The pressure is on for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin as he prepares to enter his third season in the league. The pressure, however, is coming mostly from himself.
“Just focused on individual goals I felt like I put too much pressure, because if I didn’t meet that, I felt like I was doing something wrong or that I wasn’t good enough,” Griffin told reporters after an OTA workout this month. “So that pressure was all on myself and the mindset that I had. That’s the mindset I had to change.”
Coach Pete Carroll agrees a change of mind for Griffin might be exactly what he needs.
“Trying too hard is a big problem,” Carroll said after minicamp last Tuesday. “And sometimes we’re trying to make things happen that aren’t there, you know. I think he is determined. He was not satisfied with the season last year. He had a really solid rookie season and expected to really take a big jump and didn’t make the jump that he wanted to. So it’s really focused him on really setting his sights on the preparation and it’s obvious he’s done it, he’s put in the work.”
While Griffin’s second season wasn’t spectacular, he did manage 62 combined tackles and two interceptions in 2018. He and Carroll are only looking ahead for now.
“His mentality is great and I would think that maybe that jump he was counting on then might happen at this time and we’re expecting him to really do it and have a terrific season.”
