Seahawks Go to Hollywood, But Don't Expect a Block Buster

When Pete Carroll began the current rebuilding of the Seattle Seahawks, I thought I was witnessing the reformation of Pete’s Glory Trojans down in Hollywood.

First with the signing of Former college standout wide receiver Mike Williams, and then the former standout running back Lendale White, who I personally like to refer to as the NFL’s version of Stars Jones, I immediately thought of Steve Spurrier and the Washington Gators (I mean Redskins) and we all know how that worked out.

We hear the phrases “Players’ Coach” or “Nice Guy” when analysts try to explain why Pete Carrols style won’t work in the NFL. Sure these are nice things to say about your boss at work, but not necessarily what you want to hear about a guy whose purpose is to prepare Gridiron Gladiators for physical confrontation.

The optimist in me hopes that the Lendal White signing, and subsequent release because of off-the-field issues, is Pete Carroll’s way of shrugging off the nice guy label in hopes of building another west coast dynasty, “legally this time.”

This year for the Seahawks is much more about establishing a culture and an identity then pursuing a championship. To this outsider looking in, it seems in year one, just as important as winning games is Carroll shedding the nice guy label which his critics point at in regards to lack of success on the pro level.

Early in training camp Mike Williams was the feel good story, but his play recently soured and left a bad impression with offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates.

Bates said, “Mike has had a good camp, but he can't be missing practice. You've got to be out here on the practice field to get better. He's just got to find a way. He's done a great job, but he has to understand this is a process and he's still competing. He's got to compete."

 When you hear a Coach call out a player by name in the media like this I don’t think the words nice guy come into play. While this coach wasn’t Pete Carroll it is still a message that there is no players’ coach in Seattle.

Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hassellback referred to Pete Carroll’s training camp in comparison to Mike Holmgren’s as being more like the military, referring to the chain of command and how wide receivers speak to the wide receiver coach and quarterbacks speak to the quarterback coach and so on.

From the outside looking in, watching practice you can see Carroll is rebuilding a culture and establishing what is the key in football, “continuity”.

From day one Carroll has put his stamp on the Seahawks with the unorthodox approach of practicing only once a day instead of the traditional two-a-days football teams across America participate in down to the high school level.

But will Carroll be successful? One thing is guaranteed: we won’t know in the 2010-2011 season, because quite frankly the Seahawks are the third best team in the worst division in the NFC. Expecting anything more than four wins is just short of insanity.

I might come across as harsh, but go ahead and try to name three legit stars on the Seahawks roster. Go ahead with absolute confidence tell me a whole they fixed over the off season, whether is quarterback , the offensive line, or defensive pass rush the same question’s that haunted the Seahawks last season will haunt them this year.

Today NFL teams identify three players on either side of the ball who they must have to win; can you name one on the Seahawks? Honestly? This season about wins or losses it’s about culture.

So yes ladies and gentleman the Seahawks went to Hollywood to find their leading man, and now you must pay to watch the show, be warned that this year’s film will be shot with a supporting cast of B-film actors.