Emmanwori is truly a difference maker on this defense. He allows Macdonald to do things he otherwise would not be able to, like staying in nickel when the Rams used 13 or 12 personnel. The Pats will try to 'beef up' along the line to take advantage of the Seahawks while in nickel, but everyone has tried that and haven't been all that successful, other than the Rams at times.
If Mike Macdonald wins the Super Bowl in only his second year as a head coach, that would be amazing. It's very exciting that he's still growing and learning in his role, but is already so good at what he does that he has the team playing in a SB. He may end up being the coach with the longest tenure in Seahawks history, given how young he is.
Usually at this time of year I'm already looking at the draft, and trying to sort out who the Seahawks might be interested in. I haven't looked at a single player yet. If things go according to plan, we'll be picking last, so I doubt I'll spend nearly as much time as I normally would.
I don't know who is going to win this game but here is a small point.
When the Pats played the Texans, the Texans turned it over five times. There were four interceptions and one fumble.
One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown, a pick six. After the other four turnovers, they didn't make a first down. After three of the turnovers they punted and the other time they fumbled the ball away.
I like to think a good team converts turnovers into points, but the Pats only did in once out of five times. I tried to look up the stat for that but I couldn't find it. If anyone knows where to look please feel free to point it out.
And in that game, for those of you that care, with five turnovers the Pats average drive began at their 33 yard line.
They also had 15 drives and only scored on 3.
Just using this game as a reference, I think we win. And by at least a few scores. Or more.
And since it is late and everyone has read the comments, I may repost this tomorrow.
Never liked "The Dark Side" much as a nickname for our D. The dudes who do it do, so...got to back'm on that. I'll like it more when they win the SB. I'd go with something more nautical..."Sea Wall" or "Tsunami" etc. I'm a bit put out that they didn't consult me on that first.
I'm quivering like a tuning fork in anticipation for Sunday. Got my bag of buttered popcorn, a buttery Chardonay (they pair surprisingly well) and my lucky Seahawk popcorn bag clip ready to go.
I think, to Ken's point, the reason the LOB is so good is that it's synonymous with that defense ONLY, and has no other application. Sea wall, Tsunami, and others that have common meanings would have the same issue as Dark Side. I did a brainstorm session in a comment back when we were discussing possible nicknames as the defense was becoming historically great, and a few folks joined in, but we just relented when the guys self-glossed Dark Side. I don't really remember the list, but I had about 10-12 total with a few that I kinda liked, but nothing Earth-shattering.
“Sound Barrier” has a cool double, oh wait, TRIPLE entandre. “Sonic Booms” has a nice ring too ( as in ears ring when Emmanwori smacks you at warp 8)…which Begs the question of where you grew up hearing sonic booms overhead. I hear the youngsters flying F-18's from Whidbey on occassion…but “sonic booms”…not so much. Airforce brat perhaps?
In the early 1960s, I remember hearing them during elementary school - in the Los Angeles suburbs! After 1964, they became rare over major metro areas and were banned by the mid-70s.
He was the defensive gem of the 2025 draft, and the trade up some 30+ picks to grab him in the early second round was brilliant too! I can’t believe some other team didn’t out maneuver us and grab him first. His positional flexibility is incredible. A real Swiss Army Knife! Coach Mac just loves his versatility.
Other team’s offensive coordinator’s nightmare! Hope he stays healthy for many years to come.
What a great compliment to an already fantastic defensive. GO HAWKS!!!
I think you may have had to have Kam Chancellor next to you for his career, as Schneider did, to appreciate what he meant to the best defense you’ve ever assembled.
And you’ve had to have had Kyle Hamilton next to you for your best defense ever, as MacDonald did.
And maybe you had to live through your last attempt to get one of these types of players (Jamal Adams) to appreciate the unique characteristics of such a safety/CB/LB
But clearly Schneider and MacDonald both shared the belief that Emmanwori (and not a trade for Isaiah Simmons for example, who’s even bigger and just as fast/quick/explosive — and went Rd1/8 as a result) was the exact guy they needed.
And here’s the thing: Emmanwori is still just a rookie and will play in his first Super Bowl the day after his 23rd birthday.
As BTO might say: “Bbbbbaby you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”!
