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Pete Carroll on building a big defense, Bill Belichick and Russell Wilson

 10.10.12 at 7:26 pm ET
By

Kam Chancellor (AP)

FOXBORO — When it comes to the Seahawks, size matters.

Seattle has a big team, particularly in the secondary where they feature cornerbacks Richard Sherman (6-foot-2½) and Brandon Browner (6-foot-3½) and safeties Kam Chancellor (6-foot-3) and Earl Thomas (5-foot-10). According to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, he didn’t necessarily start out trying to build a big defense.

“Throughout my coaching days, defensively I’ve always wanted to have really fast guys. If I had my way, I’d have really fast big guys,” he said on a conference call with the New England media on Wednesday. “We’ve just been able to accumulate some guys — we actually hit it early on with guys that were in the program up front with Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane, having some real big kids up there – not comparable to how big the Patriots are, those guys are enormous.

“We added to it with K.J. Wright, who is a big kid playing linebacker and then we started to just peck away with the secondary. The two corners are as tall as you can get and Kam Chancellor is an enormous safety at 6-3, 237 pounds or something. When you add all that together, you have a lot of long guys with big reaches and a lot of speed; everybody can run. It gives us a chance to have a group…we’re always looking for this, but you don’t always get it so we’re fortunate. I think John Schneider has done a great job getting the kinds of guys that we like to coach and we’re just growing. We’re so young and so new, we’re just getting started.”

We already had a few highlights of Carroll’s call here and here, but here’s some more from Carroll’s Q&A with the media from Wednesday afternoon:

It’s been awhile since you’ve prepared to face a Bill Belichick team. Do you see any common threads as you do that this week to what it was like in the ‘90s when you were going up against his Jets defenses or even before that?

“Certainly there’s all kinds of stuff, particularly defensively. They’ve grown and adjusted on offense, but defensively we know that Bill has always been a guy who uses a lot of stuff and will match game plans to personnel and teams, and has a tremendous reservoir of system that he can go to and we still know that now. One of the things that I’ve always admired about Bill is he gets the most out of guys and using their talents, kind of to the nth degree. With the big guys inside, the big linebackers, the really fast secondary, they’ve got a great group to build from. They’re turning the ball over at a crazy rate right now and getting the ball away from people. All of the stuff he’s done, a lot of two-deep stuff is what we’ve always seen from him. The system is still there, but it’s his ability to adapt it, to match game plans and stuff that’s always made him so special and so good.”

Your place kicker has some local roots in Massachusetts. Can you describe how that situation unfolded and what he’s contributed to your team?

“Steven [Hauschka], we picked him up from Denver a couple years ago. He’s been really consistent for us. He’s a very smart kid, great worker, big kid for a kicker, real tall and he’s just been very effective. Hopefully we can just keep him knocking them in. We haven’t asked him but just a couple times to have to bomb any kicks, but his consistency has been excellent. He’s been a really good, solid part of our kicking game.”

Other than the physical tools, what makes Russell Wilson such a good quarterback and such a good fit for your system?

“He has tremendous makeup – character and smarts and work ethic, trust and confidence in himself – to be able to handle the challenges as you guys know, there’s so much scrutiny on the quarterback. To be a young guy dealing with it, he just doesn’t seem like he’s a young guy dealing with it. He just has – he’s well beyond his years. For whatever reason, he just has this great character about him that gives him great resolve. That adds with a guy that’s really quick, that has a great arm, that’s really accurate and has great savvy for the game. We’re watching him grow right before our eyes. He’s learning each week and catching up with the game and doing some cool things. He’s done a great job through the competition. Matt Flynn is a really good football player and I wish we could see Matt playing too, but you can’t play two of them. Both those guys are giving us a really good solid part right now. We have to get a lot better in a lot of areas to make it all work out, but we’re getting there.”

Read More: Pete Carroll, Print  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
  • San Diego Dreamer

    When you have Garnett and Pierce in your lineup, you don’t have mediocrity. These pieces might work and at least provide us some good baketball to watch. If you haven’t noticed, even our losses have been competitive for the most part.

