Vision Board: Seahawks-Dolphins

These 3 Seahawks will be up to "The Challenge" against the Dolphins: Seaside Joe 2030

I have to confess that my second favorite sport after football is “reality competition television shows”, although anyone who has been subscribed to Seaside Joe for at least the last three weeks could have already guessed that. In Week 1’s vision board, I highlighted iconic moments from Survivor and then the Seahawks won. In Week 2, I did the same for Big Brother and then the Seahawks won.

Why stop a good thing in Week 3? I have a trifecta of long-running reality competition shows that I have watched every episode of and the third is actually a series that I didn’t even get into until this year: MTV’s The Challenge, which you might know better as “Real World vs. Road Rules Challenge” if you haven’t watched MTV since the ‘90s.

I had not watched this show since probably 2004 or something until seeing that most seasons are on Paramount+ and decided to jump into it earlier this year. I am now caught up and season 40 is currently airing on MTV, which I suppose is a TV channel that actually continues to exist.

If the Seahawks improve to 3-0 this weekend by beating the Dolphins, I guess I will have no choice but to do The Traitors in Week 4.

Last week’s Vision Board against the Patriots posited three requests: 150 total yards from Seattle’s RBs, Seahawks hold Patriots under 289 yards, and Byron Murphy would have a sack. The results were that Murphy shared in a sack (but it was basically his own), the Patriots were held to 310 yards, and Zach Charbonnet was the only running back to even get a touch and he had 69 yards with a touchdown.

Not bad. On Murphy, here’s another new film breakdown on the rookie defensive tackle, this time from Saturday Morning Inspection.

Now to this week’s 3 visions, courtesy of iconic moments from The Challenge.

CT’s Bananas Backpack::DK Metcalf asserts dominance on Jalen Ramsey

Before you go any further, I know many of you are thinking to yourselves that you have no interest in MTV’s The Challenge and that you can’t imagine that any clips could be worth your time. I understand and support your skepticism, so let me at least start with the most iconic moment in the history of the show and don’t worry about a time commitment because the whole point of this moment is that it is over in seconds…

Two players are strapped to one another back-to-back and you have to fight to get to the barrel in front of you, sort of like a duel but it’s a test of strength and will, not speed. This elimination is CT against Johnny Bananas, in my opinion the two best male competitors in the history of the show, but what happens next (their battle starts at 4:15 in the clip) leaves one of them shamed and forever marked as being the player who was turned into a backpack:

Is this really any different than DK Metcalf vs. Jalen Ramsey?

The two players have battled many times (Ramsey faced the Seahawks eight times as a member of the Rams) and I think it is fair to say that both have had games against the other that felt just like CT picking up Bananas and walking him into a loss as if he doesn’t exist. In Metcalf’s most recent game against Ramsey, Metcalf was held to 40 yards; the matchup prior to that one, Metcalf caught 8 of 8 targets for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Metcalf spoke briefly about the matchup this week:

"With any corner, whenever, you got a DB (defensive back) and a receiver going against each other, it always brings out the best competition, in my opinion, especially going against a great corner like that," Metcalf said. "But, I've had a good chance to go against two good corners in [Christian] Gonzalez and [Patrick] Surtain in the first two weeks. Looking forward to another battle. Nothing different, still football at the end of the day though."

Stats from an October, 2021 game between the two:

Any time Metcalf goes up against Ramsey, it feels like it will be one of the NFL’s best CB-WR matchups of the season because of their unique physical skillsets. But this is possibly the last time they will ever face off and I think the fact that one of these players could still be getting better while the other is possibly trending in the other direction is going to be a factor on Sunday.

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Universal Request: DK Metcalf has 150 yards

It’s too early to say if Jalen Ramsey is over the hill or not (he turns 30 next month) because Miami’s first two games haven’t necessarily featured any matchups similar to going against Metcalf, Geno Smith, and Ryan Grubb. In. two games, Ramsey has only been thrown at three times, but those three passes have been completed for 54 yards and a touchdown.

In both games for Seattle this year, Metcalf has reminded us why he’s three cups of awesome with two tablespoons of “what the hell are you doing, man?”

In The QB School clip of Geno Smith that I shared on Friday, J.T. O’Sullivan notes that the 56-yard touchdown to Metcalf is maybe his favorite play by any team so far this season. And I think I’ve probably been too hard on DK Metcalf this season, as there are other plays that don’t show up on the box score or the broadcast angle in which he beats the corner (like potential All-Pro Christian Gonzalez) but doesn’t get the target. This is a reel of all his reps against Gonzalez in man coverage.

I have to say that when I decided to feature The Challenge this week, I knew that I would be compelled to mention CT wearing Johnny Bananas like a backpack, but it took me a minute to think of what that could mean from the Seahawks perspective. Then it couldn’t be more obvious that this is an allusion to the most physically imposing offensive weapon in the NFL and that’s why I strongly feel that Metcalf is going to toy with Ramsey and carry him into the end zone (with 150 yards) at least one time this week.

