High marks for Carroll

Given the opportunity to articulate what they’d want in a head coach, most players would say similar things. They’d covet honesty, fairness and intelligence above all else. Dictatorial is a quality they’d do without. Players basically desire a coach they can trust. That probably explains why Seattle’s Pete Carroll is held in such high regard.

A survey recently conducted by ESPN.com of 320 players revealed that Carroll is far and away the most appealing coach to play for these days. Carroll received 72 votes, or 23 percent of the final tally. Those numbers are more revealing considering that the second-ranked coach on that list, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, received only 44 votes, and the third, Denver’s John Fox, garnered 25.

— Jeffri Chadiha, ESPN.com

Where’s the outrage?

In a town where Alex Rodriguez has been dubbed ... “Damned Yankee” by the back-page headline geniuses for his presumed steroid non-innocence, you’d think NYC might have saved a bit of that moral outrage for the incoming Seahawks. Of course, that did not happen.

The Seahawks’ list of PED offenders includes Bruce Irvin (four-game PED suspension), Richard Sherman (victoriously appealed four-game PED suspension) and Brandon Browner (four-game PED suspension), to name a few.

Why is this not a bigger deal? Because Seattle plays football, so a) We don’t care, or b) The few who do care do not cloak their opinions in moral outrage on behalf of the game.

— Jen Floyd Engel,Foxsports.com

Play through it

At issue is the concept that the biggest game of the year should be played solely under conditions that do not noticeably impact the game – such as a slippery field or a wind-bent upright. To believe such a thing however, is to believe that the absence of such things don’t also impact the game.

If your offense is reliant on quick, skilled passing, then calm conditions can be ideal. What about a team that is also built – say, with a grind it out running attack – for conditions not suitable for passing? Some argue warm, windless conditions allow the skill of the players to shine. Isn’t there skill in stuffing the run or finding a way to win through the air even as flakes fall?

— Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports