Pete Carroll says the 2016 Seahawks could be the best team he's coached
The Seattle Seahawks got off to a slow start this season, barely beating the lowly Dolphins and falling to Case Keenum’s Rams. Since then, Pete Carroll’s squad has gotten it back on the right track despite Russell Wilson dealing with a knee injury.
They’ve won back-to-back games by a combined 29 points and are tied at the top of the NFC West with a 3-1 record. At the start of the season, it looked as though the Seahawks would sorely miss Marshawn Lynch and the passing game wouldn’t be what it was last season, but that’s hardly the case.
Carroll likes the group he has in Seattle, and believes it could be the best team he’s had since joining the Seahawks.
“There’s a chance,” Carroll said, via the Seattle Times. “I think we have a chance to, because of the experience and great leadership that we have, the development and coming of age of the quarterback, we have our kicking game in order, there’s a lot of really good phases of our team that we can count on.”
There are obviously still concerns with this team, mainly up front on the offensive line. The Seahawks have struggled in pass protection, and it has led to Wilson getting hit often both in the pocket and outside it. Carroll believes the Seahawks have improved in that department.
“We’re growing on offense up front with the guys up front on offense, they’re doing a good job and pass protection is a big deal to us right now and we’ll grow in the running game,” he said. “I’ve loved this team all along, I’ve seen it coming. Just the way they’ve gone about the work. We have a chance to be really good.”
The defense is where the Seahawks have thrived in recent years, and this season is no different. They’re allowing the second-fewest yards per game and have only surrendered 54 total points in four games. If they continue to play this way, Seattle could be on track to win the NFC once again.
“We are seeing the consistency in our defense we really can count on,’’ he said. “… I’m pretty fired up about our team right now.”
