Huddle Up with Boye Mafe, Patrick O'Connell & More

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Speaker 1: This is the huddle, the handoff, inside the sermons, He's gonna go touchdown.
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Speaker 2: Siat Hawks exclusively on Seattle Sports on sevent ten, Seattle Sports on YouTube, and the Seattle Sports App with hosts Michael Bumpus, Stacy.
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Speaker 3: Rosk and Deeve Wymer.
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Speaker 2: Who time to go inside the huddle Puttle time.
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Speaker 4: The Seattle Seahawks are going to Super Bowl sixty taking on the New England Patriots the Super Bowl forty nine rematch, this one happening in Santa Clara instead of Glendale. Let's hope for another outcome as well. Before we even get to a preview, let's look back at the NFC Title game, Seahawks thirty one over the Rams at twenty seven. Whyman, this one was a close one throughout. It was really a back and forth shootout. And there were times Seattle pulled ahead and I thought maybe they'll run away with it and then the Rams would respond. When were you convinced Seattle got this one done?
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Speaker 3: You know?
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Speaker 5: I think it was because special teams has just been so fantastic this year. I you know, and I'm sure everybody had the same answer but or something similar, But you know, I thought, well, the Bobo catch was pretty awesome. He ran a really good route on that and a little corner post and just entirely left the left the dB open. But I thought that, you know, special teams, once again, Drake Young goes down, makes the fumble recovery. And that's been the case all year. Man, They've They've done pretty much everything you can do.
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Speaker 3: It's kind of.
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Speaker 5: Interesting though, if you look at like punt returns and kickoff returns, there's a I think that there's only six teams with a kickoff return for a touchdown, Patriots and Hawks both on that list, and then the same thing with two punt returns for touchdowns Patriots and Hawks. So they have they have a good special team unit too. But you know, I thought that was that was obviously very a key play and just fitting that that they made a play that helped him win the game.
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Speaker 3: On special teams bump.
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Speaker 4: When was the moment you were convinced theianle could get it done or maybe would win this one? And secondly, what's something still sticking with you now several days later, when was.
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Speaker 6: Like convinced when Spoon broke up that passing ends on that I mean, you know it was gonna be close, man. But Spoon during that drive had a couple of breakups and then the bounce back from Reek as a team right that penalty against booking the cool then they go afterim the next play the team just to have that little altercation on the sideline between him and Nicki Mawaire.
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Speaker 3: But then for them to go back on the field and bounce back and refocus. I think that's important.
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Speaker 6: But yeah, with the rams, you gotta wait until it's zero zero zero on the clock.
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Speaker 3: But Spoon, when.
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Speaker 6: Spoon broke that up, I thought to myself, Okay, we can get this one going.
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Speaker 3: What was the second part?
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Speaker 7: Something still sticking with you days later?
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Speaker 6: Still sticking with me days like question for the mentality of Reek. Like Reek put out an apology, he said it was wrong for what he did and overreacted. I'm just seeing how he's gonna respond because they're gonna go after him, and they're gonna go after if I'm if I am a coach, I'm a player, I see that Reek will lose this temper. I'm gonna do everything am I buy and my soul to push his buttons to see if I can get him to react.
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Speaker 3: And get him out of the game. That's just what it is.
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Speaker 6: Like they know this about Reek, so can Reek into our channel? His enter JSN when Jason took that helmet to the chin and just kind of say, you know, and I'm not gonna get in my head can he do that?
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Speaker 3: I think he can't, but I'll be watching.
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Speaker 4: Well, I mean, you have to be on the call with Rabel during this one, so I would imagine that you have that like immediate reaction, right, that's like natural organic, and then you probably have like, Okay, now I'm decompressing and thinking about it later because I had to be in the moment.
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Speaker 7: What was something in that later moment?
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Speaker 4: Right the days, the hours and the days that followed where you thought, I just keep thinking about this.
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Speaker 5: Yeah, I couldn't stop thinking about how quickly this happened. And you know, you look at Mike comes in here, and you know, Schneider obviously hires the guy that he wants, and you know, in the the first season we had ten wins, Yeah, didn't go to the playoffs, but and then just tearing it down and just his decisiveness and obviously him and Schneider who we're going to have on our show today at two o'clock. But you know, those guys obviously worked together really well. But just how quickly that happened, and especially since you took some huge swings. I mean, you went from from Gino to Donald, you went with a from grub to Koobiac. I mean that's as a pretty drastic bunch of moves, and that it happened in that you know, quick period of time that you know it. It was like we just hired Mike McDonald and here we are the best team in the NFL by a lot of metrics, and uh, yeah, we're we're going.
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Speaker 3: To the super Bowl.
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Speaker 4: Guys, let's talk about Sam Darnold twenty five to thirty six, three forty six, three touchdowns bump we had heard multiple times, Davis. I'm sure you have on your show critics analysts joining us saying I'm just waiting to see him meet the moment. This felt like meeting the moment to you, you.
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Speaker 3: Know what I mean?
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Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I think it was. There's still more moments to be met, you know what I mean. But it's important that he played the game that he played, so he'll get some people off of his but you'll never You'll never be squeaky clean when it comes to the belief unless you're Pat Mahomes. Everyone's not gonna one hundred percent and buy into what you're doing. Like people don't one hundred percent buying to Josh Allen or Lamar. Why because I haven't been to this game, but I think that the ideal that that he can't get you here?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's done. Can't he win a Super Bowl?
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Speaker 6: Not too many quarterbacks not named Pat Mahomes or Tom Brady have won a Super Bowl in the last ten years.
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Speaker 3: Old Matthew Stafford in there.
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Speaker 6: Other than that, we're gonna have a new QB in the Super Bowl club in the last decade. Whoever wins this ball game, I'm I'm assuming that's going to be Sam Darnald.
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Speaker 3: So, yes, you've quieted some people, but you know, people was.
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Speaker 4: Going to only three different teams represented out of the AFC over the last ten or so years. Whyman, what stood out to you about Donald's day?
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Speaker 5: He just did what he had to do. He can play any kind of game and any kind of situation. We we go up early on the Niners, and in that game didn't really have to you know, put the ball in harm's way, or you know, get into any kind of a shootout forty one to six. So he's twelve for seventeen, one hundred and twenty five yards, touchdown, no interceptions. Then the next week you get in a shoot up and so it's like the question probably was can he hang with Matthew Stafford?
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Speaker 3: He answered that question. I mean, I think we talked to Matt.
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Speaker 5: Hasselback this week and he's like, I think it should be over meaning the doubt and you know, all the criticism of Sam Darnold. You throw for three hundred and forty six yards and you know, three touchdowns, no interceptions.
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Speaker 3: I mean, he can. He can be any kind of quarterback that you want.
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Speaker 5: So I don't know, man, maybe it still has to go win a Super Bowl. And you know what, if we go into the Super Bowl, then it's one of those games where he goes twelve for seventeen for one hundred and twenty five yards. Conversation, are people gonna, yeah, they didn't win because of him? Well, he did a lot. He had a lot of performances that got us there.
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Speaker 4: Dave, I'm going to go back to you for this one and then circle back to bump, we're going defense here. A lot of what got Seattle here also was their defense number one and in points limited during the regular season and kind of struggled against the Rams for a second time. In fact, I know that you saw that stat one hundred and thirty four so points allowed over their nine game win streak, and about half of those have been in two games against LA with the other sixty four ish over seven different games. Yeah, what was happening with the explosive plays? What wasn't working?
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Speaker 5: Well, I mean the one touchdown that was wide open on the one side where it was just it was so unlike our defense. And really these both of these meetings, well, I mean the first one, look they held him to what two point fifty or whatever, and that was all because we turned the ball over. But you know that it was just surreal watching the Rams just go up and down the field, you know, both in the second meeting and in this game. But you know, I don't know, I looked like like the one where was it DeVante Adams It was wide open or no, it was corm I believe, or maybe it was Kyri Williams. You know, he was just wide open and you saw that there was like it looked like Keystone cops. There was like four guys that were like running into each other over there. So you know, I mean, I think you're gonna make those kinds of mistakes, and it's just almost, like I said, it's kind of surreal whenever they do give up a lot of yards. So you know, I think Josh McDaniels, the offensive coordinator's gonna look at that and see, hey, you know this, maybe he thinks this defense can be had. But also you give Mike McDonald a couple of weeks and the defensive coaches to fix that kind of stuff, and it seems like, I mean, they just needed to zone that off and instead, you know, they all were like running into each other and everything, and that was just it was just bizarre watching that. But it's also something that you know is a fairly easy correction.
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Speaker 3: If you're playing it right.
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Speaker 7: Bomb by ticket. That didn't affect your confidence in Seattle's defense, No.
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Speaker 3: Not at all. It's the Rams.
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Speaker 6: I mean, you let one team really go off on you and the butts earlier that season when it comes to the yards. But the Rams they're a good football team. It was up to Seattle or the Rams to take the crown as the best team in football. So when you have McVeigh, you have Matthew Stafford, you got Poogle, you got DeVante. This time around, you did better than the last time. You didn't allow five hundred eighty. So your some improvement there.
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Speaker 7: Seventy nine is better than five.
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Speaker 6: As better than five a yard, but it's I mean you were there were one for eight on third down. Yeah, made a big play late in the game. Like I said, this defense had to have moments. They were If you're not going to be dominant, you gotta have moments.
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Speaker 4: And that's what the head all right, we have Let's see a couple of things to preview. I think we're mostly going to turn to the super Bowl today. That feels like a good thing to preview for all of us. I'm looking forward to it. So we're going to be joined by boy Mafe coming up here some questions. We're going to stick with Seattle defense for a little bit, jump into a Patriots preview. We're going to hear from John Schneider. You know he's going on with you guys later for an extended interview. We're going to hear a little bit of a preview for that coming up at twelve forty five. He spoke with reporters and then an hour two some of your favorite Seahawks voices, Ray Roberts, Voice of the Seahawks, Steve Rabel, We'll learn a bit more about the Patriots, and then wrap up with John Boyle. It is all come your way next on the huddle, back.
