Pete Carroll appreciative of Bill Belichick’s public support after interception

As the Seahawks received vast criticism for the play call ending in the game-deciding interception in Super Bowl XLIX, New England’s Bill Belichick defended Seattle’s coaches.
In an interview with Boston radio station WEEI in the week after the Super Bowl, Belichick called the critiquing of the Seahawks’ second-down throw from the New England 1 “totally out of line,” per the station’s website.
The criticism of the play, Belichick said, per WEEI.com, was “by a lot of people who I don’t think are anywhere near qualified to be commenting on it.”
Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine Friday, Carroll said he appreciated Belichick speaking up.
“He’s just respecting coaching,” Carroll said, calling Belichick’s remarks “gracious.”
Carroll noted that the Patriots’ final touchdown came on a second-down throw from the Seattle 3.
“He knows. He gets it,” Carroll said.

Source:  PFT.com
Author:  Mike Wilkening
AP Photo, Matt Slocum

Pete Carroll realizes Seahawks aren’t on the same page about play call

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll continues to own the play call that he didn’t make, which becomes even more admirable in light of the fact that he doesn’t call the plays on offense.
Most recently, Carroll opted to take his case to a national, mainstream stage by agreeing to an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC’s Today. During the interview, which aired Thursday morning, Carroll acknowledged that it will take time to work this out within his locker room.
“I don’t think at this point that everybody’s on the same page about that sequence necessarily, but that’s OK,” Carroll told Lauer.

Carroll said he explained the decision to his players during a weekly “Tell The Truth Monday” meeting. “I wanted to make sure that they went through the whole process of what happened at the end — went through the whole thinking and everything and reminded them how we had prepared, and how we’ve done things,” Carroll said. “So they realize that whether or not — even the players [who] want to agree — know that this is the way we have practiced and prepared ourselves to execute in this moment.”

Carroll said he’s not having any trouble getting to sleep in the days after the stunning loss to the Patriots, but that he’s having trouble staying asleep, for reasons unrelated to having a 63-year-old prostate.
“I’m sleeping some . . . but I wake up and can’t stop thinking about it,” Carroll said. “The sleep part works because we’re so worn out after the six months of the season that you can’t help but fall asleep, but it’s the waking up — it’s getting back to sleep that’s the challenge.”
Pressed by Lauer on whether Carroll has shed tears over the way the game ended, Carroll admitted he has.
“That happened at that 4:05 [a.m.] mark on, you know, that hit,” Carroll said. “There was a break where I allowed all of the rush of it to hit. . . . That was my opportunity to go ahead and visit it.”

But Carroll isn’t looking for closure, at least not within himself. “These don’t go away,” Carroll said. “These occurrences, they don’t leave. These occurrences have stayed with me over the years in a manner that they fuel me. The one at [USC], third national championship opportunity, 19 seconds left, fourth and seven, those don’t go away. I don’t really even want to lose those. I don’t want to wash them out and ignore them. I just want them to be in a place where they’re gonna help me be right.”
So how will he be right with his players moving forward? “By getting to the truth, by getting there, talking about it, facing it up,” Carroll said. “Everybody’s cleared their minds. When you finally gather and you’re ready to take that next step, we’re gonna go places that are extraordinary.”
Asked if there’s a story of redemption planned for the Seahawks, Carroll smiled and said, “It’s well underway.”
At this point, the biggest challenge remains getting those players who aren’t on the same page about the decision to adopt the same attitude about the outcome as their coach.




Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
AP Photo, Matt Slocum

Bill Belichick: Criticism of Seahawks play-call “totally out of line”

While most of the known world has weighed in on Seattle’s late-game play-calling, and the majority of that weight has fallen against them, there is one person objecting.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick himself said the criticism of the second-and-1 slant pass which was intercepted to seal the win for his team was “totally out of line.”

“There has been a lot of criticism that I don’t think is anywhere close to being deserved or founded,” Belichick said on WEEI, via Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. “That football team is very good, very well-coached, and Pete does a great job.

“Malcolm [Butler] and Brandon [Browner], on that particular play, just made a great play. I think the criticism they’ve gotten for the game is totally out of line and by a lot of people who I don’t think are anywhere near even qualified to be commenting on it.”

Belichick was also gracious to the Seahawks, knowing himself what it’s like to come so close and lose.

“I wouldn’t be able to say enough about Seattle. They’re a great football team, well coached. They deserve so much credit for what they’ve done, and how well they’ve done it,” he said. “I know they are disappointed as we’ve been in that spot a couple times ourselves. So the high that we feel is probably not as high as the low that they feel. But that’s a really good football team.”

Of course, Belichick also benefited from the decision by offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and the Seahawks, so he’s not going to complain, either.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Darin Gantt
AP Photo, Matt Slocum