Seattle Seahawks punt blocked because of fan

Pete Carroll was not happy with the referees during the first quarter of Seattle’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. During the first quarter Jon Ryan, Seattle’s punter, had his punt blocked by San Francisco safety Craig Dahl. A blocked punt in itself is not all that unique in the NFL. What is unique is the complaint that the block was caused by a whistle that was coming from the stands.

Michele Tafoya of NBC reported that Carroll was arguing with the refs that his line stopped play because they heard a whistle that they thought was from the refs. This caused Dahl to get through the line and make the block.

It is no secret that Centurylink field in Seattle is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. Usually that benefit is for the Seahawks as they rolled to an 8-0 record at home last year. Many analysts say that it is the toughest place to play a road game. It is interesting that the crowd was the culprit for a mistake that Carroll does not believe was the fault of his own team.

We shall see if the whistle blower strikes again after the game resumes following the weather delay.