Speaking of “adjustments”, your over 2,400 consecutive days of writing not only one, but many times two or even three posts in a day, have 100% been YOU writing.
Not a “guest writer” when you want the day off, like perchance some others out there.
Regarding the players listed. We’re in Pacific Northwest, where not every home as indoor plumping (to the surprise of the East Coasters), I don’t think hardly any Seahawk gets top billing. If Williams couldn’t last year with his stats and a 90 yard INT return, guys like Murphy aren’t likely getting a lot of recognition. JSN yes. Darnold. But if not leading stats at end of year in prime categories, so-called pundits don’t recognize players from “small markets”. All we have to do is see preseason rankings….
I'm rating our o line Cross/Zabel 1a/1b, Sundell, Lucas, then Bradford. Olu not rated because small sample size. JSN is the best, the only other player pushing him would be Egbuka imo.
When the Seahawks cut ties with PC (who remains my favorite coach in any sport ever, with possible exception of Don James) there was wide spread belief they should get the hottest OC, I think it was Ben Johnson that year. I hoped for Mike McD for a couple of reasons: I had watched his defense shatter the Seahawks and just about everyone else; the glory years of the franchise belong to PC and the Legion of Boom and I wanted a repeat; but most importantly was that Shanahan and especially McVay are two of the best offensive coaches in the NFL. Our new offensive coach was likely to be no better than 3rd best in the division, but having the best defensive coach in the NFL gives the Hawks a chance to attempt to counter their offenses. I'd rather put the number 1 defense against the number one offense and roll the dice than put the number 3 offense against the number 1 offense. (All numbers for argument not actual rankings, perhaps. I'm not the in depth researcher that SJ or some of you others are.)
Two great ones there is PC and Don James! I was sad to see PC leave but time.
I was very happy when we hired our guy in MM but would have been happy with Ben Johnson as well. Those were the only two coaches I wanted to see coach the Hawks and JS knocked it out of the park with his coaching choice.
This seems to be the week where the Sam Darnold doubters all resurface. After receiving praise for much of the early season for his excellent work, this week, no doubt due to the Rams being the opponent, all I'm seeing and hearing is how poorly he played 'when games mattered most'. I hope he obliterates the Rams.
Does Lamar Jackson get this shit? Does Dak Prescott? Does Zach Allen? I mean, the list is pretty long of QB's who have great statistical seasons, and then run headlong into failure in the playoffs. Winning playoff games is hard. There are far too many professional critics out there.
Just go out and do what you've been doing Sam. No more, no less. That'll be enough. Hopefully Klint will have one hell of a plan for Sunday.
"I’m not worried about in-game management or coaching in general. The Seahawks could have the best coaching staff in the league for 2025."
Agree, Agree, Agree!
Coaching and making the most of players in the right positions is making the difference!
Drake Thomas is excelling in his 3rd year because of MM's coaching.
I’m sorry but if you play cornerback in the NFL and you don’t get picks, you’re not elite; it’s a skill and it matters. The highly-respected Brian Baldinger just said this same thing about Sauce Gardner and called him “overrated”.
Gardener had 2 int's and 20 deflections in his rookie year and got DEF Rookie of the year.
Riq Woolen had 6 interceptions and 16 deflections in the same rookie year. Same number of breakups, but turned 4 more into interceptions and one for a pick 6. And he didn't get DEF rookie of the year? Oh, I forgot.... he's from Seattle.
For all the prognostication that the coming Rams vs Hawks game will be very close, Bobstradamus (who is spot on...well, almost never) predicts a Seahawks blowout! No chess match between Coaches to see here...just a smash mouth QB gobbling (nutt'n but mutton) Defense and Sam throwing dimes. GO HAWK'S ROAD WARRIORS!
Personally speaking, imo...when coaching high school football for a small school it meant we didn't always get time with the players during the game because almost all of them all played offense, defense and special teams. So halftime adjustments meant getting more feedback from players and coming up with plans to counter what was sometimes hard to see from the sidelines during the game. In game changes are the mark of great coaching. Waiting till halftime to make changes is some small school or JV type procedure, no college programs and certainly no one in the NFL can afford to wait that long.
