I am an eternal optimist. I have been since 1976. I truly believe in this organization, every player the , coaches, assistants, trainers, doctors, and front office personnel. What an amazing year of football we have had the delight to watch. If we have to shuffle the line up big deal, every one of the players will lift that individual up and make sure they help him be the best he can be. We will win this game and then prepare for the next one. Simple one play at a time one game at a time no looking forward no looking backward. Be the best you can be Seahawks.
Even if the EMF story is just a story and not medically accurate, there are enough players that won't take the chance and it could affect free agency. Either way its good for the Hawks.
On a side note, did anyone else watch GMFB this morning and see Kyle Brandt do Seattle 90s grunge to explain the current Seahawks team? It was amazing.
I have a quick question I was hoping you all could help me with. I have been looking for an Emmanwori jersey. I've found Josh Jones, a O'Tool jersey that embarrassingly enough I had to google because I had never heard of him. But no number 3. I mean they have 3 different Shaheed jerseys and he just got here. I do have several Russ jerseys if I could just get the name plate. :-) No big deal just curious if anyone knew the reason.
Go farther HAWKS.
Can't remember who said farther first but I like it.
So Sam D has a sore oblique on his left side, hum is that a big injure? I think it could affect his throwing, but I do believe the Seahawks have a medical staff that can make it go away for 6 hours on Saturday. Also Seahawks listing SD as questionable much different then the Santa Clara 9ers listing Ricky Pearsall questionable when he didn't play last week.
I agree with SSJ that Lock could take over with an early pass and then run pounding of the Santa Clara 9ers on the ground and the next series a deep pass to Shaheed for a TD and than before the end of the first half a play action TD to JSN. Lots of fun tape for the Rams or Bears to watch after playing in the cold on Sunday. The Chicago temperature is expected to be 20 degrees at kickoff with a real-feel of -1 degree.
Probably mostly pain management. If he doesn't let it affect his functionality, I wouldn't see it as an issue. But I'm sure the Niners will try to hit him hard and early, even if it draws a flag.
As I fret about this game, I have to remind myself of the fourth quarter of the Rams game. I hope that is who this team really is and that is what carries them forward for the next three games.
The pundits a NFL.com all predict Seattle to win the game. Two of them have it by more than one score. Only one other prediction is by more than one score. On the other three games, no team is favored by more than three of five.
Am I the only one thinking that there is WAY too much confidence in the Hawks beating the 9ers this week? All it takes is for the Hawks to turn the ball over early and for the 9ers to score and then the hawks would have to try and make up for that mistake the rest of the game because the 9ers can still play defense when they lock-in.
You are not the only one. There will never be a time in sports history that an entire fanbase is going to be 100% confident going into anything. There's always fear of failure, fear of flukes, fear of overconfidence. I get it.
But as I've said all week long, and all week before the last 49ers game, of course the Seahawks can lose. I've said this statement "all it takes is one turnover" in some form just yesterday.
Should this mean that we shouldn't evaluate the teams fairly before the game? Because we know that the Seahawks MIGHT lose? No, we have to judge the teams fairly.
The Seahawks have been great. The 49ers have been good.
When it was 2022, what did Seaside Joe say before the wild card playoff game? "The Seahawks good, but the 49ers are great."
I'm not biased. This is just the fair analysis of the matchup. We saw these same fears about Week 18 and the Seahawks dominated the Niners. It wasn't as close as the final score. There's mountains of evidence -- 17 games worth -- that the Seahawks only enemy is themselves. Sure, they can shoot themselves in the foot...they're also 14-3. Despite all those turnovers. Why? Because they have to shoot themselves 3-4 times at least.
The Niners are fine. They're very very lucky to be here. I hope I am right because my lord I'm tired of the 49ers being so overrated for beating mediocre and bad teams.
Actually, i Do have Way too much confidence in the Hawks winning this game. Believe it's justified. We'll see how it's played out. ... 'gainst the Rams will be the challenge. Rooting for Chicago this weekend.
I'm not particularly worried about Darnold's injury. If we lose (and I don't think we will, but I'm a pessimist, mostly) it seems likely to be because we have a very young team that has had trouble scoring in the first half. They're going to have to match the intensity of a 9ers team that seems very much to believe in each other, and which has already won a relatively improbable game. (Am I right that the bye teams lost in all the CFB games?) I also worry some that our coaches are distracted by all the job opportunities out there. I mean, they're professionals, they know the 9ers, sure. But they're human.
