The Seahawks are cheaters, if you have not heard. Four of the ninety players on the roster have been suspended for PEDs. One of them, John Moffitt, had a prescription that was not properly registered, and was a rotational guard last season. Another, Winston Guy, played a total of 17 snaps in 2012. A third, Bruce Irvin, admitted to Adderall usage during the off-season which has absolutely no impact on performance during the year. And last, Brandon Browner, was suspended for four games last year when the Seahawks beat those four opponents by a total of 170-43. This success of this Seahawks team has about as much to do with performance-enhancing drugs as Jim Harbaugh’s Super Bowl loss had to do with the refs. That did not stop Harbaugh from insinuating there is a Vast Northwest Conspiracy concealing the seedy underbelly of Seahawks football.
Pete Carroll is the Russian trainer from Rocky IV shoving needles in the arm of every player, cackling maniacally behind closed doors while striking the Monty Burns, “Egggxcellent!” pose with his hands. Russell Wilson has to be juicing. How else could he play so well with such obvious physical limitations? Don’t even get me started on Jon Ryan and Clint Gresham. It would be convenient for Harbaugh if all that was true. He could sleep so much better knowing that cheating was the reason his team was humiliated 42-13 last year. Do not underestimate the impact of that game on Harbaugh’s psyche.
Not only was it the worst loss (-29 points) of Harbaugh’s NFL coaching career, but it was his worst loss since September of 2007 when his Stanford Cardinal lost to Arizona State 41-3. Harbaugh had also dominated Carroll. He had become so accustomed to beating Carroll that he had grown even more smug than usual after the 49ers squeaked by the Seahawks in San Francisco. He infamously taunted the Seahawks bus after that game, honking his horn and waving. This is a man with a god complex. He either wins, or somebody cheated. Players took PEDs. Referees missed a call. Someone else is obviously to blame, because it clearly is not his fault.
In many ways, it is a shame that Harbaugh is such petty and petulant man. He is a brilliant coach, who has his accomplishments tainted by his ego and immaturity. Pride, envy and wrath are all deadly sins. Any or all of them could be Harbaugh’s downfall.
Without them, he very well might be able to focus his attention on figuring out what his team did that allowed the Seahawks to rush for more yards (176) in that game than the 49ers had given up during his tenure. It was the most points allowed since he took over as coach. His team only had six points until a garbage time touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Seattle’s special teams had scored more points than Harbaugh’s offense up to that point. Games like that cause a psychotic break with a guy like Harbaugh. His reality will not allow the events that transpired that evening to be true. He will continue to grasp at straws to explain how it happened, and will fully expect to march into Seattle on the NFL’s second week and win.
Another Seattle victory would be send him spinning. Another Seattle blowout could lead to some time in a well-padded room. You cannot entirely fault Harbaugh for fighting the inception of the thought that the Seahawks may be the best team in football. Nearly everyone outside of Seattle, and many people in Seattle, still are struggling to accept the certain quality of the team practicing down in Renton. Seahawks and Super Bowl are not often uttered in the same sentence. They are now. Should you find yourself at a victory parade in early February, be sure to keep your eye out for a man muttering to himself about PEDs and cheating. It is likely to be the coach that recently got his ass kicked again by the Seattle Seahawks.