Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll
Conference Call, October 18, 2017
Q: After seeing what the Giants were able to do against Denver, does it make it easier to convince your team that this game will be a challenge?
A: Well, we’re not in that business of trying to convince them now. They’ve played a bunch of really close games. You can see the play and the potential of their ability as a team. They just took it out on Denver in a very difficult situation. I mean, everybody knows who plays there. That’s so hard to play there against a really good team and they were able to really control the game. So, it’s really clear that we’re up against a difficult opponent and we’re going across the country to do it and all that kind of stuff. So, we got no problem. This is never an issue for us.
Q: Did the Bye Week come at a good time for you?
A: Well, you know, I always get asked that and we’re going to make it a good time for us and a good opportunity for us by resting our guys and doing all the stuff that you do as far as self-scouting and trying to adjust to get better. It feels like a good time. We had a very big win down in LA in the division and all the game that we had to get something going with this early part of the season. That happened. So, we came off and tried to make the most of it. We’ll see how we come out of it. It’s always about how you play, so we’ll find out if it was a benefit based on how we play this next game.
Q: Are you taking a different approach against the Giants with all these injuries than you maybe would have earlier this season?
A: No. No. Really. We don’t pass judgement that early on about how things are going to go or what it’s going to be like. We just do our homework and research them. We’re not dealing with what isn’t there. We’re dealing with what is there and that’s all we know.
Q: The Giants seem to be more of a run team now than they are a pass team.
A: Well, we’ll find out. We don’t know that until we play.
Q: What do you think the Giants defense did so well against Denver that people weren’t expecting?
A: They’ve looked very difficult to deal with. They have a terrific package – very wide variety of things that they throw at you coverage-wise, pressure-wise, looks-wise that challenges. So, they’re a difficult defense to deal with regardless of what it looks like to you guys. So, we’ve seen that. I think when they were effective against Denver, they had a hard time throwing it and they had a hard time running it. They did everything well and then they pressured the quarterback really well – a bunch of sacks. Just made it hard on Denver. In the situation, they’re at home. They’re feeling pretty good about themselves. You would think that they would be able to play a good football game and the Giants didn’t let it happen and that’s because of their style, I think, and the problems that they create that didn’t just happen in this game. I think it’s happened in other games and just I don’t think it’s been recognized. Maybe it was accepted. We can see it. It’s on film. They haven’t changed a whole lot. They haven’t done things much differently. They’re just doing a lot of really hard stuff and if you’re not on your game and you don’t pick stuff up right and you don’t ID their blitzes and their pressures and all that, you can have a hard game and that’s what happened against Denver.
Q: How challenging is it when you have to mix and match guys in and out on the offensive line?
A: Yeah, it’s really difficult because it’s the area of the game that needs to be so connected and that means the chemistry and the communications and the ability to talk to one another, identify in similar fashions so that you can play this game, is really a challenge. So, new guys, young guys, it makes it hard. And [the Giants] did a fantastic job of moving some guys from different spots and still be able to find their way to execute and run the football against a really tough team to run it against and give themselves a chance to put together a good game. So yeah, we have been very young for the last couple years and that keeps you in the transition mode because you’re not able to bank on the chemistry and that background and the resources that you need to really communicate like you need to be a really high functioning team. It’s a process and we’re in progress making it that way. So, [the Giants] did it, did a great job, we’re trying to do it, too, and losing [tackle Luke] Joeckel is a big deal to us. He’s a big communicator, he’s a good, solid player for us, so we have to fill that spot now.
Q: How would you describe how your offensive line has performed this season and where it stands now?
A: Well, like I’m saying, we’re making progress, but it’s the process that we’re going through to just get tight and get clean and get sharp. A couple weeks ago, we ran for 194 yards and then the next week we ran for 60. So, we’re not as consistent as we need to be. The [teams] we’re playing have something to say about that, but we have to do a better job, we’ve got to be on the mark, we’ve just got to be more precise about what we’re doing and that just comes with time. You just have to keep working and develop it. We’ve been through this before and found our way through an early part of the season and struggled and then found it to where we improved and started to get better and it helped us during the end of the season. So, we’re hoping we’re going to make that turn here in the next couple of weeks.
Q: How much attention do you pay to who is calling the offensive plays for the opposing team?
A: Some.
Q: Do you look for trends at all with who is calling the plays?
A: Well, I’m going to let you guess with that one, okay? Guess at the things we probably look at. I’m not going to give you that answer. There’s a chance we do those things, yes.
Q: What are your impressions on Tanner McEvoy being a New Jersey guy and coming back here to play and just your thoughts on his growth as a player?
A: Bergen Catholic. He’s been a really good player for us transitioning from – he was once a quarterback and he played a little bit of receiver. A little bit of receiver. He played DB for Wisconsin, so he’s been all over the lot. We had him at defensive back and then the first day of camp last year we moved him to receiver and he’s really helped us and he’s such a good athlete and such an all-around player. He’s helping us on special teams. He catches the ball well. He’s 6’5” something and big kid catching the ball. He’s a developing player that I think is going to really have a nice career and he’s learning how to play our style and our way and you’ll see him involved in special teams in a big way and we’re really fired up for that because you might not have thought of him as that kind of a player coming in. But, he’s really developed and he’s taking the challenge and he’s doing good stuff.