If we score early this thing could start to slip away quickly...if the refs get involved it won't surprise me with all that's on the line with keeping people watching - advertising and then there's the gambling too. Basically I see a world where refs make, or don't make, calls to keep the game close. I just don't get the impression NE is a huge threat in many ways. They do some things well, but I believe we can counter most everything. NE is sly, and we can't discount them, but we will handle business. The only thing that could be a problem is turnovers. It seems like Seattle had regressed to the mean somewhat...ie turnovers have decreased from the higher level of occurrence.
Friend who studies such things said this crew allows more holding than usual but calls more unnecessary roughness. Seems tailor made to bail out Maye on some desperation scrambles. Otoh it probably is favorable for Mr. Bradford as well.....
Regarding Special Teams, it’s not just the obvious points from returns and field goals, it’s hidden yards of field position.
Consider when a team is pinned behind their 20. This shortens their playbook. They don’t want plays that can turn into picks 6, so they might avoid short passes to the flat. They don’t want sacks, which can lead to scoops and scores, so they might not plan on long- developing plays. You can plan on a high run percentage.
Conversely, if we start at the 35, our whole playbook is open and we might need two fewer 1st downs to score.
Get near midfield, and our punt can suffocate the opposition. Stop them in the shadow of their goalposts, and their punter will feel the pressure, possibly giving us a short field.
Hidden yards were a big reason we beat the Rams. I haven’t finished my analysis, but it looks like we have a similar advantage over the Pats.
When a team says, “I can’t believe we lost”, or, “How was that game so close?”, there were probably hidden yards involved.
I’m glad you appreciated it. I gave it a bit of consideration. I don’t get one pick with multiples of six. I get multiple picks, and each yields exactly six.
I doubt that we would hear “picks 6” during a broadcast. 😉
Dickson revealed after game that he did this intentionally, noticing the returner was having trouble tracking the ball at a certain angle. After Dareke Young ran past the guy on the first fumble, he told him to be ready for another one and be in the right position this time!
In the second Rams game, the kickoff returner muffed a couple, and both times they magically bounced back into his hands.
I just checked. I believe that the punt returner was Xavier Smith, but the kickoff returner was Jordan Whittington or Ronnie Rivers. Does McVay let Special Teams have any practice minutes?
Michael Dickson was unquestionably one of the heroes of the conference championship. The hang time on the muffed punt that young recovered was something stratospheric like 5.6 seconds.
And conversely, in the first game with the Rams, their final punt to like the one inch line probably won the game for them. Had it hit the pylon, we would have gotten the ball at the 20. All things being equal, Myers then faces a 41 yard attempt, rather than a 61 yard prayer. It was one of those, “we played the better game, but lost” contests.
The good news: a punter with a great hang time can repeat that often. Punting out of bounds just inches from the goal line is like flipping a coin and having it land on its edge.
"Begaw" was coined by one of our community here in the comments section a couple of months back. I don't remember who it was, but a bunch of us liked it and picked it up, including SSJ himself. It is supposed to be the phonetic spelling of a Seahawk's battle screech. I heard someone on the radio say "ca-caw" the other day, and it reminded me of how most of us preferred "begaw" when he brought it up because we had heard "ca-caw" attributed to a crow or other innocuous bird in the past. So, it has just sort of become something the SSJ community has taken pride in to support our team and also our online community simultaneously. Having Ken like it and use it has been a big part of it spreading here, as one would expect.
Who was it that coined the cry, y'all? I know whoever it was will take credit here, if they get this far in the comments.
I figured it was something like that for precisely the "phonetic battle screech" reason - so nice job by whoever originated the avian-to-English transliteration. 👍
Strongly concur with avoiding ca-caw; that's permanently attached to "Up" in tandem with "rawr" for me. Adventure is out there!
Emmanwori is truly a difference maker on this defense. He allows Macdonald to do things he otherwise would not be able to, like staying in nickel when the Rams used 13 or 12 personnel. The Pats will try to 'beef up' along the line to take advantage of the Seahawks while in nickel, but everyone has tried that and haven't been all that successful, other than the Rams at times.
If Mike Macdonald wins the Super Bowl in only his second year as a head coach, that would be amazing. It's very exciting that he's still growing and learning in his role, but is already so good at what he does that he has the team playing in a SB. He may end up being the coach with the longest tenure in Seahawks history, given how young he is.