I'm surprised the Seahawks defensive stats aren't worst than they are, given the opposition is basically playing 4 down football for the entire second half because they are so far behind. The opposition is trying to score as many times, and as quickly as possible. We're trying to wind the clock, and reduce the snaps for as many vets as possible. Halftime adjustments? No. Just a change of context.
Devon Witherspoon is a damn fine CB. 90+ grade against the run, 84 grade overall (take PFF for what it's worth). I don't notice anyone going after him with any regularity, or success. Sure he gives up some catches, every CB does. But he's top 10-15 in the league, and top 5 against the run. And that's not factoring in all the things MacDonald gets him to do that most CB's aren't doing. He's a force, and he probably has one of the higher football IQ's on the team. I'm a fan. If you offered me Sauce Gartner even up, I'm turning that down every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I like this perspective, maybe he’s a new type of corner. A hybrid of sorts, stats more typical of a safety. If that is true, just like Sherm spawned the revolution of tall corners, we will see other teams shift this way.
I would be curious to see if Belichick’s Pats had any guys like Spoon. I loved how he would run 3 safety coverages, instead of Nickel. Probably not the exact same system, but maybe some parallels.
I dunno. We were pretty healthy for big parts of last year and they didn't come much then either. They come in bunches, and Macdonald is still working with them on marrying the rush with the coverages, so hopefully we'll start catching some mistakes.
JSN is elite. He is the best WR in football and one of the best players in the game, IMO.
And I am not a JSN homer.
When we drafted JSN I didn't love it but liked it.
When we changed our offense for JSN I hated it (In 2023 Waldron changed from Tight End heavy personnel into more 3-WR sets because of Tyler and DK then JSN. Whoops. Where you look at the best offenses in football they are running 2 and 3 TE sets).
In 2024, I thought JSN was helped from DK being on the field who was drawing coverage.
Going into 2025, I thought JSN would not be dominant without DK (or someone else) drawing some coverage.
Boy, was I wrong.
The complete opposite has happened. Without DK, JSN has been allowed to shine on every level of the defense.
I thought he was around 15th best WR coming into this season. No where near a bum but also not the best. But, I thought he could get to top 10 with a good year.
One half of the first game I ripped up everything I thought I knew about him, threw it out the window, and started fresh.
With a fresh set of eyes I saw the best WR in the game and one of the best players. Simply put. He is always open. He is always in the right spot. He runs every type of route and effects the defense at every layer.
Get ready for a record setting contract this offseason Seahawks fans.
I think Sam Darnold is really good, deserves to be in the MVP conversations and can also get better. There are two things he needs to do to get to that elite level:
1) is just time. Keep stacking good/great games and perform well in the biggest moments. Elite players are consistent. Just keep it up
2) Cut down on turnovers. SD has the same number of turnovers as Geno did last year up until this point. But SD has a significantly better infrastructure around him. He throws the ball far less. His first read is often open. His pass protection is great. There is no reason to have some of these turnovers. And two of them came with the game on the line.
As good as SD has been, he has also been similar to Derek Carr through New Orleans first two games last year. The Kubiak system is crushing it but he is also doing a great job driving the car.
Nice post. Noting your “misses”. And while maybe you were a little lower on JSN than most, I think most, especially here, likely did think same about JSN and having DK to be accounted for. Absolutely awesome isn’t it that JSN is doing things like Largent did when he was the NFL elite.
As I read more and more comments on various threads, I'm more and more convinced that a vocal number of fans/posters make up for their lack of knowledge with an abundance of self-confidence. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect on full display.
Yeah ... Following the Vikings last year was eerily similar to following the Geno Smith experiment here. There were a bunch of fans jumping at every chance to get rid of Darnold. Some fans just couldn't wipe the stigma off the player and were waiting for him to turn into a pumpkin. So, when those last two games hit, there was very little support for SD. Many saw that as a reversion to who he actually was.
