Pete Carroll's Lack of Aggressiveness Continues to Get the Best of Seahawks
By Scott Rogust
For the first time in nearly a month, the Seattle Seahawks etched a tally in the loss column. On a rainy Seattle Sunday, the Seahawks fell to the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens by the score of 30-16.
More importantly, this is yet another game in which head coach Pete Carroll was out-coached, this week by John Harbaugh.
Once again, Pete Carroll is losing the game to a coach unafraid to use all four downs.
— John, The Pumpkin King (@johndavidfraley) October 20, 2019
For the majority of the game, Seattle and Baltimore were stuck in a 13-13 deadlock. In the third quarter, the Seahawks faced a fourth-and-three situation, and instead of being aggressive, Carroll opted to go for a 53-yard field goal to "break the tie."
The decision ended up burning Carroll. Kicker Jason Myers, at a rainy Century Link Field, missed the attempt.
Meanwhile, the Ravens were far more aggressive. On fourth down, Harbaugh called back the kicking unit to go for it. The end result? An impressive scrambling touchdown by Jackson.
By my count, Pete Carroll has been out-coached in 6 of Seattle’s 7 games
— Parker Lewis (@ParkerLewisJR) October 20, 2019
It's as if Carroll is making up for his Super Bowl XLIX guffaw at the goal line against the New England Patriots by inheriting a conservative playbook. In today's NFL, that doesn't work.
If Carroll continues to have analysts and fans scratching their heads at his decision making, then he's completely open to criticism.