My other comment was on puzzle games and I totally failed to address the subject at hand. Like all of us, I have only an idea how good the Seahawks are now. Gun to my head, I'd wager slightly over .500 like the last couple of years if the season started Sunday. Thankfully it doesn't and we will make quite a few more moves before September.
I'm about to say something that might be very unpopular on a Seahawk fan forum, so please skip the rest of my comment if you would rather not read a critical take on our new head coach, Mike MacDonald.
I saw one comment that said that they got fired up hearing Mike Mac talk. Man, how I wish I did. I feel the exact opposite. I find him the most boring interview I've ever listened to -at least among those talking about a subject I am most interested in. He's the polar opposite of Pete both in age amongst his peers, and charisma behind a mic. And I understand that communication skills are only a part of things. But holy cow this guy is a tough listen for me. At the very beginning of the most recent Seahawks Nest podcast, host Nathan Santo asked, "Is there more of a charisma vacuum among the NFL coaches than this guy?" and I realized it's not just me.
Pete had an amazing way of protecting the team, and yet still giving just enough information -with the caveat "if he wanted to." He could tell you that Jamal Adams was being benched before a game and had left the stadium after being informed of that without actually saying those words or remotely throwing the player under the bus. It's a crazy delicate line to walk, and he didn't even have to pause to choose his words. I feel like Mike can barely tell you Byron Murphy didn't show up in the best shape without it coming across like something that could cause resentment . But we all know that as long as the team is winning, neither we the fans nor the players will care. But NFL seasons are long. Too long, IMO. There are going to be rough stretches. I'm curious as to how he will resonate with the players over these.
Earl Thomas said he would run headfirst into a train for Pete Carroll yet his last moment of a Seahawk was flipping him off on the sideline from a cart, so maybe this matters far less than I think. And you could argue that Pete cultivated TOO fun of a culture and when the talent was no longer all-world, it culminated with lazy efforts and smoking cigars after being eliminated from the playoffs. On one hand, I would think that cultivating a fun place to work would benefit you bringing in players to a geographically remote city from where the vast majority of NFL talent grew up. On the other, the "fun boss" is rarely rarely the one who gets the most production out of his workforce. Time will tell where Mike MacDonald falls on the scale, and how much the players buy in.
But you don't change your personality, at least not drastically as an adult. Mike Mac is who he is. A fantastic D coordinator and hopefully an equally fantastic head coach. I have my doubts though. The history of the league is full of wunderkind coordinators who weren't good fits as head coaches, and on down the ranks. I'd argue that Ken Norton Jr was a home run LB coach hire and a terrible defensive coordinator. There are a lot of hats an NFL head coach has to wear. You have to juggle the coaches under you, the players (many of whom make more money than you), the ownership, the GM, the media, and the endless hours of actual football work. Pete was not an outlier to be known to sleep in his office for 4 hours and get up and start it all over again.
You know how they say that the average NFL career is 3.5 years? The average NFL head coaching tenure is even shorter. Odds would suggest that our Seahawks won't become a powerhouse in the next 2 seasons, and that's about all a coach can expect to get before finding himself on the hot seat. Mike Mac is inheriting a pretty darn solid core of a team, and he was among my top 2 candidates to get the job. And I HOPE he wins games, playoffs and Super Bowls. I really do. I am a Seahawks fan. I hope my concerns don't come across like I think the guy won't do well because he's not fun (for me) to listen to. A lot of people were sad to get rid of Russ and it turned out to be the best move we made 2 years ago. Maybe this is the same. Maybe Pete's size 13.5 Air Monarchs won't be as hard to fill as I fear. And I turned 55 last week and I probably resist change more than I should. I'll miss the youthful energy, gum chewing and swagger and being a winning team year after year that were a constant in this organization. I won't miss the "can you win the game in the first quarter" speeches, because you can, and the Ravens did against us last season! But I don't want us to be the Mariners. It just feels like uncertainty to me now.
Compared to Schneider, he’s Bob Stelton. How MM comes across behind a mic and how he comes across to the team are different things. Plus, a certain lack of media polish isn’t that surprising in a young first-time HC.
No doubt that his ability to reach *me* through a press conference are at the bottom of the list of what makes a successful head coach. And it's funny how I always thought JS was pretty smooth until his interview after Pete's final presser. Every interview he's done since has reminded me that I hadn't realized how bad he is at talking for someone who spends a lot of his very successful life communicating. Still don't think he's that much worse than MM, but maybe you're right. I'll have to see them both for a while to say.
I'm not poo pooing MM with my comment, but more saying that it's a huge shock to my system after what I've grown comfortable with. And Pete was here for a LONG time. He was a fixture of Seattle football. For most of the younger crowd here, he's been the coach their whole adult lives. When I was in my mid 20's I had a live-in girlfriend for 5 years. We parted ways and I eventually met someone else. Daily, new girlfriend would do or say or react to something in such a different way than I was used to. This conversation brings up memories of that. I truly had assumed that girls "like" stuff like Sex in the City, cheese and the opera and I would need to watch South Park when they aren't home, for example. All people are different and I inherently know this, but MM breaks the PC mold equally as much.
I will die a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and I'm rooting for Mike Mac. They could hire the cast of the View to be the coaching staff and I would root for wins. I just found it odd that everyone just seems to be on board and have voiced no skepticism or worries.
