For the last few days, I have been contemplating writing a wishlist piece about what the Seattle Seahawks might/should do before the upcoming trade deadline. I wanted to include modest scenarios like what we saw last week when they trade for defensive tackle Roy Robertson Harris, but I also wanted to include a few big splashy type trade options. GM John Schneider has a long history of doing a bit of both.

On Wednesday, however, the Seattle Seahawks made a very interesting moderate sized trade with the Tennessee Titans, sending weak side linebacker Jerome Baker and a 2025 fourth round pick in exchange for 24 year old middle linebacker Ernest Jones. While this news has forced me to kind scrap the blog idea I had in mind, my initial reaction to the trade was one of excitement. Upon further reflection, I’m still really excited.

This may very well not be the sort of regime changing mid season trade that defines the Mike Macdonald era quite like the time in 2010 where Seattle shipped a fourth round pick for a backup running back in Buffalo known as Marshawn Lynch and instantly defined the Pete Carroll era.. or is it?

In 2010, a few games through Carroll’s first year as the Seahawk head coach, this franchise was struggling to run the ball, and thus struggling to be the physical team that Carroll envisioned them being. They made the infamous Marshawn trade, it took a while for him to settle in, but a couple months later, we were rewarded with what is now legendarily known as the Beast Quake.

Now, I am not going to suggest the Ernest Jones is going to achieve the same legendary status that Beast Mode is known for in these parts, but I am pointing out to you that Jones is coming in to help fill Seattle’s biggest team need. Mike Macdonald wants a physical football team, and it is tough to be that, if you cannot stop the run. In recent years, this young middle linebacker has been a very good run stopper, as well as being good against the pass.

Now he has ten games to show Macdonald that he can be a bright young middle linebacker to build around. If he does, I think this team works out a long term deal with him.

I have seen some reacting to this news by saying that Seattle gave up too much for a rental. I don’t think they view him as a rental player at all. I am more inclined to suggest that they see him as a missing piece that they intend to keep around.

For one, they know Jones very well from his time with the Rams, and I think they might have been as shocked as anyone when they saw the Rams send him off to Tennessee for a mere fifth round pick instead of rewarding him with an extension around the corner. With all the speculation that perhaps Seattle would pursue one of the Jacksonville middle linebackers that could be on the trade market, this move for Jones makes more sense to me as it further sinks in because of this interdivisional knowledge of him as a player, and he likely wouldn’t have been made available for Seattle in a trade if he was still with the division rival Rams.

From a Seattle perspective, he could have been the top linebacker they were in pursuit of all along, and not former first round pick Devin Lloyd in Jacksonville, as some were speculating they might have interest in. They might have been waiting out the Titans to lose one more game to officially become sellers. It is interesting that in this same day, the Titans were also sellers of DeAndre Hopkins to KC for a mere fifth round pick.

Another reason why I think this trade could end up being a much bigger deal than maybe it looks right now is that Mike Macdonald’s specialty as a defensive minded coach is linebackers. His scheme is set up for a fast, hard charging middle linebacker to make tackles for losses, and also be able to defend the pass. Jones was very good at this in LA, and his play carried through into the Tennessee defense which, despite their losing record, has been very good this season.

When asked about the Jones acquisition in his Wednesday press conference, Macdonald sounded genuinely excited. He phrased the move as being an opportunity to add a really good tough as nails player who will take over at MIKE linebacker while Tyrel Dodson will move to his more natural position of weak side backer that Jerome Baker filled. From these words, it is very easy to parse that Macdonald had been feeling like he didn’t have the MIKE backer he needed.

As others have already noted, it was middle season two and a half years ago when Macdonald had taken over the Baltimore defense, that the Ravens made the trade with Chicago to add Roquan Smith. I am not saying that Jones is as good as Roquan is, but he may prove to be not that far off in this particular scheme. It’s interesting that both play the same linebacker role, and both are built fairly similarly.

If anything, it will be kinda exciting to see how Jones blends in, and if this defense really does start to resemble the Baltimore one as we get further through this season. Last week, we saw this team acquire Roy Robertson-Harris from the Jaguars, and my immediate reaction to that, is that RRH does have a body type and playing style similar to the defensive ends and tackles we have seen over the years in Baltimore. Now we have seen this team bring in Jones who does, at the very least, seem like a poor man’s version of Roquan, and maybe he becomes much more than that once Macdonald starts to really work with him.

Exciting stuff to think about, and I love that Ernest Jones is getting tossed right into the starting lineup against the Bills who are coming in as favorites at Lumen Field. Maybe this addition of Jones gives Seattle a slight advantage of newness that Buffalo won’t be able to prepare for.

One other big way that I think Jones helps Seattle is in terms of advantage is his own knowledge of the NFC West landscape being a former Ram. He will know how to play Kyler Murray in Arizona. He will be very familiar with San Francisco, and he will especially know the Rams. With most of Seattle’s interdivisional games in front of them, adding Jones feels like it is coming at a really good time.

So, on all these fronts, I really, really dig this trade a lot. It feels like a lot to give up, if you are viewing him as a bandaid or a rental player, but if he becomes the starting MIKE backer for the next several seasons, and is really good doing that, just like he has been over the past couple seasons, then this deal is kind of a steal.

Right now, I am working with the assumption that he can, and will be a long term fixture here. If he plays as well as I think he is capable of playing, Seattle can use their franchise tag to work out a deal with him this offseason. This is the direction of where I think this is probably going to head towards. I think he’s going to be long term.

In terms of other matters, I don’t know if Seattle is necessarily done shopping. They might be, but right now, they are slated to have a number of comp picks in the 2025 draft, and I think having those made John Schneider feel like he could pony up a fourth to land Jones.

Could they decide to have some more fun and do more?

Let me share some of the ideas I had in the trade piece that I was mulling over in my head, thinking I might write about.

While it is good to see Abe Lucas and George Fant coming off of IR to practice with the team again, what if they see an opportunity to improve a guard spot, as well?

If the Dallas Cowboys lose to San Francisco this weekend and drop to 3-4, perhaps that makes pro bowl guard Zack Martin available. Maybe the Cleveland Browns will consider moving Joel Bitonio next week. Both players are older, and would be rentals, but they would be significant upgrades to what Seattle is working with now in Laken Tomlinson and Anthony Bradford.

Here is something even more exciting and fun to think about.

What if Seattle pulls off a surprise win against the Bills on Sunday, and they pull even further ahead in the division? Would they feel temped to swing big at Maxx Crosby in Vegas, or Dexter Lawrence with the Giants?

With almost everyone healthy again, they seem set up enough at edge rusher, and defensive tackle, but a chance to land an All Pro player up front on defense is an absolutely intoxicating idea to think about. It would be the big swing at the fence move to fortify their chances of winning this up for grabs division in year one of the Macdonald regime.

When they line up to play San Francisco again in the few week, what if Seattle’s starting front four consists of Boye Mafe, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, and Maxx Crosby? What if it’s Leonard Williams, Bryon Murphy, Dexter Lawrence, and Boye Mafe? One scenario offers an immediate electric pass rush, and the other offers one of the stoutest front fours in the league capable of stuffing the run, and mush rushing quarterbacks each and every Sunday.

Seattle’s offense, on the whole, feels pretty decent despite what they have been gutting through on their offensive line. Geno Smith has been doing very well, putting up big yards and fitting the Ryan Grubb offense, they are doing well passing to set up the run. Adding an upgrade at guard would make a lot of sense on many levels, make your strength stronger. It is the trade that would make tons of sense right now.

But what if John Schneider decided to go crazy bold on defense, and reward his first year defensive minded head coach an All Pro piece up front? What if they say, “hey, if we send a first round pick and change for this guy, we have a shot at having a top five defense by the end of the season, and we can just sow up this division with what’s going on with the offense and really make this thing special now” and they just go big after Lawrence or Crosby?

