Pete Carroll Likes Seattle Seahawks’ Up Tempo Offense

Nov 2, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (left) and quarterback Russell Wilson (3) before the game against the Oakland Raiders at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admitted he saw some great merit in the team’s occasional up-tempo approach to offense.

While the Seattle Seahawks have struggled with consistency on offense for much of the 2014 NFL season, the team has found success in certain approaches that go against what has made this a solid unit since the arrival of QB Russell Wilson. That’s fine with head coach Pete Carroll so long as the team is scoring points.

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“It’s something that we’ve recognized,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on Sports Radio KJR, per ESPN. “We are better when our tempo is really good, so that is a point of emphasis. We see how well we’ve done when we’re going at a good pace. We seem to be more effective then. We go in and out of that. It’s kind of a modified 2-minute drill. We’re just going faster.”

Given the mobility and improvisational skills of Russell Wilson, that all makes sense. The Seahawks have the speed and skill to pull off a fast-tempo offense. What they don’t have is a history of success in that mold. The Seahawks offense has been a run-first unit since the arrival of Marshawn Lynch and going too up-tempo would change all of that.

“It does take us away from the plan of running the football like we like to,” Carroll said. “We are out of the formula we really like. So there’s a little bit of a give-and-take there.”

There’s also the risk of not taking up enough of the clock on offense. An up-tempo offense passes more and if those passes fall incomplete, then the defense must trot back out on the field with little rest.

“You throw the ball a little more when you do it. So we’re mixing it in, and hopefully, as we start the second half, we’ll see if our [faster] tempo can enhance the way we perform on offense.”

At 5-3, the Seahawks sit two games behind the division-leading Arizona Cardinals. If their offense can get it together, the Hawks can make a run at least at the wild card, if not the division. The team is firmly in control of its own destiny with two games against the Cards and two more against rival San Francisco 49ers.

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