Pete Carroll to Tempt Fate, Punt to Devin Hester in Playoff Game
Maybe Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is just talking here, because I can’t believe he would be this dumb. The Seattle coach, whose 7-9 team advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs after upsetting the Saints last weekend, has a rematch with the Bears in Chicago Sunday. The Seahawks actually beat the Bears at Soldier Field in week six despite allowing a punt return for a TD by Devin Hester late in the game. Apparently that wasn’t enough to keep Carroll from kicking to the game’s finest returner:
“We’ve got to kick the ball to him,” Carroll said on “The Afternoon Saloon” on ESPN 1000. “There’s nothing we can do about it. “We want to try to minimize his factor. … We’ll do the best we can,” Carroll said. “You have to be very disciplined about the way you play him. He’s just too good. And he’s so explosive.”
Actually, there is something you can do about it — not kick to the man! On punts, you can boot the ball out of bounds without being penalized. On kickoffs, try to put it through the back of the end zone (easier said than done). I just can’t believe that after being burned by Hester once already that Carroll would give him the chance to repeat his success. I won’t believe sneaky Petey until I see it on Sunday.
