Despite the report of discontent within the Seattle Seahawks' locker room between the offensive and defensive players, the team is adamant no rift exists.
Coach Pete Carroll said "the locker room is in great shape," last week. On Monday, wide receiver Doug Baldwin told Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio any discontent is merely competitors competing.
"No, I think it's just a competitive result that you're seeing," Baldwin said when asked if there was a divide between the offense and defense. "Our defense is built with a lot of alpha males, competitive guys. They're really good at their job. And you have an offense that is the same way. Just completely competitive individuals on both sides of the ball. Sometimes it looks like there's a divide. But at the end of the day, again, we're just a family. We're competing for the same thing. We're going in the same direction. Does a family argue, does a family fight? Of course. Sometimes we have those arguments, but they're necessary for us to be as successful as we've been."
The questions stemmed from a recent ESPN article detailing supposed mistrust between how offensive and defensive players are treated within the Seahawks' locker room.
Baldwin's answer echoed Carroll's comments last week that there are no perfect locker rooms, but that Seattle certainly isn't a toxic atmosphere.
The offseason discussion surrounding the Seahawks' locker room might end up working galvanize a Super Bowl-caliber team seeking its sixth straight postseason berth.
Baldwin also discussed other subjects regarding the team with Schein. On Colin Kaepernick, whom the Seahawks passed over for Austin Davis:
"Right now they're gonna look at all the younger guys to see what they have, all the teams are gonna do that," Baldwin said. "As far as welcoming him to the team, of course, I would welcome any player to our team. One of the things that I guess would stand out more for Colin is that I haven't heard anything bad from the 49ers. All his teammates, they love him. They've loved him as a locker room guy, but also they talk extensively about his work ethic, about how he was always the first one in the building and his study habits and how hard he worked, not only to be on the field for the guys, but to stay healthy and to help the guys be successful in other parts of the organization. So from that standpoint, yes I'd definitely welcome him to the team if he was there."
On Richard Sherman rumors been topic in the locker room this offseason:
"No, I think it's just a nature of the business," Baldwin said of trade discussions. "Especially during that offseason time, you're always going to hear rumors, you're always going to hear trade talks just because that's just the nature of the business. If I was John and Pete, of course, you listen to everything, everything that comes in you're going to listen to it, regardless of how absurd it is or ridiculous it is you're still going to listen to it. I think that's all it was, honestly.
On Sherman's commitment:
"Absolutely. He's working his tail off getting ready for the season, helping the young guys prepare so we can have another shot at the run for us," Baldwin said.
