By Julie Buehler
You probably won’t like what you’re about to read, because it’s too true, too real. But I’m going to present some facts and rather than become defensive, I’ll ask you to simply consider the facts and come to a fair conclusion on your own.
The Seattle Seahawks didn’t win the Super Bowl, they took a sledgehammer to Peyton Manning’s face for 60 minutes for the 48th version of the NFL’s championship.
FACT: The final score was 43-8, and the Broncos were the 2.5 point favorites.
FACT: It was the largest win by an underdog in Super Bowl history and by a city that was making only it’s 2nd Super Bowl trip in franchise history with players that had ZERO Super Bowl experience.
The Seattle defense was blazingly fast. It seemed like there were 13 players on the field rather than the 11 allotted by rules. But this defense has been great all season.
FACT: They boast the best scoring defense in the NFL, best in turnover margin and no team allowed fewer big plays. They have stars on their defensive line, linebacking corp and the best secondary in the NFL. While those aren’t technically facts, they are largely considered consensus among the NFL community and are as close to fact as you can get in a subjectively analyzed world.
Here are some more facts: The Seattle Seahawks lead the NFL in PED (Performance Enhancing Drugs) suspensions. This past November, the team cut ties with starting cornerback Brandon Browner as he stared down a year-long suspension the same week cornerback Walter Thurmond received a 4-game suspension.
FACT: Linebacker Bruce Irvin began the season on a 4-game suspension for PEDs. He had just come off a rookie season that boasted 8 sacks and while the team was questioned for drafting Irvin, he rewarded them in his first year. In his second year they won a Super Bowl.
FACT: In all, the Seahawks have had 7 players suspended for PEDs since 2010, when head coach Pete Carroll took over and one player, Richard Sherman, won an appeal of his positive test because of a leaky collection container. That’s nearly double the amount of players suspended due to substance policies than any other team since 2010, according to research from ESPN’s Steve Martinez conducted using STATS PASS.
And I get it, basking in the glow of the Super Bowl win, it’s a difficult time to ask some tough questions like, “How much of the Seahawks defensive speed is linked to PEDs?” “How much of their secondary’s ability to run with receivers is linked to PEDs?” or “Does head coach Pete Carroll have institutionalized PED usage within the franchise?”
Most people want to ignore the questions and call those asking them “haters” or claiming “sour grapes” are the motivation behind asking such questions, but hold off on doing that for a moment because there’s a larger point to be made.
While the head coach at USC, Carroll led that program to unprecedented success and while there were whispers of PED usage at USC, it wasn’t until his players got to the NFL that they were caught. Brian Cushing and LenDale White were both suspended for PEDs.
In 2009 there were reports that Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing had tested positive for PEDs heading into the draft. That report was refuted by the league and Carroll, but then some months later, Cushing did test positive and after being named 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year, served a 4-game suspension to start 2010.
What Carroll did at USC was impressive and so impressive that he brought his coaching staff from USC to Seattle when the opportunity opened up for him. While interviewing him during Super Bowl week, he told me he wanted to keep the “same vibe” in Seattle that was built at USC, he included his strength and conditioning program in that comment and desire to ensure continuity. In all, 9 of the Seahawks 23 coaches from USC are now in Seattle. Those included in the move: Chris Carlisle, head strength and conditioning coach and Jamie Yanchar, assistant strength and conditioning coach. Now, it’s not uncommon for assistant coaches to move with their head coach. In fact, that is very common, what is unique about this situation is the fact that Yanchar had never coached anywhere else but USC. He had been there from 1990-2009, when the move was made. Carlisle had been at USC from 2001-2009. So as we watched the Seattle Seahawks defense perform so much faster and stronger than the Denver Broncos, you could point to the special strength and conditioning program they implemented as a key factor in the disparity between the two teams. It was night and day difference.
So is it possible that the same successful strength and conditioning program that made USC a national powerhouse is the same program that, when translated to the NFL, sculpted one of the greatest defenses in NFL history out of 3rd, 4th, and 5th round draft picks?
Is it possible that multiple key players on Carroll’s championship teams have been suspended for PED usage and that’s all just a coincidence?
Sure. It’s possible.
Plausible? Not so much.
The problem is the NFL does not even test for a key component that makes NFL players bigger, stronger, faster, and healthier than ever before, HGH.
And the NFL also doesn’t punish the franchises for multiple offenders to ensure coaching staffs and others who benefit from players’ improved performances are not secretly condoning PED usage.
Instead, they make millions and billions off the players’ speed and freakish athleticism and turn a blind eye to the cheating in the system.
Just 3 months ago, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks were seriously questioned about the institutional control they had over their players’ uncommonly high PED suspensions and the team, from GM John Schneider and Carroll, vehemently denied knowledge or condoning of PEDs.
Now they are being celebrated as genius and gutty. You can believe that if you want, I’m sure some of it is true. But the facts are the facts, no belief is necessary to recognize that.
There’s no denying the ramifications from lack-luster testing and a head-in-the-sand mentality permanently damaged the game of baseball. I’m hoping the powers-that-be don’t put the NFL through the same tumult, because it’s unnecessary.
We have a world championship team that deserves a lot of credit for a tremendous season and the Seattle fan base that’s been waiting for this championship for decades deserves to be rewarded. Cleanly. Unfortunately, I’m afraid what it took for Seattle to win a Super Bowl was more than just 60 minutes of flawless football.
But until the NFL stiffens its rules and testing, questions will remain, what’s unfortunate is that more don’t want to hear the answers.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 3-6 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 3-6 pst at www.team1010.com or watch the show on Ustream.
