Carroll on win: “We have a long ways to go”

Published on September 26, 2011 by Tacoma News Tribune (Feed)     

They’ll take it.

That was basically the attitude of Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and the rest of his players in the locker room after the team’s 13-10 over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Seahawks understand they can play better, but they like winning while going through that growth process better than losing. It certainly make it easier to go back to work on Monday.

“I’m very happy to get a win,” Carroll said. “We have a long ways to go and a lot of work to do, but we got a little bit better today. We did some good things and made enough plays.”

The Seahawks finally got things going offensively in the second half. And they went to no huddle in the third quarter to speed up the tempo – and it worked.

“I like the no huddle,” said receiver Sidney Rice, who finished with eight catches for 109 yards in his Seahawks’ debut. “The more we do it, the more I like it. I feel like we have the extra edge, we can get up on the ball fast, our tempo just rises and I’m looking forward to dong that throughout the rest of the season. It doesn’t give the defense time to get set.”

Seattle had the team’s best drive of the day, marching 72 yards on 14 plays, with quarterback Tarvaris Jackson scrambling in from 11 yards out for the game-clinching score with 6 minutes left in the first quarter.

Jackson’s score was Seattle’s first rushing touchdown of the season.

“We had a double-move route to Sidney (Rice) or Mike (Williams),” Jackson said. “I chose Sidney’s side, and it wasn’t open. So I came back to Mike, and he was open but I kind of felt late, so I didn’t want to throw it all the way across the field late. So I just tried to run, and make something happen. Marshawn (Lynch) got a good block for me, and I just tried to get into the end zone.

Added Carroll: “I thought Tarvaris played really tough today,” Carroll said. “I thought he had a fantastic drive for us, to get the touchdown in on that run where he gave it up at the goal line. That’s who he is. He’s a very tough competitor. And I was glad to see that.”

Jackson finished 18 for 31 for 171 yards and an interception on another Hail Mary pass late in the first half. He was sacked four times and finished with a 60 passer rating.

He heard the boos from the crowd and calls for Charlie Whitehurst, but said they had no affect on his play during the game.

“It doesn’t bother me anymore,” he said. “You want to play for your fans, but I’m playing for the guys in this locker room. I knew that it was going to be a hard situation, being that Matt (Hasselbeck) was here for a long time and did some great things here.

“I have a lot of people to win over. I’ll probably never win them over. My whole thing her eis to come here and be the best I can be and try to get the team some wins and be a leader. If they keep booing and we keep winning, then I don’t care.”

via Carroll on win: “We have a long ways to go” | Seahawks Insider.

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Attitude, coach pete carroll, Debut, Defense Time, End Zone, First Quarter, head coach, Huddle, Little Bit, Locker Room, Marshawn Lynch, Plays, Rushing Touchdown, Score, seahawks head, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, Second Half, Sidney Rice, Tempo