It has been long over a week since I have last took to writing on this blog. After a thrilling NFC championship victory over the talented Los Angeles Rams, I wanted to let things breathe a bit, and bask in the delight that the victorious Seattle Seahawks would be facing off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. What a joy this week has been with Seattle so much in the national spotlight.

The news of the Seahawks potentially being sold after the Super Bowl didn’t affect me much. We will see what comes out of it down the road if a sale in 2026 does happen, but generally, I am not concerned about it in the slightest.

I didn’t even find the news of Klint Kubiak looking like he’s going to get hired by the Raiders that upsetting, as much as I have wanted to see him remain here as offensive coordinator. If he does leave for that organization to be their new head coach, I will wish him well.

As the years go by, I feel less inclined to post about every news related thing in the Seahawks orbit, and I have gotten to a point where after writing a piece about a game played (which is customary on this blog), I feel little pull towards coming up with something mid week before the next one is to be played. The older I get, the more lazy I feel inclined to be, and in that, I try to limit time to this blog for only writing this that are really at the forefront of my mind.

Well, this Super Bowl LX certainly is very much on the forefront of my mind, and so is some other Seahawks related biz that I am happy to share some thoughts and feelings about. Let me just free flow these overriding feelings I got about the Hawks, this game, and some other things out there that have made some big news.

These 2025 Seahawks are my favorite iteration of all the Seattle Super Bowl Teams

I understand it if someone wants to accuse me of recency bias, and I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Legion Of Boom, Marshawn Lynch, Pete Carroll, or Mike Holmgren, Shaun Alexander, and Matthew Hasslebeck, but I deeply vibe on this present day Seahawks. This is my favorite Seahawks Super Bowl team, and it may not be close.

Part of it might be due to my vigilant defense of Mike Macdonald when many Twelves seemed reluctant about his hire, and lukewarm warm on his stamp on the team up until the past month or so. Another reason is probably also my strong defense of the front office moves John Schneider made this past offseason, and seeing that his actions were right ones, after all, in the face of so much national and local criticism.

Another much deeper part of it has to do with redemption storylines of players that few in the national media believed in once they became Seattle Seahawks in 2025. This is probably the greatest reason why I love this iteration of the team this year.

I have a long list of receipts from high profile NFL experts and insiders to trashed all over John Schneider for trading away Geno Smith, and replacing him with a much younger Sam Darnold last offseason. Mina Kimes, Ben Solak, Nick Wright, Sheil Kapadia, and many others all get paid handsomely wax on about their thoughts and feels about NFL players and front office moves, and when they all parrot off of each other by saying that they “aren’t sure what the plan is in Seattle” it pretty much directly implies that at they all seem to feel that they know more about football than John Schneider does, and by that very nature, it can make a person such as myself root harder to see them all proven wrong, which is exactly what this team, and these players have done this year. All of them.

It turns out that Sam Darnold is quite a bit better of a NFL QB than Geno Smith is, and his 2024 year with the Vikings wasn’t a fluky outlier one, after all, as many of these sorts suggested that it was. It also turns out that he seems to be one of the nicest dudes in the league who is very easy to like, and all the players on the Seahawks seem to genuinely have love for the guy. I don’t know if that could’ve ever been fully said about Geno Smith in his time here, or Russell Wilson and his. Personally, I like the quarterback of the Seahawks to be this type of person.

It also turns out the DeMarcus Lawerence, at age 32, still has quite a bit of juice left in his tank to be a badass edge rusher, and tone setter against the run. It seems to be that Cooper Kupp, despite what critics have said about him, still provides a lot of critical value to an offense even if he isn’t quite the same player he was a few years ago.

It appears, also, that Byron Murphy isn’t a bust at defensive tackle, that AJ Barner is a talent at tight end, that Ty Okada is more than a depth player, Drake Thomas is actually a pretty good linebacker, and that Seattle has finally found a decent center in Jalen Sundell.

