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Pete Carroll: Eliminating PED use a '24/7' commitment

The Seattle Seahawks know they have a problem with performance-enhancing drugs. Since the suspension of defensive end Bruce Irvin, the organization has held several meetings (some run by players, some run by coaches) about the issue.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows it's a topic that is not going away.

"We have extraordinary commitment to what we do on the football field, with our training and our preparation and all of that. Our commitment has been called on to expand to 24-7, that's what it amounts to," Carroll told USA Today on Thursday. "Everyone is involved in this."

Unless the Seahawks send staff members (or television cameras) home with players every night, there's only so much they can do. Five Seahawks have been suspended for PED use since 2011, and general manager John Schneider chalks up some of the errors to youthful mistakes.

"It's just not what people think," Schneider said. "I'm not trying to diminish any issues or anything, but every guy -- they're young, and they need life skills coaching. They're 21- to 25-year-old guys, they think they have all the answers, but they don't."

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.