We have already beaten Pittsburg, Houston, Jaguars from the AFL playoff teams. Any others? 31-17 Pittsburg. Houston 27-19, Jags 20-12, . A combined 78 to 48.
I don't know what SSJ will say about this tomorrow, but this is what he had to say last July 22nd. It's interesting to look back through the archives. Our Joe is pretty smart.
Anthony Bradford is finishing up his contract year, so I wonder if he'll be the next one to be extended? No, really! He's been improving and we're short on Draft picks.
This is a lightning bolt of energy to the entire crew of our offense's linemen! This Team is SERIOUS about you Boyz! No more raiding your budget for QBs.
He's likely underpaid in year 2, but it doesn't surprise me. Cross wants to be here like most of the guys do. He was never going to get to FA and then take the most money on the table. The guys not wired like that. I mean, I wouldn't blame him for doing that, as that would be his right as a FA. I just think the man likes his situation and his teammates, and has no interest in starting over somewhere else.
Agreed, and we also need to consider the (bad) alternatives not just a theoretical value. If we are going cheap, somewhat shaky, and not mobile at QB with SD, a solid OL is necessity not optional. Mac can plug in cheap role players in his defense to offset the cost. There's no alternative path to getting a cheaper Cross level LT if we're going to be winning a lot the next 5 years and drafting in the 20s-30s 🙏
The "regular guy" character of MMD is really what's appealing. Whether or not he's a genius, you hear his humility constantly. He's always talking about learning, about growth, about building. He's not rah-rah like Pete was. But in many ways they're similar; it's about the we and not the me. The hazard with Pete wasn't just that he didn't keep up with current study. It was that he was too loyal and also blinded by that loyalty. He MADE Russ but then couldn't see that Russ became the problem. Great coaches can manage a culture AND the Xs and Os. McDonald's great strength is that he effuses love for his players but also, very clearly, discipline. Do it his way; trust his system. I think this is very similar to Andy Reid and why he's been able to keep a lot of good coaches there and manage big egos. They want to win for that guy and for each other.
As for McDonald's future, I'm wary of crowns or accolades. I bet McDonald and Snyder are, too.
I honestly believe the divisional round will be the scariest. If it's a rematch with either the Rams or San Fran, that's going to be very tough. Both will play very angrily.
Philly's D is probably the toughest left in the NFC, so they're scary for that reason alone.
Perhaps a dream is Green Bay winning against (likely) Chicago so you play them as the lowest remaining seed at home. GB isn't a patsy but they're just not as scary as they were with Parsons.
I still think the Rams are the most complete remaining foe, and you definitely want the easiest path forward. It's truly now about one game at a time. In 2012+13, Seattle was terrifying to its rivals. This team can get there, but they're not there yet.
I liked the idea of having a flashy offense, which I'll admit I even got sucked into "let Russ cook" at one point.. That being said, as soon as they said they were goin Macdonald I loved it, I loved the idea of Seattle having a dominating defense again, that's what made us great and gave me my personal favorite memories as a sports fan and last night reminded me so much of that team..
This is not really important in the scheme of things, but Houston just gave up their thirtieth point. If my math is correct this makes the Hawks the number 1 scoring defense in the league. Which is essentially the only defensive stat that matters.
I was really bummed when we fired Pete. I was okay with trading Geno and DK, in part because neither seemed to want to be here. But I was FAR from confident that the franchise was heading in the right direction. I was fairly excited about the Macdonald hire since we'd moved on from Pete and there was no changing that. I'd be lying if I said that I was confident though. I fully expected a drop off for a while at least.
