Pete Carroll said several concerning things following Seattle Seahawks Week 6 loss

The Seattle Seahawks are now 3-2 with a tough stretch of games forthcoming. In eight of the next 10 games, Seattle plays a team with a current record of .500 or better. Seatle's defense does seem better than in previous years, but the offense is still underperforming to a degree.

It doesn't seem like we really know how good or bad Seattle will be this year as if the roster is still young enough to not have completely gelled yet. And to be fair, that's OK. Seattle wasn't expected to come close to winning a Super Bowl in 2023.

But making the playoffs is still a realistic expectation. Seattle made the postseason in 2022 when they had a less talented roster. But following Seattle's Week 6 loss, head coach Pete Carroll had some worrying comments on three subjects.

Seattle Seahawks head coach didn't want to blame Geno Smith for issues on offense

Instead of coming out and saying, "The quarterback was bad and had he not taken some red zone sacks that he did when he had time to at least throw the ball away then maybe we are in a better spot. Also, that interception Smith threw in the direction of Jaxon Smith-Njigba at the goal line was terrible." But Carroll didn't say this at all and instead blamed the Seahawks blocking in front of Smith.

Said Carroll on Seattle Sports, "The focus goes to Geno because he’s got the ball in his hands, but he had a lot of stuff going on with the pressure coming. We just didn’t hold up the way we needed to to function right at the end. The chances are there and we need to execute a bit better."

Of course, Carroll is partly correct, The offensive line was not good overall. Carroll at least did say Smith probably should have seen a wide open Jaxon Smith-Njigba on one play that likely would have resulted in a touchdown.

But honestly, we don't know what Carroll said to Smith when Carroll wasn't being asked questions by the media. Perhaps Carroll was a little bit more critical. Also, it's a little refreshing still to have a head coach in Seattle that's different from the one with the Denver Broncos; Carroll mostly doesn't air what he sees as dirty business in public.

Pete Carroll said DK Metcalf's most recent 15-yard penalty wasn't due to "frustration"

DK Metcalf picks up too many 15-yard penalties. He is fortunate to play for a coach like Pete Carroll who has more patience than other coaches. I like Carroll a lot more than Bill Belichick, but if Metcalf had as many penalties on the Patriots team as he did with the Seahawks...OK, let me stop there. Metcalf wouldn't have the same number of penalties with New England because Metcalf would either be sitting on the bench or would have been traded.

Most previous times the subject has been broached about Metcalf's penalties, Carroll has said he has spoken with Metcalf hurting his team by costing them yards. But about Week 6's penalty, the question posed to Carroll by Seattle Sport's Mike Salk on the Pete Carroll Show was, "(Metcalf's) level of frustration seems to be getting the best of him a little, is that a concern?" To which Carroll said, "That's not what happened (in Week 6)."

That seems inexcusable to say. I get that Carroll is defending his player and that Metcalf couldn't hear the whistle blowing the play dead 50 yards down the field (but that doesn't seem to be an issue for other receivers) but it's clear watching the action immediately after the shove that drew the penalty that Metcalf was aware there was no active play happening. He shoved the Bengals' corner and then slowly started walking off. If he thought he was blocking, wouldn't he turn and run and find someone else to block?

The fact is, Carroll needs to be more stern with Metcalf and the penalties or they will keep happening. The fact that the penalties are still occurring fairly regularly means Metcalf isn't listening to Carroll if Carroll has addressed the concern with the receiver. If that's true, and it appears to be, then there is a major problem.

Carroll made it seem like right tackle Abe Lucas won't return any time soon

When asked about the potential return of Abe Lucas, Carroll simply said Lucas isn't ready. But he was so quickly dismissive that one might wonder whether Lucas will be back at all in 2023. A knee injury is no joke, obviously, especially for an offensive tackle who needs to twist and turn again speed rushers.

In his place has been Jake Curhan who had played decently well until Week 6 when Curhan was pretty awful - 7 pressures allowed as well as 5 hits on Geno Smith and a sack. Had a healthy Lucas played, that would have helped the pass rush much more and should have kept Smith cleaner. That might have been enough to win the game, but it appears right now that Curhan will be the starting RT for the foreseeable future.

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