It’s been more than two years since the Seattle Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots after Russell Wilson threw an interception on the Patriots’ one-yard line.
Apparently, the Seahawks still aren’t over it.
Over at ESPN, reporter Seth Wickersham detailed a rift within the Seahawks’ roster, with Wilson and coach Pete Carroll on one side, and Richard Sherman and other defensive players on the other side.
According to Wickersham, Sherman still hasn’t moved on from what he believes was a terrible decision by Wilson and a failure by Carroll to hold Wilson responsible for it.
Really, all sides come out looking bad. Sherman, for one, seems like he needs to chill out. It was a bad throw, but it’s also time to move on. This kind of stuff isn’t helpful.
He’s famous in the building both for being a teammate you can go to with any personal problem and for pointing fingers.
“He’s always looking at what other people are doing,” says a former assistant coach who has had many talks with him. “He’s made it personal. It’s your fault we’re not winning. It wears guys thin.”
On the other hand, Wilson seemingly tried to absolve himself of blame by “moving on” before other were ready. Wilson is known for being robotic, and the way he brushed off that interception would probably rub anyone the wrong way.
Wilson is an extremist too. He claims to flush bad plays right away, speaking of letting go so confidently that it seems rehearsed — and probably is, considering Wilson has been practicing news conferences since age 7. Wilson has said that he, like Carroll, made peace with the Butler interception immediately, chalking it up to the plan of a higher power. That spring Wilson chartered a trip for the entire team to Hawaii. He later framed it to Sports Illustrated not as a therapy session but rather as a forward-looking exercise. That made no sense. After all, the story detailed the hours players spent on the trip at the edge of a cliff, rehashing the play, airing grievances. Wilson, in the vein of Carroll, doubled down by saying that he’d throw to receiver Ricardo Lockette again.
Eventually, everyone needs to move on so the Seahawks can move on. Whether that means Sherman has to find another team is another story.
[ESPN]