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Speaker 2: To the only on the home of the Seahawks, Seattle Sports.
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Speaker 4: All right, we are going to be joined in just a moment by outside linebacker boy A Mafe and then coming up after boy another linebacker. It's the Linebacker Show apparently, Whyman, you're welcome. Patrick O'Connell is going to join us. We'll also be talking obviously about the importance of special teams when it comes to as you not today both of these teams, so I'm sure that will be something we dig into a little bit later. As a reminder for you guys, we're going to be hearing from John Schneider.
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Speaker 7: He's speaking with.
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Speaker 4: Reporters, media scrum, some insight from the Seahawks President of football Operations, and then he's also going to join Wyman and Bob coming up at two pm.
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Speaker 7: So you can tune in.
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Speaker 4: For that one right now. Boy Mafe joins the show.
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Speaker 7: Boy.
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Speaker 4: First of all, congratulations on a phenomenal season going to Super Bowl sixty. I can't imagine what that feels like. In fact, why don't you tell us? I mean, winning that game, you realize Pooka is in bounds, the clock is at zero, it's done.
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Speaker 7: How do you feel?
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Speaker 3: It feels amazing.
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Speaker 8: It's one of those things that you know at the starting of the year, beginning in camp, you know, we had we had a different schedule for camp, you know more we weren't longer I had. I think we went like seven days one time. And I'd like seeing the fruition of all the work that we put into the season, just from the beginning to now actually come true.
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Speaker 9: Some one of those things. It's like what happens in the dark will come to the light.
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Speaker 8: And that's just saying one of my coaches in colleges say to me, And like actually seeing it happen, seeing it processes all of that happened.
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Speaker 9: It's a beautiful sight to see.
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Speaker 5: Yeah, it was, especially the defense in the way that you guys came together. I want to ask you this question because I've never been able to figure out what exactly this is the shadow boxing thing.
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Speaker 3: That you guys do.
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Speaker 5: I know this is very important information right now, guys, but I hear that. But look, honestly, the question is about the connectiveness that you guys all have with each other, but specifically, what is shadow boxing?
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Speaker 3: How do you do that?
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Speaker 9: Like, uh, you know, you know, it's one of those situations.
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Speaker 8: It's a game we play and I feel like, honestly, we've all said it all years, like little do we know the shadow boxing is going.
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Speaker 9: To bring us all the way and I feel like it's made us closer.
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Speaker 3: You know.
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Speaker 8: It's a thing that you can do with Like, you know, I'm meeting teammates and talking to teams that I normally wouldn't spend time with.
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Speaker 9: But just like throwing opposer size the ball, we don't really see each other, but you see each other locker room. What's going on a shadow box?
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Speaker 3: You know? So it's not what you think of this day. It's not I thought it was like you're pretty much point in the direction. You have to look at the opposite direction of where they're pointing.
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Speaker 8: It's that it's like, yeah, if I point up and you look up that's a hit.
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Speaker 6: And yeah, Bason, y'all squaring up.
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Speaker 4: That put them up to be like, so, Dave women punched one of our players in the hallways.
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Speaker 7: I thought we were shadow boxing.
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Speaker 6: So I have a kid who I train, who plays for the Patriots, and the first thing, one of the first things he did was he's in a locker room celebrating. He face times me right, and we're celebrating. Congratulations. How you're turning me this there? Who was your first call after the game?
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Speaker 8: My first call a college roommate after the game. You know, it's something that's we've been We've lived together for four years in college, and then on top of that, he's kind of seen the transition, the process of everything I've been through in this career, everything, so it's just like seeing it happen. It was a beautiful site. We talked, you chopped it up a little bit, and then it was my brother. My family was already here, so I just saw them after the game.
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Speaker 9: But that was probably the ones.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, cool, So what's the week behind the scenes? Looked Like I was telling Bump earlier, one of our most popular questions we were getting from listeners.
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Speaker 7: Is like, all right, so what's different, Like, is it like a normal week?
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Speaker 10: Is it?
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Speaker 5: Uh?
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Speaker 4: Does it feel different? Is it basically a buye where players get a couple of days off? What's this week been like for you guys?
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Speaker 9: For us, it's just tiing up ship.
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Speaker 8: Honestly, I feel like the thing is for us, it's like it's with the extra time is you have time to self scout, trying to look at what we do, figure out what our best, you know, how we can be our best. And then on top of that's extra weeks, extra time to prepare for the opponent. So I feel like we're using this time to honestly just hone in, figure out what it looks like, what will be the best going into this week, not really time off. You know, we get, you know, sometime to yourself a little bit. But what Jordy is is we're still locked in. He was treating it like how we've done all year, the new game, next game mentality, and just having that mentality going.
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Speaker 3: Into this week, loose and focused. Right. Yeah. I loved what Mike McDonald.
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Speaker 5: I don't know, there was something about the way he said that we did not care that just it kind of.
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Speaker 9: Resembles who he is exactly.
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Speaker 5: That's exactly what I thought, because nobody would have guessed that that was going to come out of his mouth, right, But yeah, just his his approach and like, what's your interaction with with Mike and what are some of the things that really stand out about him?
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Speaker 9: You see how much he loves the game and how much.
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Speaker 8: Of attention to detail he is with everything, and you kind of notice that he you know, he loves the game and he may have you know, he has his own personality and his own way he likes he has. I feel like he's very sarcastic. People don't really know that about him, but I feel like he's very sarcastic. So it's like if you don't know, you look at him like huh, But then you get to know him, you're like, oh, that's just.
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Speaker 7: It's very dry.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we were talking to Mike Morrison.
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Speaker 5: He said that he walked into a room one time and he's like, Wow, it's awkward in here, and Mike was like, yeah, because you came in here and made it awkward.
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Speaker 3: Exactly, that's part of it. How uh.
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Speaker 6: I mean, I know you guys have been rying for Sam all year, and we in this room have been ryding for Sam all year. But how is it for you guys just to see him. It's a team sport. Obviously you need office and defense, but to see him have like that moment where people can kind of let him breathe a little bit.
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Speaker 3: I loved it. You know.
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Speaker 9: It's one of those things.
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Speaker 8: Is like we've always said on defense, we always tell them, like, just go out there and hoop. We got your back, no matter what you're gonna do, no matter what it looks like, just go hoop and we got your back. And you know, there's gonna be points that we messed up as a defense, and there's points of office may mess up. And the fact is, it's like, I think the thing we do have that's different is the trust. And the thing is it is like if defense goes out and we let's don't have a good series, don't have a good situation, we trust the offense enough to go out there and make it happen. Offense go up there, if there's a fumble, if there's an interception, they get in the red zone, they trust us enough to go and stop them, you know, And I feel like that's the thing that's different, is like the trust level of like you can go out there and be yourself and be who you want to be on the field because you can trust the other side.
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Speaker 4: I'm assuming that there's still a good chunk of film study you guys are going to have about the Patriots and prep for the Patriots.
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Speaker 7: Have you started a bit of it yet? What stands out to them? Okay? What stands out so far?
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Speaker 8: You know, they're a team that you know, they have a lot of different facets. They you know, they don't really just have one thing that they do, and they have a good variety on the offense. Haven't watched their defense are so I don't know they on that side of the vaulved but.
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Speaker 7: I don't think if you to worry about it.
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Speaker 8: But on the offensive side, they definitely have of some variety to them. And yeah, it's a little bit something that you have to be prepared for a lot of different looks, so a lot of different situations to occur during the game.
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Speaker 5: Were you a kid that when you were growing up that you you watched the Super Bowl and you you know, dreamed of playing in a big game like that?
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Speaker 3: Is that?
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Speaker 5: I mean, do you ever stop and just go, man, this is this is a dream come true for a lot of you know, what a lot of kids would have liked to have done.
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Speaker 3: One hundred percent.
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Speaker 8: It's one of those things that you know as a kid growing up, you everyone has a Super Bowl watch party, everybody has, you know, situations as you as a kid. You know, you're going to your uncle's house, you're going to a friend's house, You're going somewhere to watch the game. And you know, for me, this is my first time actually being in it. So it's crazy, you know to think that that kid that I used to watch, you know, watch the game on TV, now I'm going to be living in that moment.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a dream come true. Man.
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Speaker 6: But and you're gonna hoist the trophy when it's all said and done, so it's gonna get even bigger. Where was the moment in the season where you realize, I know, you guys always thought you're good right comings this season, but where you're like, yo, this defense might be the best in all the U Camp camp.
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Speaker 3: I do it in camp.
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Speaker 8: The way that we flew around, the way that we held each other accountable, the way that we were like, the way that we've been here for four years and the way that we were moving in camp and the way that we would battle with the offense in camp. As a loan, I was like, oh yeah, you know, and it's one of the things that I've realized.
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Speaker 3: I was like, we're moving.
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Speaker 8: Different, We're clicking on all cylinders, you know, saying there's no I feel as if there's no weakness to our defense.
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Speaker 9: And it's when.
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Speaker 8: You have that situation where it's not you know, sometimes you have situations seasons where you're like, oh, we just right here, if we could be better, but we to a point where it's like it's not the coaches talking to us and be like we have to do this, we have to do that. We're talking to each other like we can't have this happen. We can't let that happen. And when we were doing that, I was like, Yeah, we're gonna do something.
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Speaker 4: I'm sure that by now that's everyone. Is there someone who maybe a veteran who started leading the charge there, who maybe at the beginning made it to where accountability.
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Speaker 7: Was the expectation.
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Speaker 9: I feel like it was just it was just organic.
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Speaker 3: Organic.
00:19:06
Speaker 8: It was one of those things like something happened, we just look at each other and yeah, we can't have that happen.
00:19:11
Speaker 9: You know what I'm saying.
00:19:12
Speaker 8: They get a couple of runs a little too far, like that's too many yards. We got to stop that.
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Speaker 7: That's when you got the right group together, boy and off again.
