SEATTLE — The last few days in the sports world have been riddled with mistakes. We saw our share in Seattle.
Some strange things happened at Lumen Field Sunday during the Seahawks' win over the New York Giants.
Let me preface this by saying we all make mistakes, especially in the live TV business, where you can't go back and fix them.
Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez was the analyst in the broadcast booth for the Seahawks-Giants game. Seahawks kicker Jason Myers kicked a ball that was deflected, before fluttering over the crossbar for a field goal.
Sanchez said, "that thing looked like a Chuck Knoblauch knuckleball."
Later in the broadcast, Sanchez called himself an idiot, realizing Knoblauch played second base during his MLB career and wasn't a pitcher.
This is the same guy who infamously fumbled a football after running into a teammate's butt, so viewers may have just chalked it up as a "Sanchez," much like fans of The Simpsons learned to describe such blunders as a "Homer."
Later in the same game, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was penalized for a sideline infraction. The referee pulled his own Homer when he announced to the crowd and the broadcast audience a penalty charged to "the head coach of the Seattle Mariners."
No one was more relieved to hear such a verbal misstep than Sanchez, because that line superseded his knuckleheaded Knoblauch comment.
A reminder again that as much as live television can be fun and exciting, it can be equally humbling in a hurry.
Which brings me back to my original point - mistakes come in all sizes.
For those in our business who ripped the Seahawks publicly for their perceived mistakes in the off-season - those same experts are looking pretty foolish right now.
I'm talking about those in the national media who read an article here and there or listen to a 15-second sound bite and think that's enough to form an educated opinion about a team they cover only through the internet.
Well, there's one thing about the internet. It's like Father Time - it's undefeated.
Someone recently created a montage of all the analysts who absolutely obliterated Pete Carroll, John Schneider and the entire Seahawks organization for their moves and lack of moves leading into this season.
That verbal montage was full of words like pathetic, absolutely horrible, no hope. Those same experts said the Seahawks' record would be 2-7 in early November, and the team would finish the season with four or five wins at most.
Wrong and wrong.
This is not an indictment of all those people and their opinions. That's how they make a living.
But man, at least let the team or the players you're railing against actually take the field and have a chance to prove themselves.
Patience.
It's just a good way to approach life. How many times have you looked at a situation or an individual and said, "This will never work."
Then someone gets in your ear and says, "How do you know if you don't at least give it a chance?"
Pete Carroll gave his players a chance to prove themselves, even though he admitted this week, he was surprised by how long it took for his defense to figure things out.
He put his trust in defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt.
In the meantime, Pete took all the daggers from the media early in the season and stood firm.
Just like the organization did in the off-season, amid massive criticism over the Russell Wilson trade and the failure to sign a big-name quarterback, opting instead to let career backups Geno Smith and Drew Lock battle it out.
The team knew something you can't get from an internet story or a random soundbite.
It's why Pete Carroll is 18th on the all-time list of NFL wins.
And It's why even on a Sunday afternoon, when an NFL ref announces to the world he's penalizing the coach of the Seattle Mariners for a sideline infraction, they're only words to Pete.
Just like the words he heard about his team all offseason, they mean nothing.