I was wrong. We're so ahead of schedule right now that it's mind-blowing. I expected 3-4 years for MM to get his roster and personnel in line. We're competing for a Super Bowl title in year 2! Our garbage defense from 2 years ago is top 2 in the league (and I'd argue #1). I loved Pete. He was fun, energetic and positive. Most importantly he hoisted the Lombardi for the first time in franchise history -and I'd pulled for them from afar for all of those years. I refused to believe that the criticisms of him were valid (well, outside of clock management, challenges, and minor stuff). But those who were calling for his ousting were right and I was wrong. He had overstayed his time. He had failed to adapt. He was too loyal to coaches and players who underperformed. He spent the cap in ways that don't win in the modern NFL. I will always appreciate what he did here and we were always competitive, but it was time. I was wrong.
Mike Macdonald is Coach of the Year. Pete's Raiders won 2 games.
Carroll began this progression to a new way to "run" a football team. Schneider is a graduate of it, taking his tweaks of that system, improving on it, as will any Effective Builder. Bringing in Les Frazier to deal with all the nuances that destroy rookie HCs was huge. Not just the position, but WHO JS hired. It is no wonder Mike was so tight-lipped early on. He had WTF?? painted on his face in every press meeting. Kudo's go out to Les and John for keeping him in the game. Give it time, Mike. Let it all evolve. Going 10-7 was good enough for Jody to feel confident. Investors agreed. More importantly, so did the 12s. John Schneider deserves whatever Award the League showers Executives with. He won't get it, but only due to the fickle nature it embodies. I watch all the drama, choosing to see it as a comedy. In any event, I am damn PROUD to have watched it, close up, as it unfolds. The tone, temper and adult intelligence displayed among the commenters here as gathered by the superior quality of our fearless Creator of Seaside Joe, will be a major source of information as this genesis is studied in the following years. May our many Football Heroes now playing cap it all with winning the next Super Bowl. I smell a 4-peat in the works. I LOVE all of it.
I think preseason I settled on 11-6, which I felt was optimistic given the "consensus" saying the Seahawks would likely finish below .500. But watching them take on the best defense in the NFL and control the game so convincingly, I really felt like this 5-2 team only had one more loss in them heading into the bye.
I hope we play new England in the SB so we can exercise those demons. Rip the bandage off and show the pick at the goal line clip over and over. Then we win and it will be cathartic. Moving on...that is all.
I watched Maye a few times this year. He's legit. I had my doubts but he's turned out to be a very good QB. That's actually a team to fear in the SB.... But you have to get there first. And I'm not counting any future chickens yet.
I rewatched the game again this morning, which was a lot of fun knowing what the outcome was. A few things I took away;
- There were a number of times where the 9'ers ran all their motions and shifts and whatnot, and the Seattle defence did not budge. It was like they were saying, do whatever you want, we're going to shut it down anyway. EJ was just signally for guys to stay put.
- The eye discipline on defence was fantastic. Guys were always where they needed to be, and I can't think of a play where it looked like anyone got fooled.
- The tackling was amazing. Emmanwori, Spoon, Thomas were flying to the ball and putting guys on the ground.
- Both defensive and offensive lines dominated the trenches. When's the last time we say that against a playoff caliber team? Nod to Bradford who played pretty well, and is unbelievable at blocking with just his left arm. Say what you want about him, but that man is crazy strong.
- It would not surprise me if San Fran loses the first playoff game they play. The Seahawks beat the hell out of them on both sides of the ball. They better hope for a Sunday or Monday game next weekend, cuz if they have to play next Saturday it could be a problem. Remember what teams records were back in 2012-2014 after playing the Seahawks.....it was bad, and for that very reason.
It's very fun to re-watch a game when you know we won. Even more fun watching our defence do that to what had been an offensive juggernaut for the past few weeks.
Yes... even though the "juggernaut" label was exposed as fraudulent by SSJ in his articles calling out the 'whiners weak defensive opponents during their run.
Yep, but they played better than I thought they would on defense.....at least in the red zone. Although, we were part of their success with our f-ups in the red zone and missed field goals. As Macdonald says, there's always stuff to fix.
I admired Geno's sense of personal responsibility for errors, need for improvement ..."not an index finger guy - a thumb guy". But I hit a wall with his inconsistency and got sick of a guy constantly explaining the same mistakes. His frustration and self-defeat eventually embittered him. Time to go.
