The culture surrounding the Seahawks franchise these days is inspiring, reflective, and progressive. They expect to win and they are, head coach Pete Carroll is realizing his self-fulfilling prophecy.
Carroll's goal when he took charge of football operations and head coaching duties was to make the roster his own. With the help of general manager John Schnieder, Carroll has compiled the opportunistic and tough-hitting defense that when combined with a smash-mouth running game yields consistent wins.
Coaches rarely get Carte Blanche with their roster when hired. Fans need to give Seahawks management credit, they gave Carroll the chance to completely rebuild the team in his ideal image and it's paying off. He has shaped the Seahawks into a stubborn bully that won't go down.
Seattle was 2-3 entering their mid-October bye week. Then three straight losses against beatable teams put them in a position to satisfy their critics opinions of a high draft picks and coaching hot seats. At 2-6, Seattle was a sorry bunch. On paper the next game against AFC North leader, Baltimore, was supposed to be a blowout even on Seattle's trusty home field. Wrong. The Seahawks channeled the Raven's tough run style and suffocating defense leading to a shocking 22-17 win. Three wins in the following four games has Seattle believing they can play with anyone.
Coaches can show you to the toolbox, but players must wield the hammer.
Seattle's new hard-nosed attitude can be attributed to runningback, Marshawn Lynch. He exemplifies the Seahawks' team mentality: fight until you fall and then get back up asking for seconds.
The man leads the league in broken tackles (and souls crushed). When tacklers first make contact he does not go down. The yards gained after initial contact is amazing. Simply, Lynch earns his yardage through sheer willpower. Lynch ranks seventh in rushing at 963 yards with nine scores. This marks the first 1,000 yard rusher Seattle will have since the glory days of Shaun Alexander and his unbeatable offensive line.
The winning attitude that permeates this team is similar to the "us and against world" mantra many war generals have utilized as a battle cry. Coach Carroll planted a seed in his players' head last season when his supposedly bad playoff team knocked the explosive New Orleans Saints out of the first round.
With that win, the Seahawks sent a message to the league. These are not the pushovers you've known before. Those losers don't live here anymore. They play like winners now.
In the past 13 games, Seattle has solidified it's identity as a team that will punch you in the mouth on offense and turn around kick you in the ass on defense. This is a team that doesn't play well with other and wants their football back.