Usually at this time of year I'm already looking at the draft, and trying to sort out who the Seahawks might be interested in. I haven't looked at a single player yet. If things go according to plan, we'll be picking last, so I doubt I'll spend nearly as much time as I normally would.
I don't know who is going to win this game but here is a small point.
When the Pats played the Texans, the Texans turned it over five times. There were four interceptions and one fumble.
One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown, a pick six. After the other four turnovers, they didn't make a first down. After three of the turnovers they punted and the other time they fumbled the ball away.
I like to think a good team converts turnovers into points, but the Pats only did in once out of five times. I tried to look up the stat for that but I couldn't find it. If anyone knows where to look please feel free to point it out.
And in that game, for those of you that care, with five turnovers the Pats average drive began at their 33 yard line.
They also had 15 drives and only scored on 3.
Just using this game as a reference, I think we win. And by at least a few scores. Or more.
And since it is late and everyone has read the comments, I may repost this tomorrow.
We are all we got! We are all we need! Let’s go!
Never liked "The Dark Side" much as a nickname for our D. The dudes who do it do, so...got to back'm on that. I'll like it more when they win the SB. I'd go with something more nautical..."Sea Wall" or "Tsunami" etc. I'm a bit put out that they didn't consult me on that first.
I'm quivering like a tuning fork in anticipation for Sunday. Got my bag of buttered popcorn, a buttery Chardonay (they pair surprisingly well) and my lucky Seahawk popcorn bag clip ready to go.
GO HAWKS!!
I think, to Ken's point, the reason the LOB is so good is that it's synonymous with that defense ONLY, and has no other application. Sea wall, Tsunami, and others that have common meanings would have the same issue as Dark Side. I did a brainstorm session in a comment back when we were discussing possible nicknames as the defense was becoming historically great, and a few folks joined in, but we just relented when the guys self-glossed Dark Side. I don't really remember the list, but I had about 10-12 total with a few that I kinda liked, but nothing Earth-shattering.
I’ve always liked “The Sound Barrier”, but that’s probably because I heard the sonic booms overhead as a school kid.
I like that it refers to The Sound as well as the sound of the twelves.
On the other hand, I don’t want the opponents breaking the sound barrier, ever.
“Sound Barrier” has a cool double, oh wait, TRIPLE entandre. “Sonic Booms” has a nice ring too ( as in ears ring when Emmanwori smacks you at warp 8)…which Begs the question of where you grew up hearing sonic booms overhead. I hear the youngsters flying F-18's from Whidbey on occassion…but “sonic booms”…not so much. Airforce brat perhaps?
In the early 1960s, I remember hearing them during elementary school - in the Los Angeles suburbs! After 1964, they became rare over major metro areas and were banned by the mid-70s.
How about The Legion of Sonic Booms!
NICK EMMANWORI
He was the defensive gem of the 2025 draft, and the trade up some 30+ picks to grab him in the early second round was brilliant too! I can’t believe some other team didn’t out maneuver us and grab him first. His positional flexibility is incredible. A real Swiss Army Knife! Coach Mac just loves his versatility.
Other team’s offensive coordinator’s nightmare! Hope he stays healthy for many years to come.
What a great compliment to an already fantastic defensive. GO HAWKS!!!
I think you may have had to have Kam Chancellor next to you for his career, as Schneider did, to appreciate what he meant to the best defense you’ve ever assembled.
And you’ve had to have had Kyle Hamilton next to you for your best defense ever, as MacDonald did.
And maybe you had to live through your last attempt to get one of these types of players (Jamal Adams) to appreciate the unique characteristics of such a safety/CB/LB
But clearly Schneider and MacDonald both shared the belief that Emmanwori (and not a trade for Isaiah Simmons for example, who’s even bigger and just as fast/quick/explosive — and went Rd1/8 as a result) was the exact guy they needed.
And here’s the thing: Emmanwori is still just a rookie and will play in his first Super Bowl the day after his 23rd birthday.
As BTO might say: “Bbbbbaby you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”!
