'Thunder and Lightning' quote from former USC coach Pete Carroll used disingenuously

There is a good chance of former USC coach Pete Carroll turning things around quickly with the Las Vegas Raiders. For many in the media and among football fans in general, they will look for any chance they can get to slander the legacy of the Trojan great and downplay his coaching prowess.

The latest instance of this comes from coach Carroll's comments on his current running back room. While speaking with reporters, as shared by NBC Sports, the Las Vegas head coach talked about giving Ashton Jeanty and Raheem Mostert a heavy workload out of the backfield.

He gave a comparison of the RB room currently with the Raiders to that of when he was at USC. Coach Carroll stated, "I’m not relying on one guy. Thunder and Lightning back in the day, whatever it takes to get it done."

As should be seen by this quote, coach Carroll is far from calling Jeanty or Mostert the next LenDale White and Reggie Bush combo. Instead, he is simply pointing to a proven blueprint from the past that worked for him before.

This is far from his calling the two NFL running backs the Las Vegas version of the iconic USC backfield. Phrased differently, coach Carroll is reminding people of how his teams would often use a multi-back approach in the run game. Specifically naming the Bush-White tandem does not equate to his calling the LV running back duo an equivalent in that regard whatsoever. 

Naturally, social media was filled with ignorant comments that criticized coach Carroll for a lack of originality and made fun of him for being a 73-year-old coaching on the NFL sidelines, as if that was something that shouldn't be admired and appreciated by all football fans alike.

Coach Carroll would never say that for anyone other than the USC RBs

Out of everyone, coach Carroll would be the last person aside from Bush and White themselves to directly call anyone the next 'Thunder and Lightning.' He knows and experienced firsthand how special that running back room was and how they staked their claim in football history.

Just once, it would be nice for others to discuss USC members past and present at face value and remove their terribly hidden agendas.