I will admit it, these are the two trade scenarios that I currently obsess about the most. In fact, if I were the GM of this team, looking at the injuries and possible dysfunction with San Francisco, looking at the injuries with the Rams, and the up and down nature or Arizona, I would honestly be very tempted to place calls in for either one of these guys. For all we know, Schneider might already have been doing this.

Other trade avenues that I could see this team pursue would be receiver, if DK Metcalf can’t come back from his minor knee sprain as soon as they were hoping. I have sorta simmered on those thoughts, because I feel like there is hope he will only miss a game or two, and I suspect that they like their overall depth in that area.

The one other trade idea I could ever so slightly see them do is maybe targeting a quarterback of the future, if they aren’t completely sold right now on Sam Howell,.. maaaaaaaaybe. I think it’s kind of a fun thought, anyhow.

As much as I would love to think they could pry Michael Penix Junior out of Atlanta, I don’t think that is going to happen, not with how Kirk Cousins played last Sunday, and Atlanta wanting long term security at that spot. I do however wonder about Will Levis in Tennessee, and if Tennessee decides to just tank it now for a quarterback at the top of next year’s draft.

While I am not the biggest Levis fan, I do recognize that he has the size, arm strength, and athleticism that John Schneider seems to really love in quarterbacks. There was, after all, a lot of thought from national minds at the end of last season that Levis was going to be a player on the rise to becoming a true franchise quarterback, and I think those thoughts are interesting to cling onto a bit, especially with the revitalization of Sam Darnold in Minnesota.

Right now, I think it is highly, highly unlikely that Seattle would pull a midseason trade for a QB of the future player who isn’t likely going to help this team win games now, but I do want to throw this idea out there in preparation for what they might decide to look at in the offseason. They might well like a few guys in college right now, but they might also have an eye for a player in the league who they think they can add and develop. This isn’t to take anything away from Geno Smith, and how they might really dig him moving forward still, but at some point, they have to seriously think heir apparent. My question has more to do with whether they see Howell as that fella.

At any rate, these are my current thoughts. I liked the move for Roberston-Harris last week, and thought it signaled a shift towards what McDonald desires up front, but I really, really dig this move for Ernest Jones. I have a feeling like this move to be much closer to special.

And I have a growing itch to see John Schneider make a big splash move for Maxx Crosby or Dexter Lawrence. I doubt either happens, but I would love it if it did. I would absolutely freak the F out if either happened.

Go Hawks.

Make no mistake about it, beating a talented Atlanta Falcons team on the road, 34-14, is a quality win for Mike Macdonald’s young Seattle Seahawks team. This felt like a true complete game where the offense and the defense complimented with each other well, and special teams had a day, too.

In fact, this is the type of win I have been envisioning this team to collect a lot of ever since they hired Macdonald away from Baltimore, and paired him with former UW standout offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. They were physical, they were explosive, and they played connected.

This was also the type of win they really needed to get back on track after a rough three game losing streak inside an absurdly short duration of time (eleven days). I don’t want to place too many expectations on these guys right now, but this feels like the type of quality win that a young team finding themselves with new coaches needs to have as they build forward towards what they strive to become.

I think what we are learning as fans is that it is going to be a process. Injuries on the offensive line has hindered the offense’s ability to play consistently. Injuries on defense, and the newness of this particular complex scheme has made it a trial on the other side of the ball, as well.

As it stands, this team is now 4-3, and they are in sole first place inside their division. They won four games by playing good connected enough ball, and they lost three games by playing mistake prone, and at times, disconnected.

You can call me a homer, and come up with all the reasons why the Falcons are more pretenders than contenders, but this was the first game of this season where Seattle played mistake free ball, and that matters. They committed no turnovers on offense, and they created three turnovers on defense. They did this by holding down an explosive Atlanta offense that has scored 100 points inside their last three games, and they did it to them on their home turf. Let’s allow that to sink in, and appreciate it.

Here are some further free flowing thoughts I have about this thoroughly enjoyable beat down in A Town for the Hawks. I got a lot of good ones.

Offensively, I thought this was an ideal attack. Seattle threw the ball 29 times, and they ran it 26 times. That stats weren’t gaudy, but they were efficient. Offensive efficiency matters in this league, if you can generate positive defensive results with it, and Seattle did just that.

Geno Smith had his most efficient game of the season, where he threw for a high completion percent, and it was his first game of the season where he threw multiple touchdowns without an interception. He was especially effective with the play action that was available because Ken Walker was having production on the ground.

Ken Walker was probably the offensive player of the game for me, and it wasn’t just for his production on the ground, or his next level elite touchdown grab, but more so, it was the fact that he did all of this while battling the flu. I can’t imagine what it is like running into 250 pound linebackers and feeling like you have to puke. K9 was The Man in this one.

The real, real star of this game, however, was the entire defense. This defense had to face an explosive Atlanta offense on the road with a quality veteran quarterback who has been playing with a hot hand. They had to do this without their starting safety, and two of their top cornerbacks. They had to rely on a rookie fifth round corner, and a practice squad corner playing throughout the day.

All week, I had been starring at these tea leaves, and had been anticipating Seattle being forced to win another shootout on the road a la Detroit game. Instead, this patched together defense held Kirk Cousins and crew down to 14 points, and more than helped pitched a blowout. This defensive unit did much of the heavy lifting.

First off, I want to say that Macdonald’s defense has a much different feel when it has a healthy Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams playing in the front four. The disruption that Big Cat and Murphy are both able to create as defensive tackles together feels like A Lister material in this league around the corner. Players like Boye Mafe, Dre’Mont Jones, and Derick Hall are able to feed off of that.

The last time the Seattle Seahawks had a defensive tackle tandem like these two, it was in the late 1990’s with Cortez Kennedy, and Sam Adams playing together. Their physical abilities to disrupt inside opened up opportunities for edge players such as Michael Sinclair, Phillip Daniels and Michael McCrary to put up gaudy sack totals. Interestingly enough, one of the architects of that late nineties defense was defensive guru Jim Johnson who Mike Macdonald mentions as an inspiration to his own defensive scheme.

Fast forward back to this present day game, and this Seattle defensive line that now has it’s full compliment of players that went against a very good Atlanta offensive line, and they had their way against them in pass rush situations, and at times, against the run. People can say that Cousins was off, but I think he was flustered by feeling the inside pressures Seattle was getting with their heavily invested in DTs.

I also think the new addition of Roy Roberston Harris gives them even a further disruptor up front, and I am excited to see where this goes. Listed as a DT, RRH got quality snaps at end, and you could feel how well he was able to hold a strong edge against the run, and disrupt as a pass rusher in limited spots.

I messaged friends this morning that I just wanted to see really good defensive line play from Seattle, and did I ever get what I hoped for. This unit wasn’t perfect, but they were so much better than they have been in recent weeks. In this game, you could feel Murphy’s first round draft status, Big Cat and Jarran Reed’s big man power, and Boye Mafe’s speed off the edge.

I want to offer a very special tip of the cap to Dre’Mont Jones. He has been much maligned by fans and media in recent weeks, but I thought he played his ass off against the Falcons, getting pressures, a sack, and effecting plays. When Seattle traded for Robertson Harris, I thought that might be a catalyst to lighting a fire under Jones.

Not like he needs extra motivation as a player, but RRH is a good football player, and Jones had been struggling a bit with other players on the defense, as well. It wouldn’t be so much of a big deal if it were not for the high price Seattle paid him last year as a free agent, but big contracts come with big expectations.

Jones needed a game like this one, and moving forward, Seattle needs Jones to play more like this. Be strong against the run, and play on fire as a pass rusher. If he can build off of this, I really like the edge rusher rotation of him, and Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall, the two young drafted players who’s future appear bright in Seattle for many years.

It is just a game, and they will have a very tough test coming up against the Bills coming to Seattle, but I need to see more of this version of Macdonald’s defense moving forward this year. I need it above anything Geno Smith, K9, and DK Metcalf can be in Ryan Grubb’s offense.

