Anonymous Seahawk Blames Final Play Call On Anti-Lynch Conspiracy

Anonymous Seahawk Blames Final Play Call On Anti-Lynch Conspiracy
Tom Ley
26 minutes ago

It's important to try and understand the bone-deep despair that has no doubt infected the Seattle Seahawks before judging their postgame comments. A certain madness can come from a gut-punch like the one they suffered in the final seconds of Super Bowl XLIX, and that madness can lead to people saying some pretty fucking crazy things.

For example, the anonymous Seahawk who spoke to NFL.com's Mike Silver after the game, and blamed Pete Carroll's unconscionable play call on the coach's wish to elevate Russell Wilson over Marshawn Lynch:

I'll spare you the numerous "What the (expletive) was he thinking?" mutterings I overheard from people in Seahawks uniforms and refrain from lending any legitimacy to the conspiracy theory which one anonymous player was willing to broach: That Carroll somehow had a vested interest in making Wilson, rather than Lynch, the hero, and thus insisted on putting the ball in the quarterback's hands with an entire season on the line. "That's what it looked like," the unnamed player said, but I'd be willing to bet that he merely muttered it out of frustration, and that it was a fleeting thought.

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That is quite the conspiracy theory, and it's the kind of thing that's perfectly suited to find a home in the brain of a very sad man who is trying to make sense out of the senseless. There is no good explanation for Carroll's decision to not give the ball to Lynch, so why not come up with the craziest one possible?

The rest of the Seahawks may not have been feeling as conspiratorial about that final play call, but plenty of them were openly ripping their head coach:


Players turning on their coaches is never a good look, but can you really blame them? Try to imagine how insane you'd be if you'd just lived through a moment like this:


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I'm not real sure what Carroll would have to gain by doing this.

Lynch is due a new contract, so if he rushes it in, is Super Bowl MVP...then is demands get even higher.

I think it is a simple matter of making a stupid call because you could catch the Pats expecting run.

Carp said:

Lynch is due a new contract, so if he rushes it in, is Super Bowl MVP...then is demands get even higher.

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I can't imagine any coach on this planet even having that cross their minds in that situation.

Iamtdg said:

I can't imagine any coach on this planet even having that cross their minds in that situation.

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That wasn't the question though, it was what would Carroll gain from it. Not that I think he did it, but it certainly could fuel conspiracy theorists.

Carp said:

That wasn't the question though, it was what would Carroll gain from it. Not that I think he did it, but it certainly could fuel conspiracy theorists.

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If that fuels anybody they are friggin morons.

Carp said:

That wasn't the question though, it was what would Carroll gain from it. Not that I think he did it, but it certainly could fuel conspiracy theorists.

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Also if some players are actually thinking this then it could really mess up their chemistry next season if they don't get it under control fast.

Iamtdg said:

If that fuels anybody they are friggin morons.

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Someone has a case of the Mondays.

jsmith6919 said:

Also if some players are actually thinking this then it could really mess up their chemistry next season if they don't get it under control fast.

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Players always look for things to rail against. Shit, Bevell saying Lockett should have been strong going to the ball is not going to go over very well in the locker room at all. That is a volatile team, we kind of forget they dealt Harvin to fix chemistry issues. When things are going good, they are all slapping ass and joking...when things get tough, they will eat each other.

Hopefully this destroys the locker room of a NFC rival.

Bevell is the guy who looks the worst in all of this, especially after rolling Lockette under the bus. From my understanding, he used to do the same gutless crap at Wisconsin.

Honestly, Carroll is going to have a tough time selling that guy to his team going forward.

boozeman said:

Bevell is the guy who looks the worst in all of this, especially after rolling Lockette under the bus. From my understanding, he used to do the same gutless crap at Wisconsin.

Honestly, Carroll is going to have a tough time selling that guy to his team going forward.

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Seattle is going to have a hangover year and San Fran is a dumpster fire.

Damn, Arizona is going to have it easy next year if they keep their QBs alive.

Seattle blunder brings Russell Wilson resentment back into focus

Posted by Mike Florio on February 3, 2015, 7:00 AM EST

The struggles experienced by the Seahawks during the 2014 regular season arose in part from a transition in leadership. Out were players like defensive linemen Red Bryant and Chris Clemons. In was quarterback Russell Wilson.

Caught in the middle, potentially, were players like running back Marshawn Lynch and former Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin.

The change manifested itself in at least one bizarre way, with resentment toward the young quarterback articulated via reports that some teammates believe he’s not “black enough.” The deeper issue could be old-fashioned, human-natured jealousy of Wilson, described in October by former teammate Michael Robinson as an “outlier.”

Then came Sunday night’s “outlier” of a play call, with the coaching staff taking the ball out of the reliable hands of Lynch on the doorstep of a second straight Super Bowl win and directing Wilson to throw into a 15-yard box in which 21 other players were blocking, running, and jostling. Right or wrong, reasonable or not (especially since the coaches had given the ball to Lynch on first and goal from the five), some players will view the fateful decision as the latest attempt to glorify the golden child.