Having one buffer year or having gone through the Geno experiment, this fan base and staff has been significantly different to SD and it is paying off so far.
It will be interesting to see how the Colts situation works out. But I would think that the Colts won't make the same mistake the Vikings did. I am expecting Daniel Jones to get a reasonable contract offer from them this offseason.
“Do the Cardinals really think that Gannon is ever going to win a division with Mike Macdonald, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan? Ever?”
Just the other day I read about what a low rent organization the Cardinals are. Even if it does lead to the same conclusion, the question might be: “Do Cardinals fans really think that a team owned by the Bidwells is ever going to win a division where the other owners are Jody Allen, Stan Kroenke, and the York family? Ever?”
Will I be peeing in anyone's cheerios if I ask how long Kubiak will be with us? I can see Frisco looking at him in any post-Shanahan discussions. OC to HC is the trend right now. I can also see the security of hiring a fired head coach to replace Koob if (when) he leaves us. Coaches like McDaniel and Daboll are solid bets for sticking around 4 years, using Dan Quinn as an example.
I'm not overly concerned. I don't think he's going anywhere. He'll be offered interviews probably, but I think he'll be back. He's an easy sell to football people, but harder to ownership.
JS would have to agree to any exit, as I can't see him signing any Coach for less than 2 years. McDaniel would be a huge temptation, but even that move would require Klint failing big, as Jody will insist on the Family and Loyalty values be maintained. Guys are coming here and committing to staying by buying homes and such. They want JS to be certain they do not wish to leave, making comments to emphasize the point. I really believe Seattle has become the peach in the eyes of players and coaches right now. Mike McDaniel would do well to take a year off and let things clear up, as the man looks like a true genius at OC. (Two MM's? Arghh!) Big win for us and a big win for Koob if he gets to inherit a solid team. He will be moving on sooner than later unless he says different. Shanahan has done his best and I suspect a 10 year rotation will be the norm in the NFL HC positions. Expect Jody's phone will start ringing in Week 19.
Thnx! I did not know that. I would think McDaniel will be in highest demand as an OC. Tempting...especially if we could be sure he'd be around for many years.
Yes, you are certainly peeing in my Cheerios with that question. Unfortunately, there are already rumors linking teams with open coaching positions to KK. If the offense keeps balling out, it is possible he will move on sooner than later.
I like your mention of McDaniel but Daboll.... I feel a little nauseated just thinking about it.
Folks really don't understand how much different going from coordinator to HC is! This explains why so many good coordinator turn out to be failures at HC.
Here is a really good video. give it a look. Tre Wingo from ESPN. Anything longer than 5 minutes and it starts to lose my attention. This was only 15 minutes and I paid attention the whole time. Just stumbled on to it, don't follow him or ESPN but I was glad to find it. Repost from late yesterday.
The Move That Changed Seattle — and the Stat Nobody’s Talking About
Speaking of “adjustments”, your over 2,400 consecutive days of writing not only one, but many times two or even three posts in a day, have 100% been YOU writing.
Not a “guest writer” when you want the day off, like perchance some others out there.
It’s a big deal dude, take a bow.
Regarding the players listed. We’re in Pacific Northwest, where not every home as indoor plumping (to the surprise of the East Coasters), I don’t think hardly any Seahawk gets top billing. If Williams couldn’t last year with his stats and a 90 yard INT return, guys like Murphy aren’t likely getting a lot of recognition. JSN yes. Darnold. But if not leading stats at end of year in prime categories, so-called pundits don’t recognize players from “small markets”. All we have to do is see preseason rankings….
I'm rating our o line Cross/Zabel 1a/1b, Sundell, Lucas, then Bradford. Olu not rated because small sample size. JSN is the best, the only other player pushing him would be Egbuka imo.