Mike Macdonald’s stated goal for his version of the Seattle Seahawks is for them to be a physical, and explosive team. It is hard to feel the full vision of that with the state of their offensive line (although I thought rookie right tackle Mike Jerrell played promisingly, making his first start in this one), but I think a reasonable expectation for fans this year is to feel it more on the defensive side moving forward as they continue to gel together with healthy pieces again up front, assuming they stay healthy enough together.

I think we can also say that this was perhaps a pivotal game this year where John Schneider’s 2024 draft class showed up when it mattered, and they stepped up. Byron Murphy showed again what a disruptive force at DT he can be. Mike Jerrell stepped in at right tackle and immediately looked better than Stone Forsythe. Nehemiah Pritchett held his own starting at corner in place of Riq Woolen. These guys are the future of this team, and they showed in this one. That might honestly be the biggest positive coming out of this game, along with many of Seattle’s best veteran players playing their best ball.

Fingers crossed that DK Metcalf’s knee situation isn’t serious. Macdonald sounded like the team didn’t think it was, and he had a situation similar to this one against the Chargers a couple years ago when he went off the field on a cart, and was fine the following week.

If the issue is bigger than they anticipate with DK, though, I think that might necessitate a trade, if this team wants to really go after the division title this year with San Francisco now on the ropes a bit. In fact, I want to say that they will almost certainly have to do that.

Folks need to be real about the value of DK in this offense right now. He honestly might be the most valuable non quarterback piece to this machine given the way Ryan Grubb loves to use deep shots to set up the run and underneath patterns. There is no other player in this Seattle offense who can stretch the field like DK can. Tyler is really good, but he can’t do that. JSN is more of an underneath possession YAC guy who benefits playing with a DK.

If DK is out an extended period of time, that could force Grubb into calling games with a short deck to work with. His offensive line isn’t blowing up big holes for K9 and Zach Charbonnett to run through. Can he rely on an older Tyler Lockett to threaten to take the top of the defense off? I have my doubts on that.

This is where the dark side of myself almost wishes it to happen just so the Trade DK side of the Seahawk fanbase can see what this offense looks like without him. Hopefully, they don’t have to witness that reality, but if they do, my inner darkness that enjoys watching people suffer in their own short-sided-ness will fee unbridled “I told you fuckers so’s” in a very satisfactory way.

You know that you’re an asshole when you relish in being right at the expense of things you hold dear, like Seahawk victories. So, in that sense, I hope DK’s knee doesn’t force me into becoming an asshole around the corner. I hope he’s able to play next week.

Anyhow, yeah.

Good get back on track game for Seattle against a quality team. I think a lot of good things came out of this one. I am sure that there’s things I am leaving out, like Noah Fant’s very solid game as a high priced tight end, and Coby Bryant’s great game at safety in place of Rayshawn Jenkins, and Julian Love’s solid game at the other safety spot. I thought practice squad corner Josh Jobe played really well, too.

Who am I leaving out?

Oh, yes, Matt. Tyler Lockett played well, too. Let’s not forget about Tyler!

Does this cover it?

Are you happy a Seattle Seahawk fan?

Or are you still some sort of ogre fair-weathered troll who misses Russell Wilson and wishes the team would have drafted Michael Penix Junior?

Still gotta wait and see with this new crew?

I get it if you do, but I gotta tell you. When this team wins, I really, really like what I see. It’s not all perfect, but there’s a lot of interesting things to like that give me hope for the future.

If they would have continued on with Pete Carroll after last season, I don’t know if I would be feeling this degree of hope. There is a newness to things on both sides of the ball that, while the product doesn’t feel necessarily totally complete, the vision feels there, and I think this team can grow into a very physical and explosive team together with that vision, ultimately. All I need is for this young collection of sorts to continue building together towards that, win or lose.

I’m here for it. I hope you are, too.

Go Hawks.

Now that we are several days removed from the Thursday night debacle against the San Francisco 49ers, I have finally reached a point of some reassuring perspective. Things could be worse for Seattle Seahawks fans. We could be Dallas Cowboy fans, instead.

I am not even joking.

The Dallas Cowboys are a vastly more talented ball club than the Seattle Seahawks. They are more talented on the offensive line, quarterback, receiver, linebacker, and pass rushers. Yet both clubs sit at a 3-3 record, and if you think our home loss with the Giants was bad, the Cowboys suffered a blowout loss at home by what is now proving to be a bad New Orleans Saints team.

There is also all kinds of pressure on the Cowboys to win big this year. Their owner has been very outward about this. If they do not turn their season around, their head coach will most certainly lose his job, and there is chatter that Jerry Jones will strip that roster down for a rebuild. They have committed to 30 year old Dak Prescott, they have put a lot of money into their offensive line, and receiver, and they are going to be starring at a huge contract extension next year with star pass rusher Micah Parsons. Something has to give around the corner.

Now look at the Seattle Seahawks. After a promising start to their season, when they went 3-0 against a soft portion of their schedule, they dropped their last three games inside the span of ridiculously scheduled eleven days. They lost a competitive game against a strong Lions team in Detroit when they were injury riddled on their defensive line. They fell flat against an inferior opponent six days later when the Giants were determined to put up a good fight, and then they had to face the NFC West bully 49ers four days later.

Even in what proved to be a bit of a debacle against the 49ers, the Seahawks, for the most part, put up a fight, and made it a game at the end. If we are being honest, it was a better fight that we saw out them than the ones they put up during the last couple years of the Pete Carroll era, yet there appears to be a contingent of the Seahawk fanbase ready to give up on Mike Macdonald after six games.

Good lord, pump the breaks on that, please, and I say this fully recognizing this team has a lot of issues on the field. In fact, I can say that there were a few disturbing things that happened in the Niners match that I won’t get out of my head anytime soon.

During the loss last Thursday night, we saw Geno Smith throw two picks, and beat his head with a Microsoft tablet on the sidelines. Not a great look. Even worse, we all saw DK Metcalf rip the headset off of his position coach and yell through it at offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

Maybe worse of all, we saw Macdonald’s defense get run on again, and painfully so in those final moments, giving up a huge run against San Francisco when we were down by five with a chance to get the ball back, and pull off an upset. Gross!

Time is a great healer, though, and the further I get away from this game against the arch rival 49ers, the better I have clarity that this team is in year one of Mike Macdonald’s regime, and this process of building a contender will take time. Macdonald isn’t going anywhere, and he should be given at least three years to fully build this team up into the contender he envisions.

So, just chill the flip out, impatient Seahawk fans. Go do some meditation yoga, go relax in nature, go have a spa day. Trust the Mike Macdonald process.

As I look at this three game losing streak in the span of eleven days, I feel like this a great launching point for Macdonald and his coaching staff to prove their worth as a staff. I am excited for Seattle to now be that scrappy team to give contenders a go at it on Sundays.

The NFL is tough. Yes, the league hosed Seattle with this last three game portion of their schedule. Yes, this team has had an unfortunate run of injuries on their offensive and defensive lines. Tough. So what. They are professional football players, and their lack of fundamentals on defense and offensive during this stretch has been damning both on the players and coaches. Time to fix this. I think they will.

The blessing is that they are not the Dallas Cowboys. Mike Macdonald is a first year head coach, unlike Mike McCarthy. There is no added pressure to win their division this year, unlike the pressure Dallas faces, and San Francisco faces, as well. The only pressure on Macdonald is to prove to his players that his system works, if they play it right, and to those who may not be buying in, he then must make the right call as a head coach.

If a high profile player isn’t taking to coaching, how much is it worth it to continue riding with that dude? Ditto for a high priced defensive end who is having trouble setting an edge in their run defense, or a high priced linebacker who isn’t getting off of his blocks and staying sound in his gap responsibilities.

This recent trade for defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris is a big tell for me. At 6-5 290 lbs, he feels like a classic Baltimore Raven style D liner. He’s listed as a DT, but Macdonald noted he will also play end, and perhaps set a stronger edge against the run than, say, high priced Dre’mont Jones, who has struggled to do that, at times. If I am Jones, I am probably playing my ass off against the Falcons this Sunday.

