The Seahawks lost a key part of their defense in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Packers when cornerback Jeremy Lane was ejected from the game.
Officials said Lane threw a punch at Packers wide receiver Davante Adams while the two men were tangled up during an interception return by defensive tackle Nazair Jones. Replays showed Adams with a healthy grab of Lane’s facemask but no clear evidence of a punch, which left questions for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll about more than his team’s poor offensive performance when he met the media.
Carroll said he’d seen a replay of the play on his phone and was “disappointed” that the officials didn’t do more to confer before throwing Lane out. He also added that he was “anxious” to hear the league’s comments on the call.
“I didn’t see the punch at all. ... It’s just such a drastic thing to do that I wish they would have had cooperation from more than one official because it’s such a big call,” Carroll said in his postgame press conference.
Jones returned the interception for a touchdown, but it was called back due to an illegal block in the back penalty against defensive end Cliff Avril. The call was a borderline one and Carroll didn’t say if he thought it was a bad one, but said Avril didn’t need to block Aaron Rodgers and leave the door open for a call.
Carroll was also asked about a non-call on a throw to tight end Jimmy Graham in the end zone in the second half of the game. Carroll said he saw “three guys jumping” on Graham, but that officials told him the ball was “clearly overthrown.” Carroll said he thought it hit the white paint at the back of the end zone, but the team settled for a field goal on a day that would end without a touchdown in a 17-9 loss.