On the other hand, the 9ers LB corps and secondary is depleted. They don't have Kittle. Pearsall may or may not be able to go, and even if he does it's not clear, even to him, that he'll be good for much, that he can trust his bad knee. And we have Arroyo back -- I'd like for that to matter.
I'm concerned about Darnold's absence because I don't believe Lock is as mobile. I don't want this to come down to our third-string QB if our backup got hurt.
Lock is a Talent waiting to explode with a properly coached Team. Glad we have him under contract for another year. Then we have Milroe. No doubt Drew is teaching him patience.
Richard Sherman thinks that this game is a toss up, due to being divisional rivals playing back-to-backish games.
I have a different opinion. One team is healthy, has had rest, and has the best defense in the league with proven depth. The other team is beat up, played an additional game, and is on a short rest between road games.
Given that, I expect a game plan designed to wear out our opponents. On offense, that means commitment to the run game. The WRs will alternate between running the legs off the secondary, and beating the shit out of them with aggressive blocking. Even if the run game isn’t very effective, the first half will be about body blows.
On the defensive side, we will rotate the DL to stay fresh. Emmanwori won’t have to worry about Kittle, so he’ll be able to key on McCaffrey. Expect pressure, not sacks. The defense will prioritize gap integrity and shutting down Purdy’s ability to extend plays. The back end can play aggressively, knowing that plays will not last long. Like last game, the aggressive player will win or slow things down, and the rest of the team will smother any follow through.
By the end of the game, they’ll be beat up and worn out. The Seahawks will be buoyed by the crowd. The home team will either close it out or will have matches to burn to gain the lead.
The Niners will be playing to survive. The Seahawks will each be playing for each other.
As a swimmer, I’ve been at the end of a race where my tank is empty and a stronger swimmer is in the next lane. It’s a bad feeling. I also know what it’s like to swim in a relay, where I don’t want to let anyone down. I don’t care about the competition. I drain my tank for the team.
Mike has these guys seriously primed not to worry about the competition, instead BE the competition. We have every reason to be confident. So why am I nervous? Arghhh.
Richard Sherman wouldn't be the first or last player to know a lot about football (far more than I know) but have a bad opinion. He's never been able to shake his split allegiance between the Seahawks and 49ers.
I have to give credit to Chris Simms for being a Shanahan homer but he's been adamant in Week 18 and this week that the Seahawks are just the way better team.
The Seahawks have done the impossible in the NFL. Or so what football people have been trained to think is impossible. The QB is largely irrelevant to the Seahawks success. This has led, in my opinion, to a lack of understanding from a national perspective on why the Seahawks are so good. These "experts" are having trouble understanding what is happening, so then the Hawks become underrated and underappreciated.
I had a friend say, "Well I am worried about Lock turning the ball over". Uh what? Sam Darnold leads the NFL in turnovers and had 4 in the biggest game of the year.
Anyways, I hope Sam plays, I think he deserves it and is the starter for a reason, but I would feel similarly confident if Lock had to play.
I ask this: How many games have the Seahawks won this year due to the QB?
My count is zero. The main game the QB could've pulled a rabbit out of a hat, he threw a pick on the game winning drive (Bucs).
Seahawks have a great team and a number of ways to win. Maybe they will need a big performance from SD in the playoffs, but they really haven't for most of the season. So I say keep it rolling.
Mike will have every reason to pull Sam if we are getting rudely surprised. Truth is, Sam opened that door. Plus I fully expect our Defense is ready to put up points on the board.
Yeah, we are in total agreement. I think Super Bowl teams almost always need that moment or that game from a QB (even Nick Foles famously had one) but Darnold probably much more needed if Seattle advances than strictly tomorrow. The 49ers are probably the worst team left that Seattle would likely face.
99% of conspiracy theories are BS, but it’s not 100%. It’s 99% as safe for players to practice with the 49ers as anywhere else. What value do players place on that slim chance it’s not? It shouldn’t make a difference for most players, but if it’s someone talented enough to make a difference who might help the 49ers displace the Seahawks at the top of the heap next year, I’m on board to spread the fear! Let’s throw on cancer and early onset dementia! Soft tissue is just the tip of the iceberg!
For sure, Danno, I'm with you we can continue to hype it up.