When the Seahawks cut ties with PC (who remains my favorite coach in any sport ever, with possible exception of Don James) there was wide spread belief they should get the hottest OC, I think it was Ben Johnson that year. I hoped for Mike McD for a couple of reasons: I had watched his defense shatter the Seahawks and just about everyone else; the glory years of the franchise belong to PC and the Legion of Boom and I wanted a repeat; but most importantly was that Shanahan and especially McVay are two of the best offensive coaches in the NFL. Our new offensive coach was likely to be no better than 3rd best in the division, but having the best defensive coach in the NFL gives the Hawks a chance to attempt to counter their offenses. I'd rather put the number 1 defense against the number one offense and roll the dice than put the number 3 offense against the number 1 offense. (All numbers for argument not actual rankings, perhaps. I'm not the in depth researcher that SJ or some of you others are.)
Two great ones there is PC and Don James! I was sad to see PC leave but time.
I was very happy when we hired our guy in MM but would have been happy with Ben Johnson as well. Those were the only two coaches I wanted to see coach the Hawks and JS knocked it out of the park with his coaching choice.
This seems to be the week where the Sam Darnold doubters all resurface. After receiving praise for much of the early season for his excellent work, this week, no doubt due to the Rams being the opponent, all I'm seeing and hearing is how poorly he played 'when games mattered most'. I hope he obliterates the Rams.
Does Lamar Jackson get this shit? Does Dak Prescott? Does Zach Allen? I mean, the list is pretty long of QB's who have great statistical seasons, and then run headlong into failure in the playoffs. Winning playoff games is hard. There are far too many professional critics out there.
Just go out and do what you've been doing Sam. No more, no less. That'll be enough. Hopefully Klint will have one hell of a plan for Sunday.
"I’m not worried about in-game management or coaching in general. The Seahawks could have the best coaching staff in the league for 2025."
Agree, Agree, Agree!
Coaching and making the most of players in the right positions is making the difference!
Drake Thomas is excelling in his 3rd year because of MM's coaching.
I’m sorry but if you play cornerback in the NFL and you don’t get picks, you’re not elite; it’s a skill and it matters. The highly-respected Brian Baldinger just said this same thing about Sauce Gardner and called him “overrated”.
Gardener had 2 int's and 20 deflections in his rookie year and got DEF Rookie of the year.
Riq Woolen had 6 interceptions and 16 deflections in the same rookie year. Same number of breakups, but turned 4 more into interceptions and one for a pick 6. And he didn't get DEF rookie of the year? Oh, I forgot.... he's from Seattle.
McDonald is turning Riq around this year also.
For all the prognostication that the coming Rams vs Hawks game will be very close, Bobstradamus (who is spot on...well, almost never) predicts a Seahawks blowout! No chess match between Coaches to see here...just a smash mouth QB gobbling (nutt'n but mutton) Defense and Sam throwing dimes. GO HAWK'S ROAD WARRIORS!
Personally speaking, imo...when coaching high school football for a small school it meant we didn't always get time with the players during the game because almost all of them all played offense, defense and special teams. So halftime adjustments meant getting more feedback from players and coming up with plans to counter what was sometimes hard to see from the sidelines during the game. In game changes are the mark of great coaching. Waiting till halftime to make changes is some small school or JV type procedure, no college programs and certainly no one in the NFL can afford to wait that long.
Good point, Scott.
I'm surprised the Seahawks defensive stats aren't worst than they are, given the opposition is basically playing 4 down football for the entire second half because they are so far behind. The opposition is trying to score as many times, and as quickly as possible. We're trying to wind the clock, and reduce the snaps for as many vets as possible. Halftime adjustments? No. Just a change of context.
Devon Witherspoon is a damn fine CB. 90+ grade against the run, 84 grade overall (take PFF for what it's worth). I don't notice anyone going after him with any regularity, or success. Sure he gives up some catches, every CB does. But he's top 10-15 in the league, and top 5 against the run. And that's not factoring in all the things MacDonald gets him to do that most CB's aren't doing. He's a force, and he probably has one of the higher football IQ's on the team. I'm a fan. If you offered me Sauce Gartner even up, I'm turning that down every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I like this perspective, maybe he’s a new type of corner. A hybrid of sorts, stats more typical of a safety. If that is true, just like Sherm spawned the revolution of tall corners, we will see other teams shift this way.
