How one midseason meeting saved the Seahawks’ season

PHOENIX — Sometimes, even within the closest of families, what needs to be said is not and when it is time for talk there is only silence.

If that were the case with the Seahawks, they would not be at Super Bowl XLIX.

"It was very important for us to get things off our chest,'' receiver Doug Baldwin said.

If not for a perfectly timed, clear-the-air session called by coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks might not be a day away from attempting to do what no NFL team has been able to accomplish in a decade — win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Seahawks fell to 6-4 after a 24-20 loss to the Chiefs on Nov. 16 and it was not only the naysayers on the outside wondering if last season's champions would be able to make a successful run at another title.

Carroll did not like what he saw and, even more troubling, he did not like what he felt. His Seahawks in 2013 were cohesive and together — and that was not the vibe with this team. It was more than Jamaal Charles shredding the vaunted Seattle defense for 159 yards or Russell Wilson's offense turning the ball over on downs on the final three possessions. Something was not right, and Carroll knew it.

"I think Coach Carroll did a great job of sitting us down and having all the guys in the room,'' safety Earl Thomas said. "When you communicate with an open heart, solutions come.''

A few days after the loss, Carroll called in 10 of his core players. Those in the room say what went down was heated, emotional, at times difficult and often brutally honest. A few days later, the NFC West-leading Cardinals came to town and the Seahawks bludgeoned them in a 19-3 victory that reestablished the balance of power in the division. The Seahawks haven't lost since.

All the talk led to plenty of action.

"I think it was a huge impact,'' Baldwin said. "For us to be in a room together and openly and freely express our concerns about the team and not hold anything back. I thought that was crucial for our growth as a team. Guys in that room — we clash at times, but I think being able to get everything off the table, it brought us closer."

Pete Carroll and Richard ShermanPhoto: Getty Images

Baldwin was in the room. So were Thomas, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor from the "Legion of Boom" secondary. Wilson was in the room, as were Marshawn Lynch, linebacker K.J. Wright and defensive end Michael Bennett. No one offered detailed specifics about what was said, but it is clear the discussion was spirited and Thomas was the one to add fuel to the fire, perhaps too much so.

"I caused more of the chaos than anything,'' Thomas conceded. "I communicate very well on the football field but not in life. I don't want to make this about me. I'm glad we got it fixed.''

Said Bennett: "I think sometimes you have to look in the mirror and face it. Sometimes you are ugly. You have to look in the mirror and say, 'Damn, I'm ugly.' Sometimes we looked in the mirror and was like, 'Man, we do have some stuff we can improve on,' even though everybody thinks that we don't. We came back and started to improve on things that we needed to improve on."

Wilson recalls he felt his team was "so close to being unbelievable again'' but "we had to talk about some stuff.''

Stuff?

"We took away any selfishness,'' Wilson said. "Now, we're not the type of team that's very selfish at all, but we had to take away any selfishness — worrying about stats, worrying about this or that. We had to focus on being selfless for one another, to play for each other. We kind of talked about the idea of 'Today I play for you,' and that idea.''

The idea for the meeting was hatched by Carroll and the results led to another Super Bowl ride.

"There's no question that the change took place the night we got together and the days to follow,'' Carroll said. "They took the thought, they took the messaging and delivered it to the club. I told them I will do our best to keep us on topic, but you guys are going to have to embed the thoughts that are going to give us a chance to adjust at this point and they did a remarkable job. It's the essence of playing with the team. That it's not about you, it's about the people around you and you give yourself to them. That's really what has taken place."

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