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Speaker 4: Congratulations, This is amazing and unfortunately you won't be eating Super Bowl food and watching them again. That's the one last right one summer about super So you guys should have some extra have some extra wings for for boy am oween a lot.
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Speaker 7: Thank you so much. Patrick O'Connell joins us next, back.
00:19:33
Speaker 2: To the huddle, only on the home of the Seahawks, Seattle Sports.
00:19:38
Speaker 4: We are going to be joined here in just a moment by Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell. Before Patrick joins us, bump. It feels like, and Dave mentioned this earlier, one of the themes from the season, considering the final two teams remaining, has been do not overlook special teams? Special teams is important? What kind of role has it meant for the Seahawks team?
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Speaker 3: Bump?
00:19:57
Speaker 4: Sorry, sorry, it feels like special teams has been special.
00:20:01
Speaker 6: From the teams specials that's been have been special. I mean, remember when Myers was six for six and won that ball game. Remember when Hallani jumped on the football that was live that I thought was dead. Remember Tory Horton touching them taking a punt ninety something yards. You got a Drake Young covering a muff punt. You got Pea Lee punching the ball out on a kickoff. You got what am I miss? Rashid going to.
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Speaker 7: The house for a couple of times?
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Speaker 6: You know, special teams been Yeah, special teams has been exactly that they've been special. Nicko Moore with a block field goal. I mean, everybody is invited to the special teams party.
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Speaker 4: We're obviously gonna ask Patrick about it. Who's joining us right now Seahawks linebacker Patio Patrick O'Connell sitting now with us. Patrick, I know you play all over, but we were talking about special teams in particular and how that's kind of felt like a common thread for some of the best teams in the NFL this year. Now you have to teams that have been great but then have struggled there and it feels like one message for the Seahawks has been no, this matters, and we put in the work, We put in the financial investments and we back it up.
00:21:10
Speaker 7: Is that the feeling in the building.
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Speaker 11: Yeah, absolutely, we know that obviously all three phases matter and that special teams can can have a huge factor in the game.
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Speaker 3: And that's a huge emphasis for us.
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Speaker 11: And obviously it starts with Mike at the top, and then it trickles down obviously to Jay as a special teams coordinator. And you look at the guys out there. Everyone takes pride in what they're doing. We take pride in blocking for Rashid, and it's just it's a fun time out there.
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Speaker 3: We have a lot of fun with each other. It sounds like people like want to be on special teams.
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Speaker 5: You know it used to be because you know, I remember coming out of college, I did you know, my junior senior year was a starter, So I didn't really play on special teams.
00:21:47
Speaker 3: Then you get in the NFL and it's like you kind of have to. It felt like you had to.
00:21:51
Speaker 5: But now with Jay Harbaugh, like we heard from Brandon Peelee that he got he got texted by Jay Harbaugh. He's like, Hey, I want you to run down on kickoffs. Yeah, it's it's kind of that. That's seems like kind of the atmosphere that that Jay has created.
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Speaker 11: Yeah, absolutely, guys want to be out there. Guys are taking pride in it. Like I said, it's it's fun being out there because we know that we can take advantage of certain situations, and we know that we're gonna be good schematically and everything.
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Speaker 3: And that, like I said, we can expose some people for that.
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Speaker 6: Yeah, the kickoff cover and kickoff rules are completely different. You're old enough to have played in both styles. Which one do you like the most of the new rules or the old rules?
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Speaker 11: I mean, I'm I'm really starting to like the new dynamic kickoff. It's just like it's kind of like football at its truest form, Like it's just one on one. You're going you gotta get off a block and then shed and make a tackle, and that's that's kind of all football is about. And I think they did a good job with designing the rules for it, and it's been fun.
00:22:51
Speaker 6: I used to hate kick return and I've played where big linemen can hold hands and it's run down there and blow you up. So yeah, the wedge and then you had a wedge by there was a linebacker was just as crazy as heck. So safer, and I feel like there's more scheme that goes into it now, Like I see fold blocks and all that good stuff. It looks I think it looks more fun to play.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: It is. It's really fun.
00:23:12
Speaker 11: Like you said, the differences in schematics and stuff now and there's just guys can be flying all over the place and stuff and traps basically traps and whams just like they do have on offense and stuff. And yeah, it's it's definitely different.
00:23:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, when do you realize the moment, Like let's say Shaheed is gonna break one, Like, at what point are you like, Oh, he's gone, He's gone.
00:23:33
Speaker 11: I mean basically, well, if we're at home, you can hear the crowd roaring like the one in sand against San Fran Like, yeah, right when he went in between me and Brady, Like once I saw him whiz by, I'm like, he's gone. Because you know, just like in our in our scheme, like if he gets past the first first line, then then he should be gone. And if we can get him a full steam steam ahead or whatever, you know what I'm saying, If we can get him going at full speed, and he's gonna hit it and he's gone, So that's when you can.
00:24:04
Speaker 3: You know, it's a touchdown, you know what you're saying, full steam ahead? What the heck?
00:24:08
Speaker 5: Yeah, you're a linebacker, man. You had a great preseason really and then you got a chance to play in the Tennessee game. I love that you made cam Ward pay for it over on the sidelines. That was a nice hit. But as far as the defense goes, how was it kind of changed a little bit as you guys, because you put stuff in in camp and preseason everything, but then you kind of have to tweak some things. Has there been a lot of that or has it been pretty much just assignment? Usually most mistakes on defense are like a blown.
00:24:38
Speaker 11: Assignment, right, Yeah, Oh no, there's there's been so much that we've evolved from from the time we started camp. I mean even from the time we got here, when when Mike first got here, so the time from when he first got here to last season and now to this season. The evolution of the defense has become just so much more multiple. And obviously you don't see us play a lot of bait. You see us playing a lot of what we call or.
00:25:04
Speaker 3: Never mind us playing our four down a lot and stuff like that.
00:25:11
Speaker 11: So it's just like the evolution of that and being able to to play in a nickel defense, the whole whole game is pretty special.
00:25:18
Speaker 3: You know. I'm sorry John rad Agan.
00:25:21
Speaker 5: Also when he was here, was like he started talking to me and then all of a sudden, he goes, I can't say that.
00:25:26
Speaker 3: That's what McDonald thank Like, No, I mean it's just whatever, Yeah, exactly. Oh yeah, I called it. I call your nickel base.
00:25:37
Speaker 6: I'm like, they're in base right now, Like basically that's what they're in seventy five percent of the time.
00:25:42
Speaker 3: How what's it like seeing a guy like Nicki Moware.
00:25:46
Speaker 6: He's a different type of football player, you know, like always get amazed when I see people our players do things that aren't the norm for that position or that responsibility.
00:25:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean he's a special player, special talent.
00:25:57
Speaker 11: There's obviously a reason he was picked high as he was and stuff just with his raw ability and his talent, and then just being a football guy. You know, he's always around the ball. He's a high effort guy as well, and then like you said, doing things that he's not supposed to be able to do. He's covering slots, one on one and next play he's playing linebacker in the box and fitting the run.
00:26:17
Speaker 3: And I mean that's the.
00:26:19
Speaker 11: Reason why we're able to do some of the things that we do, having a having a guy like him, and he's become more vocal throughout the season.
00:26:26
Speaker 3: It's been cool to see that.
00:26:27
Speaker 11: And just from the time he first got here to now, he's a completely different person and it's it's cool to see that growth.
00:26:34
Speaker 4: Any pregame superstitions, rituals, anything like that, put your sock on the left foot first every time.
00:26:41
Speaker 7: It's always right first. Answer that nothing superstitis is just the right way.
00:26:47
Speaker 3: To do that. Just uh not really honestly.
00:26:50
Speaker 11: Before the game, I just go on the field and I always call my mom first and just say a few last words and stuff, and she always has a little message for me, and then FaceTime my wife and kids and stuff, and then then put the phone down.
00:27:02
Speaker 3: It's time to warm up and good to go. That's so cool. Yeah, you told us that you had your wife and kids. Hold are your kids?
00:27:10
Speaker 11: Uh, my first one, Patrick is almost two years old, and then we just had Callen, who's he's going to be four months old.
00:27:17
Speaker 5: And boys, so they were down on the field with you and everything, and I got to imagine some tears. Oh yeah, absolutely, that's that's amazing. And be able to share that with your your family. Are they gonna make the trip down there?
00:27:30
Speaker 3: Yep?
00:27:31
Speaker 11: Really it was super special being able to share that, and I hope we get to do it again down down on the field and yeah, obviously on the biggest stage, so that'd be awesome.
00:27:41
Speaker 3: It's gonna be an interesting week for you guys.
00:27:43
Speaker 6: You talked to any of the vets, maybe guys will have been to the Super Bowl and then trying to figure out what to expect as far as obligations.
00:27:49
Speaker 3: And all that.
00:27:50
Speaker 11: I really haven't that much, Like we've been off the last couple of days, just trying to figure out uh kind of details of getting family and stuff down there and all that. But they they basically said what I've talked to him, the little bits that I have, just like, once we get on that plane, then it's just time to flip that switch.
00:28:07
Speaker 3: And then once you're on the plane we get down there, it's go time.
00:28:11
Speaker 11: It's all football, which obviously it's not because you have media obligations and stuff like that, but just like to flip that switch of let's go, it's time to prepare for a football game.
00:28:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, since we almost have to let you go getting away from football here. But both these guys former players, who both have kids. What's the best part of being a dad two little ones?
00:28:29
Speaker 11: Yeah, honestly, right now, like we're with our firstborn.
00:28:35
Speaker 3: We're just like in the phase of learning a bunch of new words, and it's cool to see him like, yeah, they.
00:28:42
Speaker 5: Say that, You're like, no, yeah, well I have a grandpa now I can't wait for the you know, the old pull my finger. Yeah, no, that that's really cool and yeah, I love that that part of it. And so yeah, it's kind of like the other thing is, and you probably remember this bump that like you come home, I mean, football.
00:29:01
Speaker 3: Is stressful in the NFL.