In November 2011 while visiting relatives in St Louis, I went to the Seahawks-Rams game. The Hawks won 24-7, which was immediately gratifying. Even better, for the first time I got an idea of Pete Carroll’s plan: Build around a fast, hard-hitting defense that was always around the ball* and have an offense good enough to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the defense.
In 2024, I hope to see MM’s plan for the team evidenced on the field and a team that buys into it. I hope that the coaches and team are better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning. I hope to see some decisive wins and at least a path toward dominance at home. We’re in a tough division, meaning that all of my hopes could realized by a team fighting over third place. I will try to be realistic about Ws and Ls because this is not yet a dominant team and will lose games it should win.
*One rookie LB, #50, especially impressed me; I was a KJ Wright fan from then on.
I have no idea whether the Seahawks will have a better record this year or not. I hope they do, but there are too many things I don't know. There are MANY ways they COULD have a better record, I just don't know whether any of them will happen. If the defense forces one more punt on average per game and gives the offense one more chance per game, we'd be better. If the offense can run the ball better, that will make our play action game better, and will lead to fewer snaps per game on defense so they'd be fresher, and likely better. I hope it happens. But I don't know that it will.
I love listening to Mike Mac talk. He gets me fired up. So I'm hoping he's getting his players fired up as well. He also is already calling out things he sees that need fixing. He seems very matter of fact about it, but you can also sense the non-negotiable part of it. It will all come down to the teaching. If he can make it easy to do the right thing, it will get done. I think that's what Shanahan and McVay must do really well. The Rams last year played very well with a very young team as SSJ pointed out. That doesn't happen by accident. If we have better teachers coaching this team, we may have a better record.
I have more faith in the defense to improve than the offense, just because Mike Mac and Durde have coached successfully in the NFL before, and Grubb and Huff haven't. I'm very hopeful, but again, no idea really what that will look like. If they can improve the o-line play, that alone will go a long way.
As to who can influence winning more, the coach or the QB......I don't think that has an answer. It's circumstantial. Mahomes failed to win a SB with a crappy o-line and average defense. He successfully won a SB with a much improved defense and better o-line. Dan Marino was brilliant, but never won a SB. Joe Montana was brilliant, and won multiple SB's, but not on his own. San Fran had very good defenses and an offensive genius as a head coach. Having an excellent QB certainly gives you a larger margin of error for everything else, but it's hardly a guarantee of SB's. The GM (talent acquisition), the Coach (the teacher), and the QB (the performer) all need each other to succeed.
I watched those guys closely when they played. Marino took hard hits forcing him to distraction, whereas Montana found focus and tenacity. Mahomes seems to go there, also, today. Geno appears to hold this, too. If he is secure in being Mack's #1 QB, we may see him cut loose more than allowed under Carroll, confident knowing he'll be back as soon as he's able. As we saw with Russ, a tenacity to get us a first down often opens up TDs. Watching Carroll transform from frustration to elation in milliseconds was worth the whole game. I suspect this is Russ's A Game that we'll see him unload at Pittsburg. If he gets his legs back, watch out, as he must make believers among his teammates. And Coach.
Playing for Virginia’s own Mike Tomlin is a godsend for Russell. The Steelers were 10-7 with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph at QB; depending on how much gas he has left in the tank, Russell could take that team to some good places.
Montana says that Marino is the best QB he played against. Under today’s rules, Marino could complete 70%+ of his passes and might well go whole seasons without getting sacked. I’ve never seen a QB get the ball out faster—Tom Brady looked like he threw underwater in comparison.
If you go on survivor i forgive you for missing a few days of this newsletter. But you need to let us know so i make sure to watch would love to have a homie to be rooting for right out the gate!
Also, post draft thought: i think those pre draft visits are only to judge the personalities of the players who the team isn’t sure about. If they hear how cool, mature, or hardworking a player is, well, they also can watch tape. Why then would they ever need to meet with a player like that? Therefore, to look at these visits as some sort of prediction of who the team is going to pick is silly.
The visits are never for predicting who the team will draft, but generally the Seahawks link up with 2-3 of those players immediately, and then more come through over the course of the next 4-5 years. I just used that list as a gauge for where the Seahawks might be expecting to fall in the draft order and if Byron Murphy doesn't fall to 16, who knows.
..."So I’m leaning towards the Rams to be the favorites, the 49ers to be next, and both the Seahawks and Cardinals are a little mysterious."...Agreed, But I am holding out hope SEA can win 1 out of the first 4 games, and maybe 2 out of the next 4 or so and get on a roll early and get some confidence. I know there's gonna be a learning curve - Just hope the boys are a quick study.
Now...not to pry, but can you share any more examples of your 20 daily habits?
No prying necessary, I just didn't feel like everyone wanted to read all of those habits. There are a few that are related to a daily habit that I keep secret so that I can reveal something in 2-3 years and see if daily habits helped me gain a surprising skill without anyone finding out.
Most of them are really unexciting and the ones that most people know about are meditation (which I count as 2 because I do it twice) and the intermittent fasting, which I've kept for the last 5+ years, and this newsletter. There are a couple of other documents that I write in everyday, similar to a journal and another for building a second business that is related to teaching/consulting either writers or people interested in daily habits. I just don't feel I'm an expert in daily habits like some professional self-help gurus out there and I'm certainly no guru.