    • Fernjoe

      Pierce has been very inconsistent this year.  His shooting % has been awful this year like the 2 for 14 a couple of games ago.  In LA, he had 23 points in the first half but only 3 in the 2nd half when they really needed the points.  He can also be counted upon to throw away a few passes every game.  Garnett is showing his age and won’t be around much longer.  I think that the Celts erred in not getting something for them this week.  Their value is not going to get any better and their high salaries is going to prevent the Celts from getting any good FAs next year.

    • PATsFan#24TyLaw

      The Celtics aren’t Sacramento they will always provide “good” basketball to watch. If you want to went championships then you need keep pace with NBA flow of the game. In this case it’s teams with young guys who create scoring opportunities, precisely 3pt shooting assassins and big man more than just statue but not required for offense.

      If you are happy with just making the playoffs and being booted the first round then this is your team. But next year that won’t happen cause all the other teams in conference are getting better with younger guys. Older don’t get better, they get slower.

      I  lived in Boston for 30 years and not a Celtics fan but played basketball (BNBL, AAU and JUCO) and its easy to see that this team is playing on reputations + being underestimated by teams. Those two things never last for long and both are on last legs in Garnett & Pierce.

  • Soxfansince75

    good move to replace Collins.

  • dave1314

    Obviously Danny couldn’t get young stars for Garnett or Pierce—no sense trading them for average players—there are plenty of those available after the season is over.

    • Jed B.

      I am elated that Danny didn’t pull the trigger on any of the trades that the rumor mills were creating and the mindless talking heads were running with (ie, Felger) in their radio noise programs.

      Josh Smith is looking for a Max contract while not being a max player.  Thus, you get to have him for remainder of this season, then he’s gone, if you had traded for him.  I don’t think it is even necessary to comment on KG being traded for 2 average players.  KG signed a contract for a reduced annual rate, which warranted and required a no trade clause.  If he signed for his market value, the Celtics don’t have ability to sign deep bench.

      Keeping Pierce & KG is the rational & reasonable decision, notwithstanding the opinions of the whining & shrill talking heads.

      Look at the teams that have some chance of success in the second season/playoffs, where it comes down to defense and half court offense.

      You have just Miami, and maybe Celtics.  Chicago is a serious consideration if you have a healthy Rose, but that doesn’t look likely.  Nets, Knicks, Pacers, are either lacking in defense and/or half court offense.

      On the West Conf, you have Spurs, Thunder, Memphis(solid D), and maybe Lakers and Denver.  And, please, the Clippers are just window dressing.  Paul is a great talent, but Griffin is 60% free throw shooter for his career.  Oh, wait a minute, I forgot about hard nosed Odom!!? Enough said.

      • Xosob83

         Hey Jed B. Can you email me in at end of each season for the next 3 years tell me how the future hall famers have brought brought home NBA titles within that time span?
        Cause we all know that every hall of famer has brought his team championship.

        Typical non experienced sports fan who know and loves the names of players but has zero clue about the game itself.
        The make up of this team CAN NOT win a championship with your two most valuable players 30+ years old and player 90% of minutes per game combined with a bunch of spare parts minus the best young player on team and top 5 PG in entire league.

        You want to support and brag that your team has most hall of famers or won most NBA titles?

        • Jed B.

          Their chance of Celts winning is very low, i would agree with you, but do the rumored trades help you get any closer now or in the future?  No, most certainly not.  

          Look around the league at the teams that have greatest chance to win the title.  Their core are either through draft or free agent signings for the most part, and a little bit of luck.

          Miami – Wade (draft), Lebron/Bosh – free agents

          SA – Duncan/Ginobli/Parker (draft)

          Thunder – Durant/Westbrook/Ibaka (draft)

          The Celtics certainly got lucky when they lost out on the lottery, and didn’t get one of the top two picks, and ended up trading for allen, and then KG.  For example of bad luck, I refer you to the 30 years of high draft picks by the clippers which never got them out of the cellar until now.

          The NBA is more difficult to get the pieces necessary to compete for the title.  Making those rumored trades would not have got the Celtics any closer to the prize. 

          I will email you at the end of the next three season to tell you how many playoff series they have won and the number of championships they have won by holding on to KG & Pierce.  It is only fair that I include the number of titles J. Smith, Eric Bledsoe, and D. Jordan have managed to get for their respective clubs as well. 

