Seahwkgal":9u6eiour said:
Still shaking my head.
So, he calls me and the first thing he says is , "Carroll is an idiot". He then tirades about his ego and how many FA we have lost.
I had to remind him about the salary cap and how we have to prepare to solidify our unreplaceable future FA's. Seriously, I was shocked at him. He is a former big ten football player and knows the game or so I thought. lol.
I proceeded to remind him that John Schneider was also part of this. FA is NOT done yet and there is a very deep WR/OL class in this draft.
He was livid about losing Thurmond. I pointed out the obvious, but to no ado.
I personally am not worried. Will we repeat? Who knows. Odds are that we won't. I do feel we will be a winning team and the near future is going to be great.
I cannot wait for the draft to see what our FO has up their sleeve.
OK. My vent is over now. GoHawks!!!
Some people attract more vitriol than most. Especially people who do things differently than the norm, and have success at it. "Ra Ra" Carroll is different, successfully so, and thus a lightning rod in this regard. That has been the case all the way back to his days with the Patriots and Jets. He collects all the blame, whether deserved or not. Players leaving in free agency? Carroll's fault. Players accepting bribes in college? Carroll's fault. Players using PED's? Carroll's fault. Players using banned substances? Carroll's fault. I would contend that the brother's nonsensical, "mad at Carroll" rant runs in this same vein somewhere.
I want to delve further into one of the factors for this. Part of the reason Carroll is a lightning rod for so many is this: Most believe football is supposed to be a rugged man's sport, with wailing and gnashing of teeth, blood spilled, and both played and coached with a general disposition of 'mad at the world'. When someone behaves, talks, acts differently than the unspoken code of any group, they are assumed wrong. I was very skeptical of Carroll as well, and begrudgingly welcomed him as our new coach when hired. I didn't want what looked like a snake oil salesman for a coach/leader of our team.
Carroll exudes a lightness of being, throws the ball around with his guys, plays music during practices, talks about "our program", hugs, cheers, high-fives, laughs, and celebrates with his players and coaches. That kind of stuff was said to work with college 'kids', but not with real men. Not where the big boys and grown up play.
And lets face it, a guy that nice, with that much success, has to be doing something shady, right? How can a guy laugh and smile while he's kicking his opponent's asses up and down the field repeatedly?! He had to have cheated in college. He certainly cheated with our Seadderral Seahawks (sarcasm). We've read the stories of insinuation from NFL peers, talking heads, players, and fans alike.
Now that he's reached the pinnacle of the NFL, some have an immediate paradigm shift for the positive, some pause and wonder if he may actually be valid in his approach, and still others keep looking for the angle - assuming they're still missing how a guy like this is 'getting away with it'.
How does this apply to the original post one might ask? Whether consciously or unconsciously, many people tend to jump at any chance to attack one who makes them uncomfortable. That is how I read the brother's remarks. :les:
