As a Pro Bowl wide receiver, D.K. Metcalf is one of the best players at his position in the NFL. But that doesn’t mean the Seattle Seahawks wideout is exempt from criticism from his head coach Pete Carroll.
The Seahawks’ most recent challenge came last Sunday, when the Cincinnati Bengals handed them a 17-13 defeat, sending Seattle to a 3-2 record.
At one point during the game, Metcalf was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty, costing his team 15 yards. It was his fifth penalty of the season, one of which also included a 15-yard taunting penalty. These are both flags that were entirely avoidable had Metcalf kept a level head. It likely doesn’t help that both of Metcalf’s avoidable penalties came during a Seahawks loss.
Like the Seahawks, Metcalf is far from perfect, but that doesn’t mean Coach Carroll can’t try and help his team eliminate mistakes.
On Wednesday, Carroll spoke about the team’s penalties and how Metcalf needs to do a better job controlling his emotions on gameday.
“We put all penalties on the board in Monday’s meetings, and the guys that have the most are on the top. He was up there with another guy. We all have to acknowledge it and recognize what our issues are, whatever they are, and it happens to be in this case. He’s getting called. He knows. He’s got to clean it up and we have to make sure that we’re aware of how they’re calling stuff. He’s a very aggressive player and very physical and it stands out and he draws attention because of that. We’ve got to be cleaner. He knows it and he’s got to get it done.”
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll on D.K. Metcalf
That’s a direct hit to Metcalf. But Carroll wasn’t calling out his star player for any other reason than to try and help the Seahawks succeed.
Except, Metcalf didn’t seem to appreciate the gesture and basically brushed off his coach’s antics when asked about his penalties later on.
“It’s just a board to me, I’m not going to change the way I play. If you look at the penalties, there’s a taunting, unnecessary roughness, facemask, holding, and I think it was one more in there. I’m doing pretty good if I look at it and judge myself knowing how I play and just try to be consistent and have clean hands or whatever the case maybe, but I’m not going to change who I am as a player or a person.”
D.K. Metcalf on Coach Carroll’s penalty board
Metcalf’s penalties are for the previously mentioned taunting, offensive facemask, illegal blindside block, offensive holding, and unnecessary roughness so far this season. Even though his coach wants him to cut down on mistakes that hold back the offense, Metcalf doesn’t seem to care, citing how he’s “not going to change the way” he plays.
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