3, and while they looked shaky at points, they were in great position for a second straight playoff appearance.
Over the last week, though, the Seahawks' fortunes have taken a turn for the worse. It started with a 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, in which the offense stalled out in the second half and Jason Myers' last-second field goal was no good. Then on Thanksgiving, things went from bad to worse as the Seahawks were completely outmatched in a 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at home.
Additionally, Seattle's playoff position isn't as safe as it once was as the Green Bay Packers are now just one game back of the final wild card spot.
While it would be easy to press the panic button in Seattle, coach Pete Carroll still has faith that his team can right the ship late in the season.
Carroll celebrates the Seahawks' win over the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 29.
© Steven Bisig, USA TODAY
"I know these guys," Carroll said. "I totally know these guys and trust these guys. I know where their heart is and the voice in the locker room, the voice of the leadership with these guys; they'll hang tough. It doesn't mean that it's easy to turn something around, it's hard. It'll be good for us, it'll make us better."
As if snapping a losing streak wasn't hard enough, Seattle is entering the most difficult part of its season. Their next three games a road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, a rematch against the 49ers in San Francisco and a home game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Those teams currently have a combined record of 25-7.
As with any turnaround, though, the Seahawks must solve their own problems first and foremost.
"We've got to really get our game right," Carroll said. "That's what we are going after, and we're going to do it as aggressively as we can. I have to make sure that I get us on all cylinders better than we did. As always, I'm going to take full account for this. I have to make sure that we are all firing better than we have. That's what we're going to get done."
The Seahawks certainly have a lot of questions to answer right now, but at least in Carroll's eyes, everything is in front of them.