This could be a signal that the coaches have determined that they need different players to fit this defensive scheme than the ones they inherited from the Pete Carroll regime. It could also mean that they saw an opportunity to improve their defensive line rotation, and Robertson-Harris gives them better depth for their interior pass rush, but one thing is clear. This team’s run defense has been a mess since they played Denver in the opener, and they haven’t gotten home enough on the quarterback lately. If this dude improves both of these areas, then this trade is going to be a hit. Personally, I welcome his addition to their rotation.

There is another reason for optimism that this defense will improve as we head into this tougher stretch of games. Rookie DT Byron Murphy II is expected back soon (perhaps against Atlanta), and his unique explosion and athleticism inside proved productive against the run and pass during the first two and a half games of the season before he injured his hammy.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that middle linebacker Tyrel Dodson played much better when Murphy was in front of him. Dodson may not be a long term answer at linebacker, but he is who Seattle has now (unless they shift to rookie Tyrice Knight), and having a rare talent like Murphy in front of him is a pretty good recipe for staying cleaner off the blockers and making a play. I don’t think there will be anyone more happy to see Murphy back in this lineup than the middle linebackers who will play behind him.

We can expect the Macdonald will have his defenders back to the drawing boards this week on honing the fundamentals with their run fits, and technique. This is his week to prove his worth as a first time head coach who’s coaching mantra is “make it right.”

This is the time where Macdonald, who is known to be a great communicator, must get his fellas to rally together, trust each other, and trust the process. He must make it right, and I have faith he will, even if there is a contingent of Seahawk fans who now seem ready to move on from him.

As for the whole DK and Geno situation that transpired last Thursday against San Fran?

On one hand, I think it is something to monitor moving forward. I think there could be some dysfunction brewing between the receiver and quarterback. There definitely felt like dysfunction between the receiver and offensive play caller in the heated moment DK decided to yell at him through a head set.

More likely, though, I think this was just a case of two hyper competitive professionals who were sick and tired of losing to the 49ers, and as mistakes unfolded, things came to a boil over. I am willing to trust both players will put these less than ideal moments behind them to move forward to win ball games together. I actually like them to come out showing better this week against the Falcons. Just a vibe I get. I think both will be incentivized to play strong next Sunday.

For all the second thoughts that filled my mind about DK Metcalf after the 49er debacle, the ideas of trading him instead of extending him, I have to admit that I was pretty impressed watching his midweek press conference yesterday. He took ownership of his mistakes in the game, he was transparent about his headset exchange with Grubb, he said that the key for the offense moving forward is running the ball, which is something I fully agree with.

I don’t think DK Metcalf is the selfish player that some make him out to be. I think he gets caught up in the moments too often against the opposition, and I think he has been prone to lapses in fundamentals in recent games. Both of these things are correctable, and it will be curious to see if this new coaching staff can massage those out of him moving forward.

I also feel like Mike Macdonald isn’t the type who is going to allow dysfunction to exist in his locker rooms. If by chance, DK decides to continue to act out when things get tough this season, and they will get tough, I don’t think he sticks around. That’s not going to be what Macdonald is going to want. I would also say that if Geno struggles to keep composure and poise as Macdonald wants it, you can kiss goodbye notion of him signing an extension here.

I am not predicting that Seattle trades DK and cuts Geno around the corner in the coming offseason, but I am saying that, at the end of the day, Macdonald is going to build this thing with his guys, not Carroll’s. It is up to the Carroll holdovers to prove that they are worth keeping around, and being paid handsomely to be part of this process of building a contender.

When Pete Carroll and John Schneider built up their Super Bowl team together, there were sweeping changes after year one. They let Mike Holmgren’s quarterback in Matthew Hasselbeck go. They let Lofa Tatupu, and Marcus Trufant go, as well.

They also held onto a few of the Holmgren holdovers who proved a big part of their championship run. Center Max Unger, DT Brandon Mebane, and DT Red Bryant were huge pieces of the puzzle.

This year is about Mike Macdonald establishing his culture, building his schemes, and figuring out who his pieces are on this roster moving forward. It is going to take time.

This team, right now, sitting at 3-3, tied for first place in the division, just traded for another defensive lineman, is taking positive steps forward. I know it doesn’t look great over these past few games, but they are.

Trust the process.

What other choice do you have, anyways? Yelling on the internet, demanding players to be traded, and coaches to be fired isn’t going to change the coarse of anything that they are about to do. It just makes you look like you need something else in your life to preoccupy your time while this process takes the proper, necessary time.

So, if you are going to boil over in this process of properly building a contender, I suggest to take nice hikes, and maybe naked dips in nature’s hot springs in order to find the earthy holistic sensation of sand and slimy rocks rubbing against your pent up private parts. That’s what my native ancestors use to do, anyways, when they lost canoe races.

Trust in Mike. Trust the process. Chillax.

Go Hawks.

Well, it’s official. The Seattle Seahawks losing to the 49ers, losing three games in a row, losing by turning the ball over, and not getting turnovers is officially going to create a lot of doubt in the minds of fans, media, and maybe even some of the players, themselves.

Injuries are most certainly a major issue with this team. Stone Forysthe is most clearly not a starting caliber right tackle in this league, and is a full on liability. Seattle is also a banged up in its secondary, defensive line, and their linebackers haven’t been great, lately.

I think the schemes, and the play callers on both sides of the ball for this team are sound, but the execution within these schemes is proving subpar. It’s a combination of not having enough talent on the offensive line, not having players on defense playing fundamentally sound against the run and pass, and then not having their best players play their best ball. I call it like I see it, and this is what I see.

Ryan Grubb has been a recent target of ridicule with fans, myself included after the loss to the Giants, but I’m not hanging this loss on him against the 49ers. I think his play calling got drives going, and he found creative ways to get hyper talented running back Ken Walker involved in screen passes and runs. After six games, I feel like Grubb is largely handicapped as a play caller because of the state of the right side of his offensive line, and he’s trying his damnedest.

I actually wouldn’t mind if they gave 42 year old Jason Peters a go in Atlanta after this ten day break just to see the line settle in better, and give valuable experience on the field. Maybe that helps the right guard situation settle down a bit more, and maybe that makes Geno Smith settle down, as well.

In my opinion, and this is just my view, the biggest reason why we lost this game against the 49ers was the two interceptions Geno Smith threw that took potential points off the board, and gave points to the pain in the ass divisional enemy. Those two picks happened while they were moving the ball against a not so intimidating 49er defense that I don’t think is nearly as good as it has been in seasons past. The numerous other off target and late throws from Geno also proved damning.

I have been as big of a Geno supporter as any out there, but that was not the play of a quality NFL quarterback. That was the play of someone who feels like he is starting to struggle. I wish I could see this differently, but this is what I see.

It could be all the hits he has taken, and maybe he’s injured after that rough outing against the Giants four days ago. It would explain why he was inaccurate at times against San Francisco, and appeared extra jittery.

It could also be something deeper, however, and maybe more concerning. It could be the pressure he feels from essentially being in another prove it year situation with the team, being 34 years old, and pressing to impress for another big contract. I don’t really want to speculate, but one this is clear. Injuries aside, this team will only be as good as he can be, and if he wants to be a $50 million a year quarterback around the corner, he has to quarterback them into being a lot better than this right now.

He has to not throw picks, throw more touchdowns, throw on time, and throw accurately. If he cannot do this, this team will not have a winning record this year, and he will not become a top paid quarterback in this league. It is that plain and simple.

Geno is not the only Seahawk player that I have outwardly defended who had a rough night against San Francisco, and I do not know what this means for this team moving forward. I am now concerned that Seattle may have a DK problem.

I don’t love the sideline antics and body language of DK Metcalf in this one. Being on the phone, yelling at Ryan Grubb was not a good look on my television set. Having a dejected look while sitting on the bench midway through the first half of the game wasn’t great, either. There was another moment where Geno had some bad body language on the sidelines.