Others are just little things that I hope will keep me feeling a little healthier or looking a little better in the future, like vitamins, skin cream...things many people already do but for me if i imake it a non-negotiable requirement, I'll get it done. in the past if i just said "I'll try to make sure to remember to do this" I'd drop it in six months. Like the exercise, now I've actually exercised consistently for six years, whereas before then I would just exercise hard for six months and then accidentally quit. When I make it a requirement, I stick to it.
The last time Colin Cowerd was right was when he predicted that it usually gets dark after sundown!
I voted both because of the success of the Pete and Russ years.
If the new D can stop the run , the O should have 4 or 5 more drives per game. Even if they only produce 6 points that turns the 4 pt. losses into wins. An attacking D should equal out the horrible time of possession percentages.
Sometimes a new coaching staff with new eyes can help a static team's schemes for the better.
It may take time but they were topped out with the old regime.
Jody Allen is estimated to be worth $20 billion. The team has to be sold. She's shown she's is the equivalent of a good owner. Doesn't meddle in day to day operations (Snyder, Tepper), enjoys the the team, and is willing to act when necessary (Pete). I'd like to wake up one morning and find out she's buying the team. The money still goes to charity. She has three adult children. Keep the team in the family for at least a couple of generations.
Regarding the poll question, I selected "both", but I was lea ing "neither". I couldn't say "neither", because it is near impossible to win a SB without a good (or decent, at least) QB AND coach. Football is the ultimate team sport. I really think having the closest thing to the most complete team in all levels of all 3 phases gets you the best chance to win each game, and with luck avoiding injuries and the oblong ball bouncing your way, you can win the SB. If there is a glaring weakness in your team, other aspects can lift up the team and make up for them, to a degree. So, long story, longer... I think QB and HC are the 2 MOST important positions, but they can't win on their own. Ask Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. So, I vote they "both" are equally important, but they have to lead a good team.
With the salary cap and free agency, you could also add that the GM has more impact than before the cap and free agency. It really is a chess game budgeting how much to spend for each position. I would say the huge dead cap hit we took this year on Adams and Diggs is a big negative on what me might have done had we that money to spend. I hope we make better contract decisions going forward.
I am more optimistic about the Seahawks season today than I was last week. No, not because of minicamp. Colin Cowherd gave out his prediction for the NFC west, and has the Seahawks coming in last place. Some of you may recall, Cowherd ridiculed the Seahawks 2 years ago when they didn't draft a QB and Carroll stated he would roll with Geno or Drew at QB. Cowherd stated, quite emphatically, The Seahawks will be lucky to win 3 games, "and might not win ANY!" They won 9 and made the playoffs.
So I am revising my Seahawks prediction to 10 wins, and a win in the wildcard round. Thank you, Cowherd, for making my day!
I suspect Mack will use the preseason to get the A Team up to speed working together. Pete used it to see what the new guys will do in "real games", which a short preseason is not. A good coach will know what the pecking-order needs to be. I mean, how did McVay field a team of new people and kick the crap out of a bunch of veterans in Game 1 last year? Mack brings the players a whole new demand on knowing all the scheme variations he uses to confound your opponent. Rookies will be spending time developing muscle memory on new techniques used to play at the pro level. Those moves will have to be automatic in order to make room for the scheme complications Mack demands. Only practice practice practice gets muscle moves done. It's called Training Camp. He'll demand we hit the field running. Emphasis on Hit. Emphasis on Day 1. This ain't Granddaddy's team no more.
Interesting. Then I am still looking for how he had his guys, many new, fully prepped to kick our ass on Day1. I accounted for much of it being Stafford's expertise in picking us apart. Now having some idea of the blocking complications, did he deploy a game utilizing basic Football 101 schemes that even Rookies would know?
We keep saying that Jody must sell the team, but if I’ve come to believe anything as I get older it’s that Billionaires can do almost anything they want without much hindrance. I know the will said the teams need to be sold, but I bet a creative lawyer could find away around it. And if she just decides to keep the team who will stop her? Or perhaps she just “manages” the asset for the remainder of her cognitively active life.
The Hawks have had three eras of ownership with two being first class and one being a near disaster, I’m happy to let Jody to continue in her current role for as long as she wants to do it.
She may do whatever she pleases, I have to say that I don't think about this at all and it doesn't matter to me because it's out of my control. When it becomes a real story, then I'll pay attention. I hate waiting in someone else's limbo.
I don’t worry about it one little bit, but it will be an issue for Hawk fans some day. I have as much influence on that decision as I do on draft picks, free agents, etc. The only tangible influence I have on the team is how loud I yell when the opposing offense has the ball.😊
I am not a trust and estates lawyer, but Jodi Allen must sell the Seahawks as trustee of Paul Allen's estate. I have no idea of her personal wealth, but I believe she actually could buy it if she has her own money, or gets a group together to come up with the money. She needs to carry out the wishes as directed by her brother. I'm sure her brother would not want her selling to someone from another part of the country who could then move the team to OK or something.
This little peek into the work habits of Seaside Joe was interesting. I've come to admire the different angles you continue to come up with. Meditation might be fueling some of these unique takes. And you obviously have become an adept user of the search engine, linking stats and assorted data with video to back up what you state. You're good, man.
And I agree with the idea that the defense will be better. It was so dispiriting to see the Hawks D being physically dominated at times last season. If we just fix that, I will be a lot happier. If we don't see at least some improvement there, then the new coach will be immediately on the hot seat.
