Because NFL coaches are not the type to turn around and say 'You know what? That actually wasn't the best idea' we got another day of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll defending a fake punt late in Thursday's game that injured Jon Ryan and kicked the head coach-less Rams while they were down three scores.
"We had a tremendous preparation for an opportunity to take that we knew could be like a turnover in the game," Carroll said Friday, via The Seattle Times. "If we could get the opportunity we would go for it. It didn't matter when it happened, we were looking for it the whole night. The opportunity that we took, it gave us a chance to hold onto the football and not give them even the chance to get the ball back. What more could I do to help my team?
"How it gets perceived and all, that's what you guys get to talk about when you want to and I think it's a waste of energy but I understand it. I don't expect that you can see it from our perspective. I thought it was an excellent demonstration of planning and prep and execution. It worked perfectly, except for the end of it was terrible. But that allowed us to keep the football and it didn't have anything to do with something with the score or anything, just trying to finish the game as well as we could, in command of it as we were."
While Carroll is probably right in some respects -- there were reasons for running that play that we will never truly understand without being in meeting rooms and locker rooms all week -- the optics are still troubling. Ryan got checked out at a hospital after sustaining a concussion and could miss some time. Carroll would not rule him out for their next game against the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Eve.
It's easy for us to sit here and ignore the competitive nature of the sport from afar, though it would also be easy for Carroll to take a step back during a blowout win and wonder if the call was truly necessary. Perhaps there can be a lack of understanding on both sides.
As for the Seahawks' punting situation, Carroll joked that "there's a lot of guys who dropped notes in my suggestion box that they can punt. Guys like (Jermaine) Kearse and Russ (Russell Wilson), they all think they can punt if we need it."
