Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was on the Mitch in the Morning show on KJR-950 this morning, and while he didn’t break any news, he did say a few things that are worth passing along to those who didn’t hear it.
The obvious big issue is the team’s situation at quarterback, and if it will re-sign Matt Hasselbeck. Levy, the show’s host, asked Carroll about that and the coach didn’t rule out that a deal could get done before a potential March 4 lockout, after which teams wouldn’t be able to sign even their own players until a new CBA is reached.
“There are wide open possibilities,” Carroll said. “There is plenty of time to do something. . . You have to look at all positions differently than you do in a different year, and knowing that Matt is the farthest along, the most experienced, and the guy that can make plays for us, we’d like to get something done.”
Asked if the team would consider trading for a veteran QB, Carroll didn’t rule it out, saying “We never rest on opportunities to improve our roster, and we’re going to continue to do that, that’s our approach. . . So we’re wide open to all options, we have to be.” But Carroll also pointed out that teams don’t know if/when they’ll be able to make trades given the uncertainty with the labor situation, which could make a trade more difficult.
Carroll said the team won’t target one position in the draft, QB or otherwise, particularly picking so late in the first round: “We’re going to look at all of the options. At 25, we don’t have much control. There’s a lot that’s going to happen. . . It isn’t going to be player specific at all. We want to get a great player that can help us win football games.”
One interesting note was that, when talking about the rookie year of S Earl Thomas, Carroll didn’t shy away from putting Thomas in some elite company–that of former USC star and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Troy Polamalu: “They’re the same makeup. They’re the same size, they’re the same speed, they’re the same nature. . . They’re just so similar.”
Asked about LB Aaron Curry, whose play has not lived up to his draft status in the minds of a lot of fans, Carroll said: “It’s a process. . . this is a classic expectations thing where you expect him to totally tilt the field in one direction.”
And obviously that hasn’t been the case in Curry’s first two years. He has not, according to Carroll, been a bust however: “He is a very effective player. . . He’s a dominant football player on the tight end on the line of scrimmage. He’s as good as anybody in the league at that.”
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