Thanks! I definitely like doing research on the internet more than any other part of this job and I'm heavily reliant on certain places like pro-football-reference to help me do that. they removed a few search functions like combine results and it has been a killer to me.
I don't see any way the D is not better, probably moving up to middle of the pack. With what will surely be a better O-line at least by midseason I believe the Hawks should end up with probably 10 wins. But an improved team heading in the right direction building both lines and is the way to more consistency and eventually more wins. Just think if last year's team had a middle of the pack D, they would have had probably(almost for sure) three more wins.
You can also have a better defense and still lose more games. The Jets had the #3 defense in the NFL by EPA. The Patriots had the #6 defense by EPA. Falcons #7. All an opponent needs is one more point than your team, we can ask the Vikings about that.
So yeah, I think logically it makes sense that the Seahawks would have a better defense because they were right at the bottom. Too many variables for me to see how much better or what that will mean. We have opponents for 2024, but we don't have a schedule and we don't know yet how much better those other teams are yet; as much as Seahawks fans see the positive changes in the Seahawks, so too do Cardinals fans, so too do Giants fans, so too do Vikings fans, so too do Jets fans.
I would feel more confident in 9-8 if Pete Carroll was the head coach. However, with Macdonald I feel like the Seahawks have a higher ceiling and a lower floor, we just don't know yet. But I agree that in theory, the Seahawks should be better. Sometimes better isn't better on win loss record. Anything over 10 wins seems very optimistic to me until we see this fairly new team with a lot of first-time coaches (first-time HC, first-time NFL OC, first-time DC, first-time NFL STC) and not knowing okay, how good is the play at QB going to be this time? We were wrong about how good Russ would be in 2021. We were wrong about how good Geno would be in 2022. We were wrong about how Geno would be in 2023. Is there a chance we're wrong, in a good way or a bad way, about how good QB play will be in 2024? There's always a chance.
I agree with you on the defense. My only fear about the O-line is what if Abe Lucas has not fixed his knee issues? If he returns to 100% health, I think it will indeed improve even without the rookies. If on top of that Olu turns out to be good, and our 3rd round pick is a pleasant surprise, we may have a 1000 yard rusher and see Geno look like he did the first half of 2022
You have me laughing today. I play most of those games every morning and I do watch Survivor every week with my wife. Whenever Jeff comes on with his pitch to join survivor my joke is always the same. "I could do that!" My wife, being brighter than me and not blind, always laughs and says, "No you couldn't". And she is right. I hate snakes and coconuts.....plus Pete Carroll and I are the same age. :O)
I appreciate your articles. Keep up the good work.
Everything is speculation right now. My own opinion is that the Seahawks will be better this year because of what they have done with the line. My dream was for them to draft 1200 pounds of linemen. They came within about 30 pounds of doing just that. They will be better, mark my words. OK, don't really mark them, I could be wrong. By the way, try octortle. It is more fun than wordle. Again, keep up the great work.
We are watching Season 1 right now and it's quite different. Not sure that you'll run into snakes or rats anymore, I don't see it being too crazy out there in season 46 unless you're Liz and you say you can't eat any of the food. If Yam Yam can do it, you can do it.
I feel you, and agree. The potential value of a draft pick drops off significantly as each round goes by. It is imperative not to mess up the picks early on. I think Seattle did as well as I could have hoped for with their first 2 picks. I know MM has never been a head coach, but if he truly is a very capable defensive coach, and all signs point to yes, if we can rank 16 in defense against the run this year, we will be better. Shane Waldron was a super smart mind at devising plays, but I fear he was not good in the moment of calling them live in a game. Grubb is an un known, but perhaps he will be a pleasant surprise. 10 wins for Seattle.
What we know about the Seahawks (so far) is that they are younger, faster and stouter on the line than they were at the end of last season. Better? We will see! But as the magic 8-ball might say, “all signs point to yes”.
The thing about most puzzles is usually you reach a point where the logical next move is not fathomable and you just have to guess. Putting together an NFL roster has to be one of the most difficult puzzles imaginable given all the variables inherent in human performance skill acquisition and deterioration over time. Add in a whole new coaching staff and from a prediction point of view I think I could make a convincing argument for 4 wins as easily as 12. It is going to be a fascinating season!
Yeah, big swing. I need to a) see the schedule first, b) see which 53 players come out of camp, c) see what 53 players come out of the camps of seahawks opponents, and d) watch 17 regular season games before I have any idea how many wins the Seahawks will have
Exactly lol.... There are likely going to be some changes still coming to the roster, and not just at the margins. I do still expect a trade that will affect the roster between now and training camp. But even still--nothing is certain until they play the games.
I actually expect a LOT of communication breakdown type errors in the first few games as the players (on both sides of the ball) learn the schemes (and coaches learn how to communicate with each other and their personnel, too).
My other comment was on puzzle games and I totally failed to address the subject at hand. Like all of us, I have only an idea how good the Seahawks are now. Gun to my head, I'd wager slightly over .500 like the last couple of years if the season started Sunday. Thankfully it doesn't and we will make quite a few more moves before September.
I'm about to say something that might be very unpopular on a Seahawk fan forum, so please skip the rest of my comment if you would rather not read a critical take on our new head coach, Mike MacDonald.