I definitely don't disagree with 100% of conspiracy theories. This one honestly should fall apart very quickly: these types of soft tissue injuries are up everywhere recently, in all sports. People tend to read one story and then stop looking for any other explanations. It's easy to build any narrative you want these days.
I just think players pretty clearly are going to fall into the category of people who will either believe it or decide that it's not worth the risk if it can't be unproven.
If Darnold is injured yes it affects my confidence but only because of Lock reps with the 1's. Those 20-22 passes Darnold would throw may need to convert prob 5-6 3rd downs -- will be against a more aggressive defense daring Lock to throw downfield, if it's Lock. Not a criticism of Lock, could be Dan Marino back there and I'd be concerned. Darnold and JSN have a demonstrated connection, that's the only thing I worry about but very difficult to say no worries
Just from the last game, Darnold only averaged 4.8 ADOT. In some games, definitely would be more worried about it. But the 49ers have an awful defense and allow a lot of high percentage throws for first downs because the offense is usually in third and short due to SF's bad run defense.
That being said, I agree that converting longer third downs could be an issue.
I am an eternal optimist. I have been since 1976. I truly believe in this organization, every player the , coaches, assistants, trainers, doctors, and front office personnel. What an amazing year of football we have had the delight to watch. If we have to shuffle the line up big deal, every one of the players will lift that individual up and make sure they help him be the best he can be. We will win this game and then prepare for the next one. Simple one play at a time one game at a time no looking forward no looking backward. Be the best you can be Seahawks.
What a great time to be a Seahawk Fan !
Even if the EMF story is just a story and not medically accurate, there are enough players that won't take the chance and it could affect free agency. Either way its good for the Hawks.
On a side note, did anyone else watch GMFB this morning and see Kyle Brandt do Seattle 90s grunge to explain the current Seahawks team? It was amazing.
No it does not affect my confidence.
I have a quick question I was hoping you all could help me with. I have been looking for an Emmanwori jersey. I've found Josh Jones, a O'Tool jersey that embarrassingly enough I had to google because I had never heard of him. But no number 3. I mean they have 3 different Shaheed jerseys and he just got here. I do have several Russ jerseys if I could just get the name plate. :-) No big deal just curious if anyone knew the reason.
Go farther HAWKS.
Can't remember who said farther first but I like it.
So Sam D has a sore oblique on his left side, hum is that a big injure? I think it could affect his throwing, but I do believe the Seahawks have a medical staff that can make it go away for 6 hours on Saturday. Also Seahawks listing SD as questionable much different then the Santa Clara 9ers listing Ricky Pearsall questionable when he didn't play last week.
I agree with SSJ that Lock could take over with an early pass and then run pounding of the Santa Clara 9ers on the ground and the next series a deep pass to Shaheed for a TD and than before the end of the first half a play action TD to JSN. Lots of fun tape for the Rams or Bears to watch after playing in the cold on Sunday. The Chicago temperature is expected to be 20 degrees at kickoff with a real-feel of -1 degree.
Probably mostly pain management. If he doesn't let it affect his functionality, I wouldn't see it as an issue. But I'm sure the Niners will try to hit him hard and early, even if it draws a flag.
As I fret about this game, I have to remind myself of the fourth quarter of the Rams game. I hope that is who this team really is and that is what carries them forward for the next three games.
I like this.
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-playoff-picks-divisional-round-2025-nfl-season
The pundits a NFL.com all predict Seattle to win the game. Two of them have it by more than one score. Only one other prediction is by more than one score. On the other three games, no team is favored by more than three of five.
Here is another projection.
https://www.natesilver.net/p/elway-nfl-ratings-projections-playoff-odds
I hope not too much is behind the paywall. Nate Silver use to be in the NY Times.
Am I the only one thinking that there is WAY too much confidence in the Hawks beating the 9ers this week? All it takes is for the Hawks to turn the ball over early and for the 9ers to score and then the hawks would have to try and make up for that mistake the rest of the game because the 9ers can still play defense when they lock-in.
You are not the only one. There will never be a time in sports history that an entire fanbase is going to be 100% confident going into anything. There's always fear of failure, fear of flukes, fear of overconfidence. I get it.
But as I've said all week long, and all week before the last 49ers game, of course the Seahawks can lose. I've said this statement "all it takes is one turnover" in some form just yesterday.