It also seems true that Jaxon Smith Njibga is a bit more than just a slot receiver, and the Seahawks were fine to move away from DK Metcalf, after all. Congrats, JSN for winning Offensive Player of the Year last night!

These Seattle Seahawks are not a team loaded with big names and superstars. They have some recognizable names of players who have been in the league for a minute. They have Leonard Williams, Julian Love, and Sam Darnold who New York fans know well. They have Cooper Kupp who folks remember as a Super Bowl MVP some years back. They got DeMarcus Lawrence who Cowboy fans know very well. Now, NFL fans know JSN pretty well thanks to his massive breakout season.

But this team is loaded up with so much good smart talent across the board. They have athletic smart offensive linemen like rookie Grey Zabel, and tackles Abe Lucas, and Charles Cross. They have a badass inspirational linebacker in Ernest Jones. Their secondary is loaded at safety and cornerback. Their running back is an explosive playmaker. Their defensive line is fierce and comes at offenses in waves.

Despite what so many doubters and critics were saying about them back in August, this a badass roster, undeniably so. So, excuse me if I feel like dunking on all these experts who dumped on Schneider months ago.

This team is talented, they are ego free, they play together for each other, and.. wait for it..

They do not care.

I love this. I absolutely do.

I have watched Seahawks football religiously for four decades of my life. This is my favorite group of guys to represent the Seahawks in a Super Bowl. Win or lose come Sunday, that feeling I have for them will not change a bit.

I am not much concerned about Nick Emmanwori’s ankle situation

Nick Emmanwori is going to play in this Super Bowl. I was sure of this when news broke late Wednesday that he hurt his ankle in practice, and Mike Macdonald confirmed it that he’ll play in his presser yesterday.

When it gets to the week of the Super Bowl, unless you really do have some sort of significant break on something, you’re suiting up and playing. Days before the last time the Seahawks played in the Super Bowl, Kam Chancellor tore his MCL in practice, and they put a big fat brace on that thing, and he played through it.

Emmanwori is too valuable to this Seahawk defense to not play in this game. In my opinion, outside of Leonard Williams, I think he’s the best player on the defense, and his presence in the hybrid nickel/safety/linebacker role is plays is the straw the stirs up the whole drink. They will tape up that low ankle sprain, shoot him up with some high end pain killer stuff, and he will be lining up to limit run plays, cover tight ends, and potentially rush Drake Maye.

There is a legit question to how well he holds in there, and what their backup plan will be if he has to come off the field, but my expectation for him is that he will be good to go, and he will play well enough in this game to potentially garnish MVP considerations should Seattle hold off the Patriots. I’m not really worried about him.

What I expect in this game on Sunday

I expect it to feel like a dog fight, but I feel that if Seattle does how they have done for most of this season, they will do enough to win this game. I know that there are narratives brewing about Mike Vrabel making sure his defense makes Sam Darnold see ghosts, but I think a lot of that is fueled by overly confident Patriot fans who only really remember Darnold from several years ago when he was a young QB on the dysfunctional Jets team playing against peak Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

Darnold is a much different quarterback now with good built up scar tissue, and a much deeper stronger understanding of what NFL defenses will try to do against him. I suspect that Vrabel will very much try to send pressure at Darnold early and often, and I do not know if the results are going to be what Patriot fans are going to want to see.

I think this happens with blitzes and man coverage. In that, I suspect that Klint Kubiak and Darnold are also aware this is likely coming, and much of the prep this week is coming up with proper beaters against man coverage blitzing.

The last time a team really tried this approach against Seattle was the Atlanta Falcons, who at the time late in the season, were league leaders in sacks and pressures. Sam had one of his best games of the year on that day in early December throwing for 250 yards, three touchdowns with a passer rating of 111.7. The Rams tried to do more of this against him in the NFC Championship game, and he was able to out duel Matthew Stafford in that fateful match.

I respect that New England’s defense is likely better than the Rams or Falcons defense, but according to Pro Football Focus, Sam Darnold was one of the best quarterbacks this season throwing against blitzes. So, while I think we could see him getting got a few times by the Patriot defenders this Sunday, I think it is likely that he is going to get his, as well. The tape and analytics suggest that he will.