I know a lot of fans are going to cut these two slack, and point to the state of the offensive line, but they still have to lead. Call me old school, but bad body language doesn’t display great leadership skills to me, and these two are supposed to be the leaders of the offense. Maybe I am reading too much into these things, but I feel like I saw enough to sound some alarm bells, and I think their body language in tough games is something to monitor moving forward.

Can we say that Geno Smith and DK Metcalf are going to be ride and die Mike Macdonald/Ryan Grubb guys?

This is the question I am presently asking. Their body language has me doubting a little bit. Both guys are known to be hot heads, and it has been commonly reported this year that this new coaching staff especially wants to see how Geno Smith is able to lead, and maintain poise. He did not seem poised enough last night, and DK seemed to resort to DK’ing in ways that will give his critics plenty of ammo.

Defensively? What can I say?

Bad angles to the football are continuing to haunt this side of the ball. Julian Love is a good safety, but he made a horrific safety play trying to go for a knockout blow against Deebo Samuel on a blown touchdown catch and run, instead of making a simple routine tackle after the catch. Replays also showed Seattle defensive tackles getting their shoulders turned sideways on big run plays, and guys not stepping into proper gaps. This is not good enough.

The lack for football fundamentals is killing this defense right now. Mike Macdonald and his staff have got to fix this moving forward. I think they can, but they have to show it. These next ten days before traveling to Atlanta is going to prove critic for the coaches and players to get this defense back on the course it showed against Denver in the season opener.

Maybe the team looks at available free agents. Maybe they pull a trade, or make a surprising shakeup to the starting eleven, but thing is clear. The players they have on the field right now don’t seem to be cutting it the way they need to be. They have got to get this fixed right now, and how this defense comes out against the Falcons will be something I will closely scrutinize in a week and a half.

Despite all of this, this three game losing stretch is not leading me to any sort of doom and gloom thoughts and feels of this team moving forward. I think despite the mistakes against the 49ers, they showed a bunch of fight, and that was encouraging. I am believing more in Ryan Grubb as an offensive play caller. I believe in Mike Macdonald as a young head coach, and I feel like he should be granted time to have his system evolve, and gather all the talent he needs to properly run it.

I do think that, as we approach the trade deadline in the few weeks, this game in ten days against the Atlanta Falcons on the road might be a bit of a crossroads match. Next week will feel do or die in many ways.

If Seattle wins, do they look to make a trade to help them continue to scrap for the division? What do they do if they lose and fall 3-4 with a strong Buffalo Bills team on the horizon? Do they consider being sellers if they lose to the Bills as well, and fall 3-5?

These next two games around the corner could very likely determine the direction this team takes the rest of the way this year. John Schneider isn’t known as a big seller as a general manager, but with a new coaching staff for the first time in 14 years, dropping to 3-5 in a couple weeks might force his hand. What if the Kansas City Chiefs come offering a first round pick for DK Metcalf?

This all sounds sensational, but let us remember what this season is. This is a season where these new coaches are determining who the building block players are of this team, and who is going to be their core guys moving forward in their systems.

Obviously, I prefer seeing this team win now, but for me, this season has never been about stealing the division from the 49ers in year one of the Macdonald regime. It is about the gradual build into becoming something truly special as a team.

When Kyle Shanahan was hired by San Fransicso in 2017, it was with a goal to beat Pete Carroll in Seattle, and become the divisional bully. It was a gradual build for them to become the top dog they have been in recent years. They went 6-10 in Kyle’s first season, and 4-12 the following year. It took time for players to pickup his complex system, and it took time for him to acquire the right players to fit it. Losing seasons meant better draft picks to build off of in the process. Eventually, he and John Lynch built up a very exciting ball club.

This should be, more of less, the model, and the expectation for Mike Macdonald and his staff in Seattle. Year one should be figuring out who your guys are moving forward, and what you need to add next offseason to take the next big step towards becoming special.

If they turn this losing streak around, win in Atlanta, and stay competitive in other games down the road, and end up with a winning record, and a wildcard playoff birth, then that will be a lot of fun. If they don’t because of various reasons, but still are competitive in losses, then I think that is also fine.

I just need to see marked improvements in the fundamentals within these schemes. I need to see guys playing well together. That’s how I will ultimately judge this team this year.

This game losing this way against San Francisco, yet again?

Yeah, it sucks, but it doesn’t sting, and it doesn’t feel hopeless. I don’t think the 49ers are making it back to the Super Bowl this year, and that is going to put more pressure on them as an organization staring at making a very cheap quarterback a $60 million dollar a year player around the corner in very short time.

Seattle, in the meanwhile, just needs to continue working out the fundamentals with the team they have this year, they need to properly evaluate what they have on this roster that are keepers and what they need moving forward. That is what year one of Mike Macdonald truly is.

I can be patient for that. Can you?

Go Hawks.

It is important to me to maintain a fair perspective as a diehard Seahawks fan, especially after a disappointing loss. There have been a few times, in recent years, where I have allowed my writing to enter into toxic realms after a loss to a team like the New York Giants at Lumen Field, and after publishing, I would sometimes feel some sense of regret that I didn’t use a more tempered approach. Therefore, in this piece, I am going to try to be behaved while being honest with you as readers.

The Giants aren’t a very good team. They most likely will not make the playoffs this year. Their quarterback isn’t very good, outside of one concussed receiver, their skill players aren’t special. They will need to rely on defense to win games, and any team with a decent offensive line, and capable quarterback is probably going to beat them on most Sundays. Giant fans, like some of the more obnoxious ones that walked out of Lumen Field Sunday afternoon, can feel great about this win, but they still play in a division with the Eagles, Commanders, and Cowboys. Good luck with that moving forward.

So, on that level, it really sucks that Seattle fell behind to these Giants, and made a bad quarterback look pretty good, right?

Yeah, it does. It most certainly does.

It sucks because we replaced legendary Seahawk head coach Pete Carroll with this Mike Macdonald cat from Baltimore who is supposed to be this defensive mastermind in the league, and we lost this game just like a Pete Carroll coached team lost over the past couple years. We played undisciplined, soft, and disorganized on defense, unable to stop the run or pass, and then we passed the fuck out of the ball on offensive instead of leaning into the run to help sustain drives. We could have just kept with Carroll, Clint Hurtt, and Shane Waldron, and we could had this same annoying result.

This is the sting of this game for me. It wasn’t just playing (and coaching) down to an inferior opponent, it was doing it and looking like the exact, same, hair pulling out, frustrating team as we were last year against Pittsburgh with backup Mason Rudolph quarterbacking them to an easy win here.

Seahawk fans who remain staunchly big Pete Carroll fans are going to use this loss against the Giants in defense of the former head coach, and they are going to rub Mike Macdonald’s nose in it like a poodle puppy dog to just poo poo’d all over the carpet of Lumen Field. You can be certain of this.

Mike Macdonald might still end up being a really good coach for the Seattle Seahawks, coach here for a long time, going to the playoffs, winning division titles, and maybe getting a Super Bowl ring. This could happen, and I believe in him, but he has a lot of work to do. Tons of it.

After a promising start to the season, going against teams with bad quarterback situations, Macdonald’s defense has now had back to back games looking pretty bad. The excuse in Detroit was valid. They were down four starters on the defensive line, going against an offense with a great offensive line, good quarterback, and lots of weapons to move the ball. Against the Giants, however, the excuses feel nonexistent. There is no excuse for an effort this bad against a bad team.

Seattle’s front seven too often got out of their gaps, giving up easy long runs. Their defensive backs were getting beaten way too often, and Daniel Jones had way too much time to pass down field, and way too often caught defenders off guard with his ability to run.

Macdonald, to his credit, said everyone needs to do a better job, himself, included as the caller of the defense. From my vantage point up high in the nose bleeders, it looked like New York used Seattle’s aggressive scheme against them to their advantage. Whenever a linebacker would blitz, Jones found the easy hot read. When a linebacker would attack a specific gap, the running back found a huge hole in the other gap.

