John Carlson: ‘A Good Start to the Year Despite That First Quarter’
September 14, 2009 – 12:55 pm by Jimmy Shapiro
SRI continues to work in new writers. This post is courtesy of Tim Gunter from 790 the Zone in Atlanta.
John Carlson. Have you heard of him? Me neither. Well now I know all about him. He started for four years at tight end for the University of Notre Dame and he is in his second year with the Seattle Seahawks. He was a fantasy stud this week with six catches for ninety-five yards and two touchdowns. For you fantasy degenerates, that was 18-24 points in most leagues. He is your prototypical tight end. He blocks exceptionally well and runs routes and catches passes like a wide receiver. With the promotion of Jim Mora Jr. to head coach and the hiring of Greg Knapp as the new offensive coordinator, it comes as no surprise to me that he did so well. Typically when quarterbacks that are transitioning to a new offensive system, they tend to favor their tight end as their go-to target while they get more comfortable with the system and what the team is trying to accomplish. Now don’t tell anyone that you have never heard about him. Go out and try and trade for this guy in your fantasy league because he is going to be a fantasy stud.
John Carlson joined KJR this morning to talk about the Seahawks first win of the season, on his touchdown catches, and on the Michigan vs. Notre Dame game from last Saturday.
On how he feels after winning his first game:
“It feels great. It’s a good start to the year despite that first quarter that the last caller was eluding to but we got the ‘W’ and happy to go into game two 1-0.”
On what was going on in the passing game in the first quarter:
“I think you guys accurately addressed the last caller’s question. There area couple of plays that maybe Matt saw something differently missed a bit on his throw or maybe one of the receivers screwed up a bit. Those things happen in football. There are going to be mistakes. The offense isn’t always going to click. This is a team game. Defense played really well and kept us in it. And ultimately we turned it around on offense and made some plays.”
On his first TD reception and long catch down the middle of the field:
“We were in our goal line personnel and defensively they kind of packed it in a little bit. It was a play-action pass and their defense sucked up on the run and no one really covered me on the play. It was a pretty easy catch. In terms of the play across the middle of the field, it was just a play that was another play-action pass. A naked where Matt faked left and rolled out right. (Host: Are you the primary receiver in that play?) Well it depends on the coverage but Matt has a pass in the flat that he can get the ball out quickly if he needs to. If that is covered, he can throw it to me over the top. Again, no one really covered me. It seems to be a common theme. He got me the ball and it was kind of funny. I thought there was a guy behind me that was going to hit me pretty quickly. So I put the ball high and tight right away.”
On his second TD catch:
“We were in a trips-set with three receivers to the left and one to the right. It was just an all go play where the inside receiver, TJ Houshmandzadeh, he ran across the safety’s face and when he did that, the safety went with him. Again, leaving me uncovered and Matt made a nice throw and it was pretty easy getting in from there.”
On the Michigan vs. Notre Dame game from this past weekend:
“Ugh, a heartbreaker. I will say this, I know Coach Weis will be criticized for throwing the ball down the field during that four-minute drive at the end. If you complete that ball then he is a hero. He is going for the jugular and whether or not it was a smart play I don’t know. I like the fact that he was going for the win. He wasn’t playing not to lose, he was playing to win. (Host: And how did it end up for him?) They got beat. It’s easy to say that when we are sitting on our couches watching the game and not making plays.”
Listen to John Carlson on KJR in Seattle with Mitch in the Morning
Tags: John Carlson, John Carlson scores two touchdowns, Seahawks beat Rams 28-0, Seattle Seahawks
