The Seahawks are back in the NFL penalty box, a habitual offender when it comes to the crime of overzealous practicing.
It's not exactly a felony _ they didn't doctor footballs, tape opponents' practices or target other team's players for a bounty, after all _ but it's definitely an embarrassing situation for the organization. That's three times now they've been slapped for roughly the same offense: not following the NFL's safety guidelines when it comes to controlling the intensity of offseason workouts.
But let's face it: These infractions are collateral damage for the way the Seahawks do business _ a method that has reaped hugely successful results and produced a frenetic style of play that is their trademark.
Just listen to the Seahawks' various catch phrases: Always compete. Do everything better than everyone else. Play hard every snap, every day.
It shouldn't be a surprise that pushing such a mind-set sometimes has led them to step over the line. I don't think it's indicative of a rogue organization, certainly not one that is disdainful of the NFL's newfound safety concerns, particularly regarding concussions, which is the reason the NFL is trying to tone down practices.
On the contrary, all the reporters have seen the Seahawks stop drills to instruct players on the proper way to practice. The Seahawks have been at the forefront of safer tackling methods. There's no outlaw mentality at play here _ just an inherent difficulty in finding a way to get the players to push the brakes when they're constantly programmed to hit the accelerator.
"Yeah, we always practice really hard around here," Carroll said Monday. "That's something we've done for years, and we try to practice better than anyone's practicing. In trying to figure out what the limits of that are, we've got in trouble over time. It's always based on an incident that happens in practice, and they come out and take a look and make their judgment."
That's not to absolve Carroll, mind you. He needs to figure out a way to tone down his players, because the rest of the NFL has. It's ironic that the organization that wants to do things better than everyone else now needs to study how all the other teams are managing to conduct offseason workouts without getting dinged by the NFL.
The penalties have escalated, from losing two days of organized team activities (OTAs) with no fine for a violation in 2012; losing two minicamp practices as well as getting hit with fines of more than $300,000 for a violation in 2014, and now losing three days of OTAs, fines of $600,000, and the real killer, the loss of a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. Note that Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Luke Willson were fifth-round picks under the Carroll/John Schneider regime. This wrist slap is starting to sting.
The latest violation centered on two Seahawks, whom he described as "a couple of young guys," who hit heads (the team was practicing without helmets) and suffered injuries during a drill in which a receiver and defensive back were going for a ball.
"It's been over six years time we've been working on this," Carroll said. "I've got to make sure I do a better job of this. We have to work harder to understand what everyone else is doing."
Carroll also said, "We're trying to do this really well, and we're trying to be great at it," but that's beginning to ring hollow.
Here's what he said in 2015 after the team was penalized for what was termed excessive physical contact the previous offseason at a minicamp: "We want to do things right. I'd like to show exactly how to do it. When you're competing like we do, we're trying to do things the best you can possibly do it. Unfortunately, this incident makes it look otherwise."
And after the 2012 penalty for breaking rules regarding contact: "We've pushed it. We are as competitive as you can be in our program, and everything about our program is about competing. We're trying to find out what the limit is and do the right thing. That's what we've been trying to find out."
That's several years now of trying, without finding the solution. The Seahawks say they've taken all the steps they can to contain things down to a suitable level. They've consulted with various league officials to ascertain what is an acceptable way to practice. They've pretty much taken to practicing without helmets in the offseason, and even sometimes during the season.
"At times, if a guy has seemed to be a little bit overzealous, we've taken him out of a practice," Carroll said. "We've suspended a guy from practice because of efforts we thought were out of line. But still, we didn't quite meet the standards they want. So this is what happened."
The easy conclusion is that this is going to keep happening as long as the Seahawks continue to preach, "Always compete." But the NFL has promised substantially harsher penalties, including possible loss of higher-round or multiple draft picks, if this infraction occurs again.
This time, it behooves Carroll and the Seahawks to find a way to direct that competitive spirit within the acceptable guidelines of the league.
Every single snap. And for real, this time _ because the NFL is watching. Closely.
"We try to practice better than anyone's practicing. In trying to figure out what the limits of that are, we've got in trouble over time." We try to practice better than anyone's practicing. In trying to figure out what the limits of that are, we've got in trouble over time."
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