The lack of fundamentals, proper tackling, gap control, coverage all had the same look of what we have seen for the last two years when Carroll shifted this team out of his standard 4-3 into a 3-4 hybrid scheme. Then, it was felt like too much was put on the plate of the players and they were in a constant state of confusion as to who does what when, and whatnot. After this game against the Giants, one is free to wonder if Macdonald’s scheme is no different in its heavy demands on players to understand it, and play it properly.

It could simply be that the Seattle players need more time with each other communicating, and building the proper chemistry to do all the tasks this scheme demands. It could also be that Seattle just doesn’t have as much talent needed to play within this scheme as we were thinking a few weeks ago. It could be a little of both, or again, it could just simply be that this unit needs to play more games together in order to properly gel. I am hoping for the latter.

Time will tell, as we get further through this season, whether or not this defense is going to be some special this year, or a problem, but one thing is clear. If they don’t show signs of improvement, and building towards something special, the pressure will be on big time next offseason to get it fixed.

You don’t replace a legendary defensive minded head coach with a young defensive minded head coach, and not have an outstanding defense in result. If Mike Macdonald is to be the guy here in the PNW, the defense in Seattle must be one of the absolute tops in the league. This is a nonnegotiable, in my view.

That all said, however, in my opinion, the defense wasn’t even the most frustrating side of the ball in this game. Color me absolutely done with Ryan Grubb’s almost obscene pass happy attack with Geno Smith. I get it that this aggressive passing attack won him tons of accolades as a play caller in college, and I know that Seattle has a lot of nice receivers that fit what he did at UW, but this is the NFL. Things are not going to be nearly so easy for him at this level to chuck it around the place every Sunday, and none of this feels sustainable right now.

For a while, I have been allowing myself to blindly buy into this Grubb hype. Diehard Husky fans, arrogantly blinded by their own purple and gold eye glasses, have promised us great results from Grubb, and I have gotten sucked into it, myself, like an ancient mariner looking at bright red hair and big boobs on a fish woman sitting on treacherous rocks in the middle of the sea.

I have been swept up in the idea that between Grubb, Geno and all these pass catchers in Seattle, we would see some fancy version of the eighties run and shoot offense with Warren Moon in Houston, or the K Gun offense of Buffalo with Jim Kelly in the nineties. Here is the reality pill, though, both of those legendary offenses had really good offensive lines, and neither of those teams won a Super Bowl playing that way.

If you want to be a really great defensive team, you must have a balanced offense that controls clock while it scores, and gives the defense time to rest. This is how you play connected football. This is what Pete Carroll always preached while he won national championships in college and a Super Bowl in the pros. This is what Mike Macdonald must get Grubb to now see.

With a unique player at running back such as Seattle has with Ken Walker, it is absolutely bad coaching to not have him become a fixture of this offense. With the leaky state of the pass blocking portion of this offensive, it’s not even bad coaching that Grubb has 34 year old Geno Smith drop back passing at this rate, it’s borderline criminal to the point of possibly charging Grubb for assault and battery with his intentions of having Geno pass so much.

Let us be very real about what the Seattle Seahawks are with their offensive line. They have a decent young player at left tackle, they have an old journeyman at left guard on a cheap one year contract, a decent center new to the team, an unsettled situation (still after five games) at right guard, and their starting right tackle is a third string player.

With this offensive line, they should be running Ken Walker (and Zach Charbonnet) way more often than they are. They should be playing more with two tight ends, they should be using a fullback more on occasion, and they should be allowing Geno Smith to play to his truest strengths as a play action passer.

Grubb might want to use almost exclusively three receiver sets out of shotgun, but he does not have the offensive line to hold up playing that way, and I feel now it is catching up to this club. What he has been asking Geno to do with all of this high volume drop back stuff, now feels unsustainable to a dangerous level. It puts more pressure on sub average pass blockers, more pressure on receivers to catch against contested coverage (like JSN’s crucial third down drop in crunch time), and it puts tons of pressure on Geno to deliver tight passes under a barrage of pressure.

Ryan Grubb must adjust this attack to better fit what his situation is with the offensive line, and the unique underused talents he has at running back. Offensive linemen play better when they are finding rhythm in the run game. It’s easy to move forward on the attack of defenders than moving backwards being attacked by them in pass pro. Grubb needs to allow these guys the ability to find their confidence by running the rock. This is a must.

So, sure, we can talk about DK’s fumble for the second time in two weeks that killed a scoring opportunity, and we can talk dump attempt to go for it on fourth down late in the game in their own territory on a play action play with bad execution. We can even talk further about how bad this defense played. We can point fingers at all of this stuff, but Geno passed forty times in this year, and was sacked seven times, and Ken Walker only carried the ball five times for nineteen yards. That is inexcusable.

Good luck calling an offense like that against San Francisco on Thursday night. Good luck playing against the Bills like that, the Vikings, Jets, and Packers.

In this game, when the defense felt out of sorts, Grubb needed to get K9 and Charbonnet going with a run game for which Geno Smith could have play action passed off of. They needed to sustain long drives, shrink the clock, and give their defense a rest to sort themselves out. Total failure on the offensive coaching staff that this was not more in the game plan. Now it is time to fix that.

So, I think the holistic reality of this season is now very different than the visions of grandeur we all felt after going 3-0 to start the season. While we all got caught up in the dreams of winning the division, and going on a playoff run, the more realistic goal for this team with new coaches, a first time NFL head coach, first time NFL offensive coordinator, first time NFL defensive coordinator, is probably to lay forth the foundations of what the identity of this team is, and build positively off of it.

If they make the playoffs, great. If they do win the division, even better. If they fail to do either, that’s fine, as long as they are building towards a clear identity that can be a winning sustainable formula moving forward. This is the goal for 2024, in my mind.

As I watch these twelve remaining games, I am going to now temper expectations each week. I am going to try to exude patience with the offense and defense. I’m going to look for signs of who the building blocks are moving forward. I am going to look for signs of a winning philosophy within this coaching staff.

Is Geno Smith the guy who can be here longer termed as QB1? Does Macdonald ultimately want a pass happy attack that Grubb seems to continue to fancy, or does he want more balance? Is DK a guy this offense should center around or should it be more K9? Who are going to be the real building blocks of this defense?

If the season was over today, and we were heading into the offseason, I would make the offensive line the high priority in free agency and the draft, but I would also acknowledge that maybe we do not have the building block linebackers to green dot this defense and make it special. There is lots of work to do in these two areas.

I see lots of reasons why they should extend Geno Smith a few more years, and also extend DK Metcalf. They can drop both of their 2025 salaries down, and create more cap space to be active in free agency. I can also see the argument some make that maybe perhaps Seattle has used too much of their resources in their offensive skill positions, and maybe making a tough choice (or two) to move on from the more expensive pieces opens up more money to use at the offensive line.

Seattle has the cheapest offensive line in the league right now, and you know what?

It painfully shows.

Time to change that up.

At the very least, I think that starts with running it more with K9, but bigger picture? I really need to see John Schneider go on a big time mission next offseason to improve that offensive line.

For now, just run that f’ing ball.

Go Hawks.

We are two games into this early portion of the 2024 NFL season, and there is national buzz building around our beloved Seattle Seahawks. Bucky Brooks and Colin Cowherd both have the team solidly inside their top ten. NFL Network analyst Pete Schrager has been high on them all throughout the preseason, and has picked Mike Macdonald as his favorite to win coach of the year honors. Bill Simmons has them as his sixth best team right now.

To be clear, the Seahawks have only played two games, and have beaten two other teams who don’t project to be contenders (although, I think the Patriots could prove to be a tough out this year). Still, as it stands right now, Seattle is one of the top DVOA performing teams through two games. They are explosive on offense, and they are playmaking on defense.

They will also be the first to say that they haven’t played anything close to their best ball yet. On the flight home from New England, Mike Macdonald was so pissed off at the way his defense gave up yards on the ground, that he had to stream The Last Kingdom on Netflix to get out of his head. When asked the following day what this team could do to better get the run game going, he plainly, and somewhat coldly said get better push up from.