Sam is in the later stages of overcoming the psychological hangup of many long term QB backups - overachieving to repair inferiority by over-extending plays/ taking foolish risks. He's got better judgment plus a good arm, enough speed/agility, experience, self-preservation, enough protection and weapons.
Defense is the royal road to Lombardi-land. I just hope Hawk D can survive the loss/decline of Big Cat, JReed, DLaw. Or do they share genes with Calais?
I also appreciated Geno's talking points and taking or responsibility, but it started to ring hollow when his sideline body language and facial expressions began contradicting them. His leadership grew shaky.
I just finished rewatching the game and I will be looking forward to see a few players on the all 22. D Hall looked good. When I watched it live, I didn’t really notice Riq Woolen, but on the re-watch I was impressed with his effort, and for him, a very physical game. I also want to focus in on the O-line. The value of Zabel and Sundell blocking downfield on the second level defenders on some of those run plays looked good. They really move well.
On a few of those outside runs (zone or toss sweeps) the lineman were all doing a great job of hunting guys to block. When the cameras caught John Lynch losing his shit after K9's 19 yard run on 3rd and 16 or whatever it was, that was priceless.
We have already beaten Pittsburg, Houston, Jaguars from the AFL playoff teams. Any others? 31-17 Pittsburg. Houston 27-19, Jags 20-12, . A combined 78 to 48.
I don't know what SSJ will say about this tomorrow, but this is what he had to say last July 22nd. It's interesting to look back through the archives. Our Joe is pretty smart.
https://www.seasidejoe.com/p/seahawks-charles-cross-trade-rumors-contract
Anthony Bradford is finishing up his contract year, so I wonder if he'll be the next one to be extended? No, really! He's been improving and we're short on Draft picks.
Just not for a pile. Maybe two year 15 mil/per ... on second thought, I think we will wait almost till the last minute to sign Bradford.
Per Rappaport, we just extended Cross to a $26M per year contract. https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2007963360344809720
This is a lightning bolt of energy to the entire crew of our offense's linemen! This Team is SERIOUS about you Boyz! No more raiding your budget for QBs.
Yeowza!
4 Years, at the end he will likely be underpaid.
He's likely underpaid in year 2, but it doesn't surprise me. Cross wants to be here like most of the guys do. He was never going to get to FA and then take the most money on the table. The guys not wired like that. I mean, I wouldn't blame him for doing that, as that would be his right as a FA. I just think the man likes his situation and his teammates, and has no interest in starting over somewhere else.
Agreed, and we also need to consider the (bad) alternatives not just a theoretical value. If we are going cheap, somewhat shaky, and not mobile at QB with SD, a solid OL is necessity not optional. Mac can plug in cheap role players in his defense to offset the cost. There's no alternative path to getting a cheaper Cross level LT if we're going to be winning a lot the next 5 years and drafting in the 20s-30s 🙏
Just reported that Cross signed a 4-year extension.
The "regular guy" character of MMD is really what's appealing. Whether or not he's a genius, you hear his humility constantly. He's always talking about learning, about growth, about building. He's not rah-rah like Pete was. But in many ways they're similar; it's about the we and not the me. The hazard with Pete wasn't just that he didn't keep up with current study. It was that he was too loyal and also blinded by that loyalty. He MADE Russ but then couldn't see that Russ became the problem. Great coaches can manage a culture AND the Xs and Os. McDonald's great strength is that he effuses love for his players but also, very clearly, discipline. Do it his way; trust his system. I think this is very similar to Andy Reid and why he's been able to keep a lot of good coaches there and manage big egos. They want to win for that guy and for each other.
As for McDonald's future, I'm wary of crowns or accolades. I bet McDonald and Snyder are, too.
I honestly believe the divisional round will be the scariest. If it's a rematch with either the Rams or San Fran, that's going to be very tough. Both will play very angrily.