00:29:02
Speaker 5: Everybody wants to be in the NFL, but when you come home and it's like you're just dad.
00:29:06
Speaker 11: Yeah exactly, Yeah, no, Yeah, there's definitely parts of that. It's just like getting getting to be able to come home and see that the kids smile is the best.
00:29:15
Speaker 4: All right, we are switching things up a little bit. Patrick, Thank you so much for taking the time helping us get ready for the Super bowl here and best of luck. I feel good about you being able to celebrate with your family out there. We're feeling pretty confident about that, and thank you again. Going in the trenches with Big Ray Roberts.
00:29:35
Speaker 2: Next, back to the huddle only on the home of the Seahawks, Seattle Sports.
00:29:41
Speaker 4: All right, we're gonna be joined in just one second by Big Ray Roberts going in the trenches. As a reminder, we're going to hear the latest from John Schneider coming up at one Voice of the Seahawks Dve Rabel at one point fifteen Ray joining us right now, Big Ray, how's it going.
00:29:57
Speaker 12: Oh, I'm just killing you know, waiting for the next week to roll around so we can go down here and pick up this hardware.
00:30:04
Speaker 7: Am I?
00:30:04
Speaker 4: Am I wrong to be a little nervous and how confident everyone is about the Seahawks. It's some reverse psychology with me right now. How are you feeling about it?
00:30:13
Speaker 2: You know what?
00:30:14
Speaker 12: I keep trying to talk myself into that space, like, hey, you should be a little bit nervous if you look a little bit overconfident. But man, I've been over confident since we you know, the San Francisco game, the end the season. Like, I just felt like, this team is going to Super Bowl and they're gonna win it, and I'm not gonna let myself come down off that like I'm I'm as the kids will say, I'm ten toes down on it, Stacey. And so there is no there is no fear, there is no shaking my voice. Yeah, it might be a tough, challenging game at some point, but the Seahawks are gonna win this game and come home victorious.
00:30:48
Speaker 5: Hey, Ray, I was I was really happy to see I mean, I it was weird.
00:30:53
Speaker 3: It was kind of we're talking about this.
00:30:54
Speaker 5: It was surreal to see our defense, you know, give up a lot of yards.
00:30:58
Speaker 3: And a lot of points.
00:30:59
Speaker 5: But but you know, seeing Sam Donald get in a shootout with Matthew Stafford, I thought was pretty awesome and I think it might go a long ways as far as you know, his confidence. But what do you what did you at the end of the year, you know, here we are going to the super Bowl? Just kind of your feelings about Sam Donald?
00:31:18
Speaker 12: Yeah, you know what, Like I was one of the kind of late buy ins for with Sam Donald. Not that I thought that, you know, it was better. I just didn't know if if the position was being upgraded, you know, and so, and I kept saying like, man, I'm not I'm just not ready to move into his crib yet, like like I'm gonna go visit him. I can hang out at Sam's house, who can play video games and all that stuff. But man, when it's time to go to bed, I got my crib. I'm going I'm I'm going back to the crib. And then that at some point I was like, you know what I put in my thirty day notice, I'm I'm moving into Sam's crib and uh, And because I was really bought into what he was doing, and a lot of that came after the defense just showed so much support for him. Uh, because then that told me something different about who he is and how he cares himself and the confidence they have in And then, like you said, Dave, I just thought, man, if the defense can keep the points down, it's not a shootout, you know, we have a chance. I thought, maybe they have more shootout potential than we have. But but Sam was able to go toe to toe make the plays, and the defense for what it's worth, like they give up yardists, but man, of what they were like two for seven or Stafford was old for seven or something like that on third down conversions throwing the football, and so there were times where they had to step up and be the team the defense that they needed to be, and they did that even though they gave up a lot of yards in between a big ray.
00:32:42
Speaker 6: One of the questions coming in was how are they going to distribute the rock when it comes to K nine run the football. We saw Halani get a few carries. What'd you think of the usage of Ken Walker and his running staff.
00:32:54
Speaker 12: You know what? I just you know, we were talking in the pregame with Paul Morier and I was trying to figure out how many times Canine would touch the ball. I thought maybe twenty five in total between running the ball and catching the ball and uh and Paul said, hey man, this is this is the brawl for it all. If you have to carry that thing thirty five times, carry thirty five times. And so I think that's the same mentality I would take with Canine into this one. I mean, he looked like he was still running strong. At the end of the game. They throw him a couple of passes, a couple of screen passes. He was running between the tackles really hard and downhill, and so I like that, Canine, and then you throw the other guys in and kind of spell him to you know, keep his wind and all that. But I'm just saying, Canain, like, this is why you're here, man, this is why you're that dude. You're the guy that you know, create the most mistackles. You're the guy that can take it to the house. You're the guy that you know once you get to show the square downhill. This is the running game is just something different. And I would lean on him that way, and so I would I would almost like let him dictate to me when he needs to come out of the game. I don't think they're going to over you know, use him or anything, but but man, the way he ran the football and just kind of set the tone for how the offense is going to operate. If he gets going to any degree, Man, it's going to be hard for that defense to stop this offense, especially with Sam Ben as hot as he is and the other receivers coming through to support jess N It's just going to be a dogfight.
00:34:15
Speaker 4: I think Seattle's offensive line has surrendered just twenty seven sacks on the season compared to nearly fifty for the Patriots offensive line. That's not horrible for New England. But I think it's really cool to talk about a Seattle team that's improved so much upfront after years and years and years of some inconsistency there. What stands out most about their improvement this year is there a player a way that they're playing.
00:34:40
Speaker 7: What stands out to you.
00:34:42
Speaker 12: You know, what stands out to me is just their receiving of the coaching somebod These dudes have been through a couple different three different offensive line coaches and different systems, so it takes sometimes that gets frustrating and you're trying to figure out how to be better but having to learn all these new techniques that might be a little bit different than what you've had. But I just appreciate that, uh, the work that they put in as a unit, because you can see that pass protection is much better. It's not just a matter of Sam Donald, you know, you know, getting rid of the ball really fast. This guy has been able to get through all of his different reads and get you know, get to his third and fourth receiver. He's had space around around him to throw the football, and then then the running game has just been a slow, steady progression throughout the throughout the year, They've gotten better and better and better. The more they've played beside each other, the more they understand what they're trying to get accomplished in the running game. I think Kobiak has done a good job of understanding what they do best. So this kind of running between the tackles is kind of where their magic is right now, and then using that outside wide zone stuff to kind of move the pocket. And so that's the thing that I'm impressed with them. It doesn't matter you know, the players. You know, Olu was in there for uh, you know, for a minute. Jones is in there for a minute, and and every guy that came in was able to just kind of pick up where the other guy left off. And so to me, that said a lot about the coaching and development, which they seem like they finally got a handle on, But it also says something about the players and their buy into what's been happening and and their roles they've been asked to play.
00:36:11
Speaker 5: Yeah, as far as the run game goes, I feel like sticking with it was the key, And and also sticking with the players.
00:36:19
Speaker 3: And Anthony Bradford Ray.
00:36:20
Speaker 5: We had him on the other day, you know, and I was surprised to hear he goes, yeah, I see all that stuff that's on the internet and everything. He's totally aware of it, and he's like he doesn't doesn't shy away from it.
00:36:32
Speaker 3: But I don't know.
00:36:32
Speaker 5: He was kind of like the poster child for our run game. It was like, just keep plugging away and you know, there's you know, there's gonna be some some bad things that happened, but there's going to be some great things that happen. And I thought, you know, he kind of exemplified what that you know, stubbornness was with running the.
00:36:50
Speaker 12: Ball this year. But the thing with the thing with the running the football is never super pretty, you know, and that's why I think so many people want to give up on it so fast. Like you know, when you get like your three yards in a cloud of dust and you thing like, oh my gosh, it's not doing anything. But you can throw five straight incomplete passes and nobody really bitches about it, like you know, and the and the run game can gain four yards and it's like that's not working. But but I love the way that they stuck with it. I love the way that, like you said, they stuck with the players, you know. I even liked the way that, you know, even though Oulu played well in Sundell's absence, I love the way that they you know, Sundale got to step right back in there and claim his job. He was hurt, and he kind of picked up where he left off. And then, as it relates to Bradford, man, it just looked if the regular person going to work had a videotape on them twenty four to seven, and then it was blasted out to everyone and they can see all the times when you're taking a nap at your desk, when you're playing solitaire, when you're doodling, you know, all these different times. And then they were saying, like, man, you're supposed to be like creating the next greatest, you know, technology thing, and here you are playing solitaire and you lose it at that, you know what I'm saying. So like, so if some if everyone was under the eye that he's under, and he's able to see all that and still show up and give you his best effort, and more times than not, he's doing a very good job. People just I don't think you can really put into a category how hard that is for a person to do in this day and age, where you just like, there's probably nowhere he can turn where he hasn't seen some you know, someone joking about what he's doing, and a lot of people joking him who have no idea what it takes to do what he does. And still he shows up every week, every practice. He doesn't complain. You haven't seen in this stuff. He's played, nicked up, he's played hurt, all those kinds, he's faked all of that stuff. I don't think people give that credit, and I love to give that credit. And it makes it really hard to be critical of the dude because everyone is so hard on him, but he keeps showing up, and so I just choose to go the other way and support him in that way, because there's really hard to do, no other job, no other career. And you can hit me with it like, oh, well he chose to do this that, and now I'm saying, okay, well, then I'm just gonna choose to bring a camera to your job and just put it on it first, and then we're gonna criticize every single thing you do, even when you when you take the pen from the office that you're not supposed to take, We're gonna call that out to But you know what I'm saying. You know, you only you're only supposed to get a couple of pins from the from the supply room, but you took the whole box. You know, like I know that because I've done that. But anyway, I'll never play solitary again.
00:39:21
Speaker 3: Yourself.
00:39:23
Speaker 12: But anyway, I just think kudos to him for showing up every day.
00:39:27
Speaker 3: You know.