Mike Macdonald is not going to sugar coat things like Pete Carroll sometimes would. He’s careful not to blame players, and he pointed to his on chest when pressed about his team’s run defense against the Pats, but he is very careful to not offer too much praise on players when there was clearly things he believes they could do better. His messaging often revolving around the term “chasing the edges.”

His coaching style is almost solely focused on the mission of constantly getting better. He wants to get the best out of his players, and will not likely put into words anything to suggest that he is satisfied with all aspects of his team after a win. Nor should he.

Despite the 2-0 start (first time in franchise history a new coach has ever done this), the supportive DVOA analytics, this team’s offensive line is currently graded out as one of the worst performing units in the league. Simply put, it is tough to imagine Seattle being a true contender for the NFC West division title with this low level of offensive line play, if it continues to stay this course.

This is why ESPN has labeled Seattle pretenders this week, and probably why Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has them as his 21st best team. While Florio seems to be one of the few remaining Geno Smith critics (and an occasion troll of Seahawk fans), if he has placed Seattle at 21 based on their offensive line play, I get it.

The Seattle Seahawks need their offensive line to settle in right now. While the Tua Tagovailoa-less Miami Dolphins might feel like an easy win for Seattle coming up this Sunday, they will not be, if Seattle cannot get their run blocking and pass protection playing better.

The glass half full outlook is that they certainly can play better because the truth of the matter is that they can’t play much worse. A deeper look at the state of their offensive line supports this idea.

When Seattle walked into Gillette Stadium last Sunday, they were down to their third string right tackle, they had an unsettled situation at right guard between Anthony Bradford, and rookie Christian Haynes, and their brand new starting center, Connor Williams, had only been practicing for a few weeks after tearing his ACL in his knee last December. On top of that, their new left guard, Laken Tomlinson, hadn’t exactly been impressing. It’s hard to imagine an offensive line like this going up against one of the better front sevens in the league having a great game. At best, you just want to feel like they did okay. It is very wishful thinking, though.

When you look at the current state of Seattle’s offensive line, and them examine what Geno Smith has been able to accomplish over the last couple weeks, no fan should be nervous if Seattle offers up a brand new contract extension his way. He has been playing top quarterback play despite the present shambolic state of his offensive line.

Herein lies some silver linings, though, and reasons why Seattle fans can actually be a bit optimistic Seattle can carry forth as a contender this year.

Through two games, left tackle Charles Cross has been one of the best performing left tackles in the league. It is foundational for any team to have their left tackle play at this elite level. Premium position players playing elite is exactly what teams need to succeed.

Connor Williams, while new to this team, was one of the top performing centers last year. It is reasonable to assume that he will settle more into Seattle’s offensive line, and get the players around him to play better ball. In fact, this week, Coach Macdonald noted that he took a big step forward against New England. If Connor stays healthy, I trust that much better ball lays ahead for him and the interior fellas this year. Top centers make those around them play better.

Another potential huge positive for this offensive line is eventually getting Abe Lucas back at right tackle, or at the very least, George Fant getting healthy enough to settle back in. Fant is one of the very top reserves in the league, and when healthy, is a very capable starter. Abe Lucas still has the talent to be one of the very best right tackles in the game. Either one of these guys back is going to help this offensive line. There is reason for optimism this will happen soon enough.

The biggest issue remaining with this unit remains the situation at guard. The hope is that one owns the right guard spot, and then the other pushes Tomlinson at left guard. Haynes likely has the much higher upside, his run blocking appears more promising, but his pass protection remains a work in progress. That is probably why the coaches prefer Bradford right now, and maybe he settles further into the right guard spot, and Haynes starts to make a push at left guard.

It will be interesting to see over the course of the next few weeks just how much settled in the interior of the offensive line becomes. I have some optimism that it will, but if things continue being an issue, Seattle has juggled funds around in 2024 by restructuring DK Metcalf’s contract to open up an additional $9 million in cap space. With John Schneider’s track record of mid season trading, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see them acquire an established guard from another team.

Who this person could be, I have no idea, but last year at this time, I didn’t exactly have a read on them eventually trading for defensive tackle Leonard Williams, either. The hope might be to see if these new pieces inside grow together through the next three games, but the reality might be them itching to make a deal sometime in October, if they are still in serous contention for the division, but don’t feel secure enough at guard.

Outside of the interior of the offensive line, the only other areas on this team where depth makes me nervous still is middle linebacker, and running back.

At linebacker, I love Tyrel Dobson and Jerome Baker’s potential together, but Baker’s hamstring issue makes me nervous, and while I like the potential in Tyrice Knight, his inexperience and the lack of depth behind him make me even more nervous. I would not mind seeing this team acquire another proven journeyman middle linebacker to rotate in with these guys. Who knows, if that will happen. They might see injuries to starters as a way to get unproven players playing time, and growth.

At running back, I am head over heels in love with K9, but I worry about his ability to stay healthy enough. I also think his backup, Zach Charbonnet is a really different style player who might not fit Grubb’s offensive to the degree K9 does, and they will have to adjust whenever he gets meaningful carries. I wonder if they need to acquire another back who is more or less a closer version to K9 for this offense to maintain its consistency whenever they have to lean into the run game. Time will tell if this is a warranted concern, or not.

On the whole, however, this team is showing tons of promise within position groups that you want promise to be shown. This is probably the biggest reason why they can indeed be contenders this year, if the offensive line as just settle down, and play better enough to be closer to the middle of the pack of offensive lines.

This defensive line and edge rush group is proving to be DEEEEEEEEP, and that is a really good thing moving forward. It also appears that with Riq Woolen, and Devin Witherspoon, they may possess the best cornerback tandem in the league. If your goal is to build a top flight defense, the two areas you most want to be strong at is defensive line and corner.

Offensively, they have a veteran quarterback who looks to be ready to have a very promising season, and he has weapons galore to throw at. DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith Njigba, Tyler Lockett, Noah Fant, and possibly Jake Bobo could all have big seasons this year. This quarterback paired with this group could be as good, if not better than any in this league this year. The potential is that big.

On top of all of this, bad fortune for other teams within the NFC West division could prove fruitful for Seattle to stay atop this division, if they can figure out the best version of themselves. The Los Angeles Rams are battered up on their offensive line and within their star receiving corps. The San Francisco 49ers are now without their two best offensive weapons in Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel. In Arizona, Kyler Murray has shown to be injury prone. If Seattle wins this division, on top of getting big years out of key players, it could be a situation where they just simply win the battle of attrition.

Will this happen?

I dunno, but I will say that I feel more confident about the Seahawks competing with the 49ers than I have over the past few years. At the very least, I think they can be a much tougher out than in previous years. With new coaches comes fresh perspectives and schemes that opponents like San Francisco might be more unsure how to prepare for. When you add this to the talent that Seattle has been amassing over the past few years, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see a shakeup within the rivalries in this division in favor of the Seahawks.

But I think it is also way too early to label them a true contender right now. We need more games to be played. We need to see if they can get past Miami, pull an upset in Detroit, and then hand it to the Giants before we can feel super confident in that first matchup against San Fran.

Because the truth of the matter is that, like it or not, San Francisco is a supremely talented team who has been there, and done that for several years now, and they are what Seattle is trying to become, and ultimately overtake. This might take time.

But in that, judging off these past two games, I really like what Seattle is showing us so far. I love it, in fact.

Go Hawks.

Make no mistake about this 23-20 overtime win for the Seahawks at Gillette Stadium in Boston. Geno Smith’s quarterback play won this game for Seattle.

On the day where New England decided to celebrate the ten year anniversary of their Super Bowl win over Seattle by honoring the dude who picked off Russell Wilson at the one yard line, Geno Smith handed Patriot fans a good old fashioned turd sandwich to chew on in the fourth quarter and overtime. It was glorious, and I soaked it in with absolute joy.

