Do the Seahawks have issues with buy-in and leadership? K.J. Wright commenting
The Seattle Seahawks are playing in a foreign league.
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The Hawks have dropped their last four games following their 28-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks have not dropped four straight games since Pete Carroll took over as head coach in 2010.
What then transpires behind closed doors?
On Wednesday, during his weekly Seattle Sports show, legendary Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright discussed his thoughts on the leadership situation on the team and other topics.
“Is it the leadership on the football team?” Wright asked. “Is there not enough guys in there saying, ‘Let’s focus on the attention to details. Let’s take this walkthrough seriously. Let’s communicate during practice. Hey, you messed up right here. You said this in the media, so I’m going to you. Do this, let’s get it behind us and let’s move forward.
What is the ideal number of vocal, go-to leaders for a team? Wright mentioned four, but he is unsure if the Seahawks actually have that many players.
“This team is so disoriented at the moment. Wright stated, “It’s not even about the opponents anymore.” Within the building, they are engaged in their own internal conflict. Guys who are fighting and paying attention to what Coach Carroll is saying
On Monday, Carroll was questioned by Mike Salk about whether his teammates were buying into his messaging, and he responded quite bluntly.
Question them. Next,” Carroll uttered.
Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks has intriguing responses to two challenging queries.
Ten seasons of playing for Carroll, Wright said Carroll’s response is extremely telling.
Coach Carroll seems to be saying that he’s had enough of these guys. He is really irritated,” Wright remarked. He tries to be polite to them, but he feels like he’s preaching to them, and they’re just not getting the message. In other words, at this point, they don’t really care what he says.
Wright claimed to have witnessed firsthand the Seahawks’ lack of leadership during Sunday’s game when rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was called for pushing an opponent’s facemask.
“Njigba didn’t even have my ire. This young dog is attempting to make sense of the world. Wright remarked, “That’s just all locker room leadership.”
Furthermore, Smith-action Njigba took following the penalty was instructive.
“With whom did he go shake hands after that? Metcalf, D.K. He approached him and shook hands, according to Wright. “I mean, what in the world is this? Here, what are we saying exactly? With all of these young men’s potential, what are we teaching them? Devon Witherspoon, a rookie cornerback, is admiring someone in that building. To whom is he looking? It is extremely difficult to observe when there are “leaders” involved. Are the younger guys being shown what it should look like in the locker room?
Carroll needs to approach this team in a different way.
According to Wright, it’s obvious that a large number of Seahawks players aren’t understanding or appreciating what Carroll is attempting to teach. Additionally, he believes that not enough players “have his back enough.”
In our time, we bought in. We accepted it. Wright stated, “You have to take action if these guys are not buying in and your message is not reaching them. “People will start to assume that he isn’t doing anything if you just allow this behavior to continue. Well, he’s not making these guys answerable. You need to inflict some sort of shock on this building in order to convey the message, “Hey, I’m trying, I’m trying, I’m doing everything I can to come here.” However, even though he is making an effort, it is perceived that his performance is insufficient if I watch us on Monday Night Football and I see the same players and plays. If that makes any sense. He needs to take action by Monday night.
Wright related an anecdote from his time as a Seahawks player about a buddy who was causing a lot of problems and nearly got guys to fight because of his attitude.
We dealt with it in my locker room, players. We took care of one another. We handled each other, so if you’re acting in this way, you’re going against the grain,” he remarked. “As I observe this team currently, not a single brother is holding the other brother responsible. Coach Carroll, you have to take the reins if the players aren’t doing it. You must carry it out. You don’t have a secure enough locker room to keep this from happening by hiding your message. Thus, you must carry it out yourself.
