GREEN BAY, Wis. — Pete Carroll thinks the officials got it wrong by tossing cornerback Jeremy Lane from the season opener for throwing a punch — and the Seattle Seahawks coach pulled no punches in declaring just that after a gut-wrenching loss.

Lane was ejected on Seattle's first defensive series for a personal foul during a runback of an Aaron Rodgers interception by defensive tackle Nazair Jones. Lane tangled with Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams while blocking. After they landed on the turf, it appeared that Lane shoved Adams in the facemask with his forearm, drawing the flag from referee John Parry’s crew.

“I didn’t see the punch at all,” Carroll told reporters after the Seahawks' 17-6 defeat. “I’m disappointed that play would have such magnitude on the game. You guys have seen it more of it than I have. I just saw a little thing on the telephone after the game.”

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Jones, a 6-5, 304-pound rookie, rumbled to the end zone on what might have been a 64-yard return, but the touchdown was nullified by two post-possession penalties. On top of Lane’s infraction, Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril was flagged for an illegal block as he shoved Rodgers from the side.

Carroll admitted that the illegal block was “unnecessary” but was more perturbed that Lane’s ejection forced the Seahawks to go virtually the entire game with a backup plan for the secondary. Rookie Shaquill Griffin, slated for nickel back duty, wound up playing Lane’s right cornerback post opposite Pro Bowler Richard Sherman.

It sounds like Carroll will soon seek an explanation from the NFL’s new director of officiating, Alberto Riveron.

“It’s just such a drastic thing to do, that I wish they would have had cooperation from more than one official to talk about it and figure it out, because it’s such a big call," said Carroll. "But that’s what they saw. One guy saw it, and that’s what they went with. I’m anxious to see how the league tells how that went and what should happen there.”

Carroll was also miffed by a non-call in the third quarter, when tight end Jimmy Graham was seemingly knocked off course in the end zone as he leaped for Russell Wilson’s third-down pass from the 3-yard line. After the pass fell incomplete, the Seahawks settled for a field goal. A penalty would have set them up at the 1-yard line with a chance to re-take the lead.

“I saw three guys jumping on him,” said the Seattle coach, “and they said that the ball was clearly overthrown.”

The football hardly sailed out of reach. It landed on the white paint bordering the back of the end zone.

Said Carroll: “I think it hit the white, but that’s what I heard.”

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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell

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