          Are you still living in your mom’s basement?  Do I still send the email to your mom’s email account.  Get back to me, would you please.

        • Old Time Hockey

          You think cause you played juco ball that you have a clue of what you’re talking about.
          First off Rondo and Sullinger will be back next year and they will be the nucleaus along with Green. Trading Garnett for young guys to just get younger doesn’t guarantee anything. Bledsoe and Jordan are average ball players at best. Not to mention those we’re rumors and nobody even knows if LA would have ever done that trade. You keep the team intact one more year and then 2014 when those contracts expire(Garnett,Pierce)  you go sign somebody to go along with Rondo,Sully,Green, Bradley and hopefully Melo has matured in those two years and you have you’re center of the future.

  • Anonymous

    I think Danny has been eyeing the China League all along.  Nothing wrong with that either.  We’re talking about the 10th, 11th and 12th bodies anyway.

  • Go celts

    I don’t care who they sign, the question is if doc is going to play them?

  • DJKuulA

    Going for all these Chinese league guys is all part of a plot to build a Celtics fan base in China. Mo’ money! :) :) :)

  • Chris Kelley

    Great now we’re getting guys who’ve been out of the NBA.  Major failure not to get something for Garnett and Pierce.  Fear we’re in the worst possible place.  Not good enough to contend. Not bad enough to blow it up and rebuild.  Chris Kelley – Framingham.

  • Bruinman86

    Pretty safe bet the fans won’t call him just “DJ”.

  • MOLLY

    Hi Fans. This guy can play. I was stationed in China this past year for a couple of months and saw him play. He tore it up. Nice move by Danny to hold on to Kevin & Paul. We will face Miami again this year. Who else has a ghost of a chance to beat Lebron? Hold your horses Celtic Nation it”s going to be a wild ride the rest of the year. 

    • PATsFan#24TyLaw

       ummm I seen and played with guys who “can play” overseas but when they get to NBA it totally different story.
      You realized the basketball concept and game it totally different right? Watch the Olympics basketball and you will see guys who wouldn’t make it as D1 college starters playing as best for their country.

      Think of it like this:
      Take US best soccer players and stick on an A team for Italy or even Mexico see how they look playing with those clubs.

      • Schwank

        In other the words the NBA game has evolved to this star driven game.  It literally is the hardes to handicap so to speak and then determine how it all fits together.  Look at all the NBA teams …. everyone of those guys are good.  Fitting it together is an incredible challenge. 

  • coachjac30

    Well at least you played JUCO, BNBL and AAU basketball, you must be an expert on all things basketball….While I agree that trading pierce and garnett would have been the right thing to do, who were they going to trade pierce for, humphries/brooks/1st rd pick? How does that deal, coupled with KG to L.A, make you better now or in the future? You would have too many guards under contract as well as Humphries for another year at 12mil. DJ white is coming in here to be the 10th man, so i dont’ think anyone is expecting him to be a superstar (

    • PATsFan#24TyLaw

      This is exactly why I don’t post on message boards as well as understand why people hate Boston fans. LoL. I am an expert in the bio-sciences field.

       What do you gain by being better now? Is your better now with KG+PP = beating Lebron and heat??
      What is your definition of future?

      But here some of my “expert” insight to share:
      Playing basketball is like a clique. You think the guys you played with at some point at any level are better than guys who played against you 90% time. You trust your boy’s opinion of teammates or potential teammates over what stats, and talking heads. KG & PP are old in terms of basketball  playing mentality. A young guy would more like think those two would hold him back from being best than help him reach furthest potential.

      Basically you will see in the NBA that teams who win championship do so with the same “clique” or age group of players. Celtics won with Garnet, PP, Alan and supporting case in line with those guys:  The veterans were majority driving factor in wins and how the team played in the playoffs stretch and championsip. The 90% roster was between age 26-30.  All came up playing in same span or “clique”.

      Now the team is more driven how the younger “clique” performs Rondo, Green, Bradley, Sullinger (when he was healthy) adding Crawford. It’s a team with guys in 2-6 year of pro experience and totally culture than what won a championship 5 years ago.

