Lords of Scythia":1mioh6cn said:
I'm reading Pete Carrol's book. The first thing is that he comes off as sort of a touchy-feely "player's coach". This is motivating for college players - helps them play up to their full potential, but in the NFL guys are pros and already playing to their full potential. When PC went on that incredible run at UCS the Trojan coaching staff were running this hardcore practice regimine to get the players to run the plays as precisely as humanly possible, with an emphasis on game execution. Again, this brought these players up to a level that is rare in college, but not in the pros where the players already know how to execute at the highest level.
Carrol is a "player's coach", with the emphasis on "competing". On page 84 in the book he says "Competition to me is not about beating the opponent. It's about doing your best."
I read that and I was like WFT?!? In the pros you better be about beating your opponent. This motivation rah-rah thing will get you a lot of wins in college where you are working with guys coming out of high school, but is far less effective in the pros where they are already playing at close to their highest potential.
I don't think PC is a bad NFL coach, just not a great one. Maybe a 500 NFL coach. Schnieder deserves a lot of credit for the Seahawks at this point.
What is with people and their need for instant gratification?
The Seattle Seahawk football team was devoid of talent at all positions when Pete took over less than three years ago. In his first season as coach, Pete took a team that had the talent to win about 2 games and won 7. A starting point was established.
In his second year, after another 100+ transactions, and with no offseason to speak of, a new below average QB, his team started off slowly, but finished well down the stretch. I don't know about you, but most teams that have a turnover that great don't start off that well. We saw a defense that was ranked at the bottom of the league the year before finish in the top 10 in this, Pete's second season. Improvement? Definitely.
Now, his third season, Pete finally found his QB, a rookie third round selection. I don't know what's expected from a team starting a rookie at QB and MLB, but personally, I expected growing pains. Wouldn't you know, the rookie QBs first few games weren't very good. His last 5 games, however, he is among the top 10 in passer rating. The offense is starting to hit its stride. The defense is now a top 5 unit. The Seahawks have more wins than they did at this time last season too. Improvement? Abso-fricking-lutely.
Pete has this team improving...CONSTANTLY. Of course, there will be setbacks, but overall the team has done NOTHING BUT IMPROVE since Pete showed up in Seattle. After seeing everything Pete has done since his arrival, I don't know how anyone can say that what he is doing can't work because IT IS WORKING.
Take your personal feelings and your hatred of USC out of the equation and maybe take a step back. Look at where this team is compared to where it was when Pete took over. The players are still learning how to win. Being as young as they are, they sometimes underestimate the quality of the opponents. Most of these guys played on college teams that could just show up and get a win over their opponents more often than not. Learning that that doesn't work in the NFL takes time.
Watching the past few weeks of games I've noticed the guys that played for the "non college, rah rah style coaches" prior to playing for Pete ie. Trufant and Hill, seem to be the ones that are getting beat for big plays. "Pete's" guys are doing well. Maybe the problem lies with them and their failures. Maybe those guys aren't buying in. Considering that the Seahawks are among the youngest teams in the league, I believe that Pete's "rah-rah" style is what IS needed in Seattle right now.
How's that "old school" approach working in Philly, San Diego, Arizona, New York (Jets), Buffalo? It's amazing how players play so much better for those coaches. Sure, you could name all the "old school" coaches that have winning teams, but before you do, look and you'll see that most of them have had their skill position players together for a few years....a luxury in the NFL. With the Seahawks being one of the youngest teams in the league and playing as well as they are, just think how much better they'll be with some time to grow together.
Maybe you should stop telling us that Pete's style doesn't work until AFTER his team stops improving. Your words seem pretty hollow to me.