I saw one comment that said that they got fired up hearing Mike Mac talk. Man, how I wish I did. I feel the exact opposite. I find him the most boring interview I've ever listened to -at least among those talking about a subject I am most interested in. He's the polar opposite of Pete both in age amongst his peers, and charisma behind a mic. And I understand that communication skills are only a part of things. But holy cow this guy is a tough listen for me. At the very beginning of the most recent Seahawks Nest podcast, host Nathan Santo asked, "Is there more of a charisma vacuum among the NFL coaches than this guy?" and I realized it's not just me.
Pete had an amazing way of protecting the team, and yet still giving just enough information -with the caveat "if he wanted to." He could tell you that Jamal Adams was being benched before a game and had left the stadium after being informed of that without actually saying those words or remotely throwing the player under the bus. It's a crazy delicate line to walk, and he didn't even have to pause to choose his words. I feel like Mike can barely tell you Byron Murphy didn't show up in the best shape without it coming across like something that could cause resentment . But we all know that as long as the team is winning, neither we the fans nor the players will care. But NFL seasons are long. Too long, IMO. There are going to be rough stretches. I'm curious as to how he will resonate with the players over these.
Earl Thomas said he would run headfirst into a train for Pete Carroll yet his last moment of a Seahawk was flipping him off on the sideline from a cart, so maybe this matters far less than I think. And you could argue that Pete cultivated TOO fun of a culture and when the talent was no longer all-world, it culminated with lazy efforts and smoking cigars after being eliminated from the playoffs. On one hand, I would think that cultivating a fun place to work would benefit you bringing in players to a geographically remote city from where the vast majority of NFL talent grew up. On the other, the "fun boss" is rarely rarely the one who gets the most production out of his workforce. Time will tell where Mike MacDonald falls on the scale, and how much the players buy in.
But you don't change your personality, at least not drastically as an adult. Mike Mac is who he is. A fantastic D coordinator and hopefully an equally fantastic head coach. I have my doubts though. The history of the league is full of wunderkind coordinators who weren't good fits as head coaches, and on down the ranks. I'd argue that Ken Norton Jr was a home run LB coach hire and a terrible defensive coordinator. There are a lot of hats an NFL head coach has to wear. You have to juggle the coaches under you, the players (many of whom make more money than you), the ownership, the GM, the media, and the endless hours of actual football work. Pete was not an outlier to be known to sleep in his office for 4 hours and get up and start it all over again.
You know how they say that the average NFL career is 3.5 years? The average NFL head coaching tenure is even shorter. Odds would suggest that our Seahawks won't become a powerhouse in the next 2 seasons, and that's about all a coach can expect to get before finding himself on the hot seat. Mike Mac is inheriting a pretty darn solid core of a team, and he was among my top 2 candidates to get the job. And I HOPE he wins games, playoffs and Super Bowls. I really do. I am a Seahawks fan. I hope my concerns don't come across like I think the guy won't do well because he's not fun (for me) to listen to. A lot of people were sad to get rid of Russ and it turned out to be the best move we made 2 years ago. Maybe this is the same. Maybe Pete's size 13.5 Air Monarchs won't be as hard to fill as I fear. And I turned 55 last week and I probably resist change more than I should. I'll miss the youthful energy, gum chewing and swagger and being a winning team year after year that were a constant in this organization. I won't miss the "can you win the game in the first quarter" speeches, because you can, and the Ravens did against us last season! But I don't want us to be the Mariners. It just feels like uncertainty to me now.
Compared to Schneider, he’s Bob Stelton. How MM comes across behind a mic and how he comes across to the team are different things. Plus, a certain lack of media polish isn’t that surprising in a young first-time HC.
No doubt that his ability to reach *me* through a press conference are at the bottom of the list of what makes a successful head coach. And it's funny how I always thought JS was pretty smooth until his interview after Pete's final presser. Every interview he's done since has reminded me that I hadn't realized how bad he is at talking for someone who spends a lot of his very successful life communicating. Still don't think he's that much worse than MM, but maybe you're right. I'll have to see them both for a while to say.
I'm not poo pooing MM with my comment, but more saying that it's a huge shock to my system after what I've grown comfortable with. And Pete was here for a LONG time. He was a fixture of Seattle football. For most of the younger crowd here, he's been the coach their whole adult lives. When I was in my mid 20's I had a live-in girlfriend for 5 years. We parted ways and I eventually met someone else. Daily, new girlfriend would do or say or react to something in such a different way than I was used to. This conversation brings up memories of that. I truly had assumed that girls "like" stuff like Sex in the City, cheese and the opera and I would need to watch South Park when they aren't home, for example. All people are different and I inherently know this, but MM breaks the PC mold equally as much.
I will die a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and I'm rooting for Mike Mac. They could hire the cast of the View to be the coaching staff and I would root for wins. I just found it odd that everyone just seems to be on board and have voiced no skepticism or worries.
Cut me open and I’ll bleed blue and green!
In November 2011 while visiting relatives in St Louis, I went to the Seahawks-Rams game. The Hawks won 24-7, which was immediately gratifying. Even better, for the first time I got an idea of Pete Carroll’s plan: Build around a fast, hard-hitting defense that was always around the ball* and have an offense good enough to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the defense.
In 2024, I hope to see MM’s plan for the team evidenced on the field and a team that buys into it. I hope that the coaches and team are better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning. I hope to see some decisive wins and at least a path toward dominance at home. We’re in a tough division, meaning that all of my hopes could realized by a team fighting over third place. I will try to be realistic about Ws and Ls because this is not yet a dominant team and will lose games it should win.