      • coachjac30

        while i do agree with some of your points, it doesnt change the fact that if you trade pierce to the nets you get back humphries/brooks/1st rd..the 1st rounder would probably be in the 20′s. then if you trade garnett you have the following roster under contract next year: terry, lee, rondo, bledsoe, brooks, bradley, sullinger, green, melo, humprhies, jordan, bass…does this team give you a shot to win it all? does it give you a shot at the lottery? probably neither..
        as far as players in same agre bracket/clique, i agree..but unless you have 3 20something studs, why not make a run this year with guys that have won/been to an nba championship and see what happens?
        Also, remember that this is a business. In the owners minds, it probably makes more sense to ride it out with KG and Pierce and know for sure fans will come, then to go with a bunch of unproven guys (with no name value to them).

        Now if you told me that the Celtics were going to do these two deals and then somehow dump Humphries and Rondo, I would say absolutely.

        While I am by no means a boston homer, I still think that if this team gets on a run (similar to last year) they are the only team iin the east that have a slimmer of a chance to knock off the heat

  • Schwank

    So if this guy can play why is he over there?  Enlighten me.  For example the NFL has pretty much scoured the entire land for talent.  There’s literally no diamonds in the rough un discovered.  So what about this guy how is he under the radar? 

  • Peter Griffin

    Nothing like Boston fans, or those pretending to be. Turncoats

  • PuPirate

    We need Darko :/

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/King-Reno/100004521817124 King Reno

    CRAWFORD IN THAT SECOND UNIT IS GOING 2 LOOK NICE CRAWFORD , DA JET, WILLIAMS, GREEN, THEN WE GOT 3BIGS IF WE GET WHITE DAT WE COULD PUT IN. I’M JUST DANNY DIDN’T DO NOTHING STUPID LIKE TRADING DA WRONG FUTURE PIECE LIKE GREEN OR SHIPPING OF THE TRUTH OR KG FO NOTHING.

  • Billyt

    Not to sound negative but….Who plays the 5 on this team?!!!….i know Danny and Doc want to try and run people off the floor with this team, but you cant run unless you can rebound. This team gets killed on the boards…. Is Garnett and Fab Melo your only Centers on this team??? …..1st Round KO ahead. With Rondo out at least half the year next year, what the heck is Danny doing with this team? You cant win without your PG and without a Center. Blow the damn thing up and get some value while you still can. I just dont understand what direction this team is trying to go in. You cant patch a team together and hope for the best. This team needs youth! Danny will be in the same perdicament next year at the trade deadline….somoene please convince me im wrong here…

  • chris

    my opinion is it all comes down to what you want as a celtic fan..banner 18 or the nostalgia?….the honest truth is i dont think ive seen any poster say that this celtics team will win the championship this year soo it comes down to will you get any value for kg and paul or wont you…there old there gonna retire soon and then what…its not about bledsoe and jordan or whoever they would get either its about attaining assets to get a superstar when he becomes available….if the celtics had traded kg for bledsoe and jordan and pierce for some other young pieces then when a superstar becomes available the celtics will have the assets to make the move in the same way they did with kg and ray back in 08….The most recent example of a team doing this is houston when they took all the assets they assembled and used them to get james harden and thomas robinson while still maintaining cap space…. im not even sayin a trade needed to be done now but if kg and paul retire as celtics the C’s will be stuck in mediocrity for years to come unless they get very lucky in the draft…

    • coachjac30

      but what assets were you getting for pierce? Do you really think Humphries/Brooks/1st Rd pick are assets? Humphries is under contract next year for 12mill, more than garnet. At the end of the day, the celtics were offered very little for pierce, forcing them to not make the trade. We can all sit here and say if it were us we would deal him away, but I bet if we were in Danny’s shoes we probably wouldnt.

    • Cfn

      don’t agree, 30 Mil come off the books if they get Paul and Kevin to retire after next year.  You can add two Superstars to play with Rondo, Bradley, Sully and Green.  KG and PP are an asset for this year and the year after and they will still have a chance to win another championship next year, even they are old. They will mentor the young players; most likely, at least one of them Lee, Williams, or Crawford will catch celtic green fever and be a force.  We will not get stuck in the middle.