If we score early this thing could start to slip away quickly...if the refs get involved it won't surprise me with all that's on the line with keeping people watching - advertising and then there's the gambling too. Basically I see a world where refs make, or don't make, calls to keep the game close. I just don't get the impression NE is a huge threat in many ways. They do some things well, but I believe we can counter most everything. NE is sly, and we can't discount them, but we will handle business. The only thing that could be a problem is turnovers. It seems like Seattle had regressed to the mean somewhat...ie turnovers have decreased from the higher level of occurrence.
Friend who studies such things said this crew allows more holding than usual but calls more unnecessary roughness. Seems tailor made to bail out Maye on some desperation scrambles. Otoh it probably is favorable for Mr. Bradford as well.....
I'm seeing us convert the Super Bowl to the Supper Bowl. Dinner bell rings, time to eat...
Regarding Special Teams, it’s not just the obvious points from returns and field goals, it’s hidden yards of field position.
Consider when a team is pinned behind their 20. This shortens their playbook. They don’t want plays that can turn into picks 6, so they might avoid short passes to the flat. They don’t want sacks, which can lead to scoops and scores, so they might not plan on long- developing plays. You can plan on a high run percentage.
Conversely, if we start at the 35, our whole playbook is open and we might need two fewer 1st downs to score.
Get near midfield, and our punt can suffocate the opposition. Stop them in the shadow of their goalposts, and their punter will feel the pressure, possibly giving us a short field.
Hidden yards were a big reason we beat the Rams. I haven’t finished my analysis, but it looks like we have a similar advantage over the Pats.
When a team says, “I can’t believe we lost”, or, “How was that game so close?”, there were probably hidden yards involved.
"Picks 6" - my inner grammarian (or whatever is the right term) is smiling. Like "courts martial" or "surgeons general."
I’m glad you appreciated it. I gave it a bit of consideration. I don’t get one pick with multiples of six. I get multiple picks, and each yields exactly six.
I doubt that we would hear “picks 6” during a broadcast. 😉
Nope. I’d def had expected “pick sixes”. That’s graduate level stuff.
Dickson revealed after game that he did this intentionally, noticing the returner was having trouble tracking the ball at a certain angle. After Dareke Young ran past the guy on the first fumble, he told him to be ready for another one and be in the right position this time!
In the second Rams game, the kickoff returner muffed a couple, and both times they magically bounced back into his hands.
I just checked. I believe that the punt returner was Xavier Smith, but the kickoff returner was Jordan Whittington or Ronnie Rivers. Does McVay let Special Teams have any practice minutes?
Noice, Sea Hawk Hidden Yards Run !
Michael Dickson was unquestionably one of the heroes of the conference championship. The hang time on the muffed punt that young recovered was something stratospheric like 5.6 seconds.
And conversely, in the first game with the Rams, their final punt to like the one inch line probably won the game for them. Had it hit the pylon, we would have gotten the ball at the 20. All things being equal, Myers then faces a 41 yard attempt, rather than a 61 yard prayer. It was one of those, “we played the better game, but lost” contests.
The good news: a punter with a great hang time can repeat that often. Punting out of bounds just inches from the goal line is like flipping a coin and having it land on its edge.
Only 147 1/2 hours til kickoff (as of this writing) but who’s counting.
Begaw Super Bowl!
Begaw!
What is this Bagaw? Also FTR?
FTR = F The Rams
But I've been wondering about "Begaw" myself...
"Begaw" was coined by one of our community here in the comments section a couple of months back. I don't remember who it was, but a bunch of us liked it and picked it up, including SSJ himself. It is supposed to be the phonetic spelling of a Seahawk's battle screech. I heard someone on the radio say "ca-caw" the other day, and it reminded me of how most of us preferred "begaw" when he brought it up because we had heard "ca-caw" attributed to a crow or other innocuous bird in the past. So, it has just sort of become something the SSJ community has taken pride in to support our team and also our online community simultaneously. Having Ken like it and use it has been a big part of it spreading here, as one would expect.
Who was it that coined the cry, y'all? I know whoever it was will take credit here, if they get this far in the comments.
I figured it was something like that for precisely the "phonetic battle screech" reason - so nice job by whoever originated the avian-to-English transliteration. 👍
Strongly concur with avoiding ca-caw; that's permanently attached to "Up" in tandem with "rawr" for me. Adventure is out there!
And Begaw! 😁
FTR's!!!
Arghhh!
Assume this is a positive Arghh! just to get you pumped up for the game.