00:39:27
Speaker 12: People always say, like, uh, you know, showing up is kind of like a participation trophy. But showing up is half the battle. You can't get better if you're not there, and you can't win if you're not there. So tudos him for showing up.
00:39:38
Speaker 4: Well said Big Ray. He's Big Ray Roberts. You can hear him on the Seahawks prem post game show. Thanks Big Ray.
00:39:42
Speaker 3: That's right, sir.
00:39:44
Speaker 12: You guys have a go on, Go Seahawks Baby.
00:39:47
Speaker 7: Coming up next to the latest from John Schneider, This is.
00:39:51
Speaker 3: The Huddle, the Handoff Inside.
00:39:55
Speaker 2: Touchdowns, exclusively on Seattle's Awards on sevent ten, Seattle Sports on YouTube and the Seattle Sports app with hosts Michael Bumpus, Stacey Rosk, and Deem Why but time to go inside the Hotti.
00:40:14
Speaker 4: Well, guys, talking about that Rams game was fun. Let's get to the game that actually matters. Left to play Super Bowl sixty against the New England Patriots.
00:40:21
Speaker 7: I'm gonna have some similar questions for both of you. Dave, I'll start with you. Immediately. Standing out to you about the Patriots is.
00:40:28
Speaker 5: What you know I was when I watched the playoffs in particular, I wasn't super impressed by the AFC just in general. But you know, they also played in a lot of cold weather games and things like that. So the numbers obviously are not not going to be great. But if you go back and look at what they've done now you can all make all the you know, all the all.
00:40:52
Speaker 3: Make fun of their their schedule and everything.
00:40:54
Speaker 5: There's the Twitter, you know, a tweet where it says like fired coach, fired.
00:40:59
Speaker 3: Coach NFC South Jets.
00:41:02
Speaker 5: You know, so I mean that that is uh, that belies what you know they do statistically.
00:41:08
Speaker 3: Let's go to John.
00:41:09
Speaker 7: Let's go to John Schnyer and take a listen.
00:41:11
Speaker 13: John, last time we talked to you at this spot.
00:41:14
Speaker 3: It's you.
00:41:14
Speaker 13: Yeah, was after the DK trade and the Geno trade and not being able to sign a guard. Do you ever think about the butterfly effect of those decisions and Marcus Lawrence and Cooper Cup and Grey's able.
00:41:29
Speaker 14: Uh No, it's really more like what we're doing every single day, and that's never really it's never really changed. Actually, it's it's never changed since twenty ten when when Pete and I came here. I mean it's like, what are we doing every single day? What are contingency plans? How are we improving in every aspect of our operation?
00:41:49
Speaker 3: And I think so that's how Pete and.
00:41:52
Speaker 14: I totally hit it off, and so I understand like the angst. I definitely feel it, you know, but it's not how we operate, you know. It's like, Okay, what are we doing every single day to get better? It's really as simple as that, like like work on it, you know, work at it, pray on it, and like what do.
00:42:11
Speaker 3: We how how how can we improve every day?
00:42:14
Speaker 5: Did you John when you talked to San Dardle Marcus Lawrence free.
00:42:19
Speaker 3: Agents for this see what did you order?
00:42:22
Speaker 15: So sorry, I'm revenant too, much caffeine this morning.
00:42:24
Speaker 3: I'm sorry, what was yourself pitched today?
00:42:27
Speaker 10: What what did you tell them about the franchise at at the point wasn't.
00:42:30
Speaker 14: See well, add had a relationship with with DeMarcus and then Clint had a relationship, you know with Sam. So when you're bringing people into your building, like you, especially in free agency, you wanna make sure.
00:42:46
Speaker 15: You're like the the the quality of the person. Do we know exactly what we're getting?
00:42:50
Speaker 4: Mm?
00:42:51
Speaker 14: And uh so we had a we had a great you know background with those guys, like great like the character, the person, the work ethic, love of the game, the grit, all the things you've heard.
00:43:02
Speaker 3: For years and years or whatever.
00:43:03
Speaker 4: But uh.
00:43:05
Speaker 15: But then it was about about like, hey, there's so many foundational.
00:43:08
Speaker 14: Pieces here and uh, yeah, I think I've told I think I've told you guys before. Like in two thousand five, the Seahawks hired Tim Mell School and it was like I'd worked here in two thousand I was working for the Packers, and I wanna come back here so bad because I knew, like, you know, Dave Pearson's here, Eric Kennedy, Sam Ramsden, Mo Kelly, like all these just awesome foundational, like people in the in in the organization, and I'd worked you know, like I had worked for Paul Allen before. So it's like it's really like the organization kind of like like kind of sells itself.
00:43:48
Speaker 15: When do you look at it from the way of you know, the culture and the fits and everything like that.
00:43:52
Speaker 14: And to see it work out in this way where it has gotten to this stage where we see how post.
00:43:56
Speaker 15: The team is even from the outside. Yeah, when you see it work out in that way, how special is it.
00:44:01
Speaker 3: Special?
00:44:02
Speaker 14: I mean just that it's the ultimate team sport and so that's obviously the players and the coaches and whatever we can do to support them. And so but to see like you know, Mike's emphasis on the you know, connecting the guys in the offseason, and really like what that means and how important it is.
00:44:21
Speaker 3: And it's not just like Ex's and No's.
00:44:22
Speaker 15: It's like, hey, man, like you're literally playing for the link of the guy next to you.
00:44:26
Speaker 14: And uh, I think that's why we all like love growing up playing the game, you know, especially you know.
00:44:34
Speaker 3: Play a high level like that.
00:44:35
Speaker 15: So if as a joke, uh yeah, so I think that's like, but that's just the love.
00:44:40
Speaker 14: Of the game, right, Like, and I think that's been really cool to see Mike and his staff and then the players, like the vets, like really buy in it?
00:44:47
Speaker 5: John, you have you had a run there where you are either picking late in the.
00:44:49
Speaker 10: First round or didn't you used to pick it all?
00:44:51
Speaker 12: Look at the last few.
00:44:52
Speaker 3: Dabs, Charles Spoon, Jack's.
00:44:54
Speaker 10: Grave Murph, like, what have you thought of the way your your first round guys have really helped you.
00:44:58
Speaker 5: Get to where you guys are right now?
00:45:01
Speaker 14: Checks and balances, I would say, so you know Nolan's Eeasily, Trent Kursner, Matt Berry, Uh, aaronheinm Line, Jason Barnes, like all these people would spend a ton of time with at this time of the.
00:45:13
Speaker 15: Year, right like figuring out where we're gonna.
00:45:14
Speaker 14: Go and then learning from our like mishaps or I know, yeah, and and how do we how do we constantly prove on that?
00:45:25
Speaker 15: And we do it every year and we've we've I think those guys have like done a great job of like alright, like what's a seahawk?
00:45:33
Speaker 2: Right?
00:45:33
Speaker 14: And we just keep pounding that and then to go to go through it with a new staff, it's just a natural reset. So now you have a new Tenans coach, you got a new run, you know what I mean. You got a school group of new people that you're learning, whe you're trying to evaluate, and so all those people coming together are like, Okay, it's kind of a cool reset and figuring it out.
00:45:51
Speaker 15: Yeah, how y how you how you.
00:45:52
Speaker 3: Shop with your school set? Ja the third youngest roster in the league.
00:45:56
Speaker 9: How set up do you feel you are for sustained success?
00:46:02
Speaker 3: Oh?
00:46:02
Speaker 14: Man, honestly, that's like a It's this is a year to year right. We looked pretty kind of a two three years out planned from a planning standpoint. But uh, I've I've n I've never been This is not an arrogant thing to say at all, but I've never felt like we haven't been set up for success.
00:46:19
Speaker 15: Like again, getting back to the people in the building.
00:46:22
Speaker 14: Like but we have a we can ck you come to see how like we would support you like nutrition and sleep studies, like we we got you.
00:46:28
Speaker 15: And so I've always felt like like we are set up for success. How far can you take it?
00:46:34
Speaker 14: That? I mean every year, I mean it's a different I mean, look, man, we just played like San Francisco rams like you're talking about great organizations, great teams, and it's like this play here, I play there, and like so to say, you know, set up for sustaining success, I mean, I can't answer that, Joy draw.
00:46:51
Speaker 16: Up the it's not the last head coach, one of the last head coaches hired in twenty twenty four, when you look.
00:46:57
Speaker 4: Back at what made him a dud?
00:47:00
Speaker 15: And has he even exceed your expectations?
00:47:02
Speaker 3: Sens uh Mike.
00:47:06
Speaker 14: With Mike, it was, you know, like the clarity of of uh and I'm sure you guys know that's speaking with him. It's like this really clear, thoughtful, intense, intelligent uh messaging. And then it's when you sit down with somebody, it's like, Okay, how can I see myself partnering up with this person?
00:47:25
Speaker 3: You know?
00:47:26
Speaker 14: And we did it in the same manner like the the Pete and I did. It's like, alright, can we can we sit down and be like simpatico and like are we gonna be able to work through our our ugly times together?
00:47:37
Speaker 15: Cause there's gonna be a lot of 'em?
00:47:39
Speaker 3: And uh.
00:47:39
Speaker 15: That that was what was very clear about uh about Mike and and exceeded at expectations. I think that's hard.
00:47:49
Speaker 14: That's hard to gauge because, uh, you know, you're so into the moment every single day.
00:47:56
Speaker 3: It's it's th the hard. We don't it's like the man.
00:48:02
Speaker 14: In the arena thing, you know, and you like step back like we don't. We're not able to like step back like everybody else is. And it's just like you're just constantly going. It seems like yesterday that he just like walked to the door and like said hi to every in the building.
00:48:17
Speaker 15: And yeah, it's almost exactly sixteen years ago this week you.
00:48:21
Speaker 3: Were hiring here.
00:48:22
Speaker 4: That was the latest from John Schneider. Coming up next on the Huddle, let's talk to the Voice of the Seahawks, Steve Rabel.
00:48:27
Speaker 3: Back to the.
00:48:28
Speaker 2: Huddle only on the Home of the Seahawks, Seattle Sports.