  • Cramer

    Well just wanted to say his actual career averages are 6.3 pts a game 3.4 rbs over five season that took him to play 124 games…..not an improvement over the front court the Celtics already have.

  • Camm960

    he has got to be better than collins

  • Ruchg86

    I have to say that the Celtics and Danny Ainge have done tremendously well in picking up Terrence Williams, Jordan Crawford, and now D.J. White.  Lou Amundsen could be a good fit, as well, if he can play like he did with Phoenix a few seasons ago.  He’s a hustler and a good rebounder, who can be a spark with his energy and activity.  And perhaps playing on a playoff team might bring the best out of him, especially playing with Kevin Garnett and playing for Doc Rivers and the Celtics tradition, etc.  Pretty good, and pretty lucky to bring in this type of talent to a depleted, injury-riddled team. 

  • Cfn

    Also, some of you are so pathetic when talking about people as objects in a trade.  Of course there is emotion involved and loyality.  If PP or KG goes then there goes a huge fan base that will not make owners happy.  There goes the heart and Soul of the team.  Some of you people are idiots.  PP will retire as a celtic, the organization wants this from the top.  In the long run it will be more valuable, but since you idiots have no vision then I would not expect much.  Also, don’t forget KG is playing pretty good and PP is a little inconsistent but he will bring it when it is needed, we all know that.

  • http://twitter.com/ryanm1405 Ryan Martins

    your really a moron u give Celtics fans a bad name because I know all of them aren’t as ignorant as you.. idiot

  • Yagru

    I agree with the other poster. you are part of this moronic group that is very vocal about, but doesnt understand how the nba works. go ahead and trade away 2 hall of famers for an inconsisnet question mark guard and another center who has verry little offensive game and cant shoot free throws.. all for the sake of building for the future. Asside OKC what other nba team has made it to the finals through building for the future?

  • http://profiles.google.com/craigzilla21 craig stoddard

    shut up. no one gives a flyin **** what you think

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/King-Reno/100004521817124 King Reno

     YA NOT A CELTIC FAN

  • DC

    clownish

  • PaulPiercinIt

     CUZ TRADING THEM WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER??? ARE YOU CRAZY???!!!

  • PATsFan#24TyLaw

     wait, so you don’t think they should build for future cause Pierce and Garnett will be around for…next 5, 4, 3 years??

    Or you think the future is Green, Melo, Sullinger “an inconsistent question mark forward and another center who has verry little offensive game and cant shoot free throws” along with the biggest injury risk to ever get drafted.

  • PATsFan#24TyLaw

     Thank you.

  • Yagru

    again, idiot, look at the teams that have recently been in the finals. Asside from OKC, who has had an amazing/lucky drafting run, who else has been rebuilt? If you want to watch a run and gun regular season then great by all means rebuild, but winning an nba championship is about who has the most well rounded star power out there… irregaurdless the Cs wont make it to the finals no matter who they have or dont have this year. Lebron is on a tear and is the best player in the world. You idiot rebuilders just dont get it. All the dumbasses wasting so much time with their stuped espn trade machine theories. The Cs are going to play this one out and see where next year takes them with Green and maybe a big free agent move. Unless there is another LBJ somehwere hidden in the league that you think the Cs can mold then it isnt going to matter. 

  • coachjac30

    as a former boston guy you should know that this isn’t an idiotic statement to say about fans not coming to games…for most of the early to mid 2000′s the celtics couldn’t give tickets away…if the team stinks, and there’s nothing to watch for, the fans will  not come to the games

  • coachjac30

    Pierce isn’t the asset, the pieces you would get for him are..so you’re telling me the team i mentioned above would be better than this one? No chance…The deal offered for him this year was not a good one. Lets see what next years trade deadline holds. If the celtics don’t have a shot next year, some teams may be willing to trade for him at the deadline because his salary comes off the books at the end of the year.

    As for the celts not being able to beat the pacers, you are out of your mind..the only team in the east they’re not the favorite against is the Heat…And while i don’t bleed green, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit if the C’s beat the Heat

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