The Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles over the Wild-Card Weekend and now advance to the divisional round of the postseason, slated to face off against the Packers in Green Bay this Sunday.
Pete Carroll has been to his fair share of playoffs games in his tenure as the head coach of the Seahawks and he’s learned a few things in his 10 years in Seattle.
“The challenge really is the managing the players’ mentality,” Carroll told reporters Wednesday. “That’s the challenge to it. Keeping them balanced and clear thinking and not distracted by all the hoopla at the front of it and all that. There’s such a buildup when you go to each game. Each week is just so much fun because it’s so intense as you move through it that it’s managing that.”
Since he’s been in the Emerald City, Carroll’s squads have made the playoffs eight of the last 10 years, including two trips to the Super Bowl. But with the rookies and some veterans who have never experienced the postseason, Carroll is insistent the team prepares like any other week.
“That’s why I’m so adamant that we treat every game the same and we try to learn how to discipline our focus so that we don’t get distracted by the natural things that you guys all think should distract us; the matchups, the hype, the buildup,” Carroll continued. “Whatever it is. How many times we’ve won, and they’ve won or whatever in years past. All that stuff, it doesn’t mean anything at all. Sorry. That’s the biggest thing I’ve dealt with and to try to manage everybody well, coaches, too, so we don’t screw it up and get unlike ourselves and play unlikely fashion.
“That’s what we don’t want to do – we want to play like we know how to.”
So while the hype might be real for the fans, it’s business as usual for Carroll and his Seahawks.