*One rookie LB, #50, especially impressed me; I was a KJ Wright fan from then on.
My morning puzzle sequence:
Washington Post Keyword puzzle
NYT Connections
NYT Letter Boxed
NYT Vertex
NYT Sudoku
Waffle (Daily and Royale)
Quordle (all)
Octordle (all)
NYT Wordle
NYT Spelling Bee
Hey, I’m retired and need the brain food that otherwise I get only from Seaside Joe!
Nice! I will get there one day.
I love the Daily Waffle as well! I do Wordle, then Waffle, and at some point in the day, the NYT Strands puzzle.
Try Quordle and Octordle (free at auordle.com). Wordle on steroids.
I have no idea whether the Seahawks will have a better record this year or not. I hope they do, but there are too many things I don't know. There are MANY ways they COULD have a better record, I just don't know whether any of them will happen. If the defense forces one more punt on average per game and gives the offense one more chance per game, we'd be better. If the offense can run the ball better, that will make our play action game better, and will lead to fewer snaps per game on defense so they'd be fresher, and likely better. I hope it happens. But I don't know that it will.
I love listening to Mike Mac talk. He gets me fired up. So I'm hoping he's getting his players fired up as well. He also is already calling out things he sees that need fixing. He seems very matter of fact about it, but you can also sense the non-negotiable part of it. It will all come down to the teaching. If he can make it easy to do the right thing, it will get done. I think that's what Shanahan and McVay must do really well. The Rams last year played very well with a very young team as SSJ pointed out. That doesn't happen by accident. If we have better teachers coaching this team, we may have a better record.
I have more faith in the defense to improve than the offense, just because Mike Mac and Durde have coached successfully in the NFL before, and Grubb and Huff haven't. I'm very hopeful, but again, no idea really what that will look like. If they can improve the o-line play, that alone will go a long way.
As to who can influence winning more, the coach or the QB......I don't think that has an answer. It's circumstantial. Mahomes failed to win a SB with a crappy o-line and average defense. He successfully won a SB with a much improved defense and better o-line. Dan Marino was brilliant, but never won a SB. Joe Montana was brilliant, and won multiple SB's, but not on his own. San Fran had very good defenses and an offensive genius as a head coach. Having an excellent QB certainly gives you a larger margin of error for everything else, but it's hardly a guarantee of SB's. The GM (talent acquisition), the Coach (the teacher), and the QB (the performer) all need each other to succeed.
I watched those guys closely when they played. Marino took hard hits forcing him to distraction, whereas Montana found focus and tenacity. Mahomes seems to go there, also, today. Geno appears to hold this, too. If he is secure in being Mack's #1 QB, we may see him cut loose more than allowed under Carroll, confident knowing he'll be back as soon as he's able. As we saw with Russ, a tenacity to get us a first down often opens up TDs. Watching Carroll transform from frustration to elation in milliseconds was worth the whole game. I suspect this is Russ's A Game that we'll see him unload at Pittsburg. If he gets his legs back, watch out, as he must make believers among his teammates. And Coach.
Playing for Virginia’s own Mike Tomlin is a godsend for Russell. The Steelers were 10-7 with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph at QB; depending on how much gas he has left in the tank, Russell could take that team to some good places.
We may very well see Carroll was not the right Coach for him. Lots of conclusions could be drawn this year.
Montana says that Marino is the best QB he played against. Under today’s rules, Marino could complete 70%+ of his passes and might well go whole seasons without getting sacked. I’ve never seen a QB get the ball out faster—Tom Brady looked like he threw underwater in comparison.
If you go on survivor i forgive you for missing a few days of this newsletter. But you need to let us know so i make sure to watch would love to have a homie to be rooting for right out the gate!
Also, post draft thought: i think those pre draft visits are only to judge the personalities of the players who the team isn’t sure about. If they hear how cool, mature, or hardworking a player is, well, they also can watch tape. Why then would they ever need to meet with a player like that? Therefore, to look at these visits as some sort of prediction of who the team is going to pick is silly.
The visits are never for predicting who the team will draft, but generally the Seahawks link up with 2-3 of those players immediately, and then more come through over the course of the next 4-5 years. I just used that list as a gauge for where the Seahawks might be expecting to fall in the draft order and if Byron Murphy doesn't fall to 16, who knows.
..."So I’m leaning towards the Rams to be the favorites, the 49ers to be next, and both the Seahawks and Cardinals are a little mysterious."...Agreed, But I am holding out hope SEA can win 1 out of the first 4 games, and maybe 2 out of the next 4 or so and get on a roll early and get some confidence. I know there's gonna be a learning curve - Just hope the boys are a quick study.
Now...not to pry, but can you share any more examples of your 20 daily habits?
No prying necessary, I just didn't feel like everyone wanted to read all of those habits. There are a few that are related to a daily habit that I keep secret so that I can reveal something in 2-3 years and see if daily habits helped me gain a surprising skill without anyone finding out.
Most of them are really unexciting and the ones that most people know about are meditation (which I count as 2 because I do it twice) and the intermittent fasting, which I've kept for the last 5+ years, and this newsletter. There are a couple of other documents that I write in everyday, similar to a journal and another for building a second business that is related to teaching/consulting either writers or people interested in daily habits. I just don't feel I'm an expert in daily habits like some professional self-help gurus out there and I'm certainly no guru.