So what does this mean for others in the Seahawks offense?

I think we are going to have to need Seattle’s offensive line to show up big in this one, and they have been playing well enough as of late to think that they will be up for the task. I suspect that we are apt to see a big game out of Ken Walker as a receiver, and runner, and I think we could see big contributions from Cooper Kupp, and AJ Barner, as well.

My feeling is that if New England opts to use a lot of man with blitzes, it will be with the design to take JSN away as much as possible (questionable how effective that will be), and the result of sending DBs and linebackers is that K9, Kupp, and Barner could be left available for easy dump offs. K9, Kupp, and Barner all have skillsets to get the ball in their hands and get up field for YAC, and K9 has the ability to house the thing if one guy misses him in space. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kubiak devises ways to get JSN the ball against pressure blitzes, as well.

All of this is contingent on the offensive line holding strong, and Darnold staying strong in the face of pressure. I think the QB and line are going to be up for this task in this one very vital game. That’s not my heart talking. That is my gut vibe.

Defensively, I think Seattle will be tasked to contain Drake Maye and not let him beat defenders with his legs. I suspect that we will see the Kyler Murray and Brock Prudy rush plans. Don’t let him get outside, and force him to stay in the pocket, and if he tries to step up against Leonard Williams, and Byron Murphy to pass or escape up field with his legs, have linebackers there to meet him.

I trust that Mike Macdonald will have his defenders ready for this, on top of covering downfield which New England will obviously try to use Maye’s arm to target after seeing what the Rams did with Matthew Stafford, and his receivers. The thing of it is, though, I don’t see Maye having the same degree of success Stafford had.

I respect that Drake Maye has taken massive steps forward this year, and clearly looks like he is on his way to being an elite NFL quarterback. I get that he sees coverages well, and doesn’t turn the ball over a ton, and is a strong armed accurate playmaker. I also see that there are two rookie offensive linemen on the left side of the Patriots offensive line, and the Seattle Seahawks have the best defensive line in football right now. You cannot tell me that a high caliber defensive minded coach such as Macdonald isn’t going to be looking for ways to exploit New England’s offensive line deficiencies in this one, and get to Maye early and often, if Vrabel decides the path to victory is Maye throwing a lot.

For as much talk as there is about how Sam Darnold can hold up against New England’s pass rush and blitzes, I think there could be more chatter about how Maye and his rookie offensive linemen hold up against Seattle’s wave of rushers. Based on what has happened in the playoffs, I am anticipating that Seattle is going to get sacks in this game, and I think we are going see them get some turnovers off of pressures, as well.

In fact, I do sorta see this game rounding into a bit more of a defensive battle. I know both offensives are explosive, but I don’t see this super high scoring like some suggest it will become. I think both QBs are likely to make plays and also get gotten at times.

This feels like a game that could go down to special teams, and what offensive line holds in better. Right now, I feel better about Seattle on both fronts. I really think that if Seattle does what they have done throughout this year, they should do enough to win.

But we shall see.

Quick thought about Klint Kubiak leaving for Vegas

I didn’t want to see him go, and I was hoping for him to stick it out as OC a bit longer in Seattle, but I am used to not getting everything that I want. Barring some sort of change of heart or breakdown in negotiations, I think he’s as good as gone right after the Super Bowl.

I really hope that the Seattle offensive players rally in the game against a good New England defense and send him out of Seattle a Super Bowl winning play caller. I am sure he has every intention of going out this way. It will matter to him greatly for his legacy as an NFL coach, but also having that pelt on the wall in Vegas once he is in charge of running that ship and commanding a locker room that is starved to win.

What I suspect will happen next for Seattle is to maybe not cast as wide of a net as possible like they did last year when they fired Ryan Grubb to eventually land on Kubiak as the replacement. In hiring Kubiak, I think it is pretty clear that Macdonald has chosen the Kubiak/Shanahan offensive system as his preferred way to operate with the football. There are coaches throughout the league who are versed in this system. They run shades of it in Green Bay, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, and of course it is run in San Francisco.

