Patience, Seattle

One year later, I can now hear "Bittersweet Symphony" without becoming anxious or cranky. Certainly not at the Seahawks. The fact that they're a bunch of tough, crazy misfits who enter a stadium to orchestral music instead of 1980s metal makes me smile every time I think about it. No, I'd get cranky at the maddening circumstances surrounding Superbowl 49.

At this point it is bittersweet, though.

This past season ended up being pretty great even though it wasn't supposed to be (there wouldn't have been anything to forgive if they had not made it to the playoffs), but the coming season is going to be awesome. 

If I'm right, this season was never intended to be a full-throttle year. Sure, Wilson and everyone else wanted to win because that is part of what makes them great. They'll never take the easy way in favor of the better way. They want to do the best they can for the fans that love them. Sure they want prove that the loss to the Patriots was not definitive. That isn't even a question.

Remember the way Carroll treats Marshawn Lynch? He gives superhuman effort, then gets to rest on the sidelines for a bit. Also, we've all noticed Russell Wilson's "baseball slide" and his penchant for self-protection. He is one of those rare individuals who somehow manages to give 110% even though that's statistically impossible... it is what they mean when they say he "makes something out of nothing"... but he is very careful not to put himself at risk. This isn't just Wilson's idea. He and Pete Carroll have had conversations about it.

All effort is not created equal. There is a clear boundary for Carroll and his Seahawks between constructive vs destructive effort.

In order to get the best out of people, Carroll pushes them to be better but doesn't burn them out. Everything in nature has periods of rest, which is important because during these periods the plants, animals etc. go through processes they can't perform while fully active. For example, you can force plants to bloom out of season in a hothouse but it isn't good for them because they're not gathering the nutrients and recuperating the way plants should be allowed to do.

People who grow commercial hothouse flowers don't care about that, though, because they just want a big bright bloom. Similarly, most coaches would force their players to "bloom" all the time, which uses them up quickly. Remember the brilliant but woefully short blooming of RG3?

Carroll isn't like that. Lynch is a microcosm but the same principle applies to the team as a whole. We all want to see our boys return to the Superbowl and would love to see them win. It will come. Patience, Seattle. 

I'll bet you I'm right about this as an intention. Oh, sure, I have a couple of concerns about the mechanics of how it will work-- keeping different players, their roles evolving and so on--  but we can discuss those another time.