Pete Carroll is one of several prominent NFL figures who have expressed concern over the condition of playing surfaces this season, and he was not happy with the field in Germany, either.
Players had a difficult time keeping their footing during Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Munich, Germany. Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin tweeted his frustration over the situation on Monday morning.
“The NFL made us fly 10 hours to play on a terrible a– field like that s—s Krazy,” Irvin wrote (edited by LBS for profanity).
Both Carroll and Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said the playing surface presented challenges, though they noted that both teams had to deal with the slick conditions. During his weekly appearance on 710 ESPN Radio in Seattle Tuesday, Carroll called the playing surface in Germany “a nightmare.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says on @SeattleSports radio show today that the field in Munich was "a nightmare'' because players never knew when footing might give way. But notes again "it's equal… both sides had to go against that.''
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) November 15, 2022
Carroll later told reporters that the NFL needs to “keep working” to make sure the field conditions in European venues are safe for American football.
“I don’t know soccer to know why they would like the field like that,” Carroll said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I think the topic is kind of on right now on fields in general, and we just like to keep getting better at it, and understanding how we can make the game safer, and the game better in all ways.”
The NFL is facing a lot of pressure to do away with artificial turf, as the belief is that would help prevent serious non-contact injuries. Carroll spoke about that topic earlier in the year. One star quarterback threw his name into the discussion this week as well. The playing surface in Munich was natural grass, but apparently it still was not up to NFL standards.
