If you’re ever looking for some unbridled enthusiasm, Seattle coach Pete Carroll is always a good place to start. As far as NFL coaches go, he’s about as, “super-pumped,” as you’ll find, and he makes no attempt to hide it. When it comes to talking about player injuries, Carroll tends to either go full on optimistic or just downright secretive (and possibly deceptive and against the NFL rules, but I promise I’ll get to that another time). Something about that optimistic side cracks me up. He has all the confidence of a drunk frat bro insisting that this is, indeed, the “best party ever.” Such was the case recently when Carroll was speaking about NT Brandon Mebane’s recovery from a torn hamstring muscle. In an interview on ESPN Seattle 710am, Carroll said this:
I don’t know what that timeline is for him to be back to full speed, but yet he’s way ahead of schedule.
So Carroll knows that Mebane is way ahead of schedule, but he does not know what Mebane’s rehab timeline is? I’m not the only one that sees a problem with that, right? This is the equivalent of measuring your progress on a roadtrip without the aid of maps, GPS, or really any basic geographic knowledge. It’s like the driver saying, “I don’t know where we are or where we’re going, but we must be getting close…. we just passed an Arby’s!” In the lengthy history of players and coaches saying that someone’s rehab is, “ahead of schedule,” this one will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks Pete!
