What was Pete Carroll thinking THIS time?
The Seahawks head coach, who will forever be remembered for his nutty play call at the end of Super Bowl XLIX, appeared to make another one at the start of overtime in the 2015 season opener.
It looked like the Seahawks attempted an onsides kick, although Carroll said after the game that Seahawks kicker Steven Hauschka mis-hit the ball.
Pete Carroll: K Steven Hauschka mis-hit ball. It was not a called onside kick. supposed to be pooched high down field to begin OT #Seahawks
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 13, 2015
Whatever. How about not getting cute and just kicking the ball away in overtime?
The Rams’ Bradley Marquez recovered the kick at the Seahawks’ 49-yard line. Greg Zuerlein kicked a 37-yard field goal, and the Rams stopped the defending NFC champions on their OT possession to clinch the 34-31 victory at St. Louis.
The game ended when Marshawn Lynch was stuffed for a one-yard loss on fourth down at the Rams’ 42. Maybe this was when Carroll should have called for a pass on fourth down with the game on the line.
Had the Rams not kicked the field goal, the game would have went on when Lynch was stopped. The Seahawks could have just punted on fourth down. But the Seahawks handed the Rams 30 yards with that kickoff and pretty much gave them the field goal on a silver platter.
Carroll’s lucky he has a Super Bowl ring. A coach who doesn’t have as much job security gets fired for moves like this. Carroll needs to put this “outside-the-box” thinking aside for a while so the Seahawks can start winning games again.