Nobody at Seahawks headquarters had a longer history with Percy Harvin than offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who also coached Harvin in Minnesota. He thought Harvin would fit in with the Seahawks, especially given the atmosphere Pete Carroll has created in Seattle, but ultimately it didn’t work out.
“I was disappointed,” Bevell said. “I did have a history with him, and I thought it would be a different outcome, but I guess it’s just the way it went. I think we have a phenomenal atmosphere here led by Coach Carroll. He gives the guys great freedom to be who they want to be, and I think he kind of sets the tone for the whole program. It’s an upbeat program, obviously we’re very positive here, so it’s just disappointing.”
Harvin told reporters in New York that he was frustrated at times with his role in Seattle’s offense, saying “Not that I didn’t like what I was doing, I just wanted to do a little more as a receiver. I wanted to just get downfield, just a little bit more than what I was doing, so that definitely caused frustration a little bit.”
Bevell said he never heard those concerns from Harvin: “No. I had many conversations with him about it; just about his role and the things that we would ask him to do. He never articulated that to me. He caught a deep ball in the Washington game; unfortunately it got called back, but the thing was is we want to make sure that he was going to be involved in the game and get the touches — you can just double team somebody and take them out of the game. He never did (talk to me about it), but we’ve moved on past that and it’s left in the past.”
Bevell said the offense and his job as a play caller stay the same with Harvin no longer here.
“It doesn’t change,” he said. “We still have an identity, we still have core beliefs on things we want to do. The job that I have is always using the personnel I that I have to the best of my abilities… Who we have are the guys we’re going to use.”
Asked about the fly sweeps and bubble screens that frequently went to Harvin, Bevell said those are still part of the offense: “I don’t think all those things just die. We have other guys that have similar capabilities to do that. You saw us throw a couple of bubble screens in that last game, so those plays don’t just go away.”
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