Katie falls face-first…30 feet::Devon Witherspoon lays the wood

Believe it or not, there are times on The Challenge when you’ll be shocked to watch an injury or an accident that looks more painful than 98-percent of NFL hits. One example that always comes to me first is Katie taking a leap of faith on Cutthroat, missing the platform, then ragdolling 30 feet into the icy depths below the target and then hitting the water with her face. I couldn’t find it on YouTube, but here’s the :40 second clip from Reddit. The best part is when they cut to Katie’s confessional after the fall and now she’s got a black eye that she didn’t have in the previous confessional and that’s probably after she had time to heal:

“The only thing I can compare how hard the water is, think of a college textbook being swung from 30 feet right into your face.”

Who else could “a college textbook hitting you in the face” be referring to other than Devon Witherspoon?

Universal Request: Devon Witherspoon hits somebody so hard that the ball flies out and the Seahawks recover a game-changing fumble

This game is a cornerback coach’s dream because on one side you have Metcalf against Ramsey & Kendall Fuller against one or both of JSN and Tyler Lockett, while on the other it’s Witherspoon and Riq Woolen facing off against Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Between past, present, and future, that’s a lot of combined Pro Bowl appearances in just the receiver and cornerback rooms of the respective teams.

And few cornerbacks other than Witherspoon and Ramsey can relate to being top-5 picks.

Though Witherspoon was one of the most exciting rookies to watch in Seattle’s franchise history, he has not been involved in many turnover plays yet: One interception, the pick-six on Daniel Jones, and one forced fumble, which came against current teammate Sam Howell and was recovered by Woolen.

Though the forced fumble was not necessarily about laying the wood, it does highlight Witherspoon’s intense effort and his commitment to finishing plays “through the echo of the whistle” as I heard some coach say recently.

I think this week Witherspoon can get to quarterback Skylar Thompson and turn a strip sack into momentum for a Seahawks win and then we’ll see which team has the most black eyes after this one.

Derrick’s grip strength::Julian Love strikes again

I think all Seahawks fans have players who they call “the greatest” and players who they call “my favorite” and oftentimes the two are not the same. For me, Derrick is not someone I call the greatest Challenge player in history, but he is my favorite. Why? I never want to sound corny, I just can’t put it any other way than Derrick plays with more heart than anyone else has in the history of the show. He’s not the biggest or the strongest, but he consistently topples opponents who should physically dominate him because Derrick refuses to give up and that’s literally the case in this classic showdown against a short-lived castmate named Joss.

Think of this like Devon Witherspoon beating DK Metcalf in a wrestling match.

Julian Love came into the NFL as a fourth round cornerback who was thought to be too slow to stick at that position, so he’s transitioned to safety and after five years of hard fought development, he’s one of the best in the league. It’s incredible that for a guy who wasn’t given a job until his fourth year in the NFL that Love has intercepted at least one pass in all six seasons of his career and sure appears to be on track for his second straight Pro Bowl appearance.

Not the biggest, strongest, or fastest, Love refused to let go of opportunities when he was playing for Wink Martindale on the Giants (Pete Carroll’s favorite attribute of Love’s was that he played 1,000 snaps on defense and 200 snaps on special teams during his last season in New York) and he’s managed to turn that will to fight into what might only be the beginning of a legendary Seahawks career.

Universal Request: Julian Love 10 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FR

This could be a Defensive Player of the Week type week for Love.

I’m not saying he’s going to finish with 160 tackles, but Love’s two-week pace has been 160 tackles and there’s nothing farfetched about the idea that he will lead Seattle in that stat this season.

But Love is also a playmaker, having forced four fumbles dating back to the start of 2022, in addition to seven interceptions, including a pick off of Bo Nix in Week 1. I look at another emerging 26-year-old safety who has leveled up with a new team, that being All-Pro Falcons safety Jessie Bates III. Last season, Bates had 132 tackles, three FF, and six interceptions with Atlanta. I could see Love putting up numbers like that for 2024 and this week I’d like him to bait Thompson into a mistake and then also picking up that fumble that was forced by Witherspoon.

For Skylar Thompson he can take a page out of Derrick’s book next time: Never let go.

Jay’s Says

Last week, Seaside Jay highlighted Derick Hall as a hero (one QB hit) and Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings as a zero (no QB hits for him!). Here are her “vibe” hero and zero picks for Week 3:

Hero of the week is... Stone Forsythe. There's two things about him that make me think of your very own Seaside Joe. Firstly, Stone is 6'8 and Seaside Joe is 6'5. Giants! (Don't get it twisted, I'm a Dodgers fan through and through). Secondly, Stone's birthday is at the end of December and so is Seaside Joe's (sort of) and I've always had a soft spot for the kids who had birthdays close to the holidays. Combined holiday/birthday gifts? No thanks! 

Zero of the week is... Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer. His Twitter header photo is the following quote and it's the epitome of one of my favorite memes, the student athlete. 

Joe Note: I think all Seahawks fans are happy to hear that Stone Forsythe is going to be one of the heroes this time.