I am guessing that Macdonald and John Schneider are quite happy with Sam Darnold and will look to build further around him. It makes sense to look in Minnesota at his old QB coach, but I suspect that they will look more internally this time around, and I would think that pass game coordinator Jake Peetz, who was a valuable remember of Sean McVay’s staff in LA, who knows Cooper Kupp very well, has spent two years building a relationship with Macdonald here, and has soaked in a year working with Kubiak designing plays for Sam Darnold, possibly has the inside track on the gig.

It could go to run game specialist Justin Outten who is credited with the second half of the season surge of the run game. It could also be given to QB coach Andrew Janocko who has followed Kubiak around to multiple stops, and probably knows his system well. I just have a vibe that Peetz might be the guy Macdonald feels most comfortable with, and they will try to hang onto Outten to become the official run game coordinator.

They could, of course, try to lure Arthur Smith away from the Ohio State gig that he just accepted. There was a rumor that Macdonald wanted to bring him to Seattle when he was going through the interview process, but Smith chose to not wait it out and took the Pittsburgh gig instead. Smith runs a wide zone scheme very similar to Kubiak’s. I just don’t know if he’s the right personality fit for what Macdonald has built here with his present staff, and I think there will be a feeling maybe that there is just as good of a solution from within the staff, but we shall see.

Whatever happens, I don’t see Macdonald drifting away from this scheme that paired so well with his defense this year. I think he will look for someone to best carry the thing on. This would make most sense to me.

Thoughts about the Seahawks potentially being sold in 2026

Anyone who regularly follows this team knows that eventually Jody Allen is going to have to sell this team. The trust of her late brother Paul demands it to happen and the proceeds to be put forth into his various charities.

In 2024, a provision in the team’s lease with the stadium ran its course that would have provided that ten percent of any sale of the team go to the State of Washington. This was a protective measure that local government put in to prevent the team to be sold to some ass wipe who would look to relocate the team like Ken Behring tried to do in the nineties.

Now that this provision is almost two years up, I think the league is putting some pressure on Jody to put the team up for sale. The league is run by billionaires and they want to see the value of their own assets go up. A sale of the Seattle Seahawks will most certainly do that.

There is suggestion out there that the Paul Allen trust states that Jody must prioritize finding some local buyer solution, and if one cannot step up, an out of town owner must commit to keeping the Seahawks in Seattle. This is partly why I am not personally concerned about someone buying the team in order to move them out of the region. The other part is that I simply do no see her as the sort of would sell this team off to just anyone, especially in the wake of what happened with the SuperSonics, and Behring with team way back when.

There is tons of big money in Seattle and the PNW. It doesn’t even have to be one person stepping up and buying the team like some suggest Jeff Bezos is angling to eventually do. Jody could find a local ownership group, and this is a growing trend in professional sports. It could be a combination of Bill Gates, McKenzie Scott, and a couple of former players and Jody herself that comprise the ownership group all fulfilling the local angle.

It could even just as simply be as easy as Bezos buying the team outright, and maybe also being the one who brings an expansion Sonics team back to Seattle in the process, as well. I know that he is a polarizing figure, and feathers would be ruffled for some if he owned them, but he does not strike me as the type who would be a meddlesome owner. With all of his vast wealth, and enterprises that he is ambitious about, it sorta stands to reason that he wouldn’t be so needy as to spend the day to days around a team, but want good football people running it for him. That would be my hunch with a Bezos ownership, if he has heavy designs on the team, and this was the worst kept secret for a number of years now. We shall see.

My simple ask for any future owner (or ownership group) of this team is to not be a know it all impatient asshole, to not think you know more about football than good football people do, and to not be an embarrassment owner like the one in Cleveland, or a tight wad one like the one in Cincinnati. Be humble, and smart, be supportive and enthusiastic, and trust the minds of sharp football types like John Schneider and Mike Macdonald.

In short, be like the Allens.

Go Hawks!