Pete Carroll Addresses Quarterback-Less Seattle Seahawks Draft and Other Queries

Head coaches in the NFL, and particularly those with a fancy "Executive VP of Football Operations" titles, have to be very careful with what they say.  

It gets even more dicey when it comes to talking about talent, as one never knows when a player might be targeted by a coach's franchise or when that player might decide to put a target on the team.

Bridges...fire...it can all get very complicated in such tight circles.

Pete Carroll was fielding questions at the Associated Press Sports Editors regional convention on Monday. A primary topic was  the direction the Seahawks took with the 2011 NFL Draft and in particular, using their first two picks on offensive linemen.  

The team drafted an OT in Round 1 instead of targeting Andrew Dalton or Colin Kaepernick. In later rounds, they passed on the likes of Ryan Mallett, Nathan Enderle and Greg McElroy.

Most of the comments were innocent enough at face value, as Carroll is admitting the team needs to shore up the offensive line before they took on a rookie QB.

But is that really the bottom line? Not hardly.

There are several quality OL that will be available in free agency should the Seahawks need to step up and sign one or two of them.  

So, what did coach Carroll really mean? Many of his comments deserve translation efforts.

One comment was in response to a question as to why the Seahawks didn't draft a QB. The question didn't come from a reporter, though. Carroll actually lobbed this one up to himself.

"I know you ask, ‘Why didn’t you take a quarterback? You have quarterback issues and all that.’ We didn’t think we could afford to yet. We have such much work to do to build the culture of this team and to make it as highly competitive as we possibly could," Carroll said.  

The Seahawks were short on draft capital in 2011 and couldn't "afford" to give up their picks to trade up and draft one of the top QBs in this draft. Neither did they want to dip into their 2012 draft, as next year's draft is when the "yet" will actually happen.  

Translation: "The management team is well aware that we need a new QB because Charlie Whitehurst isn't going to get the job done for us. However, the talent in this year's draft class was sorely lacking," Carroll likely thought.  

Carroll actually did add, “You saw us go after a couple guys that were offensive linemen, which is an area that—without that—the quarterback can't play." 

Translated, this comes out as: "We are going to be smart about building our franchise and form the supporting cast that a QB needs to be successful. Then, in 2012 when Matt Barkley is ready to leave USC, we'll have an offense built and ready to win so we can give up whatever we have to to trade up with the Panthers and draft him. Then when we finish up the puzzle, Trent Dilfer can..."  

Well, this would actually be a good stopping point.  

To be fair, I'm sure Pete Carroll has given even less thought to Dilfer's comments than Trent actually put into them...if that is possible.  

Pete also pointed out last week that they did, in a way, take a QB in this year's draft, as they gave up the third round pick for Whitehurst. He also mentioned he feels the team should draft a QB in most every draft.

Translation: "Charlie, we are replacing you in 12 months. Consider this your warning, and good luck in free agency next year."

Another comment from Carroll claimed, “We had a real clear thought – we wanted to come out of this draft tougher; (with) committed players, strong-willed guys, guys that will battle like crazy and help us build the culture of being a highly, highly competitive team."

Translation: "Guys we inherited, and a few that we we picked up, aren't getting it done in the secondary and on the offensive line. Sean Locklear and Chris Spencer lack the toughness to be successful under Cable, and Marcus Trufant isn't healthy enough to do what we require from our CBs. We drafted two tough linemen and then added several guys that will play situational roles in the secondary and give us better production."

Carroll also said, “You may have heard a player was this or a player was that. To us, we may agree with you that he can do this and he can do that. But he wasn’t the guy that we wanted to play with; he wasn’t the guy we wanted to coach the most. We wanted to get guys in this program that will help us build.”

Translation: “Enough, already, about Gabe Carimi. Yes, he was a great OT in college, and should be good in the professional game. But are some of you really arrogant enough to think that you have a better idea of the kind of guys we need for our system? Really?”

Carroll must have also been holding back, “Yes, we drafted several players for our secondary that will rotate in based upon the situation. They can step in as a starter if injuries require it, or play to their strengths. We need a certain guy for our press coverage schemes, and a little different talent for our bandit package. Look closely, and you just might see how these guys fit what we need."

Then again, coach, some analysts can’t figure out that you are letting the QB-needy teams grab subpar talent this year, leaving the Seahawks in a great position to swoop in and feast on one of the studs coming out next year.  

So, why would you expect them to figure out what you are doing with your secondary?

When asked about being back in the NFL and winning the division in the first year, Carroll commented. "Even though it was such a round-about way to get to a division championship last year, and we even had to do it like it had never been done before, it still allowed us to do something in a fashion that I think stages us for the next step.”  

The translation on this one is simple: “If this coaching staff can win a playoff game with the talent-deprived staff we inherited from Ruskell, wait until you see what we can do with actual NFL talent.”

Carroll and GM John Schneider have now had two drafts to bring in some of their own guys.  They will likely be a little more active in free agency this season, mostly since they were fairly absent in signing free agents in 2010. 

They are likely to sign a few QBs during FA to round out the position for the short-term, and make their big mark during the 2012 draft. 

Given the Seahawks’ complete lack of success with drafting a QB, that decision will be Carroll’s biggest and he will finally have the team he wanted. 

Then the critics can judge the player decisions and his coaching based on what happens on the field.