Pete Carroll is one of the few NFL coaches who can claim success in challenging a defensive pass-interference non-call this season. But since his successful toss of the challenge flag in the second game of the season against Pittsburgh, Carroll has been flailing, just like virtually every other coach in the NFL.
It was more of the same on Sunday in the Seahawks’ 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Carroll thought long and hard and finally threw his flag to challenge an incomplete pass from Russell Wilson to DK Metcalf in the second quarter. The Seahawks thought Metcalf had been impeded by the Ravens’ defender, cornerback Brandon Carr, on the play, which began from Baltimore’s 16 on third-and-10 with the Seahawks holding a 7-6 lead.
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“We were mixed on going for that,’’ said Carroll, who is now 1-for-5 on his PI challenges this year. “I mean, the guy has his hands all over us. But, I’m learning. I’m learning. This is a new time. Yeah, it was a little bit desperation.
“I thought it was a big enough situation to go for it, because we were going to have to give up points, otherwise, and it was a chance. So, we took a shot at it.”
When the challenge was denied, the Seahawks attempted a 34-yard field goal by Jason Myers that was successful, giving them a 10-6 lead.
Carroll’s lone successful challenge this season came when Wilson took a deep shot to Tyler Lockett in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game in Pittsburgh. He felt Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds had interfered with Lockett, and after review, the officials agreed. Lockett was awarded a 38-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 30-yard-line that set up a Wilson-to-Metcalf 28-yard touchdown pass. That put Seattle up 28-19 with 7:15 to play, which proved crucial as the Seahawks held on for a 28-26 win.
NFL coaches, however, have had just one successful overturn on defensive pass interference since Week 3. Asked if he thinks officials will ever overturn another PI call, Carroll replied, “Yeah, they will. They will when they really … totally miss it.
“They’re not there to police pass interference, really. We kind of had that thought for a while, that they were going to police it, and they were going to clean things up and all that. They’re not doing that. They’re waiting for the play that’s an obvious miss.
“That’s OK. That’s the way the rules are. That’s the way they’ve been saying it, so they’re doing what they’re saying. We just have to adopt to it. I’ve been pretty aggressive about trying. I think we’re at the halfway point of the season after this week coming up, and I think I have it pretty well figured out. I will tell you the next time that I screw one up that I don’t. So, we’ll see what happens.”
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