RENTON — Pete Carroll was left kicking himself.
The Seattle Seahawks coach expressed one regret from last Sunday’s 35-6 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and it was not challenging Doug Baldwin’s spectacular end-zone catch that was ruled incomplete.
“I missed that one,” Carroll lamented. “I missed it. We looked back, we were sitting on the plane. Doug and I are sitting on the plane, we dig it out, stopping it. I think he’s in. When I saw it at full speed I didn’t think he was in. I’m just kicking myself in the head.”
The play occurred in the second half with the Seahawks in scoring range. Quarterback Russell Wilson was pressured immediately upon the snap and heaved a pass before getting hit, seemingly to avoid a sack. However, the ball drifted toward the left corner of the end zone and Baldwin made a spectacular leaping catch. But it was ruled incomplete as the officials determined Baldwin did not get both feet down in bounds.
Carroll did not throw his red challenge flag onto the field to begin the video review process on this occasion, but it did lead to an interesting trip inside Carroll’s head with regards to how he decides to make a challenge.
“A lot of that has to do with feel at the time, and also the reaction of the player,” Carroll explained. “Sometimes they can see a guy bobble the ball, so that gives us added incentive to go ahead and look deeper. We try to stall when we need to, and guys are scrambling upstairs. I’m talking to both sides of the ball upstairs to see what they can see, maybe somebody saw something else, other than what the other guys saw. I just kind of weigh out that wave of information in the time that we have and make a decision.
“I used to not think that was a very good aspect of the game, but really it’s kind of fun because you’ve got to figure a lot of stuff out in a short amount of time.”
Carroll said quarterbacks coach Carl Smith, who watches the game from the press box rather than the sidelines, is his go-to guy among the coaching staff when it comes to challenges.
“He’s kind of using everybody’s information upstairs,” Carroll said. “I’ll click to the defense and see if they have an opinion, too. Sometimes they’re all hollering it, you can hear it through the headsets, anyways. It’s kind of a cool moment trying to figure that stuff out. Carl is really the best guy for me to go to, and we have the best background to make sense of stuff. He’s been really instrumental.”
One issue is that the coaches who have access to monitors are completely dependent upon the whims of the television broadcast, as those are the only replays available to help make a decision. Last Sunday the Seahawks were hindered by Fox’s decision not to air repeated instant replays to see if Baldwin came down in bounds.
But Carroll listens to his players when they say a call should be challenged. Usually.
“I said something to him about it, but he was very adamant,” Baldwin said. “He thought that I was pushed out of bounds.”
And Carroll will listen again in the future.
“I trust what they’re telling me, that they think they saw it that way,” said Carroll, who added that while he’s been talked into many challenges, he’s never been talked out of challenging call. “We always see this stuff going our way. That’s not dishonest, that’s just rooting for your team. I’m they same way, that’s why I’m mad at myself for not doing one on Doug. I should have done it anyway.”
Extra points
Tight end Jimmy Graham and receiver Ricardo Lockette were both back in the Seahawks’ locker room Thursday. Both Graham (knee) and Lockette (neck) are on injured reserve after undergoing season-ending surgeries. … Strong safety Kam Chancellor (bruised tailbone) sat out his second straight practice, bringing into question whether he’ll play Sunday against Cleveland. If Chancellor can’t play, Kelcie McCray will start in his place. … Seattle signed cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste to its practice squad. Jean-Baptiste’s addition brings Seattle’s practice squad to its full complement of 10 players.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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