Should this mean that we shouldn't evaluate the teams fairly before the game? Because we know that the Seahawks MIGHT lose? No, we have to judge the teams fairly.
The Seahawks have been great. The 49ers have been good.
When it was 2022, what did Seaside Joe say before the wild card playoff game? "The Seahawks good, but the 49ers are great."
I'm not biased. This is just the fair analysis of the matchup. We saw these same fears about Week 18 and the Seahawks dominated the Niners. It wasn't as close as the final score. There's mountains of evidence -- 17 games worth -- that the Seahawks only enemy is themselves. Sure, they can shoot themselves in the foot...they're also 14-3. Despite all those turnovers. Why? Because they have to shoot themselves 3-4 times at least.
The Niners are fine. They're very very lucky to be here. I hope I am right because my lord I'm tired of the 49ers being so overrated for beating mediocre and bad teams.
Actually, i Do have Way too much confidence in the Hawks winning this game. Believe it's justified. We'll see how it's played out. ... 'gainst the Rams will be the challenge. Rooting for Chicago this weekend.
I'm nervous anyway, Egg. Now we enter our biggest game in 10 years with a stupid drama playing out. Embrace the Suck.
I'm not particularly worried about Darnold's injury. If we lose (and I don't think we will, but I'm a pessimist, mostly) it seems likely to be because we have a very young team that has had trouble scoring in the first half. They're going to have to match the intensity of a 9ers team that seems very much to believe in each other, and which has already won a relatively improbable game. (Am I right that the bye teams lost in all the CFB games?) I also worry some that our coaches are distracted by all the job opportunities out there. I mean, they're professionals, they know the 9ers, sure. But they're human.
On the other hand, the 9ers LB corps and secondary is depleted. They don't have Kittle. Pearsall may or may not be able to go, and even if he does it's not clear, even to him, that he'll be good for much, that he can trust his bad knee. And we have Arroyo back -- I'd like for that to matter.
The Seahawks are 9th in first half touchdowns scored and 1st in first half touchdowns allowed.
Thanx for the OTOH, Grant.
I'm concerned about Darnold's absence because I don't believe Lock is as mobile. I don't want this to come down to our third-string QB if our backup got hurt.
The Seahawks would win this game by at least 10 even with Jalen Milroe. The passing won't matter that much.
Lock is a Talent waiting to explode with a properly coached Team. Glad we have him under contract for another year. Then we have Milroe. No doubt Drew is teaching him patience.
Richard Sherman thinks that this game is a toss up, due to being divisional rivals playing back-to-backish games.
I have a different opinion. One team is healthy, has had rest, and has the best defense in the league with proven depth. The other team is beat up, played an additional game, and is on a short rest between road games.
Given that, I expect a game plan designed to wear out our opponents. On offense, that means commitment to the run game. The WRs will alternate between running the legs off the secondary, and beating the shit out of them with aggressive blocking. Even if the run game isn’t very effective, the first half will be about body blows.
On the defensive side, we will rotate the DL to stay fresh. Emmanwori won’t have to worry about Kittle, so he’ll be able to key on McCaffrey. Expect pressure, not sacks. The defense will prioritize gap integrity and shutting down Purdy’s ability to extend plays. The back end can play aggressively, knowing that plays will not last long. Like last game, the aggressive player will win or slow things down, and the rest of the team will smother any follow through.
By the end of the game, they’ll be beat up and worn out. The Seahawks will be buoyed by the crowd. The home team will either close it out or will have matches to burn to gain the lead.
The Niners will be playing to survive. The Seahawks will each be playing for each other.
As a swimmer, I’ve been at the end of a race where my tank is empty and a stronger swimmer is in the next lane. It’s a bad feeling. I also know what it’s like to swim in a relay, where I don’t want to let anyone down. I don’t care about the competition. I drain my tank for the team.
26-13, Seahawks.
Mike has these guys seriously primed not to worry about the competition, instead BE the competition. We have every reason to be confident. So why am I nervous? Arghhh.
Good analogy about swimming.
Richard Sherman wouldn't be the first or last player to know a lot about football (far more than I know) but have a bad opinion. He's never been able to shake his split allegiance between the Seahawks and 49ers.
I have to give credit to Chris Simms for being a Shanahan homer but he's been adamant in Week 18 and this week that the Seahawks are just the way better team.