Others are just little things that I hope will keep me feeling a little healthier or looking a little better in the future, like vitamins, skin cream...things many people already do but for me if i imake it a non-negotiable requirement, I'll get it done. in the past if i just said "I'll try to make sure to remember to do this" I'd drop it in six months. Like the exercise, now I've actually exercised consistently for six years, whereas before then I would just exercise hard for six months and then accidentally quit. When I make it a requirement, I stick to it.
When you become the Seahawks punter in 2-3 years, just remember that I was the one who guessed it first!
The last time Colin Cowerd was right was when he predicted that it usually gets dark after sundown!
I voted both because of the success of the Pete and Russ years.
If the new D can stop the run , the O should have 4 or 5 more drives per game. Even if they only produce 6 points that turns the 4 pt. losses into wins. An attacking D should equal out the horrible time of possession percentages.
Sometimes a new coaching staff with new eyes can help a static team's schemes for the better.
It may take time but they were topped out with the old regime.
Jody Allen is estimated to be worth $20 billion. The team has to be sold. She's shown she's is the equivalent of a good owner. Doesn't meddle in day to day operations (Snyder, Tepper), enjoys the the team, and is willing to act when necessary (Pete). I'd like to wake up one morning and find out she's buying the team. The money still goes to charity. She has three adult children. Keep the team in the family for at least a couple of generations.
I'd be happy with that.
Regarding the poll question, I selected "both", but I was lea ing "neither". I couldn't say "neither", because it is near impossible to win a SB without a good (or decent, at least) QB AND coach. Football is the ultimate team sport. I really think having the closest thing to the most complete team in all levels of all 3 phases gets you the best chance to win each game, and with luck avoiding injuries and the oblong ball bouncing your way, you can win the SB. If there is a glaring weakness in your team, other aspects can lift up the team and make up for them, to a degree. So, long story, longer... I think QB and HC are the 2 MOST important positions, but they can't win on their own. Ask Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. So, I vote they "both" are equally important, but they have to lead a good team.
With the salary cap and free agency, you could also add that the GM has more impact than before the cap and free agency. It really is a chess game budgeting how much to spend for each position. I would say the huge dead cap hit we took this year on Adams and Diggs is a big negative on what me might have done had we that money to spend. I hope we make better contract decisions going forward.
I am more optimistic about the Seahawks season today than I was last week. No, not because of minicamp. Colin Cowherd gave out his prediction for the NFC west, and has the Seahawks coming in last place. Some of you may recall, Cowherd ridiculed the Seahawks 2 years ago when they didn't draft a QB and Carroll stated he would roll with Geno or Drew at QB. Cowherd stated, quite emphatically, The Seahawks will be lucky to win 3 games, "and might not win ANY!" They won 9 and made the playoffs.
So I am revising my Seahawks prediction to 10 wins, and a win in the wildcard round. Thank you, Cowherd, for making my day!
Nobody ever lost money betting against Colin!
Like most TV personalities, he's paid to be interesting, not to be right. Good for our betting accounts!
I suspect Mack will use the preseason to get the A Team up to speed working together. Pete used it to see what the new guys will do in "real games", which a short preseason is not. A good coach will know what the pecking-order needs to be. I mean, how did McVay field a team of new people and kick the crap out of a bunch of veterans in Game 1 last year? Mack brings the players a whole new demand on knowing all the scheme variations he uses to confound your opponent. Rookies will be spending time developing muscle memory on new techniques used to play at the pro level. Those moves will have to be automatic in order to make room for the scheme complications Mack demands. Only practice practice practice gets muscle moves done. It's called Training Camp. He'll demand we hit the field running. Emphasis on Hit. Emphasis on Day 1. This ain't Granddaddy's team no more.
Well, Sean McVay famously hates the preseason and doesn't use it to get his real players ready for the season. But maybe Macdonald is different.
Interesting. Then I am still looking for how he had his guys, many new, fully prepped to kick our ass on Day1. I accounted for much of it being Stafford's expertise in picking us apart. Now having some idea of the blocking complications, did he deploy a game utilizing basic Football 101 schemes that even Rookies would know?
We keep saying that Jody must sell the team, but if I’ve come to believe anything as I get older it’s that Billionaires can do almost anything they want without much hindrance. I know the will said the teams need to be sold, but I bet a creative lawyer could find away around it. And if she just decides to keep the team who will stop her? Or perhaps she just “manages” the asset for the remainder of her cognitively active life.
The Hawks have had three eras of ownership with two being first class and one being a near disaster, I’m happy to let Jody to continue in her current role for as long as she wants to do it.
She may do whatever she pleases, I have to say that I don't think about this at all and it doesn't matter to me because it's out of my control. When it becomes a real story, then I'll pay attention. I hate waiting in someone else's limbo.
I don’t worry about it one little bit, but it will be an issue for Hawk fans some day. I have as much influence on that decision as I do on draft picks, free agents, etc. The only tangible influence I have on the team is how loud I yell when the opposing offense has the ball.😊
I am not a trust and estates lawyer, but Jodi Allen must sell the Seahawks as trustee of Paul Allen's estate. I have no idea of her personal wealth, but I believe she actually could buy it if she has her own money, or gets a group together to come up with the money. She needs to carry out the wishes as directed by her brother. I'm sure her brother would not want her selling to someone from another part of the country who could then move the team to OK or something.