00:48:33
Speaker 7: Voice of the Seahawks, Steve Rabel, Rabes, how's it going?
00:48:37
Speaker 12: Hey here?
00:48:37
Speaker 3: Are you good?
00:48:39
Speaker 4: Obviously incredibly excited about Super Bowl sixty, but I want to take a quick look back at last Sunday's game. Sam Darnold twenty five at thirty six three forty six three touchdowns. It was a brilliant performance by him. Rabes, what did it mean for you to watch him in this game.
00:48:55
Speaker 12: You know, it's funny years ago Mike Holmgren said, your best players have to play their best games in the biggest games. And I think Sam did exactly that. Uh, you know, you just watched him out there, go through his progressions. He made every throw. He got hit on a lot of those throws. And when you watch back some of the replays and you see him throwing the touchdown pass to Jake Bobo or the pass down the middle of the field to JSN and he gets slammed just as he gets rid of the football. But he understood what needed to be done at that moment. He understood how important those throws were, and he made every single one of them. That's that is a that a that's a that's a championship performance from Sam. It's Pro Bowl performance and everything else, and it's just what you'd expect from Sam.
00:49:45
Speaker 5: Hey, Steve, I think you know, it's been kind of tough to watch. You know, obviously we took two out of three games from the Rams, but man, you know, the last two times they've piled up the yards. But I think you know that's the bad news, But the good news it seems like, you know, there's a lot to work on for this defense, and I'm sure that Mike's going to be looking at it from Okay, if I'm the Patriots, you know, how am I going to attack these this defense like the Rams did?
00:50:10
Speaker 12: Yeah, the really good news day is that Puka Nakua and Matthew Stafford aren't going to be wearing Patriots jerseys next weekend. That's a really good news those guys. But they you know, they load up on just about everybody. It doesn't matter. They just have a really great offense, They have a terrific scheme. They have a good team all the way around. To see, Hawks were just a little bit better, one win better in fact, over the Rams, and that's what it took to get to where we are today. And they're all still packing their suitcases and heading home. I think we've played the two toughest teams that we're going to play in the playoffs already in San Francisco and the Rams, mostly because we know each other so well, and that's not going to be the case of the Patriots. There's gonna be a little feeling out, I think, going on early in the game. But I think that. Certainly, the Seahawks defense, I believe is going to rise to the level that they have all season long, and against a young quarterback and you know, an okay offense, I think we should do pretty well.
00:51:16
Speaker 6: Last game Raves, the Hawks came out and it felt like we're going to feature K nine early, get him the football, get him going. I felt like that kind of loosened Sam Donald up. Do you think they have the same approach this game?
00:51:28
Speaker 2: Yeah?
00:51:28
Speaker 12: I do, and I thought it was really smart buf And then listen. You know, the run of the football is an integral part of this offense, and it sets up everything else that the Seahawks want to do. After that, you're able to see Sam, you know, naked boots to the right and left, roll out left, throw across his body and make perfect throws while the defense is chasing the ball fate going the other way. He just he's a master at it, Darnald is, and he does it every day in practice. You listen to Mike and Clint Kobiak and his teammates talk about what they do when it comes to throwing the football. But again, it's all set up by that run. Canine had a terrific game. They're going to be calling on him for the majority of the load during the Super Bowl, obviously with with Charbonnay not able to play, but I think they can depend on him. I think the offensive line, of course, is the key, and I see us blocking better and better every week.
00:52:25
Speaker 3: You know.
00:52:25
Speaker 12: The other thing that kind of set everything up, I think bump was that very first I think it was the very first pass, the deep pass to Rashid Shiheed, and all of a sudden, the Rams are saying, holy smokes, we you know, we better get back on our heels just a little bit because they're not going to just run the ball straight at us. They're going to try to throw over top of us. And that I think is the beauty of this offense.
00:52:48
Speaker 5: Well, I know that, you know, it's you're probably gonna laugh at this, but like for you, you've called a couple of Super Bowl games like what is is it different? And you know, what are what are you kind of thinking about? I mean you probably got to think, hey, man, this is just just another game, but like somehow inject some excitement in there.
00:53:08
Speaker 3: But yeah, but you've had some experience, how different is it?
00:53:12
Speaker 12: Well it's really interesting, you know, this season, especially with Mike and the constant sort of Hey, it's just week number sixteen or eighteen, or now it's just number week twenty two, and it's just another game. In preparation, well, you know, because you prepare for game two. That part is true. We'll prepare the same way we do all season long. But I'm telling you, when you get there, you can't imagine how big it is. First of all, the whole sporting world, not just the NFL. This is one of the biggest deals in all of the sporting world. Make sure you're wearing a clean shirt, make sure your hair is combed. You're going to be looked at from nine ways to Sunday. They're going to be stars in all the parties and I'm out on the field. And once you get past all that, once you get to the game, then it really is fun. It's also a security nightmare. It takes forever to get any place, so be ready for all of that stuff.
00:54:14
Speaker 3: It's it's a.
00:54:15
Speaker 12: Regular season game, really really on steroids, and listen, you put up with all the other stuff just so you can go down there on the field prior to the game and then walk up to the booth after the game and say, you know, here we go, let's kick it off and let's get playing. And then you know, you trust that these guys are going to play the way they've played all season long, and they're gonna be dropping blue and green confetti.
00:54:40
Speaker 3: At the end raves.
00:54:42
Speaker 6: How valuable is a guy like Leslie Frazier during this time of year, A guy who's been on Super Bowl team.
00:54:51
Speaker 3: I've been through this process.
00:54:52
Speaker 6: Granted it's probably a little more water down back in the eighties because all the media and stuff. But you know, I think about guys like him and then veterans on the team who have been Super Bowls.
00:55:01
Speaker 3: How does this organization lean on those guys?
00:55:04
Speaker 12: Yeah, he is talking about an old soul and he's just got this great, this great sort of understated personality. And Mike will tell you he has. He has really looked to Less many many times in for just for consults and and uh, you know, what should we do? And what do you think? What do you see? Give me your opinion? Uh, tell me about this. And Less has been there as a player and a coach. Uh, just a remarkable run. I like to joke about it when we're uh in the building. At the same time down to the vMac were the two oldest human beings there. So it's fun to know that you've got a guy with that kind of experience, but who also has been able to kind of take in all of what he is now the National Football League, from the analytics to how you deal with players. You know, he was a player under under Dicka. You know, Dick was one of those you run through the wall because I told you to run through the wall. That's not the way of the world works anymore, and less has been able to adjust to all of that. He's he really is a remarkable guy, remarkable.
00:56:12
Speaker 4: Coach, whether it's the twenty thirteen Seahawks who won this franchise, it's first Super Bowl, or maybe a number of other teams around the league who have obviously won. Is there ever a common thread that you notice, maybe a singular theme with really great all time teams.
00:56:28
Speaker 12: Yeah, the best team usually wins. That's that's the one I've kind of noticed. Fact, and that happens a lot of cases. And I'll tell you where it really stood out to me was in five when the best team didn't win. When we went back to Detroit to play Pittsburgh, and I'm not going to you know, I'm not going to dig up all the old excuses. They weren't excuses. They were reasons why the Seahawks didn't win that football game. And there were a lot of things that went against them. That's that's, you know, in my estimation and of course in Mike Homebruns that you know, explanation of things.
00:57:03
Speaker 3: It was.
00:57:04
Speaker 12: It was not the best day for the Seahawks from an external standpoint. The official sure didn't do any favors, is what I'm saying. But we also didn't play maybe our best game. But usually it's the best team that wins. It's it's the team that's that's prepared, that has is kind of on a role. What have we won nine straight now, we haven't lost since Week eleven. This this is a team that is talk about battle hardened. That's these guys. We're pretty healthy. That's also another thing that you look for when you get to this point in the season. But you also look to teams that, you know, do you have the veteran presence in the LA We're the fourth fourth youngest team in the league, but we do have veterans in just the right places to help guide these young guys. So I think we have all of the things necessary to win a Super Bowl, not the least of which is just the attitude. They believe every time they go on the field that they can win a football game. Man's that's as big a part of it is. How anything.
00:58:06
Speaker 4: You're on the call for the most important game of the year next Sunday. He is the voice of the Seahawks, Steve Rabel.
00:58:11
Speaker 12: Thanks right, all right, guys, Thanks you buddy.
00:58:14
Speaker 4: See ya coming up next, Let's step across enemy lines for an opponent preview with Ben Violin of the Boston Globe.
00:58:20
Speaker 2: Back to the huddle only on the home of the Seahawks, Seattle Sports.
00:58:25
Speaker 4: An opponent preview with Ben Bolan at the Boston Globe.
00:58:28
Speaker 7: Joining us right now, Ben, how's it going.
00:58:31
Speaker 3: I'm doing well.
00:58:32
Speaker 1: I can't believe we still have ten days to go into this game. I'm ready to play it right now.
00:58:36
Speaker 4: I know well, and I'm ready to. Like you start actually looking at an opponent. I feel like so much of what we've been doing is I'm sure you guys have is looking back at the championship game, going.
00:58:45
Speaker 7: Wow, how'd they get here?
00:58:46
Speaker 4: Look at the season and then you go, oh my god, there's one more game to play. So I wanted to start with Drake May. An incredible season for him, obviously an mbH front runner along with Matthew Stafford.
00:58:58
Speaker 7: What stood out most about his game this year to.
00:59:01
Speaker 1: You, honestly, it was a deep passing. You know, he completed Drake May led the league in completion percentage around seventy two percent. And it wasn't just like dinking and dunk. It wasn't horizontal passes. He was really pushing the ball down the field. And if you look at like the next Gen stats and some of the analytics, he was like one of the two or three best deep ball passers in the NFL, which really impressive, you know, given how many his high completion percentage. But just this is an element, a big play element that has been missing from the Patriots offense, not only since Brady was here, but really the last couple of years of Brady, they didn't have much of a downfield offense. So it's it's been a while, and I mean big time plays to Kaishaan Boody down the field, to Mario Douglas, you know, tight window throws that touchdown pass that Drake May threw to Kayshon Boody in the fourth quarter of the Texans game over Derek Stingley was an unbelievable throw and one handed catch in the end zone.