“That’s what it looked like,” an unnamed Seahawk told Mike Silver of NFL Media after the game regarding the perception that the coaching staff opted to showcase Wilson over Lynch with a repeat on the line.

Reality in this regard doesn’t matter; perception does. And one of the many issues the Seahawks will be required to process in the coming months could be the belief (realistic or not) that Wilson has been elevated above his teammates by the coaching staff.

That sense could require the front office to consider moving on from players who aren’t able to get over the Wilson-versus-Lynch dynamic. Ultimately, it may require the Seahawks to make an extra-large commitment financially to Lynch, and in turn to give less than perhaps it had planned to invest in Wilson.

From Wilson’s perspective, the magnitude of his next contract becomes a critical component in the broader necessity of coexisting with his teammates. That $20 million annual contract he may have earned in the first 55 games of his career may need to be dialed back as a result of the outcome of the 56th.

Yesterday I saw a reporter respond to the MVP conspiracy by saying they submit their votes with 5:00 left in the game. Of course, if the conspiracy holds, then maybe Carroll/Bevell didn't realize this. But I doubt it had anything to do with the MVP. They knew if they needed 4 downs, due to having only 1 timeout, they'd have to pass on 2nd or 3rd and they opted to pass on 2nd while NE was in their goal line run defense. It just ended up backfiring in the worst way possible.

Carp said:

Seattle blunder brings Russell Wilson resentment back into focus

Posted by Mike Florio on February 3, 2015, 7:00 AM EST

The struggles experienced by the Seahawks during the 2014 regular season arose in part from a transition in leadership. Out were players like defensive linemen Red Bryant and Chris Clemons. In was quarterback Russell Wilson.

Caught in the middle, potentially, were players like running back Marshawn Lynch and former Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin.

The change manifested itself in at least one bizarre way, with resentment toward the young quarterback articulated via reports that some teammates believe he’s not “black enough.” The deeper issue could be old-fashioned, human-natured jealousy of Wilson, described in October by former teammate Michael Robinson as an “outlier.”

Then came Sunday night’s “outlier” of a play call, with the coaching staff taking the ball out of the reliable hands of Lynch on the doorstep of a second straight Super Bowl win and directing Wilson to throw into a 15-yard box in which 21 other players were blocking, running, and jostling. Right or wrong, reasonable or not (especially since the coaches had given the ball to Lynch on first and goal from the five), some players will view the fateful decision as the latest attempt to glorify the golden child.

“That’s what it looked like,” an unnamed Seahawk told Mike Silver of NFL Media after the game regarding the perception that the coaching staff opted to showcase Wilson over Lynch with a repeat on the line.

Reality in this regard doesn’t matter; perception does. And one of the many issues the Seahawks will be required to process in the coming months could be the belief (realistic or not) that Wilson has been elevated above his teammates by the coaching staff.

That sense could require the front office to consider moving on from players who aren’t able to get over the Wilson-versus-Lynch dynamic. Ultimately, it may require the Seahawks to make an extra-large commitment financially to Lynch, and in turn to give less than perhaps it had planned to invest in Wilson.

From Wilson’s perspective, the magnitude of his next contract becomes a critical component in the broader necessity of coexisting with his teammates. That $20 million annual contract he may have earned in the first 55 games of his career may need to be dialed back as a result of the outcome of the 56th.

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Bullshit. Wilson's not going to take less money. Joe Flacco got paid and Wilson's agent is going to make sure he gets paid at least as much as Flacco.

VA Cowboy said:

Yesterday I saw a reporter respond to the MVP conspiracy by saying they submit their votes with 5:00 left in the game. Of course, if the conspiracy holds, then maybe Carroll/Bevell didn't realize this. But I doubt it had anything to do with the MVP. They knew if they needed 4 downs, due to having only 1 timeout, they'd have to pass on 2nd or 3rd and they opted to pass on 2nd while NE was in their goal line run defense. It just ended up backfiring in the worst way possible.

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I agree with that reasoning. I think the call should have been a play action roll out to play to Wilson's strengths. He's a short QB and with the Pats goal line D pushing the pocket he didn't see Butler breaking on the ball. Get him in space with a chance to throw it in, run it in, or throw it away.

Carroll outcoached himself, that's all.

I'm starting to get a Mcnabb vibe to Wilson being a company man does not go over well in a lockerroom.

I don't think this makes any sense but if a player is thinking it that's trouble.

I don't see this endingwell.

Angrymesscan said:

Carroll outcoached himself, that's all.

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I don't know...occasionally you need to call a play that is least expected. Often it works and everyone loves you.

skidadl said:

I don't know...occasionally you need to call a play that is least expected. Often it works and everyone loves you.

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'often' is an overstatement.