This little peek into the work habits of Seaside Joe was interesting. I've come to admire the different angles you continue to come up with. Meditation might be fueling some of these unique takes. And you obviously have become an adept user of the search engine, linking stats and assorted data with video to back up what you state. You're good, man.
And I agree with the idea that the defense will be better. It was so dispiriting to see the Hawks D being physically dominated at times last season. If we just fix that, I will be a lot happier. If we don't see at least some improvement there, then the new coach will be immediately on the hot seat.
Thanks! I definitely like doing research on the internet more than any other part of this job and I'm heavily reliant on certain places like pro-football-reference to help me do that. they removed a few search functions like combine results and it has been a killer to me.
I don't see any way the D is not better, probably moving up to middle of the pack. With what will surely be a better O-line at least by midseason I believe the Hawks should end up with probably 10 wins. But an improved team heading in the right direction building both lines and is the way to more consistency and eventually more wins. Just think if last year's team had a middle of the pack D, they would have had probably(almost for sure) three more wins.
You can also have a better defense and still lose more games. The Jets had the #3 defense in the NFL by EPA. The Patriots had the #6 defense by EPA. Falcons #7. All an opponent needs is one more point than your team, we can ask the Vikings about that.
So yeah, I think logically it makes sense that the Seahawks would have a better defense because they were right at the bottom. Too many variables for me to see how much better or what that will mean. We have opponents for 2024, but we don't have a schedule and we don't know yet how much better those other teams are yet; as much as Seahawks fans see the positive changes in the Seahawks, so too do Cardinals fans, so too do Giants fans, so too do Vikings fans, so too do Jets fans.
I would feel more confident in 9-8 if Pete Carroll was the head coach. However, with Macdonald I feel like the Seahawks have a higher ceiling and a lower floor, we just don't know yet. But I agree that in theory, the Seahawks should be better. Sometimes better isn't better on win loss record. Anything over 10 wins seems very optimistic to me until we see this fairly new team with a lot of first-time coaches (first-time HC, first-time NFL OC, first-time DC, first-time NFL STC) and not knowing okay, how good is the play at QB going to be this time? We were wrong about how good Russ would be in 2021. We were wrong about how good Geno would be in 2022. We were wrong about how Geno would be in 2023. Is there a chance we're wrong, in a good way or a bad way, about how good QB play will be in 2024? There's always a chance.
Completely agree, kind of what I was saying you just spelled it out better.
I agree with you on the defense. My only fear about the O-line is what if Abe Lucas has not fixed his knee issues? If he returns to 100% health, I think it will indeed improve even without the rookies. If on top of that Olu turns out to be good, and our 3rd round pick is a pleasant surprise, we may have a 1000 yard rusher and see Geno look like he did the first half of 2022
You have me laughing today. I play most of those games every morning and I do watch Survivor every week with my wife. Whenever Jeff comes on with his pitch to join survivor my joke is always the same. "I could do that!" My wife, being brighter than me and not blind, always laughs and says, "No you couldn't". And she is right. I hate snakes and coconuts.....plus Pete Carroll and I are the same age. :O)
I appreciate your articles. Keep up the good work.
Everything is speculation right now. My own opinion is that the Seahawks will be better this year because of what they have done with the line. My dream was for them to draft 1200 pounds of linemen. They came within about 30 pounds of doing just that. They will be better, mark my words. OK, don't really mark them, I could be wrong. By the way, try octortle. It is more fun than wordle. Again, keep up the great work.
We are watching Season 1 right now and it's quite different. Not sure that you'll run into snakes or rats anymore, I don't see it being too crazy out there in season 46 unless you're Liz and you say you can't eat any of the food. If Yam Yam can do it, you can do it.
I feel you, and agree. The potential value of a draft pick drops off significantly as each round goes by. It is imperative not to mess up the picks early on. I think Seattle did as well as I could have hoped for with their first 2 picks. I know MM has never been a head coach, but if he truly is a very capable defensive coach, and all signs point to yes, if we can rank 16 in defense against the run this year, we will be better. Shane Waldron was a super smart mind at devising plays, but I fear he was not good in the moment of calling them live in a game. Grubb is an un known, but perhaps he will be a pleasant surprise. 10 wins for Seattle.
What we know about the Seahawks (so far) is that they are younger, faster and stouter on the line than they were at the end of last season. Better? We will see! But as the magic 8-ball might say, “all signs point to yes”.
The thing about most puzzles is usually you reach a point where the logical next move is not fathomable and you just have to guess. Putting together an NFL roster has to be one of the most difficult puzzles imaginable given all the variables inherent in human performance skill acquisition and deterioration over time. Add in a whole new coaching staff and from a prediction point of view I think I could make a convincing argument for 4 wins as easily as 12. It is going to be a fascinating season!
Yeah, big swing. I need to a) see the schedule first, b) see which 53 players come out of camp, c) see what 53 players come out of the camps of seahawks opponents, and d) watch 17 regular season games before I have any idea how many wins the Seahawks will have
Exactly lol.... There are likely going to be some changes still coming to the roster, and not just at the margins. I do still expect a trade that will affect the roster between now and training camp. But even still--nothing is certain until they play the games.
I actually expect a LOT of communication breakdown type errors in the first few games as the players (on both sides of the ball) learn the schemes (and coaches learn how to communicate with each other and their personnel, too).
I'm going with 10, and luckily for me, I'm not a gambler.