Philly's D is probably the toughest left in the NFC, so they're scary for that reason alone.
Perhaps a dream is Green Bay winning against (likely) Chicago so you play them as the lowest remaining seed at home. GB isn't a patsy but they're just not as scary as they were with Parsons.
I still think the Rams are the most complete remaining foe, and you definitely want the easiest path forward. It's truly now about one game at a time. In 2012+13, Seattle was terrifying to its rivals. This team can get there, but they're not there yet.
I liked the idea of having a flashy offense, which I'll admit I even got sucked into "let Russ cook" at one point.. That being said, as soon as they said they were goin Macdonald I loved it, I loved the idea of Seattle having a dominating defense again, that's what made us great and gave me my personal favorite memories as a sports fan and last night reminded me so much of that team..
This is not really important in the scheme of things, but Houston just gave up their thirtieth point. If my math is correct this makes the Hawks the number 1 scoring defense in the league. Which is essentially the only defensive stat that matters.
Very good Math, John.
Yep were number one🤩
I was really bummed when we fired Pete. I was okay with trading Geno and DK, in part because neither seemed to want to be here. But I was FAR from confident that the franchise was heading in the right direction. I was fairly excited about the Macdonald hire since we'd moved on from Pete and there was no changing that. I'd be lying if I said that I was confident though. I fully expected a drop off for a while at least.
I was wrong. We're so ahead of schedule right now that it's mind-blowing. I expected 3-4 years for MM to get his roster and personnel in line. We're competing for a Super Bowl title in year 2! Our garbage defense from 2 years ago is top 2 in the league (and I'd argue #1). I loved Pete. He was fun, energetic and positive. Most importantly he hoisted the Lombardi for the first time in franchise history -and I'd pulled for them from afar for all of those years. I refused to believe that the criticisms of him were valid (well, outside of clock management, challenges, and minor stuff). But those who were calling for his ousting were right and I was wrong. He had overstayed his time. He had failed to adapt. He was too loyal to coaches and players who underperformed. He spent the cap in ways that don't win in the modern NFL. I will always appreciate what he did here and we were always competitive, but it was time. I was wrong.
Mike Macdonald is Coach of the Year. Pete's Raiders won 2 games.
Now 3 games for Pete. Still #1 pick though.
Carroll began this progression to a new way to "run" a football team. Schneider is a graduate of it, taking his tweaks of that system, improving on it, as will any Effective Builder. Bringing in Les Frazier to deal with all the nuances that destroy rookie HCs was huge. Not just the position, but WHO JS hired. It is no wonder Mike was so tight-lipped early on. He had WTF?? painted on his face in every press meeting. Kudo's go out to Les and John for keeping him in the game. Give it time, Mike. Let it all evolve. Going 10-7 was good enough for Jody to feel confident. Investors agreed. More importantly, so did the 12s. John Schneider deserves whatever Award the League showers Executives with. He won't get it, but only due to the fickle nature it embodies. I watch all the drama, choosing to see it as a comedy. In any event, I am damn PROUD to have watched it, close up, as it unfolds. The tone, temper and adult intelligence displayed among the commenters here as gathered by the superior quality of our fearless Creator of Seaside Joe, will be a major source of information as this genesis is studied in the following years. May our many Football Heroes now playing cap it all with winning the next Super Bowl. I smell a 4-peat in the works. I LOVE all of it.
Week 7 vs Houston, 3rd quarter (I think), I asked,
"Is this a 14-3 team?"
https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/a9d408c6-063f-4b24-8f49-8c9d8e58ef8f?target_reply_id=d5921bf9-0b61-44bc-b034-cac51d04b9f9&showTarget=true
I think preseason I settled on 11-6, which I felt was optimistic given the "consensus" saying the Seahawks would likely finish below .500. But watching them take on the best defense in the NFL and control the game so convincingly, I really felt like this 5-2 team only had one more loss in them heading into the bye.
