It’s fun to watch Pete Carroll and see the head games that he employs. Remember when he got pissed that Mark Sanchez declared for the pros early and he said Sanchez wasn’t ready? Not only does he look bad for that especially now that Sanchez looks really good, but he also realized how wrong he was and he started backtracking. He then explained his behavior saying he was “testing” Sanchez. I’m not sure who bought that because it was Carroll clearly trying to cover his tracks. Well Carroll used a similar tactic this week after suffering the upset loss to Washington (now you know why he was so pissed Sanchez was leaving). He tried to diminish the achievement by Washington by pumping them (specifically Jake Locker) up:
“I’m not saying [Locker] played the greatest game ever against us,” Carroll said chuckling. “I think the guy from Texas did. But I just think he’s one of the really, really fine complete athletes. I don’t know why I’m blowing him up all the time, but I just really like the guy.”
“I think this guy is the best quarterback we’ve played against,” Carroll said. “I thought Vince played the best game I’ve ever seen anybody ever play.”
Well to answer what Carroll’s thinking, here’s the logic: pump up Locker and Washington and then the loss no longer seems as bad. His goal is to get everyone to repeat his logic. Now don’t get me wrong here — Locker is a fine quarterback who is a huge part of Washington’s success, but to call him the best guy they’ve played against? Aside from the talented Kellen Clemens and Dennis Dixons they’ve faced, Aaron Rodgers to me would easily be the best quarterback they’ve played against. From what I remember, Rodgers led Cal to an upset win over USC and the next year took them down to the wire at the Coliseum, completing 20-something straight passes in the game. Like I said, he must have a short memory.
