Saturday was a rough one for the Seahawks, who lost 36-20 to the Falcons in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. It was an especially tough day for defensive end Michael Bennett, who berated a reporter in the locker room after the game. That incident flowed from his tête-à-tête with Falcons offensive lineman Ryan Schraeder that saw Bennett engaged in some antics after the whistle that had his teammate Kam Chancellor talking after the game.
Michael Bennett’s teammate had a very rational take about him losing his cool
Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor urged his teammates not to waste their energy on shoving matches after the whistle.
“Fighting the other team outside of the whistle, that’s when it takes away energy and it drains you,” Chancellor said in the locker room after the game, as reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “That stuff will drain you. You exert enough energy throughout the whistle.”
Bennett and Schraeder nearly came to blows after Devonta Freeman’s third-quarter touchdown put the Falcons ahead 26-10. Bennett ripped Schraeder’s helmet off — something he’ll probably get fined for — while the two players wrestled on the ground after the whistle.
There were no flags thrown on the play, but the two players had to be separated by Chancellor.
”Yeah, that’s part of football. I was angry, but I’ve got to keep my composure to win the game,” Schraeder said Saturday night. “You just let it go and keep battling between the whistles. That’s what we do. We don’t do the after-whistle stuff.”
Incidents like this one have been a problem for Bennett in the past too.
Last season against the Bengals, Earl Thomas nearly returned an Andy Dalton interception the length of the field for a touchdown, but Bennett’s cheap shot on the quarterback negated the play.
Bennett was kicked out of practice in August for fighting with his teammates. He blamed that on dirty play. He went after Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews earlier this season for a so-called dirty play, a legal cut block that caused a knee injury that sidelined Bennett for five games.
Other Seahawks have had similar problems with their tempers. There was an incident against the Buccaneers that involved Tampa’s center accusing one Seahawks player of spitting in his face. Against the Packers, cornerback Jeremy Lane shoved Randall Cobb on a kneeldown at the end of the first half.
Seattle lost both of those games.
“One thing I told the defense is that every game that we argue, every game where on the field it was a bunch of arguing, trying to fight the other team, we lost,” Chancellor said. “I told them that humility sets in. You’ve got to remain poised. You’ve got to remain humble throughout all the battle.”
It’s hard to pin those losses or Saturday’s loss to the Falcons on incidents like that. But Chancellor’s sane take on the issue is a good reminder that pushing and shoving after the whistle doesn’t do anything to help and potentially gives the Seahawks one more self-inflicted wound to overcome.
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