Seattle Seahawks are like a home remodel

New York Times NFL blogger Andy Benoit compares our Seattle Seahawks to a never-ending home remodeling project.

“You might see men hauling in new carpet one day. A few months later, there’s some scaffolding near the front porch, but you can’t tell what’s being fixed. Sometime after that, the left side of the house gets a new coat of paint. But cold weather hits, so painting the right side is delayed, then, eventually, forgotten. At some point it dawns on you that the owners of this house might not have a plan.”

“From the outside, a directionless remodeling project can look the same as a purposeful remodeling project.” Instead of driving by this remodeled Seahawks house, Benoit goes inside with his analysis.

It’s an interesting analogy and article. Benoit predicts the Seahawks will finish 3rd in the NFC West. “The Seahawks have made a few strides to correct their myriad weaknesses, but there’s still plenty to do. An improved run game would make the offense serviceable, but it’ll take more than that to overcome the feeble pass defense,” he writes.

Do you agree, or do you believe the Hawks will do better than that?

I asked Benoit what he thinks of Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.

“I like Carroll overall,” Benoit says in an email. “I think he knew about what was going on at USC, but his positive attitude and positive impact on so many people carries weight.”

Am I the only one who’s still disappointed that Carroll laughed it off when one of his stars, Golden Tate, swiped maple bars from a closed Top Pot Donuts shop? I guess I am.

Benoit says Carroll’s “humor prevented it from being a big deal.” Plus Top Pot, which has a deal with the Seahawks, turned it into a marketing opportunity so Benoit thinks it “worked out well for everyone in the end.”

Pete Carroll has a new motivational book coming out next week (July 13th) called Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion, co-written with Yogi Roth.

Carroll talked most recently about his “win forever” concept in May, before the Los Angeles Marathon. I’ve marked this YouTube link so it starts with Carroll’s speech.

Carroll’s advice to those running in the marathon applies to anyone taking on any challenge, he says.

We’re always going “head to head with your all-time greatest opponent.”

“One that knows you so well, one that knows everything there is to know about you and one that can make or break you one that has trash-talked you more than you’d like to admit,” he says.

The opponent, of course, is you.