YES ... Couldn't agree more with the write up.
The Seahawks have done the impossible in the NFL. Or so what football people have been trained to think is impossible. The QB is largely irrelevant to the Seahawks success. This has led, in my opinion, to a lack of understanding from a national perspective on why the Seahawks are so good. These "experts" are having trouble understanding what is happening, so then the Hawks become underrated and underappreciated.
I had a friend say, "Well I am worried about Lock turning the ball over". Uh what? Sam Darnold leads the NFL in turnovers and had 4 in the biggest game of the year.
Anyways, I hope Sam plays, I think he deserves it and is the starter for a reason, but I would feel similarly confident if Lock had to play.
I ask this: How many games have the Seahawks won this year due to the QB?
My count is zero. The main game the QB could've pulled a rabbit out of a hat, he threw a pick on the game winning drive (Bucs).
Seahawks have a great team and a number of ways to win. Maybe they will need a big performance from SD in the playoffs, but they really haven't for most of the season. So I say keep it rolling.
Mike will have every reason to pull Sam if we are getting rudely surprised. Truth is, Sam opened that door. Plus I fully expect our Defense is ready to put up points on the board.
Yeah, we are in total agreement. I think Super Bowl teams almost always need that moment or that game from a QB (even Nick Foles famously had one) but Darnold probably much more needed if Seattle advances than strictly tomorrow. The 49ers are probably the worst team left that Seattle would likely face.
Yes. (Foles is a great point)
The OT drive against the Rams comes to mind when we needed it. Those were some big time reads, throws, and plays.
Great work Joe ... Can't wait for Saturday!
99% of conspiracy theories are BS, but it’s not 100%. It’s 99% as safe for players to practice with the 49ers as anywhere else. What value do players place on that slim chance it’s not? It shouldn’t make a difference for most players, but if it’s someone talented enough to make a difference who might help the 49ers displace the Seahawks at the top of the heap next year, I’m on board to spread the fear! Let’s throw on cancer and early onset dementia! Soft tissue is just the tip of the iceberg!
For sure, Danno, I'm with you we can continue to hype it up.
I definitely don't disagree with 100% of conspiracy theories. This one honestly should fall apart very quickly: these types of soft tissue injuries are up everywhere recently, in all sports. People tend to read one story and then stop looking for any other explanations. It's easy to build any narrative you want these days.
I just think players pretty clearly are going to fall into the category of people who will either believe it or decide that it's not worth the risk if it can't be unproven.
I’m on it! I’ll spread the word to the 1.6 people (according to AI) that listen to me.
Danno, i agree with you on almost All that you write,
... but am Certain there's lots more than 1.6 folks you influence.
Wait... Can you repeat that? I was only 60% listening.
Didn’t I read somewhere that we elevated another RB to the squad a couple of weeks ago? Cam Akers?
Maybe it was a plan all along. Maybe we’ll just run the ball with multiple RB’s all day. It’d probably work against SF. Who needs a QB?
As per an old Aussie saying,
“She’ll be ‘right mate”.
Akers very quietly has been active the last 3 games. Not a very good RB, but I think he can handle a small workload.
We'll take any long or short-term competitive advantage we can get.
Especially in another NFC West arms race, which we are likely to have ahead.
If Darnold is injured yes it affects my confidence but only because of Lock reps with the 1's. Those 20-22 passes Darnold would throw may need to convert prob 5-6 3rd downs -- will be against a more aggressive defense daring Lock to throw downfield, if it's Lock. Not a criticism of Lock, could be Dan Marino back there and I'd be concerned. Darnold and JSN have a demonstrated connection, that's the only thing I worry about but very difficult to say no worries
Just from the last game, Darnold only averaged 4.8 ADOT. In some games, definitely would be more worried about it. But the 49ers have an awful defense and allow a lot of high percentage throws for first downs because the offense is usually in third and short due to SF's bad run defense.
That being said, I agree that converting longer third downs could be an issue.
He (Darnold) may still be benefiting from film of those deep throws to JSN earlier in the season — in the back of everyone’s mind maybe?
But hadn’t realized the 4.8 — seemed to be plenty, we could have easily scored 26 pts in that game.
"Will the 49ers be able to attract free agents after this?"
NFL Player : "NO WAY, I'm gonna put my soft-tissue in harm's way at San Fran's practice field !"