The Seattle Seahawks head to Pittsburgh this weekend to face off against the Steelers to open their preseason. With a new-look offense and defense, coach Pete Carroll and the rest of the staff have a lot to sort out before the first game of the regular season.
“It’s the first chance for us to go live now,” Carroll said after the walkthrough Thursday. “We understand that we go through camp and practice, that we get great tempo and speed, but it’s not the same thing when you finally crank it up and go. We have to make that next step, introduce our guys to full-speed football, the young guys getting on an NFL field and realizing that it’s just football. There is a lot of stuff that we have to accomplish that has nothing to do with how we play. It’s getting through the process and all.”
The team left Thursday afternoon after practice to get a head start on the weekend and to acclimate to the time change. Carroll and the veterans are well-versed in the drill but the rookies and new players have a lot to learn.
“Traveling is really important, teaching them how to travel,” Carroll said. “This West Coast to East Coast trip has been something that we have really taken a lot of consideration in how we do it and we have been successful at it. I think that there is a lot to understanding the rhythms and all of that, so we are going to practice it. That’s why we are leaving early, and we want to be right when the time comes.”
The Seahawks vs. Steelers contest is set to kick off Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT. Find everything you need to know here.
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