01:00:06
Speaker 3: So, you know, that's been.
01:00:07
Speaker 1: Really fun to watch is Drake May, Like you know, he's really you know, so you hear a lot about the second year jump, and the improvement he's made between year one and two has just been phenomenal. And watching him just effortlessly push the ball down the field and fearlessly do it as well has been really impressive. And then on top of it, he's a great athlete. He's really been using his legs here in the playoffs when the passing game hasn't been there as much, so you know, he's really proven a dual threat. And then for someone who's not even twenty four years old, he plays with an impressive maturity. He's good at throwing the ball out of bounds instead of taking a sack or you know, like living to see another play.
01:00:47
Speaker 3: Drake May.
01:00:48
Speaker 1: For someone who's pretty young, I thought really played with a good head about his shoulders this year.
01:00:54
Speaker 5: In games like this, you always kind of look for an edge and you know, we think pretty highly of our specialty here. But the Patriots on a couple of lists that the Seahawks are on, you know, teams with a kickoff return for a touchdown, both the Patriots and the Hawks, and then there's six teams with two part returns for touchdowns and the Pats and the Hawks are there. Would tell us about the special teams and how you know, how much have they leaned on them this year?
01:01:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the Patriots for the first half of the season were like the only team to score a touchdown on a kickoff. They did it in Week two. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the returner who did it, Antonio Gibson, suffered a season ending injury like the next week. So the Patriots kickoff return game has actually kind of struggled a little bit since Gibson has gone down. They like to use Trevon Henderson at that role, and he hit a touchdown in the preseason, but once Gibson went down, who's a running back, Henderson became a lot more important, so they haven't been able to use him back there either. However, Marcus Jones at punt returner is just a dynamo and he was second team All Pro this year. He scored or two touchdowns on punt returns. He had two pick sixes at slock corner, and you know, including one here in the playoffs. He's just a playmaker. And Rashid Chihat is like my favorite move that any team made during the season. I can't believe the Seahawks got away with, you know, getting him from the Saints for so little, just a couple of late draft picks. I mean, he's been an unbelievable spark club, spark plug for that offense, for special teams and just what they needed. Like the Bills, man, the Bills should have been in on Rashid chih Heat. I don't know why they didn't try to get him more. But so, yeah, special teams are a huge factor in this game. The Patriots also last week they preserve that win against the Broncos because they tipped field goal late in the fourth quarter got a hand on one. So the Patriots have just been pretty stout all season long on special teams, and I know the Seahawks have as well. So that's gonna be That's always a you know, certainly an aspect of the game where you know, one play can make a huge turned and both both teams have a player and Marcus Jones and Rashid shaheedho are capable of changing the game.
01:03:05
Speaker 3: In a hurry.
01:03:07
Speaker 6: Was there any any part of this team, the Patriots team that you feel is being underestimated.
01:03:15
Speaker 1: Every week that we keep talking about the defense being a little underestimated and the defense feeling disrespected because no one's talking about them as much. But if we keep doing that, you know, like eventually people are you know, started to take notice. And but the defense did feel overshadowed throughout the playoff run because you know, I think each week to talk was about how good the Chargers defense, Texans and then the Broncos defenses. The Patriots are the first team ever to defeat three different top five defenses in a single playoff run, and they did it in consecutive weeks. And now the Seahawks are six, but they were first in points allowed. So this is this is a gauntlet for the Patriots offense playing four of the best defenses uh in the NFL. So this is obviously another huge challenge for the Patriots, but you know, their defense has been able to carry them while the offense has struggled here. The Patriots only scored fifty four points in the three games, the fewest ever by a team to make it to the Super Bowl with three games, so obviously the defense has been on fire. Interesting thing to watch the linebacker Roberts Spulane, who he was out for the end of the regular season and then he came back to the playoffs, and the defense is so much better, especially the run defense is so much better when Roberts Spulane is in the middle. He's kind of like the Patriots Bobby Wagner. He's not practicing right now because of an ankle injury, so that'll be something to watch for the Super Bowl. But Milton Williams Christian Barmore two defensive tackles up the middle. I have a feeling that that might be a problem for the Seahawks interior offensive line. And the Patriots defense has been generating turnovers, scoring points, and playing really well while maybe not getting all the headlines.
01:04:56
Speaker 4: I wanted to stick with the defense for this one, specifically against the pass. This was from Aaron Schotz, who actually joined us ahead of the AFC Championship game and pointed this out. We asked him, hey, who are you favoring between Denver and the pass? You know, Denver's defense is great, and he said, well, wait a minute. In weeks ten through twenty, New England has actually been better in DVOA against the pass than the broncoss have. And so he was quick to say, like the Patriots are getting better defensively while the Broncos are taking a small step back.
01:05:26
Speaker 7: What's working with the pass defense? Especially?
01:05:29
Speaker 12: They just have a lot of.
01:05:30
Speaker 1: Talent at all three levels. You know, the guys up front have been pretty disruptive. I mentioned those two defensive tackles, Milton Williams and Christian Barmore. They probably, I think, you know, per next gen stats, like the most disruptive defensive tackle duo in the league this year, like the two of them, especially, you know, Milton Williams missed five games, but when they're healthy, those two are very disruptive. And they were the reason that the Broncos failed on that fourth and one pass that was such a crucial play in the game in the Acchampionship. The Patriots have, you know, they don't have elite edge rushers, but good high energy guys, especially Klaymon Chase On He's a former first round pick who's been a really nice fine for them this year. And then their secondary is excellent between Christian Goanzalez who's one of the top three corners in the game, Carlton Davis is a solid number two, a pressman corner, and then Marcus Jones is just an absolute spark plug at nickel corner, a total playmaker for them. So they just have a really good, a feisty secondary, a good high energy, you know pass rush. They stunt a lot, they do a lot of stuff up front to you know, get in the heads of the offensive lineman, and then they have an excellent you know secondary as well. So and then it helps that they really haven't played many good quarterbacks, like let's not you know, hide behind the obvious, the other than Josh Allen and one half of Lamar Jackson. Lamar missed the second half of the Ravens game. You know, the Patriots haven't played many elite quarterbacks. They even got jareds did him in the AC Championship game, justin Herbert. You know, it is a very good quarterback, but his offensive line was a mess and they managed, you know, three points in the cold.
01:07:05
Speaker 3: C J.
01:07:06
Speaker 1: Stroud was a total mess in the divisional run. You have to give the Patriots defense a lot of credit, but you know they've not been playing quarterbacks who are operating as well as Sam Darnold. So this is definitely gonna be a tough challenge for the Patriots defense. And they're not going to be able to rely on weathery. I mean, that's another thing. There was weather and cold and snow in all three of their playoff games. It should be a nice night in Santa Clara, so you know that the Seahawks aren't going to be affected by.
01:07:35
Speaker 3: You know, the environment.
01:07:36
Speaker 1: So the Patriots defense is gonna have to line up and play against some.
01:07:39
Speaker 3: Very good offense.
01:07:40
Speaker 4: Ben Vollen does an excellent job covering this team for the Boston Globe and kind enough to give us ten minutes of his time today to help us preview the Pats. Thanks Ben, all right, thanks a lot, guys, have a good one coming up next. Wrapping up the show with John Boyle of Seahawks dot Com.
01:07:54
Speaker 2: This is the Huddle Back to the Huddle only on the home of the Seahawks, Seattle Scores.
01:08:00
Speaker 4: John Boyle joining us to wrap up. Well, we haven't done quite a preview of Super Bowl sixty. We were just joined by Ben Bolan to talk about the Pats, but we spent so much time just kind of reminiscing on a great NFC championship win, a great day for Sam Donald, so I might as well start there before we look ahead to.
01:08:18
Speaker 7: Super Bowl sixty.
01:08:20
Speaker 4: We had kept hearing calls from people, from critics that Sam Donald has to meet the moment. And granted, he did perform in a really big Week eighteen game. He did perform in his second playoff start ever, but I think for a lot of people they wanted a slightly more gaudy stat line, so he ended up giving them that in this championship game.
01:08:37
Speaker 7: What did you see from him?
01:08:38
Speaker 16: Yeah, I mean he was fantastic and I think in Mike McDonald put a best half of the games, Like he shut a lot of people up. It's like, you can't there's only literally one bigger stage in football than the NFC Championship game, and that's the game they're going to.
01:08:50
Speaker 10: Play next weekend in the Super Bowl. But he didn't just go out.
01:08:53
Speaker 16: You know, the first two games that he played, you know, the big games were Week eighteen and then the Division round, and he was good in those games. He didn't turn the ball over. He was efficient, but he didn't need to do a lot because his defense was so dominant. They got to that big lead in the divisional round. But this game, like they needed every one of those throats because Matt Stafford and Puk and a Coup were so good that if he doesn't have a great game the Saxon Super Bowl, and he did that. So I think, you know, Sam's not the kind of guy like he's always believed himself. I don't think he needed this, but for fans, maybe it was important. And I think his teammates were really happy for him to sort of shut people up a little bit.
01:09:28
Speaker 5: John, Who are some of the people in the building that make it easy for the coaches and the players, And.
01:09:33
Speaker 16: Oh there's so I'm afra, I'm going to lead people out. But I mean, like, you gotta start with the equipment. The head of equipment here, who's been doing it forever and one of the best in the business, and like, yeah, I mean him. You've got the kitchen staff and the you know, the nutrition people obviously, the training staff.
01:09:50
Speaker 10: Video. I mean, there's so many people. It's so just such a Groo and Jeremy.
01:09:54
Speaker 16: He does all the travel he's got like he's lining up everything in all these hotels and coordinated everything you've got.
01:10:00
Speaker 10: They got a plan security. It's such a.