I hope we play new England in the SB so we can exercise those demons. Rip the bandage off and show the pick at the goal line clip over and over. Then we win and it will be cathartic. Moving on...that is all.
I watched Maye a few times this year. He's legit. I had my doubts but he's turned out to be a very good QB. That's actually a team to fear in the SB.... But you have to get there first. And I'm not counting any future chickens yet.
Based on the team this year and the comments above, I am convinced we have both coach of the year and manager of the year.
Not that they will actually win the awards, but had any team ever had the double?
I rewatched the game again this morning, which was a lot of fun knowing what the outcome was. A few things I took away;
- There were a number of times where the 9'ers ran all their motions and shifts and whatnot, and the Seattle defence did not budge. It was like they were saying, do whatever you want, we're going to shut it down anyway. EJ was just signally for guys to stay put.
- The eye discipline on defence was fantastic. Guys were always where they needed to be, and I can't think of a play where it looked like anyone got fooled.
- The tackling was amazing. Emmanwori, Spoon, Thomas were flying to the ball and putting guys on the ground.
- Both defensive and offensive lines dominated the trenches. When's the last time we say that against a playoff caliber team? Nod to Bradford who played pretty well, and is unbelievable at blocking with just his left arm. Say what you want about him, but that man is crazy strong.
- It would not surprise me if San Fran loses the first playoff game they play. The Seahawks beat the hell out of them on both sides of the ball. They better hope for a Sunday or Monday game next weekend, cuz if they have to play next Saturday it could be a problem. Remember what teams records were back in 2012-2014 after playing the Seahawks.....it was bad, and for that very reason.
It's very fun to re-watch a game when you know we won. Even more fun watching our defence do that to what had been an offensive juggernaut for the past few weeks.
Yes... even though the "juggernaut" label was exposed as fraudulent by SSJ in his articles calling out the 'whiners weak defensive opponents during their run.
Yep, but they played better than I thought they would on defense.....at least in the red zone. Although, we were part of their success with our f-ups in the red zone and missed field goals. As Macdonald says, there's always stuff to fix.
I enjoyed seeing Shanahan stalking the sidelines, worried as hell.
Me too! And even moreso, seeing John Lynch lose his shit on national TV! I was soaking in the schadenfreude like an outdoor hot tub in the winter.
I admired Geno's sense of personal responsibility for errors, need for improvement ..."not an index finger guy - a thumb guy". But I hit a wall with his inconsistency and got sick of a guy constantly explaining the same mistakes. His frustration and self-defeat eventually embittered him. Time to go.
Sam is in the later stages of overcoming the psychological hangup of many long term QB backups - overachieving to repair inferiority by over-extending plays/ taking foolish risks. He's got better judgment plus a good arm, enough speed/agility, experience, self-preservation, enough protection and weapons.
Defense is the royal road to Lombardi-land. I just hope Hawk D can survive the loss/decline of Big Cat, JReed, DLaw. Or do they share genes with Calais?
I also appreciated Geno's talking points and taking or responsibility, but it started to ring hollow when his sideline body language and facial expressions began contradicting them. His leadership grew shaky.
I just finished rewatching the game and I will be looking forward to see a few players on the all 22. D Hall looked good. When I watched it live, I didn’t really notice Riq Woolen, but on the re-watch I was impressed with his effort, and for him, a very physical game. I also want to focus in on the O-line. The value of Zabel and Sundell blocking downfield on the second level defenders on some of those run plays looked good. They really move well.
On a few of those outside runs (zone or toss sweeps) the lineman were all doing a great job of hunting guys to block. When the cameras caught John Lynch losing his shit after K9's 19 yard run on 3rd and 16 or whatever it was, that was priceless.
I loved lynch the player so seeing him so fired up was awesome. I thought he might go get suited up after that...lol 😆
It’s terrible for me to find some much pleasure in another man’s pain, but I did love that shot!