I would be curious to see if Belichick’s Pats had any guys like Spoon. I loved how he would run 3 safety coverages, instead of Nickel. Probably not the exact same system, but maybe some parallels.
We have yet to turn up interceptions. Probably a casualty of all the Starter injuries?
I dunno. We were pretty healthy for big parts of last year and they didn't come much then either. They come in bunches, and Macdonald is still working with them on marrying the rush with the coverages, so hopefully we'll start catching some mistakes.
1983 AFC Championship game Hawks beat Raiders twice in regular season then lost to them in the playoffs
We are now 7 and 2, could have easily been 9 and 0. The defensive depth on this team is amazing. JS is the GM of the year!
JSN is elite. He is the best WR in football and one of the best players in the game, IMO.
And I am not a JSN homer.
When we drafted JSN I didn't love it but liked it.
When we changed our offense for JSN I hated it (In 2023 Waldron changed from Tight End heavy personnel into more 3-WR sets because of Tyler and DK then JSN. Whoops. Where you look at the best offenses in football they are running 2 and 3 TE sets).
In 2024, I thought JSN was helped from DK being on the field who was drawing coverage.
Going into 2025, I thought JSN would not be dominant without DK (or someone else) drawing some coverage.
Boy, was I wrong.
The complete opposite has happened. Without DK, JSN has been allowed to shine on every level of the defense.
I thought he was around 15th best WR coming into this season. No where near a bum but also not the best. But, I thought he could get to top 10 with a good year.
One half of the first game I ripped up everything I thought I knew about him, threw it out the window, and started fresh.
With a fresh set of eyes I saw the best WR in the game and one of the best players. Simply put. He is always open. He is always in the right spot. He runs every type of route and effects the defense at every layer.
Get ready for a record setting contract this offseason Seahawks fans.
I think Sam Darnold is really good, deserves to be in the MVP conversations and can also get better. There are two things he needs to do to get to that elite level:
1) is just time. Keep stacking good/great games and perform well in the biggest moments. Elite players are consistent. Just keep it up
2) Cut down on turnovers. SD has the same number of turnovers as Geno did last year up until this point. But SD has a significantly better infrastructure around him. He throws the ball far less. His first read is often open. His pass protection is great. There is no reason to have some of these turnovers. And two of them came with the game on the line.
As good as SD has been, he has also been similar to Derek Carr through New Orleans first two games last year. The Kubiak system is crushing it but he is also doing a great job driving the car.
Can't wait for Sunday. Should be a great game.
Nice post. Noting your “misses”. And while maybe you were a little lower on JSN than most, I think most, especially here, likely did think same about JSN and having DK to be accounted for. Absolutely awesome isn’t it that JSN is doing things like Largent did when he was the NFL elite.
Unlike Minnesota, this Team wants Sam here next year. Funny how that bias can display itself.
A lot of Viking fans are still saying that ditching Sam was the right move despite all evidence to the contrary.
As I read more and more comments on various threads, I'm more and more convinced that a vocal number of fans/posters make up for their lack of knowledge with an abundance of self-confidence. It's the Dunning-Kruger effect on full display.
Sam hosts the Vikes here on Nov. 30. My bet is it's just another game to him. Ouch. They are wiped off his desk.
Yeah ... Following the Vikings last year was eerily similar to following the Geno Smith experiment here. There were a bunch of fans jumping at every chance to get rid of Darnold. Some fans just couldn't wipe the stigma off the player and were waiting for him to turn into a pumpkin. So, when those last two games hit, there was very little support for SD. Many saw that as a reversion to who he actually was.
Having one buffer year or having gone through the Geno experiment, this fan base and staff has been significantly different to SD and it is paying off so far.
It will be interesting to see how the Colts situation works out. But I would think that the Colts won't make the same mistake the Vikings did. I am expecting Daniel Jones to get a reasonable contract offer from them this offseason.
I trust your eyes, Mike.
Some interesting comments/stats at the end if you have not seen this already:
https://www.fieldgulls.com/post/-DCcCA1KacIz
Based on this, when SD is bad, he’s still giving the team a chance by not turning it over (unless he has a lot of fumbles in there).