01:10:02
Speaker 16: Huge operation just for a normal two day road trip, let alone the team being gone a week. So yeah, I mean, I don't want to start naming people because I'm gonna forget people, but it's such a huge operation.
01:10:12
Speaker 5: It just seems like the Seahawks do it better than other teams. Yeah, they just they have better people that just are making it more like just another game.
01:10:19
Speaker 16: Yeah, for sure. And that's I mean, they know there's gonna be so many big distractions. There's all this s extra media, all the sextra circus. But as long as you can kind of compartmentalize, like Cooper Cup talked about this year, it's like, Okay, this is the time I'm doing media, Dude, deal with this extra stuff and now.
01:10:32
Speaker 10: It's football time. We do what we gotta do.
01:10:33
Speaker 16: And Yeah, I think just the makeup of this team, the way these guys are, I don't think it's really gonna mess them up too much.
01:10:39
Speaker 6: What do you think the biggest challenge is going to be on Sunday, well two sundays from now.
01:10:44
Speaker 10: This Sunday. Yeah, just get on a plane. Get on a plane.
01:10:47
Speaker 16: And now, I mean I haven't don done like a deep dive on the Patriots yet, but just what I've seen in the little bits and pieces, it's, you know, really good defense, a really good c I mean, he's a kind of coach that, like situated, he's gonna be so good schematically, he's going to have them ready. So as much as I think, you know, you start diving into matchups in the Seahawks offense and all this, like, I think the Seahawks on paper have a lot of advantages, but I just can't see the way the resilience that the Patriots have shown, and the way their quarterback is playing, the way their defense played, I can't see a situation where they're not prepared and competitive.
01:11:21
Speaker 4: NFL Films released their footage from the conference championship game, and a since viral clip has been what looked to be busted coverage. DeMarcus Lawrence appeals with whoever was that? Thank you, and Sean McVay said it was a fortuitous busting coverage for them. I'm assuming that you guys asked what was it DeMarcus about, We said, like not.
01:11:44
Speaker 10: Even an hour ago. Yeah, he was great, he talked.
01:11:46
Speaker 16: It was what people thought when they broke it down, is he's originally supposed to rush on that play, but he recognized from where Julian had come up to the line of scrimmage and that this wasn't a like sometimes the running back, you know, stays in the block and then leaks out, but this was a hot he's out, and DeMarcus recognized that, combined with the fact that, as he put it, you know, they're not really worried about Stafford taking the ball and running. If you vacate that space next week against Drake May, he can run for a touchdown there. But he knew that that wasn't gonna happen, So he just made an instinctual decision that comes with being a guy who's played a high level for twelve years in the NFL. Peeled off to help Julian kind of double them, and he kind of smiled and goes, yeah, I guess it was a fortuitos bus like McVeigh said, and kind of smiled about because yeah, it wasn't.
01:12:29
Speaker 10: This wasn't a like mistake per se it was.
01:12:32
Speaker 16: He didn't run it the way it was designed, but he recognized a potential flaw in their call and he made it happen.
01:12:38
Speaker 3: Let me say one thing.
01:12:39
Speaker 6: There's a listener who I was texting with today and he or she asked me what I think it was, and I said it might have been a bus, but it might have been him making adjustments. And he or she was set on DeMarcus Larens making an adjustment, so big up. So wherever that text is, if.
01:12:56
Speaker 16: You're still listening, Yeah, he just sawry he read. He could tell the back was not staying in. He was just gonna leak out immediately, and that someone had to go with him, and he made a heck of a play to force Stafford to change his mind. And by the time he got his reads across the field, Spoon was there to make a play.
01:13:11
Speaker 3: Yep.
01:13:12
Speaker 5: Is what happens when when you have a really good team, your coaches get cherry picked from other teams. That was the whole Kobyak thing going in as far as how were they handling the news.
01:13:21
Speaker 16: And yeah, you know it hasn't he did the interviews earlier, but the way it's set up, he hasn't been able to. You know, it's not any distraction for him because he can't really talk to teams until I believe just based on what I'm seeing on reports, I think he can do some more interviews on this coming weekend before the team leaves. Teams would have to come to him or do it virtually. He's not gonna like fly to wherever Arizona or Las Vegas. Almost said Oakland. That'd have been an old reference, but yeah, I mean it's uh, he You know, these guys are really good at what they do. And as much as fans might not want to hear it, they don't spend twenty four hours a day, seven days a week on their job.
01:13:55
Speaker 10: They're allowed to have a little free time.
01:13:57
Speaker 16: So if he wants to spend some of that free time Saturday interviewing for the biggest job of his life, good for him.
01:14:04
Speaker 3: How confident are you in the run game? Now?
01:14:06
Speaker 6: It's spent on way three or four weeks to where Canine looks good, the O line looks good. And then how do you do you think what we saw as far as the uses of Hallani, anything's gonna be similar?
01:14:16
Speaker 16: And I would think so, I mean it always depends on how the game's going on how much you're running the ball, and if you're just pounding it and you're playing from ahead and running more than maybe Halani gets a bigger load. But I think probably similarly where it's gonna be. You know, Canine's a guy right now, like without charbonnay to kind of be the one a or whatever you want to call it. It's clearly Canine show in the backfield. But yeah, you can't have him play in every snap, so you're gonna get Hailani involved. I think we saw a little bit of cam Akers in the backfield. I don't believe he carried the ball, but he played a little bit. So yeah, it's I mean Canaine. That stat's don't show how well he played in that game. There's some tough yards. He made a lot of guys miss, so he's he's been huge down the stretch.
01:14:53
Speaker 4: This actually may very well be your answer I was gonna ask about ask about the most improved aspect of this team. I think it's speaks to where they are right now that even to start the season you were like, it's a pretty solid team, but what two stands out is like and they're even better here in week twenty one or wherever we are than they were in Week one.
01:15:10
Speaker 16: Yeah, I mean the running game is probably what I would point you first, because you look at early in the season they talked about they really want to run the ball, and the attempts were there, but you know, the yards for carry were pretty low.
01:15:19
Speaker 10: They weren't being as.
01:15:20
Speaker 16: Effective and it was it was a little bit of tough lending as Urrams. That's a really good defense, but they still you know, ran the ball well at times when they needed it. But prior to that, it was what the four straight games over one hundred and sixty yards. I think also we're just seeing this defense has been awesome all year, but I think it's easy as well as they play all year to forget, like they didn't really have their whole secondary until pretty late in the season, so or seeing on the back end that really come together and it's paid off for them.
01:15:46
Speaker 5: Who do you think is going to be the media darling, the player that maybe that people think is maybe they're funny.
01:15:55
Speaker 10: I could see Aj Barner being a real standout there. Maybe a Brady r Soul.
01:16:02
Speaker 16: I mean, Spoon's got the most infectious personality in the world. So if he wants to, if he wants to turn it on and in charming people in the press conferences, he's gonna be fantastic, ni great with the media. He's I mean, there's a lot of there's no you know, there's not the Richard Sherman level just over the top talks his trash backs it up like this team doesn't really have that guy, because not a lot of teams in the history of the NFL have had a Richard Sherman level of talker.
01:16:28
Speaker 10: But there's some really fun personalities.
01:16:29
Speaker 16: I think we'll get to come out and there's always gonna be somebody, some random lineman we're not thinking of who's just gonna have a moment.
01:16:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I think you're right with Mike morris Man. He was joking around about about Mike McDonald.
01:16:43
Speaker 16: And he's kind of get sense humor. And I've heard a few I've heard a few players talk about how like sneaky, funny Eric Salbert is. So he's a guy, maybe you know, a little quiet vet who has a has a little moment in the sun.
01:16:56
Speaker 4: All right, let's wrap this up quickly now. Technical we're gonna have the huddle again on Thursday before the game. But I still want to talk about the game, even though it's a week from now. Sure, if we were all talking about Sam Darnold after this one, we'll all be talking about whom in a fingers crossed Super Bowl sixty win.
01:17:15
Speaker 7: Who do you think has a big day for Seattle?
01:17:17
Speaker 4: Just based on what you know about the Patriots, what you know about where this team is right now, let's go boil Bump Wyman, I think we're.
01:17:24
Speaker 10: Gonna have a second defensive MVP for the Seahawks.
01:17:27
Speaker 11: I'm not sure.
01:17:28
Speaker 10: I'm not sure I'm ready.
01:17:29
Speaker 7: To predict who it is, but I just I think feel it in your bones.
01:17:32
Speaker 10: Coming off the last game.
01:17:33
Speaker 16: People might not really you know, like they give a lot of points and yards to the Rams, but the Rams are their own. You look at they've done to the Seahawks and literally everybody else's season. I just think this defense is going to give them hell and get some turnovers and hey, let's uh, let's call it Spoon. Spoon's gonna have a pick six or something.
01:17:49
Speaker 6: Bump Jenna Wilson, I think he's gonna get off the edge and challenge these guys and Ben Sac fifteen times Drake May the last three games, So Jenna.
01:18:00
Speaker 7: Will it be a defensive trifecta?
01:18:01
Speaker 3: Wyman, I'm gonna go with AJ Barner, somebody you mentioned.
01:18:05
Speaker 5: As far as his personality and everything, It's been great this year and great blocker, and I could see him being key on a couple of maybe a touchdown run or two.
01:18:14
Speaker 3: And then I always talk about that post.
01:18:17
Speaker 5: Corner that he ran against the Rams on Thursday night was so good reaching up. I mean, he liked every bit of his talent was on display on that play. So I'm going AJ.
01:18:26
Speaker 7: I'll go offense too.
01:18:27
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go Ken Walker almost a cop out border and a copy Yeah, okay, did it? Anyways, make sure you're reading John Bowls work at Seahawks dot Com leading into this one. Bump on the pre and post game show next Sunday. Wyman on the call with Ray bl I'm Stacy Ross. This has been the huddle.
01:18:41
Speaker 2: You've been listening to the Huddle Up Huddle exclusively on Seattle Sports on seven ten, Seattle Sports on YouTube, and the Seattle Sports app. Seattle Sports, the Home of the Seahawks.