So what’s the secret of the Seattle Seahawks?
They cheat.
Not in a Spygate way or with any other secret methods. As explained by Kevin Clark and Jonathan Clegg of the Wall Street Journal, the Seahawks engage in blatant pass interference on a regular basis, accepting that a penalty will be called from time to time but realizing that the officials won’t call it every time.
“If you think they’re going to be called and expect that to be the solution to the problem, you’re going to be sadly mistaken,” former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride told Clark and Clegg. “They’ve perfected the art.”
Gilbride added that the Seahawks engage in pass interference on nearly every passing play.
“They just seem to not care about the rules,” Giants receiver Louis Murphy said.
They surely care, but the Seahawks understand that the officials aren’t inclined to slow the pace of the game to a crawl by throwing flag after flag for interference or defensive holding.
“They look at it and say, ‘We may get called for one but not 10,’” FOX’s Mike Pereira, a former V.P. of officiating, told Clark and Clegg.
The Seahawks led the league with 13 pass interference penalties in 2013. They also had 10 defensive holding calls. If they’re indeed committing fouls on every passing play, that’s a small price to pay for 13 wins and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Absent an adjustment by the officials from last weekend’s wild-card round, which featured plenty of uncalled contact on receivers, the Saints should expect more of the same on Saturday.