That would make sense why MM & JS would like him. Let the D win it by not putting them in bad spots.
Seems I recall McVay opening with 9 consecutive run plays the last time he and MM met. Rams scored.
“Do the Cardinals really think that Gannon is ever going to win a division with Mike Macdonald, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan? Ever?”
Just the other day I read about what a low rent organization the Cardinals are. Even if it does lead to the same conclusion, the question might be: “Do Cardinals fans really think that a team owned by the Bidwells is ever going to win a division where the other owners are Jody Allen, Stan Kroenke, and the York family? Ever?”
I think that question hit the nail on the head. The same question applies to Woody Johnson and Jimmy Haslam for their respective divisions.
Got to add Owner, GM, HC , Jerry Jones to the list.
Is Brady in Vegas to undo the Al Davis influence?
Tom Brady owns 5% of the Raiders. He's famous and smart, but 5% doesn't exert much influence overall.
Mark Davis? Al Davis is in the HOF. But then so is Jimmy Johnson. In any case, Brady has his work cut out for him.
Al Davis is also in the ground. For a while now.
Davis is interred in the Chapel of the Chimes:
https://oakland.chapelofthechimes.com
It’s an amazing place—kind of a bucket list item for taphophiles.
That is a great question... I guess we will see in time.
Will I be peeing in anyone's cheerios if I ask how long Kubiak will be with us? I can see Frisco looking at him in any post-Shanahan discussions. OC to HC is the trend right now. I can also see the security of hiring a fired head coach to replace Koob if (when) he leaves us. Coaches like McDaniel and Daboll are solid bets for sticking around 4 years, using Dan Quinn as an example.
I'm not overly concerned. I don't think he's going anywhere. He'll be offered interviews probably, but I think he'll be back. He's an easy sell to football people, but harder to ownership.
JS would have to agree to any exit, as I can't see him signing any Coach for less than 2 years. McDaniel would be a huge temptation, but even that move would require Klint failing big, as Jody will insist on the Family and Loyalty values be maintained. Guys are coming here and committing to staying by buying homes and such. They want JS to be certain they do not wish to leave, making comments to emphasize the point. I really believe Seattle has become the peach in the eyes of players and coaches right now. Mike McDaniel would do well to take a year off and let things clear up, as the man looks like a true genius at OC. (Two MM's? Arghh!) Big win for us and a big win for Koob if he gets to inherit a solid team. He will be moving on sooner than later unless he says different. Shanahan has done his best and I suspect a 10 year rotation will be the norm in the NFL HC positions. Expect Jody's phone will start ringing in Week 19.
Why would JS need to agree to any exit of KK to HC? He can't stop it by NFL rules if it is a promotion.
Thnx! I did not know that. I would think McDaniel will be in highest demand as an OC. Tempting...especially if we could be sure he'd be around for many years.
The Pitt Steelers seems like a likely opening.
Yes, you are certainly peeing in my Cheerios with that question. Unfortunately, there are already rumors linking teams with open coaching positions to KK. If the offense keeps balling out, it is possible he will move on sooner than later.
I like your mention of McDaniel but Daboll.... I feel a little nauseated just thinking about it.
Folks really don't understand how much different going from coordinator to HC is! This explains why so many good coordinator turn out to be failures at HC.
True that. It is a risk but one never knows how things will turn out until giving it a go.
In JS we trust...
Yes, thank goodness for JS.
Here is a really good video. give it a look. Tre Wingo from ESPN. Anything longer than 5 minutes and it starts to lose my attention. This was only 15 minutes and I paid attention the whole time. Just stumbled on to it, don't follow him or ESPN but I was glad to find it. Repost from late yesterday.
The Move That Changed Seattle — and the Stat Nobody’s Talking About
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg0HJ4EsCqQ
Great vid! Thanks,
A great 15 minutes!
Good find. Enjoyed this. Thanks
Thanks for the link, IdahoFred. This was well worth the watch.