We are now two games into Mike Macdonald’s coaching career in Seattle, but we are starting to figure out who these Seahawks under his coaching are. I can ascertain two things I feel about them under this new regime.

Geno Smith is the Man, and these are not your Pete Carroll Seattle Seahawks.

I do not mean to make this piece a slam on the former coach, but here is how I think things would have went down in New England against the hard fighting Patriots. Being ultra thin at right tackle, and without the explosive qualities of Ken Walker, I think Carroll would have mandated a conservative offensive game plan against a tough Patriots defense on the road. I think he would have had his offensive coordinator staying with the run when it wasn’t working, and he would have asked for a simplistic attack. With a journeyman vet to play against at quarterback, his mantra probably would have been to keep it close enough to hopefully gut out a low scoring victory on the road in the end.

In recent years, Seattle used to drop games like this by making them unnecessarily too easy for the opponent to be in it. They would bumble enough on defense to make a below average quarterback look like a really good quarterback, and they would be so risk adverse offensively, that it would make it more difficult on their own QB than it ever needed to be. We have lost games to Colt McCoy multiple times this way, for God sakes. This would not be the case in New England yesterday, however.

Mike Macdonald allowed his offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb stay with the pass game when it was clear that it was the only thing working against a tough Patriots defense. Sure, it sputtered coming out of half time, and their lead vaporized by the fourth quarter (thanks to an Seahawk defense that got pushed around with the run), but Grubb adjusted enough to create motions to detect coverage, and dialed up necessary coverage beaters, and he leaned into Geno Smith to lead this team to a come from behind drive inside a stadium that is extremely difficult for a road team to get a win in.

Geno Smith took to this play calling, lifted his teammates onto his back, and carried them into an overtime win. It was just like watching Michael Penix Junior at Washington in 2023.

While I prefer to see an offense who can dictate more with the run, I am excited about how much of a fit Geno seems to be for Grubb in this scheme. It’s early, but the matrimony between the player caller and quarterback feels harmonious right now. I fully expect it to continue forth.

This, of course, all being very bad news for Geno Smith haters out there (the few stubborn ones remaining). Let them eat their crow.

Here are the cold hard facts about Geno Smith right now. This coaching staff obviously has full faith in him to win tough games. They are perfectly willing to lean into him. This overtime win is only going to deepen that faith in him moving forward.

Also, through two games, Geno’s QBR rating in the league is strong. He’s demonstrating top level accuracy, poise, athletic playmaking ability, and decision making.

Essentially, he is playing just like a top level quarterback. In fact, through two games, he is the league’s fourth best QBR rated quarterback.

So if, at this stage, you still think all of this pro Geno talk is silly, I vehemently question your ability to know ball. But don’t just take Geno praising from me. Here’s what a few national NFL media had to say about him after this game.

Dan Orlovsky called Geno Smith the best NFL quarterback that nobody is taking about. Albert Breer tweeted that Geno is a much better QB than people give him credit for. Brock Huard (local but also national), who has been somewhat on the fence about Geno over the years, tweeted to put respect into Geno Smith’s name, but here is a tweet that I want you to read and let sink in for a minute.

Make no mistake about it, Geno Smith played ELITE football against a tough Patriots defense defending their own home turf. Period. No debate to be had.

If you are a fan of the Seattle Seahawks winning football games, you should be excited about this moving forward. There is no reason to remain on the fence when it comes to Geno Smith.

I get it if you long term goal is to see Seattle have a young talented quarterback playing on a rookie contract, but Caleb Williams, the first player taken in this draft, on Sunday Night against the Texans, could not make the throws that Geno Smith made against the Patriots to lead his team to a road win. Maybe he will someday become one of the league’s best quarterbacks, maybe, but he is nowhere near the NFL quarterback that Geno is right now.

Seattle fans should be embracing Geno, not being senselessly divided about him.

Last week, I wrote out a piece that spelled out all the reasons why Geno Smith is essentially playing on a trial year with this new coaching staff. I concluded it by saying that I believe he will most likely ace this trial, and earn a contract extension in the following offseason. Two games into this season, I see it even more clearer now.

This team was down its third string right tackle, it was missing it’s big time play making running back, it was having an up and down game on defense, they lost their lead in the fourth quarter, and yet Geno surgically carved up the Patriots defense in the final moments of the game like it was a Thanksgiving Day turkey fresh out of the oven. For two weeks now, Geno and his crew have faced tough defenses and they delivered. What is going to happen when they meet up against softer opponents this year?

Geno is gonna ball. That’s what’s going to happen.

In terms of other standouts in this one, you can feel the bright future of this team in the talents of Jaxon Smith Njigba and DK Metcalf on offense. Eventually, this team will be without Tyler Lockett, but JSN and DK are starting to feel like one of the top receiver combos in the league. With Jake Bobo also on this roster, Ryan Grubb has riches to use with his receivers, and this is exciting stuff for any pass happy Seattle fan to behold.

JSN offers such a unique blend of soft hands, route running, and sudden run after catch abilities. It’s so fun to watch. Essentially, he’s a taller version of Doug Baldwin, and without the Ken Walker to rely on at running back, it felt like Grubb was using JSN on quick passes as a way to compensate. It wouldn’t surprise me if we see him become the next big star athlete in town, to be honest.

DK, on the other hand, proves that no athlete in this offense has more naturally explosive big play potential than he does, not even Ken Walker. The big touchdown catch and run was fun, but watching him now being finally schemed with slant patterns is even more exciting. This was no doubt a huge game for him, but I think Grubb is just getting started with how to finally take advantage of his off the chart skills. I cannot wait for it.

On defense, there were very obvious stars in this game. Leonard Big Cat Williams was a beast, and so was edge rusher Boye Mafe. It was great to see rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy II get a big run stop and a sack. I thought rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight played pretty well when he had to sub in for injured Jerome Baker. Rookies stepping in and playing well is a really positive sign for this team as it builds its new core and depth.

Also, Julian Love.

Damn, Julian is just so damn good at football. Sticks his nose into breaking up passes to tight ends, plays the run solid, and blocks fricking kicks. In the three point difference in this win, his blocked kick could easily be considered the single biggest play of this game.

Things weren’t always stellar on defense, though. Seeing them getting pushed around with the run in the second half was disconcerting, and gave me some PTSD flashbacks of the 2022-2023 Clint Hurtt Seahawks defense. At least assignment wise it looked like players were in the right places (for the most part), but the lack of proper tackling needs to get fixed right away.

It will be interesting to see how these defenders respond with their tackling efforts against the Dolphins next Sunday, and how Coach Macdonald will get them turned around. With the likelihood of no Tua, I would expect Mike McDaniel to lean further into the Dolphin ground assault after watching tape on the Seahawks defense in this one. They are an offense known for their exotic ground attack, and this feels like an important match for the Seattle tacklers to get it right for this week.

I got faith that they will. In Mike Macdonald I trust.

I feel the potential in this defense. They got lots of work to do to clean things up, but the potential is sky high for them this year. They just need to hone in their fundamentals better as they stack wins.

In this road win, they got three sacks on Jacoby Brissett, but they could have probably had at least four more. They need to finish these sorts of plays, but I have supreme confidence that they will. At least they were in position to make them. Last year, it felt like under Carroll and Hurtt calling the defense, they were never in positions like that nearly enough.

The most encouraging thing about this day was when they needed a big play on defense to happen, it happened, and when they needed their starting quarterback to carry them to a come from behind win on the road, he effortlessly lifted up his team, and carried them on his back. When you marry good defense with really good quarterback play, generally speaking, really good things tend to happen for football teams.

Also, Mike Macdonald is 2-0 as a brand new NFL head coach. How awesome is that?

No Seahawks head coach has ever starting their career here 2-0 before Macdonald. In 49 years of being a NFL team, Macdonald is the first.

It’s early, I know, and a lot of things can happen during the coarse of a long NFL season, but excuse me if I am feeling pretty damn excited about this club right now. I wish they were playing again tomorrow. I haven’t felt this way in years.

Go Hawks.